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Richmond Raceway has been a mainstay on the NASCAR Cup Series calendar since 1955, hosting at least one Cup race each year since. You can imagine the number of memorable moments that have occurred during that 69-year span, and we’re going to take a closer look at some of those moments here.
On September 9, 1973, Richard Petty would capture his seventh consecutive win at Richmond. The King did not lose a race at Richmond for four years, sweeping the season at the track in 1970, ’71, ’72, and ’73. It is a streak that still stands to this day, and Petty would go on to set an all-time mark of 13 career wins at the track.
Kyle Petty would earn his first career NASCAR Cup Series victory at Richmond in 1986, but not without a bit of help from a couple of NASCAR Hall of Famers tangling with each other on the last lap. Darrell Waltrip and Dale Earnhardt were racing for the lead with two laps to go when Earnhardt clipped the right rear of Waltrip’s Chevrolet, sending both cars smashing into the wall. The seas parted for third-place runner Petty, who would take advantage of the carnage and seal the victory.
September 11, 1999 will always be known as Tony Stewart’s arrival in NASCAR. The open-wheel-turned-stock-car driver was in the midst of an impressive rookie season with Joe Gibbs Racing in the #20 Home Depot Pontiac and absolutely dominated this race at Richmond, leading a staggering 333 of 400 laps en route to his first career Cup Series victory.
The words from DW that echo through the nightmares of Jr. Nation to this day. It was a rivalry coming to a boiling point when Kyle Busch turned NASCAR Most Popular Driver, Dale Earnhardt Jr., in the spring Richmond race on May 3, 2008. Earnhardt Jr. was in the early stages of his first season with his new team, Hendrick Motorsports, where he just so happened to be replacing Busch, who was ousted from Hendrick at the end of 2007, joining Joe Gibbs Racing in 2008. Earnhardt and Busch were battling for the lead with three to go when Busch slipped up off the bottom entering turn three, spinning Junior into the outside wall and demolishing the rear end of the #88. The rivalry would intensify later in the year at the same track, where Earnhardt would return the favor.
In 2013, Richmond’s fall date marked the final regular season race before the NASCAR Playoffs began. Michael Waltrip Racing driver Clint Bowyer brought out a late race caution after a self-spin, which ultimately led to a NASCAR investigation that would deem Bowyer’s MWR teammate, Martin Truex Jr., as a beneficiary of the incident. This led to the removal of Truex from the playoffs due to team manipulation of the outcome of the race, an unprecedented move that would see Ryan Newman take Truex’s place as the 12th playoff driver, and due to complications would also see Jeff Gordon added as a 13th playoff driver in the process.
2018 would see Kyle Busch dominate at Richmond, where he would sweep the season double at the track, winning both the spring and fall races. This became only the sixth time in the modern era that a driver had swept the season at Richmond.
On August 14, 2022, Kevin Harvick would make history as the first driver to collect back-to-back wins in the Next Gen era, winning at Richmond after taking the checkered flag at Michigan the previous week. This would mark Harvick’s fourth win at Richmond and would also be the future Hall of Famer’s 60th and final career win.
So, what did you think of this list of Richmond’s most memorable moments? Did we miss anything obvious, and are there any moments you can think of that should be added? Let us know! Connect with us on our socials at The Daily Downforce, and stick with us for the latest in NASCAR news all year long!
