Richmond Raceway, Toyota renew partnership for spring races

Officials from Richmond Raceway and Toyota announced Thursday that they were renewing their partnership on the entitlement of the 2021 Toyota Spring Race Weekend, with the Toyota Owners 400 NASCAR Cup Series race on Sunday, April 18 and ToyotaCare 250 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race on Saturday, April 17.

“We are proud of our longstanding partnership with Toyota as we have collaborated to provide one of the best race experiences for loyal NASCAR fans and Toyota owners in the sport,” said Richmond President Dennis Bickmeier. “As we celebrate our 75th anniversary, we look forward to working closely with Toyota and the Richmond Toyota Dealers Association to continue to offer an unparalleled race experience fitting for this historic season.”

It appears likely that at least some fans will be allowed to attend the races this spring. Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam Wednesday indicated during a press briefing that he would be making an announcement next week related to fan capacities at professional sporting events in the state, specifically citing the raceway and the Richmond Flying Squirrels as two local entities that would be impacted.

Northam has been in touch with Richmond Raceway President Dennis Bickmeier and Flying Squirrels Vice President and Chief Operating Office Todd “Parney” Parnell, among other sports industry officials, to discuss potential plans for allowing fans back into venues. (Last July, the Citizen reported about how a network of venue operators statewide had been meeting regularly to discuss various concepts to present to Northam.)

The Toyota Owners 400 will be the raceway’s 66th annual spring NASCAR Cup Series race. This year’s race will be the eighth Toyota Owners 400.
Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr. of Joe Gibbs Racing have won the last two Toyota Owners 400s in 2018 and 2019; each driver also swept the season at the raceway.

The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series will compete for the second consecutive season in the ToyotaCare 250 on Saturday, April 17 at 1:30 p.m. Last season, the ToyotaCare 250 was moved to the final race of the regular season as part of Richmond’s fall race weekend because of the COVID-19 pandemic. From 2013 to 2019, the ToyotaCare 250 was a NASCAR Xfinity Series race.

The fall NASCAR Playoff Weekend at Richmond will include three races over two days starting with the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour on Friday, Sept. 10, followed by a day-night doubleheader Sept. 11 with the Go Bowling 250 NASCAR Xfinity Series race at 2:30 p.m. and a Cup Series Playoff race at 7:30 p.m.

NASCAR season and individual race tickets are available for purchase via phone at 866-455-7223 or online at http://richmondraceway.com.