Richmond Raceway
Richmond Raceway is a D-shaped oval short track in Richmond, Virginia. It has hosted major races since its inaugural season of racing in 1946, including NASCAR and IndyCar races. The track is owned by NASCAR and led by track president Lori Collier Waran.
Initially built in 1946 as part of the Atlantic Rural Exposition, the track initially held horse and open-wheel racing. In the following decades, the track hosted annual NASCAR races. Starting in the early 1970s, the track declined in its condition, leading to numerous racetrack proposals being made to replace the track. After all proposals failed, in 1988, the track was expanded into a and underwent mass expansion over the following years. Heading into the 2000s, the facility was bought out by the France family. Starting in the 2010s, the track significantly downsized, reducing seating capacity to less than half of its peak.
Description
Configuration
Richmond Raceway in its current form is measured at, with 14° of banking in the track's turns, 8° of banking on the frontstretch, and 2° of banking on the backstretch. When the track was initially built, it was originally a true oval with a dirt surface. It was later paved in 1968 before being remodeled 20 years later to its current layout.Amenities
Richmond Raceway is located in Richmond, Virginia, and is served by Interstate 64 and U.S. Route 360. The exact capacity of Richmond Raceway is unknown; according to a 2024 Richmond Times-Dispatch report, capacity is estimated to be "under 50,000". The last recorded capacity number was 51,000 seats, which was given in 2018. In total, the track complex covers approximately of land according to a 2021 Richmond BizSense report.Track history
Early exposition years
Planning and construction
In June 1942 and in the midst of World War II, the Virginia State Fair Association bought a plot of land used by a farm named Strawberry Hill. According to local media, the purchase was made due to fears of the State Fair being kicked out of their original location because of the United States Department of War potentially buying out the original location for war purposes. However, the following month, the moving of the original grandstands and fair buildings to the Strawberry Hill location was delayed until at least 1943 due to war efforts. The moving of the main grandstands was further delayed by another year before work on transferring the main fair grandstand to the Strawberry Hill location begun in 1944. In 1945, the now-named Atlantic Rural Exposition was announced as an agriculture trade show to take place sometime in the fall of 1946 pending if WWII had ended before then. By May, $50,000 was raised to start the exposition.Three months later, a planning outline for the exposition was released in the Richmond Times-Dispatch. Plans for the ARE included a 7,000-seat coliseum, an amphitheater, and a steeplechase track. In February 1946, an exposition budget of $300,000 was approved by the exposition's board of directors; the budget included plans to build a race track for $10,000. The following month, dates for the ARE were given, with it scheduled for October 7–12. The race track was completed by June 1946, with ARE organizers stating hopes to host both harness, automobile, and motorcycle races on the oval. The first automobile race at the race track was later announced for October 12, the last day of the exposition. At the time of its opening, the track's grandstands had a capacity of 3,200.
Early years of operation
The inaugural ARE opened as scheduled on October 7. Although harness races were scheduled two days after the exposition's opening, the races were delayed by two days due to rain. The track officially opened to the public on October 11, 1946, to host the postponed harness races, with horse Empire Grattan winning the first feature race. The first automobile races were run as scheduled a day later, with Ted Horn winning the event. The following month, the track held its first races under the sanction of the American Automobile Association. In May 1947, the first motorcycle races were held at the facility.The following year, the track underwent a series of renovations, with numerous amenities being added. Renovations included a lighting system to host night racing, a wooden fence built around the track, and an increase in seating capacity. The first night race was later ran on May 19 of that year. In 1950, the track experienced its first fatality after spectator Charles Malcolm Little was hit in the head from a loose tire on September 31, dying from complications from his injuries on October 23. In 1953, the track held its first NASCAR Grand National Series race on April 19, with Lee Petty winning the event. Two years afterward, eventual longtime promoter Paul Sawyer began promoting races at the facility alongside Joe Weatherly, buying out Weatherly's share of the promoting lease a year later for $5,000. In 1958, the track oversaw its second fatality after racing driver Gwyn Staley crashed during a NASCAR Convertible Division event, dying from numerous injuries. The track increased its seating capacity in 1962, adding "some 4,200" seats in the track's first and fourth turns to increase its seating capacity from 4,800 to approximately 9,000. In addition, the track's pit area was also renovated alongside the installation of a new scoreboard and protective walls and guardrails.
Paving, years of disrepair, and failed replacement proposals
In August 1968, track officials announced the paving of the track, which was completed in early September. The first race on the paved surface took place on September 9 for a NASCAR Grand National Series race. In the first couple of years for the paved surface, the track length was disputed on whether if it was a true half-mile; a dispute that had existed since the track's infancy. Immediately after the track's paving, the track length was lengthened to. However, in March 1969, the track was again reclassified as a half-mile track. Just five months after the reclassification to a half-mile, the track length of the now-named Fairgrounds Raceway was readjusted once again to 0.542 mi. In 1972, the lower lanes in the second and fourth turns were repaved. In addition, the pit road length was extended in both ways.Colonial–America Raceway proposal
Starting in the early 1970s, Fairgrounds Raceway was criticized for inadequate and dated fan facilities alongside a lack of seating capacity for the track's high demand of spectators. In addition, the track was considered one of the poorest in terms of purse money offered in the Cup Series circuit during that time, with a 1974 Times-Dispatch report stating that only Bristol, Nashvile, and North Wilkesboro offered lower purses. In response to the declining condition of the track, Fairgrounds Raceway co-promoters Ken Campbell and Paul Sawyer began drafting plans to build a racetrack in Prince George County for "somewhere in the $6 million range", with the proposal being leaked by the Times-Dispatch on August 19, 1973. In the official press conference to reveal plans for the proposed track later held that month, Sawyer announced that the track was planned to host a permanent seating capacity of 50,000, have 16–18° banked turns, and have a track length of. Despite the announcement, co-promoter Ken Campbell stated that they had no intentions of abandoning the Fairgrounds Raceway, but admitted that "I'm not sure exactly what we will do at this point". He later added that he considered to let the track transition to holding only local weekly races.In October 1973, the proposed track's zoning request to turn a tract of land near U.S. Route 301 was approved by the Prince George County Board of Supervisors. By February 1974, the now named-Colonial–America Raceway was awaiting approval for a complete site plan, with Campbell stating that he hoped to start groundbreaking the following month. However, by June, no work had begun on the project due to persistent red tape delays, with Sawyer stating that the project organizers were waiting for final approval of the full project. After a further month of delays was announced the following month, a completion date was officially held off and unknown. In September, after a track repave, Fairgrounds Raceway experienced further track surface issues during the 1974 Capital City 500, with the surface having been reported to broke apart throughout the entire race. In response, the track was repaved in all four turns in time for the 1975 Richmond 500.
While the Colonial–America Raceway plans were delayed, in 1975, the Fairgrounds Raceway expanded its seating capacity. In July of that year, Sawyer announced the construction of grandstands to replace the bleachers in the track's first turn, with the seating capacity planned to increase to 15,000. By its completion in August, the seating capacity had increased to 18,000 according to the Times-Dispatch. In addition, a dirt oval was constructed to host motorcycle racing within the year in the track's infield, with plywood boards being used as the outside retaining walls. In February 1976, Sawyer stated that despite the seating capacity upgrades made to the Fairgrounds Raceway, he still intended to build the Colonial–America Raceway, adding that he was waiting for an approval for "highway proposals". The following month, the highway proposals were approved by the Prince George County Board of Supervisors. The approval revived the Colonial–America Raceway project, with Campbell stating hopes of opening the track in the fall of 1977. However, in June 1977, the Times-Dispatch reported that the organizers of the proposed track abandoned the project due to rising costs and uncertain economic conditions compared to the initial 1973 proposal, with an energy crisis and a recession having taken place since the initial announcement. Campbell later stated a month later in The Free Lance–Star that the organizers still aimed to build a replacement for the Fairgrounds Raceway, but had only abandoned the Colonial–America Raceway project which would have been built in Carson, an unincorporated community.