| There are many unforgettable races and decisions that
helped make Richmond International Raceway America's Premier Short
Track. Below is a timeline of some of the key events in Richmond
International Raceway history. |
|
Richmond International Raceway Timeline |
| |
| October 12, 1946: |
Driving an open-wheel car, Ted Horn wins the first race at
Atlantic Rural Exposition Fairgrounds over a ½-mile dirt track. |
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| April 19, 1953: |
Lee Petty wins the first NASCAR "Grand National Division" race
with an average of 45.535 mph at "Atlantic Rural Exposition Fairgrounds." Petty
led from flag to flag in the 100-mile, two hour, 11-minute, 46-second race. Buck
Baker wins the pole in an Oldsmobile at a speed of 48.465 mph. Petty collects
$1,000 for the win, while last-place finisher Coleman Lawrence collects $25.
Since it is well before the days of electronic timing and scoring, the box score
indicates a tie for 16th place between Ralph Liguori and Slick Smith. |
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| 1955: |
Paul Sawyer and legendary racer Joe Weatherly buy the property. Track is
known as “Atlantic Rural Fairgrounds.” |
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| 1959: |
The track begins hosting two NASCAR Sprint Cup Series events each season
and has continued to do so since. |
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| June 5, 1960: |
“The King” Richard Petty competes in his first race at Richmond.
He finishes sixth. Included in the group in front of Petty are Ned Jarrett
(third), Glen Wood (fifth) and Petty's father, Lee, who won the race. |
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| April 23, 1961: |
Richard Petty wins his first of a record 13 races at Richmond. |
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| September 10, 1961: |
Fall races at Richmond are lengthened from 100 miles to 125
miles (250 laps). |
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| April 1, 1962: |
Spring races are lengthened from 100 miles to 125 miles (250
laps). |
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| September 9, 1962: |
Fall races are now 150 miles (300 laps). Joe Weatherly wins
the first of two consecutive races at Richmond. The box scores indicate he won
each race by “1 lap plus.” Attendance is estimated at 15,000. |
|
| March 10, 1964: |
Many think the first Richmond night race was contested in
September 1991; however, this race was run on a Tuesday night with temporary
lights after a Saturday rain-out. |
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| 1967: |
Track becomes known as “Virginia State Fairgrounds.” |
|
| March 24, 1968: |
David Pearson wins the final race on dirt at the facility.
Pearson won six career races at Richmond. |
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| September 8, 1968: |
Richard Petty wins the first race on the newly paved
.625-mile track. The race is 187.5 miles (300 laps). |
|
| 1969: |
Track becomes known as “Richmond Fairgrounds Raceway.” |
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| April 13, 1969: |
Track is re-measured at ½-mile. Race length is 250 miles (500
laps). |
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| September 7, 1969: |
Track is re-measured at .542-mile, a distance that would
remain constant until the track was rebuilt to its current .75-mile
configuration in 1988. Race length is 462 laps. |
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| September 13, 1970: |
Richard Petty wins the first of seven consecutive and nine out of 10
races at Richmond. Race is lengthened again to 500 laps, 271 miles. |
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| February 27, 1972: |
Bobby Allison wins the first of five consecutive pole positions at
Richmond. Both Allison and Richard Petty would go on to capture an
all-time track record eight poles and Allison would post seven
victories, second only to Petty’s 13. Finishing 29th in his first
Richmond race is Richard Childress. |
|
| September 10, 1972: |
Bobby Allison taps Richard Petty from behind, sending “The King” up
on the guardrail, where he hits a backup fence and bounces back onto the
racetrack. Petty never loses his composure or the lead and goes on to
win the race, his fifth in a row at Richmond. |
|
| September 9, 1973: |
Richard Petty wins the Capital City 500 in 4 hours, 13 minutes, 17
seconds (longest race in Richmond history), more than two laps ahead of
runner-up Cale Yarborough. |
|
| February 24, 1974: |
NASCAR shortens several races by 10% to help offset a national
energy crisis. Shortened from 271 to 243.9 miles, Bobby Allison snaps
Richard Petty’s streak of wins at Richmond and edges “The King” by four
seconds, the closest margin of victory to that point. |
|
| October 12, 1975: |
Darrell Waltrip records his first win at Richmond, beating Lennie
Pond by more than a lap. Benny Parsons won the pole but finished 18th.
Surprisingly, Richard Petty’s dominance comes to an end. He finishes
last (28th) after an engine problem. |
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| March 7, 1976: |
Race is shortened to 216.8 miles (400 laps). The 400-lap distance
has remained through today, even when the track was reconfigured to
¾-mile in 1988. |
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| March 11, 1979: |
Dale Earnhardt makes his debut at Richmond. |
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| February 24, 1980: |
The purse at Richmond tops $100,000 for the first time. Darrell
Waltrip wins the race in his famous Gatorade Chevrolet and collects
$17,800. Waltrip posted six career wins at Richmond. |
|
| February 20, 1982: |
Tommy Houston wins the inaugural “Late Model Sportsman Division”
race at Richmond. The series would become known as the Busch Series,
Grand National Division in 1984. |
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| February 26, 1984: |
The legend of Ricky Rudd begins. A little more than a week after
sustaining serious facial injuries in a crash at Daytona and then
running a qualifying race there using tape to hold his eyes open, Rudd
shows up at Richmond with two black and blue eyes at the Miller High
Life 400. Rusty Wallace makes his Richmond debut and finishes 16th. |
|
| February 24, 1985: |
Dale Earnhardt earns his first victory at Richmond, just 0.3 seconds
ahead of Geoff Bodine. |
|
| February 23, 1986: |
With just three laps to go, race leader Dale Earnhardt clips the
rear quarter panel of Darrell Waltrip after Waltrip overtakes him in
Turn Three. The accident sends Waltrip into the guardrail and Kyle Petty
into the lead and onto Victory Lane for his first NASCAR Winston Cup
Series victory. Petty joins his father Richard and grandfather Lee as
winners at Richmond. Richmond International Raceway is the only track
where all three have won races in NASCAR’s top division. |
|
| September 12, 1987: |
Mark Martin wins the first of a record five NASCAR Busch Series
races at Richmond. |
|
| 1988: |
Track becomes known as “Richmond International Raceway.” |
|
| February 21, 1988: |
A massive reconstruction begins, as the track is reconfigured to
.75-mile and the seating capacity is expanded to 50,000. Bulldozers,
including one driven by Richard Petty, begin work on the project
immediately following completion of the Pontiac Excitement 400. |
|
| March 26, 1989: |
Rusty Wallace wins the first of six races at Richmond on the
.75-mile configuration. |
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| February 25, 1990: |
Mark Martin wins his first and only NASCAR Winston Cup Series race
at Richmond International Raceway (to date), edging Dale Earnhardt by
three seconds. Martin’s car fails to pass post-race inspection due to an
illegal part on the car. Martin is docked points that would end up
costing him what would (to date) be his only championship title. |
|
| September 7, 1991: |
Harry Gant wins the first NASCAR Winston Cup Series race “under the
lights” at Richmond. |
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| March 8, 1992: |
With a capacity crowd of 58,000, Richmond International Raceway
sells out for the Pontiac Excitement 400. Every race in NASCAR’s top
division since the March 1992 event has sold out. |
|
| September 10, 1994: |
Ted Musgrave completes a pole sweep but fails to finish in the top
ten for either race. To date, no other driver has ever won the pole for
both Richmond races in the same year since. |
|
| September 7, 1995: |
Terry Labonte wins the first NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at
Richmond. |
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| September 11, 1999: |
Future NASCAR Winston Cup Series champion Tony Stewart wins his
first ever NASCAR Winston Cup Series race by defeating teammate Bobby
Labonte. |
|
| December 1, 1999: |
International Speedway Corporation purchases Richmond International
Raceway and the surrounding property from Paul Sawyer. |
|
| June 29, 2001: |
Jaques Lazier wins the pole for the inaugural SunTrust Indy
Challenge at a blistering speed of 160.417 mph (16.831 seconds). It is
the Indy Racing League’s first appearance on a track shorter than one
mile. |
|
| September 8, 2001: |
Virginia native Ricky Rudd loses the lead after being bumped from
behind by Kevin Harvick in the waning laps of the race. With just six
laps to go, Rudd bumps Harvick back from behind to re-take the lead en
route to a trip to Victory Lane for his second win at Richmond. |
|
| May 3, 2002: |
Ward Burton sets a new NASCAR Winston Cup Series track record with a
lap of 21.194 seconds (128.388 mph) during qualifying for the Pontiac
Excitement 400. |
|
| October 2002: |
Seating capacity is expanded to 105,000. General parking,
handicapped parking, guest services booths and pedestrian walkways are
added or expanded. Spectator gates are widened, prominent gate signage
is constructed, an elevator is added and the service program for guests
with disabilities is improved. |
|
| Summer 2003: |
Improvements for the drivers are made, including SAFER wall
barriers, a new infield care center, freshly concreted pit stalls, a
centrally located spotter’s stand and a new perimeter racetrack fence. |
|
| Fall 2003: |
1,400 seats are added for the 2004 season, raising the total
capacity to 107,097. A drainage system and repaving project is added as
part of the capital improvement project. Also added are a 55-acre
parking lot, an additional spectator care center and a new driver/owner
RV lot. |
|
| May 15, 2004: |
Fans pack Richmond International Raceway, marking the 25th
consecutive sellout for NASCAR’s top series, now known as the NASCAR
Sprint Cup Series. |
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| September 11, 2004: |
Jeremy Mayfield wins the Chevy Rock & Roll 400 in dramatic fashion,
as he races his way into the top 10 and a berth in the inaugural Chase
for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. |
|
| August 9, 2006: |
Track officials announce the details of a wide-ranging, fan-friendly
seat expansion project that will help keep pace for the demand of one of
the most coveted tickets in all of sports. The highlight of the
multi-million dollar capital improvement project is the addition of
7,843 seats in a new, state-of-the-art, 18-story structure located on
the frontstretch. The new, three-tiered Commonwealth Grandstand will
also include a luxurious 700-person, members-only Club called “TORQUE”
for individual fans looking to enjoy a race weekend in style, or
businesses seeking to entertain clients. TORQUE will also serve as a
unique and trendy place for special events on non-race weekends
throughout the year. Additionally, in response to the thousands of
requests by fans over the years, the project calls for the removal of
2,911 low-view seats in turns three and four. In total, the project will
net 4,932 additional seats, raising the capacity from 107,097 to
112,029. |
|
| September 9, 2006: |
Kasey Kahne finishes third and claims the 10th spot in the Chase for
the NASCAR Sprint Cup. Tony Stewart, who was previously in the top 10 in
points, manages an 18th-place finish and is knocked out of The Chase. |
|
| May 6, 2007: |
Richmond International Raceway hosts its 31st consecutive NASCAR
Sprint Cup Series sellout, which coincides with the all-new Commonwealth
Tower and TORQUE Club. The three-tiered grandstand addition is a hit
among fans, giving them an unprecedented view of the Crown Royal
Presents The Your Name Here 400 race, which ran a day later than
scheduled because of inclement weather. |
|
| September 2007: |
September 8, 2007: Jimmie Johnson completes the “Richmond sweep” by
winning both NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Richmond International
Raceway. Johnson solidifies his spot in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint
Cup and goes on to win the series championship 10 races later. |
|
| May 3, 2008: |
The Crown Royal Presents The Dan Lowry 400 looked to be all wrapped
up for Denny Hamlin after he led 381 of the first 382 laps. But a flat
tire ended his shot at his first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory at his
home track. Then, it looked like Dale Earnhardt Jr. would break his
winless streak. But after making contact with Kyle Busch with three laps
to go, Earnhardt Jr. lost the lead to Clint Bowyer, who would go on to
take the checkered flag. |
