@nascarcasm: Is Richmond Raceway a short track?

Race fans, we’re finally gonna get to the bottom of this: is the 0.75-mile Richmond Raceway a short track? @nascarcasm investigates.

It’s a question that has divided race fans since time immemorial – is Richmond Raceway actually a short track? It’s the “Is a hot dog a sandwich?” of NASCAR. For once and for all, we will determine the answer.

To be a short track, you must be less than one mile in length. While it’s not a half mile like Bristol or Martinsville, it still fits the criteria. So it’s not, like, Justin Haley short. But it is AJ Allmendinger short.

The glowing rotor is a visual hallmark of short tracks. Do they glow at Richmond? You bet. I mean, if the race were at night, which it isn’t. But rest assured, these brakes work up a heat equal to that of three George Foreman Grills.*

(*Extremely unscientific estimate)

It’s wider than Bristol and Martinsville … BUT like “Jurassic Park,” life finds a way. Just ask Kyle Busch and Dale Earnhardt Jr. in 2008. This happened when Blackberries were all the rage and Kyle still hears about this.

I dunno, let’s ask Casey Mears’ eye socket. We’d ask Casey Mears himself but he is still overcome with shock.

Short tracks frequently produce weird occurrences which go viral. One driver jumping on top of another driver’s car to throw hands, helmets and water bottles being thrown, etc. To this esteemed list we add the ambulance that caused a stack up which eventually broke Matt Kenseth’s radiator. We DO hope that’s bizarre enough.

Short tracks = short tempers, we get it. And this does happen at Richmond Raceway. Take the 2013 race when Kurt Busch and Tony Stewart spent the cool-down laps angrily banging into each other. Actually as it turns out, this may have been a job interview for Kurt.

Yep. You see this awesome salute to fans at short tracks all the time, and they’ve done it at Richmond. Surprisingly, no one wrecked. At a track where cars are rear-ending ambulances, we kind of figured this salute would produce the "Big One."

“Ricky Rudd took a goddamn cheap shot at us. If he’s gonna give us a cheap shot he’ll get one back, I can promise you that.” Kevin Harvick in 2003. Works for me – work for you?

Not strong enough for you? Fine. What if I told you that you had a YAP-YAP MOUTH, huh?! That was Ricky Rudd’s retort and to this DAY, Harvick has not recovered from this sick, sick burn.

Need one more piece of evidence that the short-track tempers run hot in this place? Fine. 2013. NELSON PIQUET JR. KICKING BRIAN SCOTT IN THE MOMMY-DADDY BUTTON. ARE. WE. DONE. HERE?