International Speedway Corp., is exploring the possibility of moving the start of the spring Richmond race from Saturday night to Sunday afternoon, an ISC official told NBC Sports. “I’m not going to say seriously, but we are exploring it,” said Clay Campbell, president of Martinsville Speedway, who also oversees Richmond International Raceway and Darlington Raceway for International Speedway Corp. “We’re always entertaining whatever can make our events better for the broadcasters, for the fans and for the competitors and that’s part of it.” There are other considerations. ISC, as part of its typical post-event critique, is examining how far Richmond’s ticket holders travel to attend that race. “If we run Saturday night, there are so many fans that are not staying there or not staying on property or not staying in the region and they drive back home in the middle of the night,” Campbell said. “How many that is versus if we did it Sunday and they could leave right after the race and drive home – that’s things we need to look at and do some questioning with our fanbase.”(NBC Sports)(5-4-2015)
UPDATE: Although NASCAR is still likely weeks away from announcing the entire 2016 Cup series schedule, sources familiar with the scheduling process said the spring race at Richmond International Raceway will take place on a Sunday afternoon next season instead of Saturday night. RIR president Dennis Bickmeier confirmed on Friday that the track had put in a request to NASCAR to change its spring race date to a day event. “Now, we’re just going through their process,” Bickmeier said. “We’ll see what comes out on the other end.” The change in date will also return the Richmond spring race weekend to a more traditional three-day event, which also opens up the possibility for more extensive off-track experiences for fans on property.(Motorsport)(9-12-2015)
UPDATE2: Richmond International Raceway has asked NASCAR to move the track’s spring race from Saturday night to Sunday afternoon. Martinsville Speedway President Clay Campbell, who also oversees RIR and Darlington Speedway in the chain of command for the International Speedway Corp., confirmed Saturday that RIR has asked for the move to day racing for its first of two races each season. Campbell said RIR President Dennis Bickmeier recently asked for the change after getting feedback from fans and discussing the possibility with Campbell. Campbell said NASCAR has not responded to the request. He said the change may be an easy decision for NASCAR, but “there are a lot of moving parts. Right now, the 2016 schedule isn’t out. We have to see that, too.” RIR has scheduled two Saturday night races – the only track with a pair of prime-time events – since 1998. Campbell said moving RIR’s first race to Sunday daytime “helps differentiate the two races from each other.” The annual September event has its own cachet as the final race before NASCAR’s postseason Chase for the Sprint Cup begins. “This is a big event on its own,” Campbell said. “Putting the spring race in the daytime would help it stand out as something special on its own.”(Richmond Times Dispatch)(9-14-2015)
