Toyota Owners 400 ~ Richmond

Denny Hamlin Short Track Showdown, Benefiting Children's Hospital of Richmond at VCU, Returns to RIR, April 25

 

Late Model Event to Benefit the Denny Hamlin Cystic Fibrosis Research Lab

For the third year in a row, the Denny Hamlin Short Track Showdown is set to open the Spring race weekend at Richmond International Raceway. The race, which typically features a dozen NASCAR drivers and celebrities battling on the ¾-mile track with some of the best local Late Model Stock Car drivers, will serve as a fundraiser for the Denny Hamlin Cystic Fibrosis Research Lab at the Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU.

In 2012, the Denny Hamlin Foundation committed to a 3-year grant totaling $150,000 for the Children's Hospital of Richmond at VCU (CHoR). Funds from the grant, which are raised through events like this year’s Denny Hamlin Short Track Showdown at Richmond International Raceway, will help accelerate the Denny Hamlin Cystic Fibrosis Research Lab's ability to bring new therapies to cystic fibrosis patients. In addition, the newly established Denny Hamlin Foundation Summer Scholars program will help train the next generation of CF research scientists.

"Every dollar we give to cystic fibrosis makes a difference,” explained Hamlin, Virginian and driver of the No. 11 FedEx Toyota Camry in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. “You never know. This could be the year that we find a cure."

The Denny Hamlin Short Track Showdown at Richmond International Raceway has brought some of the best late model racing action to Hamlin’s hometown track for the past two years and is sure to provide another great show for fans who come out to support cystic fibrosis research.

“We are excited to once again host the Denny Hamlin Short Track Showdown at Richmond International Raceway,” said RIR President Dennis Bickmeier. “RIR is proud to partner with Denny to raise awareness and money that will assist one of the best research teams as they work to find a cure for cystic fibrosis.”

The Denny Hamlin Short Track Showdown and BLUE OX 100 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East races will run on Thursday, April 25, as part of an action-packed opening day of the Spring NASCAR weekend at Richmond International Raceway.

"The Showdown has had some of the best late model racing in the past,” added Hamlin. “This year will be no different. We've invited the region’s finest drivers to compete against some of my Sprint Cup Series friends. I can't wait to get back to Richmond. It's going to be wild!"

Cystic Fibrosis is a fatal genetic disease that affects about 30,000 children and adults in the United States. CF causes chronic infections in the lungs and inadequate digestion of nutrients. There is no cure for CF, but medical advances have doubled the life expectancy of children in the last 30 years and increased the overall median age of survival to 38.

Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU (CHoR) has a large research staff focused on finding a cure for CF. This research group has been critical in developing new therapies for CF. They recently discovered a promising CF lung disease treatment that is in development and undergoing pre-clinical testing at CHoR. As the only accredited CF center in the region, CF patients cared for at CHoR have access to the latest therapies and can participate in groundbreaking clinical studies.

Click here or call 866-455-7223 to purchase tickets for the Denny Hamlin Short Track Showdown. All tickets are general admission and $25. Children 12 and younger are admitted free with a ticketed adult. Thursday’s ticket also includes the BLUE OX 100 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East race.

Tickets are on sale now for the Toyota Owners 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race. Advance tickets, including seats in Turns 1 and 4, start at $45, and can be purchased online by clicking here or by calling 866-455-7223. Tickets for the ToyotaCare 250 start at $30 in advance and can be purchased online by clicking here or by calling 866-455-7223. Children 12 and younger are admitted free with a ticketed adult in general admission sections on Friday.
Courtesy Richmond International Raceway

Richmond Delivers for Denny Hamlin, FedEx Crew

Denny Hamlin is a bubble boy no longer. He clinched his spot in the Chase for the Nextel Cup after capturing his third consecutive third place finish while back home in Richmond, Virginia for the Chevy Rock and Roll 400.

Hurricane Hanna forced a rainout of qualifying and the field was set by points which saw Hamlin start Sunday's race from the eleventh spot on the grid. He quickly went forward and, with a car that was able to run the low line, climbed into the top-five by the time NASCAR threw a competition caution on lap 35.

On pit road, crew chief Mike Ford called for four tires, fuel and a track bar adjustment, and the FedEx crew worked quick to send Hamlin out fourth. Immediately following the restart on lap 40, Hamlin dove past Earnhardt and Jeff Gordon to claim the second spot on lap 47. Thirty laps later he passed Kevin Harvick for the lead but it would last only four laps.

A caution on lap 96 brought Hamlin to pit road again and the team worked to get him out to line up second for the restart. Through a series of cautions, Hamlin held the position and didn't drop out of the top-five until the seventh caution of the day came out on lap 203.

With more and more teams taking two tires or risking longer runs on older tires, the field shuffled during a lap 226 caution and after stopping for four tires, Hamlin restarted 17. It was at this point, however, that Hamlin put some of his best driving on display, slicing through the pack and working his way into the top ten by lap 250.

The FedEx crew earned him another spot on pit road on lap 297 and Hamlin lined up to restart eighth on lap 303. Despite fighting a really loose car and working with the crew to improve the handling, Hamlin held the spot until the second-to-last caution of the day on lap 360. Ford called for four tires, a splash of fuel, and an air pressure adjustment. Hamlin lined up eighth for the restart and then went to work on the field again. He caught the lead cars of Johnson and Stewart and, as the #48 and #20 ran side by side for several consecutive laps, Hamlin closed the gap but ultimately couldn't catch the pair.

As the laps counted down, Hamlin held the third spot and was happy to post a much-needed and well-deserved finish with the Chase on the line.

"Our first goal today, of course, was to get in the Chase but we also managed to keep the FedEx Camry up front all day," said Hamlin. "It's great for this team. We've been up and down this season but we are clicking now and had some good runs at Bristol, California and now here in Richmond. We worked hard to get back into this Chase. This was our goal at the start of the season, to make the Chase and win some races. We like the tracks we visit over the next ten weeks so we’re just excited to see what we can do - and hopefully keep this momentum going."

Quite an impressive run by Hamlin in the Nationwide Series race as well. The #18 Farm Bureau Insurance Toyota started deep in the field from 27th place. The field was set by owner’s points and with the 18 car only running a limited schedule Hamlin had his work cut out for him.
But he didn’t take long to get to the front. He finished 4th and was pleased with his performance. It was a long day for the double duty drivers, but ultimately it worked out well for Denny Hamlin and his entire Joe Gibbs Racing crew.

Denny and the FedEx team head to Loudon, New Hampshire for the first race in the Chase. Look for Hamlin to be a force to reckon with in the final 10 races of the season.

Denny Hamlin Richmond Q & A

I had a chance to ask D Ham a few questions about going back home to Richmond to try and avenge his loss there in the spring. Here are his answers.

1. With all the frustrations you've been through lately, how does it feel to be going back home where friends and family are to support you?

"We have struggled a lot these past few months, to go to my home track where I have the greatest fans and my family to support me is great. The fans are so awesome and very friendly and it helps me to focus more."

2. Does it add to the pressure to be in your hometown or does that make it easier for you?

"It does add pressure, being this is my home track I am obligated to win at Richmond. It is a big deal for drivers to win at their home track. So it adds a lot of pressure. "

3. What do you feel are your chances to win at Richmond?

"I would like to say we have a pretty good chance to win. We are good there. But with every driver and every track its always 50/50. So we will just have to wait and see how everything goes."

4. When you win (notice I didn't say if!) at Richmond will you begin to relax about the Chase or will you still be on edge?

"Honestly, I won't be able to relax until the Chase is over. It is like that every year. "

5. What are you most looking forward to about going home?

"The awesome fans, and meeting up with my family and friends."

6. Are you going to get to spend some time with your family and friends while you're in Richmond?

"I always try to spend as much time with my family and friends as possible especially when I'm back home. "

Thank you so much for the great interview Denny. I wish you all the best at Richmond. I can't wait for the post-win interview you promised me after your next win. Have fun at your fan club outing with all your wonderful (and lucky) fans and we'll be cheering for you. See you in Victory Lane.

Hamlin made a mistake, not concoct a conspiracy

Four years ago, needing a yellow to avoid falling a lap down at Bristol Motor Speedway, Dale Earnhardt Jr. spun his car to bring out a caution. He admitted as much after the race, and was fined $10,000 and docked 25 points as a result. Two years earlier, looking for a caution to draw leader and eventual winner Ryan Newman back to the field, Kurt Busch spun Robby Gordon in the all-star exhibition. "We needed a yellow so we could put on a good show at the end," he said, comments the fans may have appreciated but NASCAR did not. The sanctioning body fined him $10,000 as well.
There were no such admissions -- and smartly so -- by Denny Hamlin in the aftermath of last Saturday night's event at Richmond International Raceway, which turned into a complete free-for-all in the closing laps after Hamlin cut a tire and Kyle Busch and Dale Earnhardt Jr. wrecked racing for the lead. Junior Nation went expectedly apoplectic, demanding the younger Busch's noggin on a pike. Wherever he went during this week's test at Lowe's Motor Speedway, Busch was escorted by three security guards, which might have been a ploy by track promoter Humpy Wheeler to milk the incident for all it's worth.
And who can blame him? Busch is public enemy No. 1 right now. Of course, lost in all this is the fact that Busch would likely never have gotten within ramming distance of Earnhardt had Hamlin's car not stopped in the high lane with a shredded tire, bringing out a caution with 10 laps remaining and setting the stage for what was to follow. That Hamlin was later able to drive to pit road didn't sit well with race officials, who parked the Joe Gibbs Racing driver for two laps. It all combined to create a seemingly unshakable premise -- Hamlin had chosen that very point to stop, knowing the yellow would help Busch catch Earnhardt. He had taken one for the team.

Denny Hamlin's dream weekend turned into a nightmare at Richmond. Why? Josh Pate says it's tough to find justification.

Or had he? Sure, NASCAR officials penalized him two laps Saturday night, but thus far there have been no fines or point deductions like those assessed to Earnhardt and Kurt Busch in similar, previous situations. According to series officials, none are expected. In communication over the radio, Hamlin and crew chief Mike Ford were obsessed over the state of the tire, not the position of their teammate. And addressing the situation at the Charlotte test, Hamlin said he had equipment issues that forced him to stop.
"I was trying to get to pit road, and the problem was, if I ran any kind of speed around the racetrack, I was going to drag the sway-bar arm off," he said. "It went in Turn 3, and that's when I totally lost the entire tire. So I stopped trying to be able to turn it down onto pit road, but I had already crossed over the wall. I didn't want to risk tearing up the car to where we couldn't finish the race. So I knew I had to stop, or else I was going to jeopardize us even finishing the race. It was a fine line there. We had to stop, or else we were going to get a DNF. Because our sway-bar arms, the way they are designed, they just can't stay on that racetrack for long, and we were already dragging it as soon as the tire started going down. Just one of those deals, I guess."
So was he trying to help Busch win the race? "I didn't even know where Kyle was out on the racetrack," he said. "For all I know, he was leading the race."
That much is plausible. During a race, drivers are ensconced in 3,400-pound, 150 mph cocoons that demand their immediate and unwavering attention. Listen to a driver over the radio, and he'll occasionally ask his spotter where his teammates are running. Because strapped inside all that sheet metal, able to look only forward, he often has no real idea. Of all the people watching the race, drivers have the worst vantage point. They see only their switches and dials and windshield and rearview mirror, and have to rely on the voices in their ear for just about everything else.
Was the caution Hamlin prompted by stopping on the racetrack the primary reason his teammate Busch was able to catch Earnhardt? Unquestionably. Did it indirectly cause the wreck that followed? Absolutely. But this isn't Junior spinning himself out, or Kurt Busch punting the guy directly in front of him. To think that Hamlin, stressed out with a tire going down after leading almost every lap of a race at his hometown track, had the time or the wherewithal to concoct some grand conspiracy plot is stretch of reason. More likely it was just stubbornness and anger, hoping against hope that the thing would hold out a while longer, an unwillingness to accept that so much within his grasp was being taken away.
"Just from an outsider looking in, it looked very obvious to me that he was frustrated, overly frustrated that he had just led 300-some laps and was pretty much going to win that race," Jeff Gordon said. "I think he was extremely upset and frustrated. Obviously he didn't do what most people would do, which was come to pit road long before the tire blows, you know? It was obvious when I went by him that he had a real issue, that is all I can say. I don't know why he stopped, why he didn't come to pit road, but that would be my guess."
But of course, this is NASCAR, where any unfortunate event becomes some kind of grand scheme on the level of alien beings in desert hangars or straw men on a grassy knoll. Yes, Denny Hamlin certainly made a mistake, and very likely broke some unwritten rule of driver etiquette by staying on the track too long, getting in the way, and influencing the outcome. But that doesn't make him Lee Harvey Oswald. It makes him exactly what he is -- a young, headstrong driver who hopefully will learn from the experience, maybe get to pit road a little quicker next time, and not let his frustrations affect others trying to finish.

By David Caraviello NASCAR.COM

Hamlin Injured...Playing Basketball

Denny Hamlin had the gait of a man in his 70's Monday in the garage at Lowe's Motor Speedway. Hamlin said he injured his left hip playing basketball Sunday night with friends who were trying to help him find something to do to forget his race Saturday night at Richmond when he led almost all the way until his tire lost air pressure with about 20 laps to go and he finished a disappointing 24th.
"I'd like to say I was going up for a dunk, but I think everyone would know that ain't true,'' Hamlin said. "When I went up, the person was lower than I was and I kind of flipped over his shoulder. I was horizontal to the ground. That was bad on the way down.'' Hamlin said.

"It popped and it doesn't feel good at all. I couldn't lay on it last night, and it ain't getting much better." Hamlin said he might see a doctor soon.
When someone mentioned that it had been a rough two days for him, Hamlin replied: "It ain't been very good. I'm just trying to get in the swing of things. It's good to be back at a race track.''
Hamlin was cruising to the win when the tire started losing air pressure. Hamlin stayed on the track instead of pitting, hoping for a caution. He proved to be the caution when the tire let go. He stopped on the track and got the caution and then took off, earning a two-lap penalty from NASCAR.
Many Dale Earnhardt Jr. fans -and Earnhardt Jr. - were upset at Hamlin for pulling the move. With Hamlin's caution bunching the field, it gave Kyle Busch a chance to make a last-ditch run at Earnhardt that turned into their incident.

Said Earnhardt Jr. after the race Saturday: "Everybody knows the deal on that. Everybody knows that’s wrong. You all know what to write. I ain’t writing it for you.''
Here's how Hamlin described what happened:
"I was trying to get to pit road. The problem was if I ran any kind of speed around the race track I was going to drag the sway bar arm off. It went into turn 3 and that's when I totally lost the entire tire. So I stopped, trying to be able to turn it down on to pit road but I had already crossed (by) the wall (that separates the track from the pits). I didn't want to risk tearing up the car to where we couldn't even finish the race, so I knew I had to stop or else I was going to jeopardize even us finishing the race.

Q: You were just looking to create a caution ...
DENNY: Yeah. Bottom line we had to stop or else we were going to get a DNF because our sway bar arms, the way they're designed is just that they can't stay on that race track for long and we were already dragging it as soon as the tire started going down. It was just one of those deals.
Q: A lot of people said you stopped to help Kyle out.
DENNY: I didn't even know where Kyle was at on the race track. For all I knew he was leading the race. It ended up causing whatever happened there at the end but, hell, if I didn't have that (previous) caution, my tire would have never went flat. So, I guess it will all even itself out in the end.
Q: Do you know what caused the tire to cut?
DENNY: No. I think it just destroyed the tire too bad for us to tell. I rode on it so long. The only chance we had was to stick it out and hope we get a caution before I went a lap down.
Q: Certainly other guys have stopped on the track to create cautions in the past. Is that tactic accepted among drivers or do you, for lack of a better term, need to apologize for or explain?
DENNY: I think everyone has been in that situation, so nobody would say anything to me about stopping. I think they would understand the same thing as I went through. I was already (upset) anyway because I felt like we should have won the race. Regardless if I was running fifth, I would have done the same thing because I pride myself on not getting DNFs and if I would have ran that one lap on that flat tire ... we would have been done. I had to do what I had to do regardless of whether it kind of affected someone else or not.

So there's D Ham's explanation for what happened on Saturday night. I'd rather he pitted before he had to stop on the racetrack..but hindsight's 20/20.

I sure hope that Denny feels better soon. If he needs a 5'6" heating pad or a masseuse I'm available at a moment's notice. Just send the Lear Jet and I'll be right there to make it all better....

No Additional Penalties For Hamlin Or Waltrip

The # 11 Team of Denny Hamlin won't receive any further penalty for

"intentionally" bringing out a late caution in Saturday night's Dan Lowry 400 Sprint Cup race at Richmond International Raceway, even though there is precedent for it. NASCAR said Monday that there would also be no additional penalty expected against #55-Michael Waltrip for intentionally slamming into #5-Casey Mears after the two got into the wall with less than 50 laps to go. Hamlin was given a two-lap penalty for stopping on the track for a cut tire with less than 10 laps remaining. NASCAR officials believed it was an intentional move to bring out the caution and allow Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch the opportunity to close on then-leader Dale Earnhardt Jr. A spokesperson for the governing body said during Monday's test session at Lowe's Motor Speedway that there would be no further punishment.

In 2004, Dale Earnhardt Jr. was docked 25 points and fined $10,000 for intentionally bringing out the caution at Bristol. Also, in the 2002 running of the All-Star race, Kurt Busch was fined $10,000 for intentionally spinning out Robby Gordon to bring out a caution.

During Saturday night's race, Michael Waltrip was parked with about 40 laps remaining when he intentionally took out Casey Mears after Mears got into him a few laps earlier. Officials said the hit Waltrip took in points -- he finished 37th and fell a spot to 32nd in points -- was severe enough.

Hamlin's dream weekend turns into a nightmare

A cut tire ruined what could've been the perfect race
One crewman slammed his fist onto a nicely packaged toolbox sitting behind the No. 11 hauler. Another man simply placed items neatly where they were supposed to be in preparation for loading up. The smoke and smell of rubber that floated above was supposed to be from their driver's car, but instead Clint Bowyer was the one doing donuts.
Denny Hamlin? He was following in brisk walk as his crew pushed his car through the Richmond International Raceway garage, cameras glaring, a large pack of media following.
It wasn't supposed to end this way.
Hamlin wasn't supposed to have that blank stare on his face as local television cameras tried to capture his emotion following Saturday night's Crown Royal 400. They had chased their hometown product all weekend, starting at Thursday night's Late Model race at nearby Southside Speedway, where Hamlin grew up racing. The event was called the Denny Hamlin 175. Proceeds from the race were to travel through the newly created Denny Hamlin Foundation, which the driver kicked off this week.
Things soon afterward began to appear storybook-like. Hamlin was fourth in Cup practice. Hamlin won the pole position for Saturday's race. Hamlin took four tires when the leaders didn't pit and charged past Carl Edwards and Kevin Harvick to win Friday night's Nationwide Series race. In Victory Lane, he proclaimed it the biggest win of his career -- in any series. And on Sunday, Hamlin presented a $50,000 check to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation from his Thursday night charitable race.
It was set up to be one of those weekends. They're rare in this era of Cup racing. So rare that folks began scrambling to get the exact date that Jeff Burton led every one of the 300 laps at New Hampshire to win.
That's what Denny Hamlin was on his way to.

Hamlin put on the most dominant performance this season. He put on the most dominant performance since ... Sept. 17, 2000, the date of Burton's wire-to-wire win. By Lap 382 of the scheduled 400-lap event, Hamlin had led 381 of them.
It was also on that lap that his car began to slow, his right-front tire going down. He lost the lead to Dale Earnhardt Jr. with 17 laps to go. Two laps later, he was sixth. Finally, with nine to go, Hamlin's tire gave up. He went high entering Turn 3, slowed, then stopped in Turn 4 to bring out the caution. NASCAR penalized him two laps for deliberately causing a yellow, and Hamlin finished 24th, three laps down.
The cut in Hamlin's tire was a V-shaped gash, slightly bigger than the size of a quarter.
"It's just a bummer deal for him. He drove a flawless race, and he had spectacular pit stops all day," said second-place finisher and teammate Kyle Busch.
Perhaps that's what leaves a greater sting.
Aside from getting passed when his tire went down, Hamlin never lost the lead on the racetrack or in the pits. A.J. Allmendinger led one time for one lap when he stayed out early in the race. But on every pit sequence, partially thanks to Hamlin's well-built lead each green-flag run, his crew got him out first. Remember, this is the same crew -- well, not exactly the same -- that has lost more than one race for Hamlin in the past.
He even said he was just riding around during the race, and when someone would close in, he'd kick it into gear and pull away at his own pace.
"You don't have days like this," said Hamlin, who was cruising in the same car he won with at Martinsville. "Dominating days like this just don't happen. There's just nothing you can say other than it just wasn't meant to be."
So when Hamlin drove into the garage following the race, he turned off the ignition and simply sat there. Collecting his thoughts, he said, trying to justify the final half hour of an otherwise perfect weekend.
That, for Hamlin and most everyone else who watched, was impossible.

By Josh Pate, NASCAR.COM

I DON"T Want To Talk About It

Well, I still haven't recovered from last night's catastrophe. I sat for 381 laps with my fingers crossed, praying every single lap. I begged for the caution that came out for Michael Waltrip and Casey Mears on Lap 356 and was screaming thanking God for answering my prayers. Then the unthinkable happened. I don't want to talk about it! I cried so hard my eyes are all puffy today. I'd like to choke NASCAR for giving him that 2 lap penalty. I want to kick Mike Ford for not bringing him to pit road before he became the caution. He could have come back with fresh tires. Anything would have been better than the 24th place finish they ended up with! To lead 381 laps and then finish 24th 3 laps down is pathetic. To lose 2 positions in the points is tragic.

But no matter what the score board said, no matter what place they scored him when it was all over...that race was Denny Hamlin's! He is the Champ to me and Richmond International Raceway and the Crown Royal Presents The Dan Lowry 400 belonged to D Ham. He had it won and will always be the man of the night to me. I'm sorry I uncrossed my fingers for a minute. I'm sorry I left the room for a pit stop. I'm sorry you didn't get the trophy you so deeply desired. But you had the home crowd on your side and I'm proud of you no matter what. And that's all I have to say about that!

Denny Hamlin Wins At Richmond!!!!

Take a look at that....that's Denny Hamlin in Victory Lane after winning the Lipton Tea 250 at his hometown racetrack, Richmond International Raceway, just 15 minutes from where he grew up. Just 4 short years ago, the 2006 Nextel Cup Rookie of the Year was sitting in the stands watching the same guys he rubs elbows with week in and week out do what he always dreamed about. Now, he's sitting 4th in the Sprint Cup Series Points, he won the Goody's Cool Orange 500 at Martinsville already this season, and now he's living the dream, raising the trophy in his personal Daytona 500 at his personal Indianapolis.

Relish every second Champ...you earned it. You may not have had the best car, you may not have been the man to beat, but you were the smartest guy on the track; taking 4 tires when Kevin Harvick decided to stay out and gamble. A crap shoot that did not pay off. Truth is, you were the best driver and the guy that was leading when the checkered waved. That's all that matters and your crew chief was right...we'll take it!

Virginia is very proud to have you as their native son. Mama and Daddy are looking like royalty right now and the celebration in Victory Lane was priceless. As a die-hard fan of yours, I must say Thank You for allowing me to get a glimpse of it. I was in tears and no doubt the ENTIRE East Coast heard me screaming when you won.

Well...Saturday night's Dan Lowry 400 is the next target on the list of things to do at Richmond
while you're back home. You've already got the pole D Ham...now let's show 'em what you're really made of and take the entire weekend. I'll be sporting my #11 Fed Ex Gear proudly and saying my prayers. Fingers crossed, Mike Ford be on top of your game, Crew guys kick some ass and D Ham...just be smart! I'll see ya when the confetti flies....YOU ARE THE MAN!!

CONGRATULATIONS CHAMP...you rock my world.

Denny Hamlin To Do Fan Hospitality At Richmond Int'l Raceway

Guests at Richmond International Raceway this weekend will have a multitude of opportunities to see some of their favorite NASCAR personalities up close and personal in fan hospitality areas at America’s Premier Short Track, Friday, May 2 and Saturday, May 3.

The Virginia Lottery Green Flag Zone fan hospitality area on Saturday, May 3, will be open prior to the Crown Royal Presents The Dan Lowry 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race. The Virginia Lottery Green Flag Zone will feature question and answer sessions with NASCAR drivers Denny Hamlin, Jamie McMurray, David Gilliland and Travis Kvapil; FOX race commentator Larry McReynolds; former NASCAR driver and SPEED-TV analyst Hermie Sadler; track president Doug Fritz; Crown Royal “Your Name Here” contest winner and Grand Marshal Dan Lowry; members of the Blue Angels flight demonstration team and NASCAR Nationwide Series Director Joe Balash.

The Party Zone fan hospitality area on Friday, May 2, will be open prior to the Lipton Tea 250 NASCAR Nationwide Series race. The Party Zone will feature question and answer sessions with NASCAR drivers Kurt Busch, Kenny Wallace, Scott Wimmer and Mike Wallace; track president Doug Fritz and members of the Blue Angels flight demonstration team.

Both options include pre-race pit passes for that day’s activities (time and weather permitting), appetizers, an all-you-can-eat dinner buffet, beer tickets for fans 21 years of age and older (with valid identification), unlimited sodas and water, live musical entertainment, prizes and games.

Guests who wish to purchase tickets to the fan hospitality areas must have a ticket for that day’s race. Tickets for the Saturday, May 3, Virginia Lottery Green Flag Zone, are $90 and tickets for the Friday, May 2, Party Zone, are $65.

Pre-race pit access on Friday is limited to fans 18 years of age and older. Dress code for Friday is as follows: no open-toed shoes, long pants must be worn, no sleeveless shirts allowed.

For additional information and tickets to the fan hospitality areas and to the Crown Royal Presents The Dan Lowry 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race, as well as the Lipton Tea 250 NASCAR Nationwide Series race, please log on to www.rir.com or call the ticket office at 866-455-7223.

Tickets to Saturday’s race start at $80. Friday’s tickets are $45 (reserved) and $35 (general admission) in advance.

by Richie Denzler