Virginia race fans have been enjoying two races in the state capital for the better part of 60 years, but NASCAR announcing on Tuesday that it's coming to an end. Richmond Raceway will lose its spring race to Mexico City as part of the sport's international expansion in 2025.
The race will be in the NASCAR Cup Series. Richmond Raceway has featured two races at the track since 1958. The only year it was missed was the Covid-19 year in 2020.
This marks the first points-paying NASCAR Cup Series race held outside the United States when the series raced in Toronto, Canada. NASCAR did hold three exhibition races in Suzuka City, Japan from 1996-1998.
“This is a historic moment for our sport, and specifically for the NASCAR Cup Series, in being able to expand our footprint to Mexico,” NASCAR’s Executive Vice President & Chief Venue & Racing Innovation Officer Ben Kennedy said. “We’ve been bold about our intentions to grow on a global scale, and there isn’t a better place to take the next step in that journey than at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez road course in Mexico City.”
Kennedy confirmed that 2025 schedule will feature only one Richmond (Va.) Raceway NASCAR Cup Series race to accommodate Mexico on the schedule. And he noted, that it now marks five consecutive years, that the series has been able to add a new venue – from the Los Angeles Coliseum to Austin’s Circuit of The Americas to races in St. Lous, Nashville and the Chicago Street Course - and now, the first international event in almost 60 years.