NASCAR: 66-year Cup Series streak comes to a screeching halt

As a seasoned gamer who has spent countless hours navigating virtual racetracks, I must admit that watching the real-life NASCAR action is always a thrill. The history and tradition of Richmond Raceway have always been captivating, and it’s sad to see changes in its schedule.

This year, Richmond Raceway held a NASCAR Cup Series race in August, which marked only the second time such an event took place at the track during this season. Notably, this was its second race of the 2024 season. Earlier in the year, on a Sunday close to Easter in late March, Richmond Raceway had already hosted another race.

Next year’s calendar includes a return to the 0.75-mile (1.207-kilometer) Richmond short track in Virginia, slated for August 17. This event will mark the second to last race of the regular 26-race season.

For the very first time since 1958, there will be just a single NASCAR Cup Series race scheduled for Richmond in the year 2025.

Richmond loses second NASCAR weekend

For the year 2025, Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City, Mexico, has been incorporated into the 36-race schedule. Instead of hosting the Cup Series on Easter Sunday, it will now do so on Father’s Day. This change has resulted in replacing the previously scheduled Richmond weekend.

From ’05 to ’08, I was a regular at the 16-turn, 2.518-mile (4.052-kilometer) track where the Xfinity Series competed, but it’s a bummer that the Cup Series has never held a race there.

2020 saw Richmond hosting just one race, while two races had initially been planned for the track. Regrettably, the first race could not take place due to numerous adjustments in the schedule necessitated by the stringent government regulations.

Richmond held one NASCAR Cup Series race in the years 1953, 1955, 1956, 1957, and 1958. It wasn’t until 1959 that it secured a second annual race date. Lee Petty, Tim Flock, Buck Baker, Paul Goldsmith, and Speedy Thompson were the winners of those initial five races. The winners of the 1959 race were Tom Pistone and Cotton Owens.

You can find the complete 2025 NASCAR Cup Series schedule here, featuring several modifications, mainly concerning race dates. In terms of venues, the only other alteration is the incorporation of Bowman Gray Stadium, scheduled to replace Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum as the venue for the preseason Busch Light Clash exhibition race.

2024-08-30 16:02