Lawmakers launch caucus to save Virginia's NASCAR tracks
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The Richmond Raceway during the NASCAR Cup Series in 2024. Photo: Logan Whitton/Getty Images
Virginia gave NASCAR some of its earliest speedways, legendary short tracks and its first Black champion: Wendell Scott.
Why it matters: Now the state is trying to figure out how to keep the struggling sport alive for the next generation of Virginians.
Driving the news: That urgency brought lawmakers, racetrack operators, Virginia tourism and NASCAR officials together on Thursday to launch the General Assembly's first motorsports caucus.
- Their goal is to protect Virginia's racing industry, preserving venues — like the Richmond Raceway and local short tracks like Chesterfield's Southside Speedway — that have fed the sport's pipeline of drivers and fans for decades.
Zoom in: The bipartisan caucus is up against heavy pressure to secure support for motorsports.
- Short tracks across the state are struggling with shrinking sponsorships, noise complaints from encroaching development, competition for NASCAR's limited race schedule and a fanbase that's increasingly watching at home.
- The Richmond Raceway, which has been around for 80 years, recently lost one of its two NASCAR races — a change that track president Lori Waran called "heartbreaking" during last week's caucus meeting.
- Sen. Bill Stanley, an avid racing fan who helped organize the caucus, warned that Martinsville — which he represents and has one of NASCAR's oldest tracks — nearly lost a Cup race in recent years.
Plus: Chesterfield's Southside Speedway, once a key short track in NASCAR's driver pipeline, has been closed since 2020.
- Although, efforts are underway to revive it, and non-racing events might start there this spring, per WTVR.
How the state could help, according to racing leaders:
- Passing "right-to-race" laws that protect tracks from nuisance lawsuits if they existed before nearby housing was built.
- An economic impact study to better quantify racing's value to the state, which Virginia Tourism estimates would cost about $75,000.
- State investment in tracks and tourism marketing.
Zoom out: Dan Klenetsky, NASCAR's senior director of public and government affairs, pointed to states that poured millions into successful racetrack upgrades and marketing efforts.
- North Carolina invested about $45 million in motorsports funding after COVID.
- Delaware awarded about $1 million to Dover Speedway for upgrades.
- Pennsylvania is a seven-figure sponsor of a Cup race.
The intrigue: A national economic impact study by SEMA, an auto industry trade group, that was cited at the caucus found motorsports generates over $900 million for Virginia's economy and supports over 5,000 jobs.
- And when people go to the Richmond Raceway, they also hit Short Pump mall, the Fan, restaurants in Shockoe Bottom and more, per data Virginia Tourism shared at the meeting.
What's next: Stanley told the group that he plans to keep the conversation going over the summer and create a legislative package for next year's session.
- "Standing together, we cannot lose," he said.