Richmond Raceway
Richmond Raceway (RR) is a 0.750 mi (1.207 km), D-shaped, asphalt race track located just outside Richmond, Virginia in unincorporated Henrico County. It currently hosts two NASCAR Cup Series race weekends, hosts the NASCAR Xfinity Series, and the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. It formerly hosted events such as the International Race of Champions, Denny Hamlin Short Track Showdown, and the USAC sprint car series. Richmond Raceway's unique "D" shape which allows drivers to reach high speeds. The tracks racing grooves, and proclivity for contact make Richmond a favorite among NASCAR drivers and fans.
| "America's Premier Short Track" "Strawberry Hill" "Action Track" | |
|---|---|
Layout of the Richmond Raceway | |
| Location | Henrico County, Virginia, United States |
| Time zone | UTC−5 (UTC−4 DST) |
| Coordinates | 37°35′30.08″N 77°25′15.28″W |
| Capacity | 51,000 |
| Owner | NASCAR (2019–present) International Speedway Corporation (1999–present) |
| Operator | NASCAR |
| Opened | 12 October 1946 |
| Former names | Richmond International Raceway (1988–2017) Richmond Fairgrounds Raceway (1969–1987) Virginia State Fairgrounds (1964–1968) Atlantic Rural Fairgrounds (1953–1963) Atlantic Rural Exposition Fairgrounds (1946–1952) |
| Major events | Current: NASCAR Cup Series Toyota Owners 400 (1953, 1955–1957, 1959–2019, 2021–present) Cook Out 400 (1958–present) NASCAR Xfinity Series ToyotaCare 250 (1982–1984, 1990–2020, 2022–present) Go Bowling 250 (1982–2021) NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Worldwide Express 250 (1995–2005, 2020–present) Former: IndyCar Series Indy Richmond 300 (2001–2009) ARCA Menards Series East UNOH 100 (2011–2015) |
| Website | www |
| D-Shaped Oval (1988–present) | |
| Surface | Asphalt |
| Length | 0.750 miles (1.207 km) |
| Turns | 4 |
| Banking | 14° in turns 8° on frontstretch 2° on backstretch |
| Race lap record | 0:15.9368 seconds (169.423 mph) ( Sam Hornish Jr., Dallara IR-03, 2004, IndyCar) |
Nicknamed the "Action Track" and "America's Premier Short Track", Richmond sold out 33 consecutive NASCAR Cup Series races before the streak ended in September 2008 due to the Great Recession as well as the impact of Tropical Storm Hanna. Richmond has hosted the final "regular-season" race, leading up to the start of the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs, each year since the format was introduced in 2004 until 2018 when its second weekend was moved into the playoffs. In 2022, their second race weekend was moved into the Summer.
Before 2019, the raceway had a track seating of 59,000.