Virginia Motorsports Park

Last updated
Virginia Motorsports Park
VirginiaMotorsportsLogo.png
Location Petersburg, Virginia
Time zone UTC−5
Coordinates 37°09′59.29″N77°31′26.51″W / 37.1664694°N 77.5240306°W / 37.1664694; -77.5240306
Capacity23,000
OwnerTommy & Judy Franklin
Address8018 Boydton Plank Road
North Dinwiddie, VA 23803
Opened1994
Major events
  • NHRA
    • Virginia NHRA Nationals
  • PDRA
    • PDRA Pro Stars
    • PDRA World Finals
Website http://www.virginiamotorsports.com
Dragstrip
SurfaceConcrete
Length.402 km (.25 miles)

Virginia Motorsports Park (VMP) is a 1/4 mile (0.402 km) dragstrip in Dinwiddie County, Virginia, just outside of Petersburg. [1] It opened in 1994 and originally hosted the NHRA's Virginia NHRA Nationals. It has a seating capacity of 23,000 spectators. After a brief time with IHRA beginning in 2010, the track returned to NHRA in 2012.

On January 30, 2018, NHRA announced that a pro national event will be returning to Virginia Motorsports Park, as the NHRA Summernationals moved from Englishtown, New Jersey, after Old Bridge Township Raceway Park decided to cancel all drag racing operations there earlier in the month. [2] [3] The first Virginia NHRA Nationals took place in early June 2018. That event lasted two seasons before being removed by the NHRA on March 25, 2020 as part of a purge of races to reduce the schedule to 19 events because of the COVID-19 pandemic. [4] The Virginia NHRA Nationals returned in May 2022. [4] It was not held in 2023, but is on the NHRA Misson Foods Drag Racing Series schedule for this year to take place on June 21-23, 2024. [5]

Virginia Motorsports Park is also a member track of the Professional Drag Racers Association (PDRA), a regional sanctioning body of professional 1/8 mile (0.201 km) doorslammer (Pro Stock and Pro Modified) style drag racing, with Pro Modified classes split by type of power boosters added (turbocharger/supercharger, nitrous oxide, and an entry-level 632ci limit format), and the Pro Stock class being Mountain Motor. [6] The current owners are Tommy and Judy Franklin, who purchased the facility in 2017. [7] Tommy Franklin is also one of the founders of PDRA. [8] The track has been hosting the PDRA Brian Olson Memorial World Finals since October 2019. [9]

Virginia Motorsports Park has a dirt track located beside the dragstrip which hosts tractor pulling, motorcross and other events. [10] The facility also hosts the annual Dinwiddie County Fair in October. [11] [12]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Drag racing</span> Type of motor racing

Drag racing is a type of motor racing in which automobiles or motorcycles compete, usually two at a time, to be first to cross a set finish line. The race follows a short, straight course from a standing start over a measured distance, most commonly 1⁄4 mi, with a shorter, 1,000 ft distance becoming increasingly popular, as it has become the standard for Top Fuel dragsters and Funny Cars, where some major bracket races and other sanctioning bodies have adopted it as the standard. The 1⁄8 mi is also popular in some circles. Electronic timing and speed sensing systems have been used to record race results since the 1960s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Hot Rod Association</span> North American drag auto racing organization

The National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) is a governing body which sets rules in drag racing and hosts events all over the United States and Canada. With over 40,000 drivers in its rosters, the NHRA claims to be the largest motorsports sanctioning body in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dragstrip</span> Car racing facility

A dragstrip is a facility for conducting automobile and motorcycle acceleration events such as drag racing. Although a quarter mile is the best known measure for a drag track, many tracks are eighth mile (201 m) tracks, and the premiere classes will run 1,000 foot (304.8 m) races. The race is begun from a standing start which allows three factors to affect the outcome of the race: reaction time, power/weight ratio, and traction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Memphis International Raceway</span> Motorsport track in the United States

Memphis International Raceway was an auto racing park located near the Loosahatchie River in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, just approximately ten miles south of Millington, and a few miles north of the city of Memphis.

The International Hot Rod Association (IHRA) is the second-largest drag racing sanctioning body after the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brainerd International Raceway</span> Road course, drag strip and kart track in Brainerd, Minnesota, USA

Brainerd International Raceway is a road course, and dragstrip racing complex northwest of the city of Brainerd, Minnesota. The complex has a 0.25 mi (0.40 km) dragstrip, and overlapping 2.500 mi (4.023 km) and 3.100 mi (4.989 km) road courses. The complex also includes a kart track. The raceway hosts the National Hot Rod Association's Lucas Oil Nationals. It is a popular racetrack for the Trans Am Series. The spectator seating capacity of the circuit is 20,000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip</span>

The Pomona Raceway, is a racing facility located in Pomona, California that features a quarter-mile dragstrip. Since its opening in 1961, the dragstrip has hosted the NHRA's Winternationals event – the traditional season opener – and since 2021, the season's last race, the NHRA Finals. These two events have contributed to its becoming perhaps one of the most famous dragstrips in North America. The facility has a seating capacity of 40,000 spectators, and it is one of the few dragstrips in the USA that is operated directly by the NHRA. This dragstrip has also gone by the nickname of The Fairplex, in reference to its location at the Fairplex, formerly called the Los Angeles County Fairgrounds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maple Grove Raceway</span> Dragstrip near Mohnton, Pennsylvania

Maple Grove Raceway (MGR) is a quarter-mile dragstrip located near Mohnton, Pennsylvania, just outside Reading. It opened in 1962 as a 1/5-mile dragstrip. It was eventually lengthened to its current quarter-mile length in 1964. The track has been sanctioned by the National Hot Rod Association for most of its existence. It has hosted an NHRA national event since 1985. Uni-Select Auto Plus came aboard as the Nationals sponsor in 2011. Other key events include the American Drag Racing League, the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series, the Geezers Reunion at The Grove, the Super Chevy Show, Mopar Action, Fun Ford Weekend and the NHRA Pennsylvania Dutch Classic.

Old Bridge Township Raceway Park, originally known as Madison Township Raceway Park, is an American auto racing facility located in Old Bridge Township, in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New York International Raceway Park</span>

Empire Dragway, formerly known as New York International Raceway Park, is a quarter-mile drag strip just located in Leicester, New York.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Summit Racing Equipment</span>

Summit Racing Equipment is an automotive parts retailer with four retail stores and distribution centers located in Tallmadge, Ohio; Sparks, Nevada; McDonough, Georgia; and Arlington, Texas. Summit Racing Equipment is also involved in motorsports and other events as a sponsor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom McEwen (drag racer)</span> American dragster driver (1937–2018)

Tom McEwen was an American drag racer who was a winner of the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) U.S. Nationals. His racing career spanned 45 years. He is ranked at number 16 on a list of the 50 most significant drivers of NHRA’s first 50 years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Palm Beach International Raceway</span> Motorsport track in the United States

Palm Beach International Raceway was a motorsports facility located west of Jupiter, Florida. The facility had a quarter-mile drag strip, a 2.043 mi (3.288 km) road course, 7/10-mile kart track as well as mud racing tracks. The road course at Palm Beach International Raceway was a 2-mile, 10-turn circuit constructed of hot-mix asphalt and set on an aggregate base. It was 40 ft (12 m) wide with a 1/3-mile section measuring 80 ft (24 m).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Trail Raceway</span>

National Trail Raceway is a quarter-mile dragstrip located between Hebron and Kirkersville, Ohio, USA, off of U.S. Route 40. The race track is located about 30 minutes east of Columbus, Ohio. It is known to local residents as 'National Trails'.

The 2018 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Season was announced on June 6, 2017.

Roberta Maxine Leighton was an American drag racer. She was the first woman licensed by the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) to race competitively. She was also the first woman to win a national title, in the 1962 U.S. Nationals at Indianapolis, in the J/S class. In 2002, shortly before her death, she received a lifetime achievement award at the World Finals at Pomona.

The NHRA Summernationals, hosted by the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA), was an annual drag racing event held from 1970 to 1992, 2002 to 2017 and again in 2020, mostly at the Old Bridge Township Raceway Park in New Jersey.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Firebird Raceway</span> United States historic place

Firebird Raceway is a motorsport racing venue in the western United States, near Eagle, Idaho, in the Boise metropolitan area. The raceway opened 56 years ago in 1968 under management of racing enthusiasts Bill and Ellanor New, and it has remained under ownership of the New family.

The 2020 NHRA Drag Racing Series was announced on May 14, 2019.

The 2024 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season was announced on August 31, 2023.

References

  1. ↑ Virginia Motorsports Park, Retrieved Jun. 10, 2018.
  2. ↑ National Hot Rod Association, NHRA partners with Virginia Motorsports Park to host NHRA Virginia Nationals, NHRA.com, January 30, 2018, Retrieved Jan. 30, 2018.
  3. ↑ BangShift.com, Bad News: Raceway Park Will Cease Drag Racing Operations – The End Of Englishtown Appears To Be Nigh by Brian Lohnes, January 16, 2018, Retrieved Jan. 30, 2018.
  4. 1 2 National Hot Rod Association, 2022 Virginia NHRA Nationals, Retrieved Apr. 15, 2022.
  5. ↑ National Hot Rod Association, 2024 Virginia NHRA Nationals, Retrieved Apr. 14, 2024.
  6. ↑ Professional Drag Racers Association, Retrieved Jun. 10, 2018.
  7. ↑ The Progress-Index, Drag racing returns to Virginia Motorsports Park by Geneva Heffernan, June 8, 2018, Retrieved Jun. 10, 2018.
  8. ↑ Professional Drag Racers Association - About PDRA, Retrieved Jun. 10, 2018.
  9. ↑ Professional Drag Racers Association, 2022 Schedule, Retrieved Apr. 15, 2022.
  10. ↑ Virginia Motorsports Park - Dirt Track, Retrieved Jun. 10, 2018.
  11. ↑ Richmond Times-Dispatch, 2019 Dinwiddie County Fair, Retrieved May 19, 2019.
  12. ↑ Discover Dinwiddie, 2019 Dinwiddie County Fair, Retrieved May 19, 2019.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.