At 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 116 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Richmond International Raceway, one NSCS event from 1953 - 1958 and two races per year since 1959.
· 477 drivers have competed in at least one NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Richmond; 308 in more than one.
· NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty leads the series in starts at Richmond with 63. Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers with 43 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 leads all active drivers with six.
· 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 (05/15/2004 – 20 years, 6 months, 21 days).
· Oldest Richmond pole winner: Mark Martin (04/28/2012 – 53 years, 3 months, 19 days).
· 49 different drivers have won at Richmond International Raceway, led by Richard Petty with 13. Kyle Buschleads all active drivers with four.
· Petty Enterprises has the most wins at Richmond in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series with 15; followed byHendrick 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 30 wins and Toyota with seven.
· 22 of the 116 (18.9%) NASCAR Sprint Cup Series 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 116 (30.1%) 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 116 (77.5%) NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Richmond International Raceway have been won from a top-10 starting position.
· 13 of the 116 (11.2%) NASCAR Sprint Cup Series 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 (04/23/1961 – 23 years, 9 months, 21 days).
· Oldest Richmond winner: Harry Gant (09/07/1991 – 51 years, 7 months, 28 days).
· Bobby Allison and Richard Petty are tied for thelead in runner-up finishes at Richmond with nine each. Jeff Gordon, tied with Dale Earnhardt, leads all active drivers with seven.
· Richard Petty leads the series in top-five finishes at Richmond with 34.
Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers with 17; followed by Kyle Busch with 13.
Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers with 17; followed by Kyle Busch with 13.
· Richard Petty leads the series in top-10 finishes at Richmond with 41. Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers with 27; followed by Tony Stewart with 19.
· Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in average starting position at Richmond International Raceway with an 8.047.
· Kyle Busch leads all active drivers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in average finishing position at Richmond International Raceway with a 7.000.
· Two active drivers have a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series average finish in the top 10 at Richmond: Kyle Busch (7.0) and Denny Hamlin (9.7).
Top 10 Drivers with the Best Regular Season Average Finish During the Chase Era
Driver
|
Regular Season Average Finish (During Chase Era: 2004-2014)
|
Jimmie Johnson
|
12.435
|
Jeff Gordon
|
13.067
|
Matt Kenseth
|
13.168
|
Tony Stewart
|
13.556
|
Carl Edwards
|
13.624
|
Kevin Harvick
|
14.249
|
Kyle Busch
|
14.576
|
Dale Earnhardt Jr
|
14.779
|
Denny Hamlin
|
14.816
|
Clint Bowyer
|
15.363
|
· Four drivers have come from outside the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup cut-off to make the Chase at Richmond in the previous championship format:
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.
· Due to a rare instance in the final race of the regular season that resulted in penalties being issued; a 13th car (Jeff Gordon’s No. 24) was added to the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.
· 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 116 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 fall of 2008.
· Brian Vickers (05/15/2004) posted his first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coors Light pole at Richmond.
· Tony Stewart (09/11/1999) and Kasey Kahne (05/14/2005) 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. Jimmie Johnson (2007 sweep) is the only active driver with consecutive wins at Richmond.
· All of the 15 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.
· Joe Nemechek competed at Richmond International Raceway 18 times before winning in 2003; the longest span of any the 15 active NASCAR Sprint Cup Series winners.
· Joe Nemechek (18), Kevin Harvick (11) and Jimmie Johnson (10) all made 10 or more attempts before their first win at Richmond International Raceway.
· Greg Biffle leads the series among active drivers with the most NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts at Richmond without visiting Victory Lane at 24.
· Since the advent of electronic scoring the closest margin of victory in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at Richmond International Raceway was the (09/12/1998) 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:
Driver
|
Starting Position
|
Finishing Position
|
Date
|
Danica Patrick
|
35
|
34
|
4/26/2014
|
Danica Patrick
|
36
|
30
|
9/7/2013
|
Danica Patrick
|
30
|
29
|
4/27/2013
|
Janet Guthrie
|
14
|
12
|
9/11/1977
|
Janet Guthrie
|
13
|
12
|
2/27/1977
|
· Danica Patrick posted her career-best finish (sixth) in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series this past weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
NASCAR in Virginia
· There have been 284 NASCAR Sprint Cup races among nine tracks in Virginia.
Track Name
|
City
|
NSCS
|
Martinsville Speedway
|
Martinsville
|
131
|
Richmond International Raceway
|
Richmond
|
116
|
South Boston Speedway
|
South Boston
|
10
|
Langley Field Speedway
|
Hampton
|
9
|
Old Dominion Speedway
|
Manassas
|
7
|
Southside Speedway
|
Richmond
|
4
|
Starkey Speedway
|
Roanoke
|
4
|
Norfolk Speedway
|
Norfolk
|
2
|
Princess Anne Speedway
|
Norfolk
|
1
|
· Martinsville Speedway held the first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race in Virginia in 1949; Richmond International Raceway was the second track to host the NSCS in 1953.
NASCAR in Virginia
· 171 drivers in NASCAR national series history have their home state recorded as Virginia.
· 19 drivers from Virginia have won at least one race in NASCAR’s three national series; 11 have won in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.
· 2015 NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee Wendell Scott and 2012 NASCAR Hall of Fame driver/owner Glen Woodare the only two drivers from the state of Virginia to be inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame.
Driver
|
NSCS
|
NNS
|
NCWTS
|
Joe Weatherly
|
25
|
0
|
0
|
Denny Hamlin
|
24
|
11
|
2
|
Ricky Rudd
|
23
|
1
|
0
|
Jeff Burton
|
21
|
27
|
0
|
Curtis Turner
|
17
|
0
|
0
|
Ward Burton
|
5
|
4
|
0
|
Glen Wood
|
4
|
0
|
0
|
Elliott Sadler
|
3
|
10
|
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
|
Jeb Burton
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
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