History

·         Originally known as the Atlantic Rural Exposition Fairgrounds, Richmond International Raceway held its first race in 1946 as a half-mile dirt track.

·         The first NASCAR Sprint Cup race was April 19, 1953 won by Lee Petty.

·         The spring 1964 race was run on a Tuesday night under temporary lighting.

·         The track name changed to Virginia State Fairgrounds in 1967.

·         The track surface was changed from dirt to asphalt between races in 1968.

·         The track name changed to Richmond Fairgrounds Raceway in 1969.

·         The track was re-measured to .542-mile in 1970.

·         The track was rebuilt as a three-quarter-mile D-shaped oval following the Feb. 21, 1988 race.

·         The first race under permanent lights was Sept. 7, 1991.

·         The first season with both races as night races was 1999.

Notebook

·         There have been 113 NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Richmond International Raceway, one NSCS event from 1953-1958 and two races per year since 1959.

·         467 drivers have competed in at least one NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Richmond; 304 in more than one.

·         NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty leads the series in starts at Richmond with 63. Terry Labonte leads all active drivers with 55 starts; followed by Mark Martin with 54.

·         Buck Baker won the inaugural Coors Light pole at Richmond in 1953 with a speed of 48.465 mph.

·         51 drivers have Coors Light poles at Richmond, led by Richard Petty and Bobby Allison with eight each. Jeff Gordon and Mark Martin lead all active drivers with five each.

·         Seven drivers have won consecutive Coors Light poles at Richmond. Bobby Allison holds the record for most consecutive poles at Richmond with five (1972 - 1974).

·         Youngest Richmond pole winner: Brian Vickers (5/15/2004 – 20 years, 6 months, 21 days).

·         Oldest Richmond pole winner: Mark Martin (4/28/2012 – 53 years, 3 months, 19 days).

·         47 different drivers have won at Richmond International Raceway, led by Richard Petty with 13. Kyle Busch leads all active drivers with four.

·         Petty Enterprises has the most wins at Richmond in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series with 15; followed by Hendrick Motorsports with 10 and Joe Gibbs Racing with nine.

·         Chevrolet leads the series in wins at Richmond with 35 victories; followed by Ford with 28 wins.

·         22 of the 113 NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Richmond International Raceway have been won from the Coors Light pole. Only three active drivers have been able to accomplish the feat: Kasey Kahne (2005), Jimmie Johnson (2007) and Kyle Busch (2010).

·         The pole starting position is the most proficient starting position in the field, producing the most winners than any other starting position at Richmond (22).

·         35 of the 113 (30.9%) NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Richmond have been won from the front row: 22 from the pole and 13 from second-place.

·         90 of the 113 (79.6%) NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Richmond International Raceway have been won from a top-10 starting position.

·         11 of the 113 (9.7%) NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Richmond International Raceway have been won from a starting position outside the top 20.

·         The deepest in the field that a race winner has started at Richmond International Raceway was 31st, by Clint Bowyer in the spring of 2008.

·         Youngest Richmond winner: Richard Petty (4/23/1961 – 23 years, 9 months, 21 days).

·         Oldest Richmond winner: Harry Gant (9/7/1991 – 51 years, 7 months, 28 days).

·         Bobby Allison and Richard Petty are tied for the lead in runner-up finishes at Richmond with nine each. Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers with six.

·         Richard Petty leads the series in top-five finishes at Richmond with 34. Mark Martin leads all active drivers with 18; followed by Jeff Gordon with 16.

·         Richard Petty leads the series in top-10 finishes at Richmond with 44. Mark Martin leads all active drivers with 30; followed by Terry Labonte with 28.

·         Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in average starting position at Richmond International Raceway with a 7.925.

·         Kyle Busch leads all active drivers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in average finishing position at Richmond International Raceway with a 5.438.

·         Three active drivers have a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series average finish in the top 10 at Richmond: Kyle Busch (5.4), Denny Hamlin (8.0) and Clint Bowyer (9.5).

·         There has been one NSCS race resulting with a green-white-checkered finish at Richmond International Raceway: spring of 2008 (400/410).

·         Only four of the 113 races at Richmond International Raceway have been shortened due to weather conditions: spring of 1962, spring of 1977, spring of 1982 and spring of 2003.

·         Qualifying has been cancelled due to weather conditions in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at Richmond International Raceway six times; most recently fall of 2008.

·         Kevin Harvick has participated in the most NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Richmond without posting a DNF (24).

·         Bobby Labonte (9/11/1993) and Brian Vickers (5/15/2004) posted their first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coors Light poles at Richmond.

·         Tony Stewart (9/11/1999) and Kasey Kahne (5/14/2005) posted their first NASCAR Sprint Cup wins at Richmond.

·         Eight drivers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series have posted consecutive wins at Richmond International Raceway. Richard Petty leads the series in consecutive wins at Richmond after posting seven consecutive wins from the fall of 1970 – 1973. Terry Labonte (1994-1995) and Jimmie Johnson (2007 sweep) are the only two active drivers with consecutive wins at Richmond.

·         All of the 16 active NASCAR Sprint Cup winners at Richmond International Raceway participated in at least one or more races before visiting Victory Lane. Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Tony Stewart won at Richmond in their second appearance.

·         Terry Labonte competed at Richmond International Raceway 32 times before winning in 1994; the longest span of any of the 16 active NASCAR Sprint Cup Series winners.

·         Terry Labonte (32), Joe Nemechek (18), Kevin Harvick (11) and Jimmie Johnson (10) all made 10 or more attempts before their first win at Richmond International Raceway.

·         Bobby Labonte leads the series among active drivers with the most NASCAR Sprint Cup starts at Richmond without visiting Victory Lane at 40.

·         Since the advent of electronic scoring the closest margin of victory in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at Richmond International Raceway was the Sept. 12, 1998 race won by Jeff Burton with an MOV of 0.051 of a second.

·         Janet Guthrie is the only female driver to have competed at Richmond in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (twice) – (2/27/1977) starting 13th and finishing 12th; 9/11/1977 - starting 14th and finishing 12th.

·         Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in laps led at Richmond with 1,415 laps led in 40 starts.

Richmond International Raceway Data

Season Race #: 9 of 36 (4-27-13)

Track Size: 0.75-miles

Banking/Turns 1 & 2: 14 degrees

Banking/Turns 3 & 4: 14 degrees

Banking/Frontstretch: 8 degrees

Banking/Backstretch: 2 degrees

Frontstretch Length:  1,290 feet

Backstretch Length:  860 feet

Race Length: 400 laps / 300 miles

Top 12 Driver Rating at Richmond

Denny Hamlin............................ 117.8

Kyle Busch............................... 113.9

Kevin Harvick............................ 111.1

Clint Bowyer............................... 98.5

Tony Stewart............................... 97.9

Jeff Gordon................................ 96.6

Mark Martin................................. 92.6

Ryan Newman............................. 92.0

Jimmie Johnson.......................... 90.4

Kurt Busch.................................. 88.6

Carl Edwards.............................. 88.4

Kasey Kahne.............................. 87.8

Note: Driver Ratings compiled from 2005-2012 races (16 total) among active drivers at Richmond International Raceway

Qualifying/Race Data

2012 pole winner: Mark Martin, Toyota, 128.327 mph, 21.040 secs., 4-26-12

2012 race winner: Kyle Busch, Toyota, 105.202 mph, (02:51:06), 4-28-12

Track qualifying record: Brian Vickers, Chevrolet, 129.983 mph, 20.772 secs., 5-14-04

Track race record: Dale Jarrett, Ford, 109.047 mph, (02:45:04), 9-6-97

NASCAR in Virginia

·         There have been 279 NASCAR Sprint Cup races in Virginia.

Track Name	City	NSCS
Martinsville Speedway	Martinsville	129
Richmond International Raceway	Richmond	113
South Boston Speedway	South Boston	10
Langley Field Speedway	Hampton	9
Old Dominion Speedway	Manassas	7
Southside Speedway	Richmond	4
Starkey Speedway	Roanoke	4
Norfolk Speedway	Norfolk	2
Princess Anne Speedway	Norfolk	1

·         167 drivers in NASCAR national series history have their home state recorded as Virginia.

·         18 drivers from Virginia have won at least one race in NASCAR’s three national series; 11 have won in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

Driver	NSCS	NNS	NCWTS
Joe Weatherly	25	0	0
Ricky Rudd	23	1	0
Denny Hamlin	22	11	2
Jeff Burton	21	27	0
Curtis Turner	17	0	0
Ward Burton	5	4	0
Glen Wood	4	0	0
Elliott Sadler	3	9	1
Emanuel Zervakis	2	0	0
Lennie Pond	1	0	0
Wendell Scott	1	0	0
Tommy Ellis	0	22	0
Jimmy Hensley	0	9	2
Rick Mast	0	9	0
Hermie Sadler	0	2	0
Elton Sawyer	0	2	0
Stacy Compton	0	0	2
Jon Wood	0	0	2

RICHMOND-SPECIFIC STATISTICS

Clint Bowyer (No. 15 RK Motors Toyota)

·         Two wins, two top fives, eight top 10s

·         Average finish of 9.6

·         Average Running Position of 10.2, fourth-best

·         Driver Rating of 98.5, fourth-best

·         729 Green Flag Passes, 13th-most

·         Average Green Flag Speed of 116.362 mph, sixth-fastest

·         4,365 Laps in the Top 15 (77.8%), sixth-most

·         437 Quality Passes (passes of cars in the top 15 under green), fifth-most

Kurt Busch (No. 78 Furniture Row Racing/ Serta Chevrolet)

·         One win, four top fives, seven top 10s

·         Average finish of 18.3

·         Average Running Position of 15.7, 13th-best

·         Driver Rating of 88.6, 10th-best

·         306 Fastest Laps Run, seventh-most

·         738 Green Flag Passes, 11th-most

·         Average Green Flag Speed of 116.312 mph, eighth-fastest

·         3,532 Laps in the Top 15 (55.1%), 13th-most

·         371 Quality Passes, 10th-most

Kyle Busch (No. 18 M&M's Toyota)

·         Four wins, 12 top fives, 13 top 10s; one pole

·         Average finish of 5.4

·         Average Running Position of 7.6, third-best

·         Driver Rating of 113.9, second-best

·         508 Fastest Laps Run, second-most

·         Average Green Flag Speed of 116.778 mph, second-fastest

·         5,607 Laps in the Top 15 (87.5%), second-most

·         491 Quality Passes, third-most

Dale Earnhardt Jr. (No. 88 National Guard Chevrolet)

·         Three wins, nine top fives, 11 top 10s; one pole

·         Average finish of 13.9

·         Average Running Position of 15.2, ninth-best

·         Driver Rating of 85.8, 13th-best

·         320 Fastest Laps Run, fifth-most

·         839 Green Flag Passes, fifth-most

Carl Edwards (No. 99 Geek Squad Ford)

·         Three top fives, eight top 10s; one pole

·         Average finish of 14.9

·         Average Running Position of 15.3, 10th-best

·         Driver Rating of 88.4, 11th-best

·         244 Fastest Laps Run, ninth-most

·         816 Green Flag Passes, sixth-most

·         Average Green Flag Speed of 116.251 mph, 12th-fastest

·         3,751 Laps in the Top 15 (58.5%), 10th-most

·         368 Quality Passes, 11th-most

Jeff Gordon (No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet)

·         Two wins, 16 top fives, 25 top 10s; five poles

·         Average finish of 14.4

·         Average Running Position of 13.8, eighth-best

·         Driver Rating of 96.6, sixth-best

·         317 Fastest Laps Run, sixth-most

·         Average Green Flag Speed of 116.386 mph, fifth-fastest

·         4,057 Laps in the Top 15 (63.3%), eighth-most

·         381 Quality Passes, seventh-most

Denny Hamlin (No. 11 FedEx Toyota)

·         Two wins, seven top fives, nine top 10s; two poles

·         Average finish of 8.1

·         Series-best Average Running Position of 5.9

·         Series-best Driver Rating of 117.8

·         Series-high 582 Fastest Laps Run

·         Series-best Average Green Flag Speed of 116.832 mph

·         5,221 Laps in the Top 15 (93.1%), third-most

·         400 Quality Passes, sixth-most

Kevin Harvick (No. 29 Bell Helicopter Chevrolet)

·         Two wins, six top fives, 15 top 10s; one pole

·         Average finish of 11.7

·         Average Running Position of 7.5, second-best

·         Driver Rating of 111.1, third-best

·         422 Fastest Laps Run, third-most

·         Average Green Flag Speed of 116.675 mph, third-fastest

·         Series-high 5,910 Laps in the Top 15 (92.2%)

·         Series-high 528 Quality Passes

Jimmie Johnson (No. 48 Lowe's Dover White Chevrolet)

·         Three wins, five top fives, eight top 10s; two poles

·         Average finish of 16.5

·         Average Running Position of 15.3, 11th-best

·         Driver Rating of 90.4, ninth-best

·         232 Fastest Laps Run, 10th-most

·         Average Green Flag Speed of 116.251 mph, 11th-fastest

·         3,680 Laps in the Top 15 (57.4%), 12th-most

·         368 Quality Passes, 11th-most

Kasey Kahne (No. 5 Quaker State Chevrolet)

·         One win, four top fives, seven top 10s; one pole

·         Average finish of 18.0

·         Driver Rating of 87.8, 12th-best

·         323 Fastest Laps Run, fourth-most

·         757 Green Flag Passes, 10th-most

·         Average Green Flag Speed of 116.287 mph, ninth-fastest

·         3,750 Laps in the Top 15 (58.5%), 11th-most

·         378 Quality Passes, eighth-most

Mark Martin (No. 55 Aaron's Dream Machine Toyota)

·         One win, 18 top fives, 30 top 10s; five poles

·         Average finish of 11.9

·         Average Running Position of 13.1, seventh-best

·         Driver Rating of 92.6, seventh-best

·         Average Green Flag Speed of 116.344 mph, seventh-fastest

·         4,099 Laps in the Top 15 (63.9%), seventh-most

Ryan Newman (No. 39 Outback Steakhouse Chevrolet)

·         One win, five top fives, 13 top 10s; one pole

·         Average finish of 11.6

·         Average Running Position of 11.4, fifth-best

·         Driver Rating of 92.0, eighth-best

·         5,030 Laps in the Top 15 (78.5%), fourth-most

·         498 Quality Passes, second-most

Tony Stewart (No. 14 Rush Truck Centers/Mobil 1 Chevrolet)

·         Three wins, 11 top fives, 19 top 10s

·         Average finish of 10.4

·         Average Running Position of 11.7, sixth-best

·         Driver Rating of 97.9, fifth-best

·         275 Fastest Laps Run, eighth-most

·         815 Green Flag Passes, seventh-most

·         440 Quality Passes, fourth-most

 

Chase Contenders

The Top 12

Following Race 8 of 36

                                                                                Rank        Season

                                                                                Last          Driver

Driver                             Points   Wins      Poles        Week        Rating

1. Jimmie Johnson       311       2           1              1           115.5

2. Kasey Kahne              274       1           0              7           104.5

3. Brad Keselowski        273       0           0              4             98.1

4. Greg Biffle                  264       0           0               3             88.9

5. Dale Earnhardt Jr.     263       0           0               6             96.8

6. Carl Edwards             262       1           0               5             90.8

7. Kyle Busch                 257       2           2               2           105.2

8. Matt Kenseth              252       2           1            10           114.2

9. Clint Bowyer              247       0           0               8             93.3

10. Paul Menard               240       0           0              9             80.5

11. Jamie McMurray        227       0           0             12             78.1

12. Kevin Harvick            224       0           0             11             94.3

    ___________________________________________________________

ADDITIONAL DRIVERS

13. Aric Almirola                   222         30. J.J. Yeley                  123

14. Martin Truex Jr.               204         31. David Ragan              121

15. Jeff Gordon                    202         32. David Reutimann        116

16. Mark Martin                    201         33. David Gilliland            114

17. Ryan Newman                200         34. David Stremme          101

18. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.        196         35. Travis Kvapil                93

19. Marcos Ambrose             193         36. AJ Allmendinger           92

20. Joey Logano                   187         37. Landon Cassill             75

21. Tony Stewart                  181         38. Michael McDowell        44

22. Kurt Busch                     180         39. Terry Labonte              37

23. Jeff Burton                     178         40. Scott Speed                35

24. Casey Mears                  169         41. Ken Schrader               29

25. Danica Patrick                154         42. Timmy Hill                   24

26. Denny Hamlin                 145         43. Michael Waltrip            23

27. Juan Pablo Montoya        142         44. Scott Riggs                   6

28. Bobby Labonte                127

29. Dave Blaney                   124

Note: The first 26 races of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season determine which 12 drivers qualify for the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, contested over the final 10 races of the season. After race No. 26, the top 10 earn a berth in the Chase. Spots 11 and 12 – the Wild Cards – will go to those drivers outside the top 10 with the most wins, provided they are in the top 20.

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series 2012 Top 12 at Richmond International Raceway

	Driver	Races	Poles	Wins	Top Fives	Top 10s	DNFs	Average Finish	Driver Rating
1	Jimmie Johnson	22	2	3	5	8	1	16.5	90.4
2	Kasey Kahne	18	1	1	4	7	2	18.0	87.8
3	Brad Keselowski	7	0	0	0	2	1	18.7	76.8
4	Greg Biffle	21	1	0	2	6	1	16.3	82.3
5	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	27	1	3	9	11	1	13.9	85.8
6	Carl Edwards	17	1	0	3	8	1	14.9	88.4
7	Kyle Busch	16	1	4	12	13	0	5.4	113.9
8	Matt Kenseth	26	0	1	4	10	1	16.5	80.5
9	Clint Bowyer	14	0	2	2	8	0	9.6	98.5
10	Paul Menard	12	0	0	0	0	0	27.1	54.6
11	Jamie McMurray	20	0	0	0	3	4	23.2	70.9
12	Kevin Harvick	24	1	2	6	15	0	11.7	111.1

* – Based on last 16 races at Richmond International Raceway.