Richmond Raceway

The land for the track was purchased in June 1942 by the Virginia State Fair Association — a 460-acre plot called Strawberry Hill Farm — during World War II, driven by fears the state fair's original location might be requisitioned by the U.S. Department of War. Transfer of grandstands and fair buildings was delayed until 1944 due to war efforts. By 1945 the now-named Atlantic Rural Exposition (ARE) was planned as an agriculture trade show for fall 1946. An exposition budget of $300,000 was approved in February 1946, including $10,000 to build a half-mile race track. The track was completed by June 1946 with 3,200 grandstand seats.

The inaugural ARE opened 7 October 1946. Harness races scheduled for that day were delayed by rain; the track officially opened 11 October with horse Empire Grattan winning the first feature. Automobile races ran the following day, 12 October, with Ted Horn winning the event. The first AAA-sanctioned races followed in November 1946, and the first motorcycle races were held in May 1947.

In 1948 the track added a lighting system, a wooden perimeter fence, and additional seating. The first night race ran 19 May of that year. In 1950 the track's first fatality occurred when spectator Charles Malcolm Little was struck by a loose tire and died from his injuries. On 19 April 1953 the track held its first NASCAR Grand National Series race, won by Lee Petty. Promoter Paul Sawyer began promoting races at the facility in 1955 alongside Joe Weatherly, buying out Weatherly's share for $5,000 a year later. In 1958 driver Gwyn Staley died after crashing during a NASCAR Convertible Division event. Seating capacity was expanded to approximately 9,000 in 1962, adding around 4,200 seats in the first and fourth turns, alongside pit area renovations and a new scoreboard.

The track was paved in August–September 1968. The first race on the paved surface was a NASCAR Grand National Series event on 9 September 1968. The precise track length was disputed repeatedly: it was lengthened to 0.542 mi immediately after paving, reclassified as a half-mile in March 1969, then readjusted again to 0.542 mi five months later. The lower lanes of turns 2 and 4 were repaved in 1972, and pit road was extended.

By the early 1970s the track — now named Fairgrounds Raceway — was criticised for inadequate facilities and among the lowest purse money on the Cup circuit. Three successive replacement proposals were pursued and abandoned:

Colonial–America Raceway (1973–1977): A proposed 1.75 mi track with 50,000 seats in Prince George County was announced by co-promoters Ken Campbell and Sawyer in August 1973. Zoning was approved in October 1973, but the project was abandoned in June 1977 due to rising costs and economic uncertainty following an energy crisis and recession.

Dinwiddie County proposal (1979–mid-1980s): Plans for a 1.25 mi track with 40,000 seats near the Dinwiddie County Airport in Petersburg were approved in August 1979. Financing through $8.5 million in industrial development bonds was approved in 1980, but the project died in the mid-1980s due to financial difficulties of co-investor Warner W. Hodgdon and high interest rates.

Isle of Wight County proposal (1985–1987): A proposed 1.75 mi track with 50,000 seats in the Hampton Roads area was announced in July 1985, with financing plans involving Roger Penske and Smithfield Foods CEO Joseph W. Luter III. The proposal collapsed after NASCAR president Bill France Jr. rejected a required 15-year sanctioning guarantee in November 1987.

During this period the track underwent periodic small renovations: seating capacity was increased to 18,000 by 1975; a fifth-mile dirt oval for motorcycle racing was built in the infield in 1975; pit road was widened in 1980; and a $250,000 renovation including two infield garage buildings and a 2,500-seat grandstand was completed for the 1983 Wrangler Sanfor-Set 400.

After all three replacement proposals failed, Sawyer announced plans in February 1987 to renew his lease and completely remodel the Fairgrounds Raceway, with ARE approval granted in November 1987. The final race at the old Fairgrounds Raceway took place 21 February 1988, won by Neil Bonnett. Remodeling then began, converting the half-mile true oval into a 0.75 mi D-shaped oval and renaming the facility Richmond International Raceway (RIR). Renovation costs rose from an initial estimate of $2.5 million to approximately $5 million due to additional infrastructure work. The remodeled track opened for the 1988 Miller High Life 400 on 11 September 1988, won by Davey Allison. The new facility was generally well-received by drivers, though it received criticism for the pit wall entrance being too close to the racing line and for inadequate disabled-seating amenities.

RIR underwent extensive expansion throughout the late 1980s and 1990s. A $100,000 four-sided scoreboard and additional parking were added in 1989. A permanent lighting system was planned in 1991; NASCAR permitted temporary lighting that year for a night race first held 3 August 1991. A 13,916-seat grandstand replaced an older structure in the first and second turns for the 1992 Miller Genuine Draft 400. In 1993 the pit road entrance was reconfigured in response to driver complaints, and grandstands on the frontstretch and backstretch were expanded to bring capacity to approximately 70,000. Frontstretch grandstands were rebuilt with additional luxury suites in 1994. Permanent lights were installed in 1995, bringing capacity to about 83,000; the Henrico County Board of Supervisors approved expansion to 125,000 seats that same year. By 1997, approximately 12,000 backstretch seats were added to bring capacity to nearly 96,000.

In 1998 RIR began negotiations to purchase the state fairgrounds land for additional parking, offering the ARE $40,000,000 in December 1998. ARE shareholders approved the sale 5,381 to 21 votes. In August 1999 the sale was finalised. On 1 December 1999, Sawyer announced the sale of RIR to International Speedway Corporation (ISC), the France family-owned company, for $215,000,000. Day-to-day operations were transferred to ISC marketing employee Doug Fritz, appointed as general manager. Seating capacity reached 102,420 in 2000. The track's first Indy Racing League race ran 30 June 2001, won by Buddy Lazier. Capacity was increased to 107,094 in 2004 following a first full repave since 1988. By 2007 a new 7,843-seat frontstretch tower raised capacity to 112,029. A 153 ft video scoring tower was installed in 2010.

In 2003 SAFER barriers were installed around all retaining walls following safety concerns prompted by the death of Dale Earnhardt. After a 2011 crash involving Jeff Gordon in the Crown Royal 400, 900 ft of additional SAFER barriers were added to the inside backstretch wall.

RIR began reducing capacity in 2011 in response to declining attendance, which had been falling since the 2008 Chevy Rock & Roll 400 ended a 33-race sellout streak. Grandstand seating was cut to 94,063 that year. In 2013 portions of the backstretch Henrico grandstand and all turn-3 grandstands were removed, reducing capacity to approximately 75,000. A seat-widening project brought capacity further to 69,000 by 2015. In 2016 the backstretch grandstands were completely demolished, reducing capacity to 60,000.

A $30 million renovation and rebrand announced 11 July 2017 converted the garage infield, added a party deck on turn 4, created a dedicated RV parking area, and renamed the facility Richmond Raceway. Work ran September 2017 through September 2018, with turn-3 and turn-4 grandstand seats removed to reduce capacity to 51,000. NASCAR acquired ownership of the track in 2019 when it purchased ISC. In 2023 the track rebranded its logo to feature the Richmond skyline and the James River. A 2024 report listed capacity as under 50,000 following additional seat removals for tray tables.

Richmond Raceway hosts one NASCAR Cup Series race annually, the Cook Out 400. For most of its history the track held two Cup Series races per year; a spring race (last known as the Toyota Owners 400) ran from 1959 to 2024 before being dropped. The track also hosts the NASCAR Truck Series eero 250. The NASCAR Xfinity Series ToyotaCare 250 was a support event until 2024.

The Indy Racing League ran at the track from 2001 to 2009 before being removed from the schedule the following year due to poor reception of the 2009 race and disagreements over sanctioning fees. A planned 2020 return for an IndyCar race on 27 June was cancelled due to COVID-19 restrictions and was never rescheduled. The track has also hosted the USAC Silver Crown Series, the USAC National Midget Championship, and the International Race of Champions (IROC).

Richmond Raceway served as a filming location for the 1960 film Thunder in Carolina and the 1977 documentary Stockcars! about stock car racing.

This article is based solely on the supplied corpus. No external sources were consulted; claims that could not be substantiated against the corpus were omitted under the drop-the-claim rule.