The first race ever held at the Richmond International Raceway was in 1946 and was won by Ted Horn. The track was a 1/2 mile dirt oval and was known as Strawberry Hill Speedway. Lee Petty won the first NASCAR sanctioned event held at Richmond in 1953 when the speedway was known as the Atlantic Rural Expostion Fairgrounds.

An enterprising race promoter by the name of Paul Sawyer partnered with racing star and fellow Virginian Joe Weatherly to purchase the property that Richmond International Raceway resides on in 1955. Sawyer would be the man in charge of the track for the next 45 years. He saw the speedway through many changes over the years and is mostly responsible for the great racing action Richmond provides today.

Richmond hosted one NASCAR date until 1958 and began running two events in 1959. Richmond has been home to two NASCAR dates each year since then.

Some the sports biggest names enjoyed success at Richmond. Richard Petty scored the first of his 13 Richmond victories in 1961. David Pearson won the last race held on dirt at Richmond in 1968 when the track was known as the Virgina State Fairgrounds Raceway.

The track was paved and remeasured at .625-mile in September of 1968 and Richard Petty was victorious in the first event held on asphalt.

Richmond was renamed Richmond Fairgrounds Raceway in 1969, when it was remeasured at one-half mile.

Richmond International Raceway became the track’s official name in 1988 and major reconstruction began. Richard Petty took the controls of a bulldozer to ceremoniously kick off construction following Neil Bonnett’s victory in the Pontiac Excitement 400. 

Lighting was added in September 1991 and the fall race was run under the lights for the first time at Richmond.

Sawyer sold the track to International Speedway Corporation in 1999.

Richmond International Raceway began hosting the dramatic final race of the “Race to the Chase” in 2004 leading up to the Chase for the Sprint Cup.