Memorable moments at Richmond Raceway

By Staff Report | Sunday, September 12, 2021

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The .75-mile Richmond Raceway is celebrating its 75th anniversary in 2021. The track has hosted a Cup Series race (or two!) every year since 1955. In 2018, it also joined the NASCAR Playoffs schedule. Take a look back at some of the most memorable moments.

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April 19, 1953

Lee Petty wins the first NASCAR premier series race at the fairgrounds.

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Sept. 9, 1973

Richard Petty wins his seventh consecutive NASCAR premier series race at the track, a streak that stretched back to the fall of 1970. Petty recorded an all-time best 13 wins here in his career.

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Feb. 21, 1982

Dave Marcis (No. 71) gets past a spinning Joe Millikan to claim his fifth and final NASCAR premier series win.

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Sept. 11, 1983

Bobby Allison wins his seventh career race at Richmond. It would be his final win at the track, and his seven wins rank second all-time.

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Feb. 26, 1984

A week after flipping in a pre-Daytona 500 race and taping his eyes open for the "Great American Race," Ricky Rudd wins in his home state of Virginia.

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Feb. 23, 1986

Kyle Petty celebrates his first career NASCAR premier series win after Darrell Waltrip and Dale Earnhardt knock each other out of the race with two laps to go.

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Feb. 21, 1988

Neil Bonnett gets his 17th career victory in the final race on the speedway's half-mile configuration, a layout that dates back to its pre-NASCAR days of 1946.

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Sept. 11, 1999

Tony Stewart scores the first of 49 NASCAR Cup Series victories with a win in his rookie season at Richmond. Stewart dominated the race, leading 333 of 400 laps en route to the win.

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May 14, 2005

Kasey Kahne earns his first career NASCAR Cup Series victory. The win came driving for team owner Ray Evernham as Kahne led 242 laps to score a win in his second season.

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Sept. 8, 2006

Kevin Harvick ties Harry Gant's Richmond record, winning his third consecutive NASCAR Xfinity Series race at the track. Harvick has 10 total wins as a driver at Richmond (seven Xfinity, three NASCAR Cup Series).

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May 3, 2008

A simmering rivalry comes to a head with Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kyle Busch's late-race contact at Richmond while battling for the lead. Neither driver would win the race -- that victory would go to Clint Bowyer -- but the incident would stay with both drivers for a long time.

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Sept. 11, 2010

Virginia native Denny Hamlin wins his second consecutive fall race at his home track. Hamlin led 251 laps to defeat Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch and hold the top spot in the standings entering that year's postseason.

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April 27, 2012

Kurt Busch holds off Denny Hamlin and Kevin Harvick for the first victory for Kyle Busch Motorsports in the NASCAR Xfinity Series.

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Sept. 7, 2013

In the final race before the playoffs, Clint Bowyer brought out a yellow flag after his late spin. A NASCAR investigation led the sanctioning body to remove Martin Truex Jr. -- then Bowyer's teammate at Michael Waltrip Racing, and the beneficiary of the spin -- from the postseason after NASCAR officials found that MWR attempted to manipulate the outcome of a race. Ryan Newman was added in and NASCAR later added Jeff Gordon as a 13th driver. (The playoffs had 12 drivers at that time.)

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April 24, 2016

The biggest story line coming out of the 2016 spring Richmond was Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Carl Edwards and Kyle Busch racing aggressively for the win, with Edwards moving Busch to take the checkered flag, his second straight win.

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2018

Kyle Busch had notable milestones in both Richmond races. His spring win was his third consecutive in the NASCAR Cup Series, the second time in his career he's won three in a row. He also won the fall race, becoming just the sixth driver in the modern era to sweep the season's Richmond races.

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April 13, 2019

Martin Truex Jr. toppled his 0-for-80 winless streak on short tracks with a victory at Richmond Raceway. Truex held on against Joey Logano to score his first win with Joe Gibbs Racing. He would go on to sweep the season at Richmond with a playoff win in September.

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September 11, 2021

On the 20th anniversary of 9/11, the NASCAR community came together at Richmond to remember the victims and heroes of that tragic day. Tributes were conducted before and during the race, concluding with Joe Gibbs Racing's Martin Truex Jr. securing an emotional win and advancing to the Round of 12 in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs.

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