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 110 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.
· BuckBaker won the pole in 1953.
· LeePetty won the first race in April 1953.
· There have been 49 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 110 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 (4.9), Denny Hamlin (7.5) and Clint Bowyer (9.5) are the only active drivers with an average finish in the top 10.
· KylePetty 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 Leewon the very first Richmond race in 1953.
· Three of the last four races have had a margin of victory less than one second.
· 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
NASCAR in Virginia
· There have been 272 NASCAR Sprint Cup races in Virginia.
· 162 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 |
| Curtis Turner | 17 | 0 | 0 |
| Denny Hamlin | 17 | 11 | 0 |
| Ward Burton | 5 | 4 | 0 |
| Glen Wood | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Elliott Sadler | 3 | 5 | 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 |
Richmond International Raceway Data
Race # 26 of 36 (9-10-11)
Track Size: .75 miles
· Banking/Corners: 14 degrees
· Banking/Frontstretch: 8 degrees
· Banking/Backstretch: 2 degrees
· Frontstretch: 1,290 feet
· Backstretch: 860 feet
| Driver Rating at Richmond | |
|---|---|
| Denny Hamlin | 120.4 |
| Kyle Busch | 116.0 |
| Kevin Harvick | 110.2 |
| Clint Bowyer | 97.9 |
| Jeff Gordon | 97.8 |
| Tony Stewart | 95.9 |
| Ryan Newman | 92.6 |
| Mark Martin | 92.2 |
| Kurt Busch | 91.2 |
| Jimmie Johnson | 88.7 |
Note: Driver Rating compiled from 2005-2011 races (13 total) at Richmond.
Qualifying/Race Data
2010 pole winner: Carl Edwards (127.762 mph, 21.133 seconds)
2010 race winner: Denny Hamlin (104.096 mph, 9-11-10)
Track qualifying record: Brian Vickers (129.983, 20.772 seconds, 5-14-04)
Track race record: Dale Jarrett (109.047 mph, 9-6-97)
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