Know Your Track: Richmond

Richmond International Raceway

Track Name: Richmond International Raceway

           

Nicknames: "The Action Track"

Location: Richmond, Virginia

Capacity: 97,912

Date of First Race: April 19, 1953

Layout: Richmond is a .75 mile, "D-shaped" asphalt oval with four turns that are all banked at 14 degrees. Richmond is one of three true short tracks (under 1 mile in length) left on the NASCAR Sprint Cup schedule. The track was only half a mile in length until reconfiguration in 1988.

Current Sprint Cup Races:

• April 25, 2015 - Toyota Owners 400, a 300 mile, 400 lap regular season points race. This is a Saturday night event.
• September 12, 2015 - Federated Auto Parts 400, a 300 mile, 400 lap regular season points race. This is a Saturday night event and is also the final race before The Chase commences.

Most Wins:     

• All-Time: Richard Petty, 12 wins
• Active: Kyle Busch, 4 wins
• Latest Winner:
• 2015 Toyota Owners 400: Kurt Busch
• 2014 Federated Auto Parts 400: Brad Keselowski

Description: Richmond International Raceway is always a welcome sight on the Sprint Cup schedule as it is a track that provides the much yearned for short track style racing, along with enough speed to make getting the correct car setup a necessity for a chance of victory. The track has enough banking in the turns to allow multiple racing grooves (a.k.a. multiple lanes to make a pass), but is just short enough to keep cars bunched up, which can lead to great finishes, as seen in last spring's Richmond race. Kenseth, Keselowski, Gordon, and Logano all had a hell of a shot to win this one:

Richmond also has the enviable spot of holding the final race before NASCAR's playoff known as The Chase begins. It is the last chance for drivers to vault their way into The Chase if they aren't qualified yet, and there have been some insane late race charges by drivers to get into The Chase. Such as the case of Jeff Gordon in 2012 needing to beat out Kyle Busch for the final spot and doing so with two laps to go. As well, Jeremy Mayfield had to win to get in in 2004 and did just that. It seems every year there is drama unfolding at Richmond and, quite frankly, it is fantastic.

Notable Races:

• 2013 Federated Auto Parts 400 - For as much great racing drama that comes at Richmond with having the final race before The Chase, the 2013 regular season finale became a debacle. With the laps winding down, Jeff Gordon and Ryan Newman were in position to make the cut, while Martin Truex Jr. was on the outside looking in. Truex's teammate, Clint Bowyer (who was solidly in The Chase already), suddenly spun out with less than ten laps to go, causing everyone to make a pit stop. Newman, who had the lead when Bowyer spun, lost it on pit road and then lost his spot in The Chase after Carl Edwards went on to win. Gordon also lost his spot in the shuffling of positions and Truex made The Chase. NASCAR determined a few days after the race that Michael Waltrip Racing (who owns Bowyer and Truex's cars) intentionally ordered Bowyer to spin out in an attempt to give Truex one last shot. The fallout was severe as Truex was booted out of The Chase before it started, Newman was supplanted in for Truex, and Gordon was added to The Chase as well.

Fun Facts: Fun isn't the best word to describe this fact, but Jerry Nadeau recorded the hardest registered crash in NASCAR at Richmond in 2003. The force at which he hit the wall was recorded at 128 Gs (G-forces). To put that in perspective, Apollo 16 recorded 7 Gs on its re-entry to earth. Nadeau sustained a skull fracture, concussion, collapsed lung, and several broken ribs. He was given a 6% chance of survival, but did recover. However, he hasn't raced in NASCAR since.