Richmond International Raceway:
History
· Originally known as the Atlantic Rural Exposition Fairgrounds, Richmond International Raceway held its first race in 1946 as a half-mile dirt track.
· The first NASCAR Sprint Cup race was April 19, 1953.
· The spring 1964 race was run on a Tuesday night under temporary lighting.
· The track name changed to Virginia State Fairgrounds in 1967.
· The track surface was changed from dirt to asphalt between races in 1968.
· The track name changed to Richmond Fairgrounds Raceway in 1969.
· The track was re-measured to .542-mile for 1970.
· The track was rebuilt as a three-quarters-mile D-shaped oval following the Feb. 21, 1988 race.
· The first race under permanent lights was Sept. 7, 1991.
· The first season with both races as night races was 1999.
Notebook
· There have been 111 NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Richmond since the track opened in 1953.
· The current 400-lap race length was established on the .542-mile measurement in March 1976.
· Buck Baker won the pole in 1953.
· Lee Petty won the first race in April 1953.
· There have been 50 different pole winners, led by Bobby Allison and Richard Petty (eight).
· Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers with five poles.
· 47 different drivers have posted victories at Richmond, led by Richard Petty (13).
· Dale Earnhardt Jr., Tony Stewart, Kyle Busch, Terry Labonte and Jimmie Johnson (three) lead active race winners.
· Petty Enterprises has won 15 races at Richmond, more than any other team.
· 63 of 111 races have been won from the top five starting positions, including 22 from the pole.
· The last driver to win from the pole was Kyle Busch in 2010.
· The furthest back in the field a race winner has started was 31st, by Clint Bowyer in the 2008 spring race.
· Kyle Busch (5.0) and Denny Hamlin (7.5) are the only active drivers with an average finish in the top 10.
· Youngest NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Richmond International Raceway winner: Richard Petty (04/23/1961 – 23 years, 9 months, 21 days).
· Oldest NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Richmond International Raceway winner: Harry Gant (09/07/1991 – 51 years, 7 months, 28 days).
· Kyle Petty became the first third-generation NASCAR race winner when he won his first race at Richmond, on Feb. 23, 1986. Richard Petty posted his first Richmond victory in 1961 and Lee Petty won the very first Richmond race in 1953.
· Three of the last four races have had a margin of victory less than one second.
Richmond International Raceway Data
Race #: 9 of 36 (04-28-12)
Track Size: .75 miles
Race Length: 300 miles
· Banking/corners: 14 degrees
· Banking/straights: 8 degrees
· Frontstretch: 1,290 feet
· Backstretch: 860 feet
| Top 12 Driver Rating at Richmond | |
|---|---|
| Denny Hamlin | 117.6 |
| Kyle Busch | 114.8 |
| Kevin Harvick | 112.6 |
| Jeff Gordon | 98.5 |
| Clint Bowyer | 96.3 |
| Tony Stewart | 95.4 |
| Ryan Newman | 93.0 |
| Kurt Busch | 92.7 |
| Mark Martin | 91.5 |
| Jimmie Johnson | 88.6 |
| Carl Edwards | 86.4 |
| Jeff Burton | 85.6 |
Qualifying/Race Data
2011 pole winner: Juan Pablo Montoya
(128.639 mph, 20.989 seconds)
2011 race winner: Kyle Busch
(95.280 mph, 04-30-11)
Track qualifying record: Brian Vickers
(129.983, 20.772 seconds, 5-14-04)
Track race record: Dale Jarrett
(109.047 mph, 9-6-97)
| Driver | Year | Pre-Race Driver Rating | Pre-Race Driver Rating Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kyle Busch | 2011 Spring | 113.8 | 2nd |
| Kyle Busch | 2010 Spring | 111.5 | 3rd |
| Kyle Busch | 2009 Spring | 109.9 | 3rd |
| Clint Bowyer | 2008 Spring | 88.8 | 11th |
| Jimmie Johnson | 2007 Spring | 60.3 | 30th |
| Dale Earnhardt Jr. | 2006 Spring | 65.9 | 22nd |
* Pre-Race Driver Ratings of the year the driver won at Richmond (last six spring races).
NASCAR in Virginia
- There have been 275 NASCAR Sprint Cup races in Virginia.
| Track Name | City | NSCS |
|---|---|---|
| Martinsville Speedway | Martinsville | 127 |
| Richmond International Raceway | Richmond | 111 |
| Langley Field Speedway | Hampton | 9 |
| Norfolk Speedway | Norfolk | 2 |
| Old Dominion Speedway | Manassas | 7 |
| Princess Anne Speedway | Norfolk | 1 |
| South Boston Speedway | South Boston | 10 |
| Southside Speedway | Richmond | 4 |
| Starkey Speedway | Roanoke | 4 |
- 163 drivers in NASCAR’s three national series (all-time) have their home state recorded as Virginia.
- There have been 18 race winners from Virginia in NASCAR’s three national series:
Driver
|
NSCS
|
NNS
|
NCWTS
|
Joe Weatherly
|
25
|
0
|
0
|
Ricky Rudd
|
23
|
1
|
0
|
Jeff Burton
|
21
|
27
|
0
|
Denny Hamlin
|
19
|
11
|
1
|
Curtis Turner
|
17
|
0
|
0
|
Ward Burton
|
5
|
4
|
0
|
Glen Wood
|
4
|
0
|
0
|
Elliott Sadler
|
3
|
7
|
1
|
Emanuel Zervakis
|
2
|
0
|
0
|
Lennie Pond
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
Wendell Scott
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
Tommy Ellis
|
0
|
22
|
0
|
Jimmy Hensley
|
0
|
9
|
2
|
Rick Mast
|
0
|
9
|
0
|
Hermie Sadler
|
0
|
2
|
0
|
Elton Sawyer
|
0
|
2
|
0
|
Stacy Compton
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
Jon Wood
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
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