RICHMOND HISTORY 101

— NASCAR Cup racing at Richmond Raceway began in April 1953 when Lee Petty claimed the victory at what was then called the “Atlantic Rural Fairgrounds,” a 0.5-mile dirt track that stood through the first Richmond race of 1968. The track was then paved and remained a half-miler until the fall 1988 event, when the track was reconfigured to its current shape and geometry.

— The first scheduled night race on the 0.75-mile configuration was in September 1991, won by Harry Gant. It marked his second win in a streak of four straight that month.

— The backstretch grandstands were removed after the 2015 season, following the removal of the Turn 3 grandstands in 2014. That reduced seating capacity by 9,000 seats.

— Sunday marks the 131st NASCAR Cup Series race at Richmond.

— There was only one race at Richmond in 2020, the first time in 62 years Richmond had only one race due to the pandemic.

— Richmond is the seventh race of the 2022 season, the earliest for a Richmond race since 1997 when it was the third event on the schedule.

Source: Racing Insights

GOODYEAR TIRES

Richmond Raceway has played a significant role in Goodyear’s tire development for the Next Gen vehicles, the tire supplier said in a press release. Richmond played host to the inaugural 18-inch tire test in December 2019 and again in March 2021.

This weekend, teams will utilize the same tire compound Goodyear brought to Phoenix Raceway on March 13, marking the first time teams return to a track with a familiar compound this season.

“With such a steep learning curve with this car and the 18-inch tire, returning to tracks on the same package really helps teams start to put things together,” said Greg Stucker, Goodyear’s director of racing. “Richmond is now considered a high-tire-wear track, so teams and drivers will have to mange their tires. As tires wear and the track takes rubber, drivers will have multiple grooves, making for some great racing with a lot of passing.”

This tire will also be used in June at Worldwide Technology Raceway at Gateway.

RICHMOND STORY LINES

— Joe Gibbs Racing has dominated lately at Richmond Raceway, winning eight of the last 12 races there and 17 in total, the team’s most at any track.

— While JGR has been electric at Richmond, including two 1-2-3 finishes in the past five events, the team has struggled in 2022, collecting a combined two top fives (Kyle Busch, fourth at Las Vegas Motor Speedway; Christopher Bell, third at COTA) and no wins from its four drivers through six races. Toyota last won with Bubba Wallace in October 2021 at Talladega Superspeedway.

— Ross Chastain scored his first career win last week at COTA, notching his fourth consecutive top-three finish. Before this stretch, Chastain had a total of three top fives in 117 starts.

— Chase Elliott leads the points standings with a series-best average finish of 11.0 and earned his first top five of the season last week at COTA by finishing fourth.

— The final green-flag stretch at Richmond was 146 laps or more in three of the last five Richmond races.