Richmond Raceway will not have fans in attendance when NASCAR competes in Richmond, Virginia, on September 10-12 due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and following further review and consideration with public health officials, medical experts and state/federal officials. The decision comes as NASCAR and Richmond elected to ensure the safety of the competitors, staff and the local community.
“This was a difficult decision, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic we believe at this time it is in the best interests of the local community to host races without fans,” said Richmond Raceway President Dennis Bickmeier. “We are grateful for the patience and support of our long-time loyal fans in this unprecedented season, but we will unite over race weekend as we tune in to the national broadcasts on NBCSN, FS1, and MRN to watch NASCAR’s best compete in four races over three days at America’s Premier Short Track.”
Prior to the 2020 season, NASCAR was slated to run four national division series races (Truck, Xfinity and Cup), with the Truck and Cup to run a doubleheader weekend on April 18-19 before the Xfinity and Cup Series competes on a doubleheader weekend on September 11-12. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, however, NASCAR was forced to rescheduled its racing events for March and beyond in an effort to complete the season by early November.
On August 6, when NASCAR released the final installment of its racing schedule for its three national division series, Richmond was revealed to host a quadruple-header weekend in September. It will all begin on Thursday, September 10, when the Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series makes its return to Richmond since 2005. The following day on Friday, September 11, the Xfinity Series will race at Richmond, which will serve as the 24th series event of the season. The quadruple-header weekend of racing will cap off on September 12 with the Xfinity and Cup Series to compete throughout Saturday.
The Truck Series Richmond event on September 10 will serve as the final regular-season race of this season, where the 10-Truck Playoff field will be determined. The Xfinity Series doubleheader races at Richmond will serve as the penultimate regular-season events of the season prior to the Playoffs. In addition, the Xfinity event at Richmond on September 12 replaces the Xfinity race at Michigan International Speedway that was originally slated to occur in early June. Finally, the lone Cup Series event at Richmond on September 12 will serve as the second Round of 16 race during the Playoffs.
Ticketholders for the Richmond Cup Series race and the Xfinity Series races will automatically receive a credit for the full amount of their purchase, along with an additional 20% of the total amount paid, in their ticket account by Friday, August 28. The 120% event credit can be used to apply towards future race events, including, but not limited to, a 2021 Cup Series race weekend at Richmond or another 2021 NASCAR sanctioned event at any NASCAR-owned tracks, subject to availability. For additional details or other options, fans can visit richmondraceway.com/assistance.
The NASCAR Truck Series race at Richmond on September 10 will air at 8 p.m. ET on FS1 while the first Xfinity Series race at Richmond on September 11 will air at 7 p.m. ET on NBCSN. On September 12, the second Xfinity race will air at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN while the Cup Playoff race will air at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN. All races will also air on the Motor Racing Network (MRN) and its network of nationwide affiliates, including SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
