Da
Nut's Track Tidbits - Richmond International Raceway
TRACK FACTS
Location:
Richmond, Va
Opened: 1946
(1/2 mile dirt)
First
NASCAR Cup Series Race: April 19, 1953 (Lee Petty, winner)
Track
Paved: 1968 (.542 mile)
Track
Reconfigured to 3/4 (.75) mile (Current Configuration): 1988
First
Race Under The Lights: 1991
Qualifying
Record: Brian Vickers, Chevrolet; 129.983 mph (20.772 seconds), May 14, 2004
Race
Record: Dale Jarrett, Ford; 109.047 mph (2:45.04), September 6, 1997
Distance:
.75 mile
Front
Stretch: 1,290 feet
Back
Stretch: 860 feet
Banking
in Turns 1-4: 14 degrees
Banking
on front stretch: 8 degrees
Banking
on back stretch: 2 degrees
Miles/Laps:
300 miles/400 laps
Grandstand
Seats: 107,097
Tickets:
804-345-7223
Website:
www.rir.com
Did
You Know? There have been 28 consecutive Cup Series sell-outs at
Richmond.
Both
NEXTEL Cup races in Richmond are run under the lights in front of sellout
crowds. The Busch series runs Friday night before the Cup race both
weekends and the fall race also features the NASCAR Craftsman Truck series for
a perfect NASCAR Triple-Header. You can see virtually the entire track
here without much trouble and you don't have to be too high up, so their really
is no bad seat. If your looking for wrecks, the exit of Turn 2 and entry
to Turn 3 are the hot spots here.
Last
Year: (First Race) After winning six poles and finishing second six
times, Kasey Kahne finally
won, fighting an impressive battle with Tony Stewart, taking the Chevy American
Revolution 400 on May 14.
"Racing
Perfection?" Since it was reconfigured after the 1988 season,
Richmond International Raceway has been a short track that features speedway
style racing. There's just something about Richmond that allows drivers
to race side-by-side lap-after-lap for position. Drivers love it, it's a
track where the driver has a lot to do with it, taking care of the brakes,
taking care of the car. The setup is really important too, you want the
car to really grip coming off the corners.
Who
To Watch: Tony Stewart loves
this track. He has won three Cup races here and a pair of Truck Series
races. He probably won't sweep - Rusty Wallace was the last to accomplish
this feat in 1989 - but "Smoke" will most likely take one of
them. Other drivers to look at include Penske Teammates Ryan Newman &
Kurt Busch, RCR drivers Kevin Harvick & Jeff Burton, and Roush
drivers Mark Martin & Matt Kenseth. Also Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt
Jr, and Kasey Kahne should all do well at
Another
"Tidbit": Petty Enterprises has won 15 races here with
"King" Richard taking 13 of them. Rick Hendrick is the closest
current owner with seven with Terry Labonte getting him three of those
wins.
Tracking The Top 10:
Best
active drivers at
Driver
Races Avg Fin Wins Top 5s
Top 10s DNF Avg Start Poles
Dale
Earnhardt Jr
13 10.1
2
6
8
0 15.0
0
Ryan
Newman
8
11.0
1
4
5
0 4.4 1
Tony
Stewart 14 12.1
3
5
9
2 14.6
0
Mark
Martin
40
12.4 1
12
22
3 10.3
3
Matt
Kenseth
12
13.2
1
3
7 1
22.2 0
Terry
Labonte
54
14.4
3
13
28 10
15.5 2
Jeff
Burton 23
14.5
1 7
11
0 13.3
1
Jeff
Gordon
26
14.9
2 10 16
5
7.3 4
Kevin
Harvick
10 15.1
0
2
4 0 22.5
1
Kasey
Kahne
4
15.2
1 1
2
1 16.2
1
Well
that's it for this week, hope all of you find this information
helpful as well as informative. Good Luck to ALL Fellow Thread
Headed Strangers...May your team(s) be "Bad Fast" & Stay Out Of
Trouble. Peace as Always......Da Nut 