NASCAR’s hotly anticipated international points debut at Mexico City may have added some diversity to the schedule, but it came at a cost. In order to find a date, NASCAR had to take a date away from an existing track.
And that track was Richmond. It’s a track that hosted two Cup Series races every year since 1958, and that historic streak ended in 2024. For the 2025 season, only Richmond’s equally historic spring date remains.
The decision came after years of declining attendance at the track, with seating capacity reduced to 50,000 through the removal of the backstretch grandstands, less than half of 112,000 peak in 2008.
That decline has coincided with both a decline in attendance throughout the sport and specific problems on short tracks with the Next Gen car, shifting racing at Richmond from its Action Track moniker to a fuel strategy race.
As the series returns to Richmond for the first time since the schedule announcement, drivers and fans shared mixed feelings about whether they’d like to see the traditional two dates restored or to see NASCAR continue to try new things, like the race in Mexico this year or San Diego next year.
The prevailing sentiment among drivers was that, while leaving Richmond is disappointing given the history and caliber of the track, taking away a date from tracks with two is one of the best ways to drive up attendance throughout the schedule overall.
Christopher Bell called the decision to leave Richmond a “bummer,” but confirmed that he would prefer if every racetrack had just a single date.
“So, I’m torn by that,” Bell summarized. “I hate that Richmond lost a race when there are other tracks that have two dates on the calendar. I have been really vocal in pushing towards everyone on the calendar having one date, because I think that helps attendance across the industry.
“I love this racetrack, selfishly. I do really well here, so I would love for Richmond to have two dates, but I think if we can get to where everybody has one date I think it would be a positive for the sport.”
As for where he’d prefer to cut first, Bell was not particularly discriminating.
“Oh, there’s plenty of tracks I would like to take a date from first,” he laughed.
Kyle Larson echoed that taking away an event and creating scarcity in a market tends to drive up attendance for the remaining date, and emphasized that doing so allows NASCAR to provide its racing directly to a bigger variety of markets throughout the year.
“I don’t know. I think the less you go to a track, the bigger the crowd is typically. There’s a lot of tracks I love that we go to twice, and I think as a travelling series just going to them once is good,” said Larson.
Austin Cindric also argued that limiting a track to one date should help attendance, pointing to Pocono as an example. Pocono lost its second race in 2022 after 40 years with two dates and has seen increased attendance for the remaining date since.
“You know, Pocono’s been an exceptionally well-attended event from the campgrounds to the grandstands and all that, and great energy from the racefans,” Cindric said, though he noted that both Pocono dates were closer together in the summer months while Richmond’s dates were more spread out so the comparison isn’t entirely even.
Cindric thinks Richmond should absolutely be on the schedule, but he too would like to see fewer races with double dates, and suggested that Richmond should not be on that list.
“I think Richmond is one of the classic short tracks – all the other short tracks we go to aren’t very short-track-ish, they’re all their own unique thing, but Richmond is a kind of blown-up version of what short-track racing is. So I think it definitely has a place in the sport. But as far as what tracks qualify to have more than one event, I feel like that should be exceptionally exclusive.”
Anyway, not every driver is particularly concerned about where NASCAR chooses to race.
“I feel like I can go either way. I’ve enjoyed coming to Richmond. I’m not opposed to trying that stuff,” Chase Elliott said, referring to races in Mexico and San Diego. “I think having an open mind is important.”
Elliott stressed that the fan response should determine where NASCAR races.
“If it works, that’s great. If it doesn’t work, then I just think we have to make sure we’re being honest with ourselves when it doesn’t work, that’s all I ask when we go do those things,” he said. “I think the fans should dictate a lot of that. You know, what’s the response here, are we still having healthy crowds or are people kind of burnt out on it?”
Ultimately, the laid-back Elliott is ready to go wherever the schedule takes him next year.
“I don’t know what the schedule is or isn’t next year, but whatever it is I’ll plan on going to all of them myself,” he quipped.
As for the fans themselves, they too had mixed opinions, though often stronger views. A sample of fan opinions revealed views as diverse as possible.
On the one hand, Kevin Bell, who’s come to Richmond Raceway for years, is not a fan of the track losing a date for Mexico.
“I would like to keep it in Richmond, just for historical purposes. Where NASCAR was born and where it’s most popular is the southeast. I say they should keep this race for sure,” Bell said.
If Richmond had to lose a date, though, he would rather it be for somewhere like San Diego in the US than an international exhibition to keep it accessible for NASCAR’s core fanbase.
“Keep it domestic. Virginia’s historically a huge NASCAR state, a lot of NASCAR fans here, so I would want to keep it here.”
Bell said he hopes for a good turnout for the weekend to hopefully show NASCAR the continued interest from this area.
On the other hand, Christian and Sabine Carrasquet came from France to Richmond for the race, picking Richmond because it aligned with a holiday weekend in France.
They said that “a lot of French people want NASCAR to come to Europe.”
The Carrasquets said they would of course be okay with taking a race from a historic venue like Richmond if it meant they and other French fans were able to experience the sport in Europe. Right now, the only options are to watch it on TV or fly across the Atlantic.
For every group of fans who lose a race, then, someone else gains something: perhaps a second chance to see NASCAR each year or maybe even a first chance to see the sport live ever.
NASCAR announced that this year’s race is an official sellout, the first time that’s happened at the track since 2008. It might be a bit of a hallow victory considering the number of seats removed since 2008, but it’s a victory nonetheless.
The sellout proves that proving that fans are willing to come out to Richmond Raceway.
The question for NASCAR when determining schedules for next year and in the future is whether that’s a consequence of taking away a date or the natural result of a passionate fanbase in NASCAR’s historic backyard.
How NASCAR answers that question may determine the fate of other tracks that currently get a double date from the sport each year.
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