Can NASCAR Deliver an Easter-Worthy Performance?

Sunday is Easter, and because of that, the race at Richmond will be happening at night. This will be the third year in a row we’ve gotten an Easter-night race. I know many fans are fine with it, but many are not. Even if you’re not religious, Easter is often a time spent with family. I know I won’t be watching the race live – instead spending time with extended family from out of town. I’ll have to stay off of social media to avoid seeing any outcomes or drama, before watching everything on Monday night and rushing to get my recap article out by Wednesday morning. But whether you’re a fan of holiday races or not, I can appreciate a good night race and I think this year’s is going to be exciting. Let’s jump into a history of this historic track before I talk about my Fantasy picks.

Richmond Raceway has a heritage dating all the way back to 1898 when the site was used for annual Steeplechase horse races. These races were held on the back fields of the Strawberry Hill Farm, located near Ginter Park. After a racing hiatus during World War 1, the Steeplechase races were moved to a different location. During the years leading up to World War 2, the Atlantic Rural Exposition built a new state fairgrounds on the site. In 1946, an Indy car race was held on the site in conjunction with an inaugural horse race. The track was a half-mile dirt oval, and was officially called the Atlantic Rural Fairgrounds Track. Even so, it quickly took on the nickname Strawberry Hill and the Strawberry Hill Raceway. Often called ‘America’s premier short track’, this raceway has been a hub for NASCAR racing since 1953 when Lee Petty won the first race. The track remained all dirt until it saw a complete overhaul in 1968. During this overhaul, the track was paved and took on the name the Richmond Fairgrounds Raceway. A grandstand was added, and seating capacity increased to fit 30,000 people. In 1975, the track sold out during for the Cup race. This started one of the longest sell-out streaks in motorsports history, and the track sold out every seat for 33 consecutive years! This 33 year sell out streak ended during the recession of 2008. 

In 1986 construction began on the track once again in preparation for a 1987 season remodel. The infield was restructured to better accommodate pit access, and the track was reconfigured into a 0.75-mile, D-shaped paved oval. The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour made its debut in Richmond in 1990, and in 1999 the track was bought out and renamed as the Richmond International Raceway. Over the years the track played host to more than 100 NASCAR Cup Series races. Located just outside the Richmond city limits, the track has been among the most popular on the NASCAR circuit due to the traditionally tight racing that takes place. 

Since the 1968 seat increase, the capacity of the track slowly grew until 2017 when it was set at 59,000 seats – double the original amount! Also in 2017, the track was renamed to Richmond Raceway as part of a $30 million renovation of the infield. The infield redevelopment project, known as Richmond Raceway Reimagined, included a complete redesign and modernization of the track’s infield area, allowing fans to get closer to the garage areas. There were new infield social areas with concessions, and Victory Lane was moved in closer view of the grandstands. A fan viewing walkway was built where fans could watch cars run through inspection stations, and two new garage suites provided a view into the Cup Series garages. Additionally a new media center was built, and equipped with broadcast booths, a conference room, and hospitality spaces. 

The track has hosted many notable moments in NASCAR history, including victories by many racing legends and Hall-of-Famers. This impressive list includes Speedy Thompson, Richard Petty, Ned Jarrett, David Pearson, Bobby Allison, Darrell Waltrip, Cale Yarborough, Dale Earnhardt, Davey Allison, Rusty Wallace, Bill Elliott, Mark Martin, Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson. In 1973, Petty won his seventh consecutive premier series race at Richmond, and won 13 races there in total – giving him the all-time win record at the track that stands to this day. In 1983, Bobby Allison set the second place all-time win record with 7 wins at Richmond. In 1986, Kyle Petty celebrated his first premier series win at Richmond, and became the 3rd Petty to achieve a victory at the track. In an unnecessary move, Rusty Wallace spun out Jeff Gordon in the 1998 race. Gordon was in second with 30 to go, when Wallace, who was in first spun him to end his chances at victory. In 1999, Tony Stewart got the first win of his rookie season at Richmond with a dominating run in which he led 333 of 400 laps. 

Breaking into the 2000’s with style, an iconically controversial moment took place in 2008 between Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kyle Busch. The incident impacted both of the driver’s final standings that year, as retaliation followed later that year at Richmond once again. Speaking of Kyle Busch, Hamlin held him off for 251 laps in 2010 to gain victory, and Kurt Busch held off Denny Hamlin in 2012 for his own victory. But we’re still not done talking about Kyle. In 2016 Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Carl Edwards and Kyle Busch raced aggressively for the win, but Edwards moved Busch out of the way to take the checkered flag. 2 years later, Kyle’s time finally came as he achieved notable milestones in both Richmond races. His spring win was his third consecutive win in the NASCAR Cup Series. He also won the fall race, becoming the sixth driver to sweep the season’s Richmond races. That’s enough of Kyle Busch for any article, so let’s move on. In 2019, Martin Truex Jr. ended his 80-race winless streak at Richmond, and in 2022 Harvick ended a 65-race winless streak at the track. Nothing particularly notable happened last year at the track, so I’ll just remind you that Kyle Larson won the spring race, and Chris Buescher won in the fall. Even though Larson won this race last time around, Byron and Chastain were the primary contenders for the majority of the race. Byron is on a hat streak already this year, and Chastain has put down great lap times as well so far this season. I wouldn’t be surprised to see one of them win it this year. 

In last week’s race preview I alluded to my fantasy picks, and boy, I did fantastic. My five starters ended up being the Top 5 finishers of the race. That’s not likely to happen again though. This week I’m keeping Byron, Chastain, and Larson in mind, but I’m also throwing in some Toyotas. Ty Gibbs is a driver to watch, and Truex Jr. has a really good average finish here. With that said, Bell is someone I think has the ability to win this race, and Hamlin has a solid chance as well. If fantasy is something you enjoy playing, I would highly encourage you to tune in to the qualifying sessions on Saturday to see who’s got the best laps. I feel like there are plenty of contenders this year, which should hopefully make for a great race on Sunday. 

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