Today, I wanted to figure out just how big this Richmond Raceway really is. It’s something I’ve heard about for a while, you know, “America’s Premier Short Track” and all that. So, I decided to dig in and find out for myself.
First, I did a bit of searching online. Turns out, this track is a 0.75-mile, D-shaped oval. That’s about 1.2 kilometers for those of us using the metric system. It’s located just outside of Richmond, Virginia, in a place called Henrico County. Not in the city itself, which I found interesting.
I found out that the track has been around for a long time, hosting NASCAR races since way back in 1953. That’s some serious history! Apparently, it wasn’t always the shape it is now. It used to be a smaller, 0.542-mile oval, but they changed it to the current 0.75-mile D-shape before the 1988 season.
Here’s a breakdown of what I learned about the track’s size and capacity:
- Shape: D-shaped oval
- Length: 0.75 miles (1.2 kilometers)
- Seating Capacity: Around 60,000
It’s not just NASCAR that races there, though. They also host the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. They used to have two races but according to recent news, Richmond Raceway will be losing its spring race on the 2025 NASCAR calendar. I also learned that there’s a place called the Richmond Coliseum, which is an arena in downtown Richmond with a 13,500 capacity. It’s not part of the Raceway but it sounds like it was a big deal for concerts and events.
So, there you have it. The Richmond Raceway is a 0.75-mile track with a pretty rich history. It might be called a “short track,” but it sounds like it packs a lot of action into that space. I’ve never been, but after learning all this, maybe a visit is in order sometime. It sounds like a cool place to catch a race. I might have to do some more digging into that later!
