Richmond International Raceway:

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 won by Lee Petty.

·        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 114 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Richmond International Raceway, one NSCS event from 1953-1958 and two races per year since 1959.

·        471 drivers have competed in at least one NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Richmond; 304 in more than one.

·        NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty leads the series in starts at Richmond with 63. Terry Labonte and Mark Martin lead all active drivers with 55 starts.

·        Buck Baker won the inaugural Coors Light pole at Richmond in 1953 with a speed of 48.465 mph.

·        52 drivers have Coors Light poles at Richmond, led by Richard Petty and Bobby Allison with eight each. Jeff Gordon and Mark Martin lead all active drivers with five each.

·        Seven drivers have won consecutive Coors Light poles at Richmond. Bobby Allison holds the record for most consecutive poles at Richmond with five (1972-1974).

·        Youngest Richmond pole winner: Brian Vickers (5/15/2004 – 20 years, 6 months, 21 days).

·        Oldest Richmond pole winner: Mark Martin (4/28/2012 – 53 years, 3 months, 19 days).

·        47 different drivers have won at Richmond International Raceway, led by Richard Petty with 13. Kyle Busch leads all active drivers with four.

·      Petty Enterprises has the most wins at Richmond in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series with 15; followed by Hendrick Motorsports with 10, Joe Gibbs Racing and Richard Childress Racing with nine each.

·        Chevrolet leads the series in wins at Richmond with 36 victories; followed by Ford with 28 wins.

·        22 of the 114 (19.2%) NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Richmond International Raceway have been won from the Coors Light pole. Only three active drivers have been able to accomplish the feat: Kasey Kahne (2005), Jimmie Johnson (2007) and Kyle Busch (2010).

·        The pole starting position is the most proficient starting position in the field, producing the more winners than any other starting position at Richmond (22).

·        35 of the 114 (30.7%) NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Richmond have been won from the front row: 22 from the pole and 13 from second-place.

·        90 of the 114 (78.9%) NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Richmond International Raceway have been won from a top-10 starting position.

·        12 of the 114 (10.5%) NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Richmond International Raceway have been won from a starting position outside the top 20.

·        The deepest in the field that a race winner has started at Richmond International Raceway was 31st, by Clint Bowyer in the spring of 2008.

·        Youngest Richmond winner: Richard Petty (4/23/1961 – 23 years, 9 months, 21 days).

·        Oldest Richmond winner: Harry Gant (9/7/1991 – 51 years, 7 months, 28 days).

·        Bobby Allison and Richard Petty are tied for the lead in runner-up finishes at Richmond with nine each. Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers with six.

·        Richard Petty leads the series in top-five finishes at Richmond with 34. Mark Martin leads all active drivers with 18; followed by Jeff Gordon with 16.

·        Richard Petty leads the series in top-10 finishes at Richmond with 44. Mark Martin leads all active drivers with 30; followed by Terry Labonte with 28.

·        Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in average starting position at Richmond International Raceway with a 7.805.

·        Kyle Busch leads all active drivers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in average finishing position at Richmond International Raceway with a 6.529.

·        Three active drivers have a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series average finish in the top 10 at Richmond: Kyle Busch (6.5), Denny Hamlin (8.0) and Clint Bowyer (9.0).

·        Four drivers have come from outside the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup cut-off to make the Chase at Richmond:

   o   Jeremy Mayfield in 2004 made up a 55-point deficit

   o   Ryan Newman in 2005 made up a one-point deficit

   o   Kasey Kahne in 2006 made up a 30-point deficit

   o   Brian Vickers in 2009 made up a 20-point deficit

·       Brad Keselowski and Denny Hamlin are the two drivers that clinched the Wild Card in 2011 to make the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. Keselowski was 11th in points with three wins; Hamlin was12th in points with one win.

·        Kasey Kahne and Jeff Gordon are the two drivers that clinched the Wild Card in 2012 to make the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. Kahne was 11th in points with two wins; Gordon was 12th in points with one win.

·        There have been two NSCS race resulting with a green-white-checkered finish at Richmond International Raceway: spring of 2008 (400/410) and spring of 2013 (400/406).

·       Only four of the 114 races at Richmond International Raceway have been shortened due to weather conditions: spring of 1962, spring of 1977, spring of 1982 and spring of 2003.

·      Qualifying has been cancelled due to weather conditions in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at Richmond International Raceway six times; most recently the fall of 2008.

·        Bobby Labonte (9/11/1993) and Brian Vickers (5/15/2004) posted their first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coors Light poles at Richmond.

·        Tony Stewart (9/11/1999) and Kasey Kahne (5/14/2005) posted their first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series wins at Richmond.

·        Eight drivers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series have posted consecutive wins at Richmond International Raceway. Richard Petty leads the series in consecutive wins at Richmond after posting seven consecutive wins from the fall of 1970-1973. Terry Labonte (1994-1995) and Jimmie Johnson (2007 sweep) are the only two active drivers with consecutive wins at Richmond.

·        All of the 16 active NASCAR Sprint Cup Series winners at Richmond International Raceway participated in at least one or more races before visiting Victory Lane. Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Tony Stewart won at Richmond in their second appearance.

·        Terry Labonte competed at Richmond International Raceway 32 times before winning in 1994; the longest span of any the 16 active NASCAR Sprint Cup winners.

·        Terry Labonte (32), Joe Nemechek (18), Kevin Harvick (11) and Jimmie Johnson (10) all made 10 or more attempts before their first win at Richmond International Raceway.

·        Bobby Labonte leads the series among active drivers with the most NASCAR Sprint Cup starts at Richmond without visiting Victory Lane at 41.

·      Since the advent of electronic scoring the closest margin of victory in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at Richmond International Raceway was the (9/12/1998) race won by Jeff Burton with a MOV of 0.051 second.

·        Two female drivers have competed at Richmond in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series: