Virginia launched a motorsports tourism trail promoting NASCAR & other racing events

Enjoy racing activities all summer and fall with the new Virginia Motorsport Heritage Trail.Courtesy of Quentin Tricoire via Pexels

If you’re into motorsports, Virginia has launched a tourism initiative just for you—the Virginia Motorsport Heritage Trail.

This new offering is designed to connect travelers to the rich and vibrant racing history throughout Virginia, the state tourism corporation announced in a press release.

It aims to do that by creating a means for people to enjoy Virginia’s numerous racing destinations and to see where some of the greatest NASCAR drivers compete, see where influential people in racing, such as Wendell Scott and Denny Hamlin, got their start, and virtually visit historic and current tracks across Virginia.

“With about 20 tracks across the Commonwealth, fans can attend events almost any weekend of the year,” said Rita McClenny, President and CEO of Virginia Tourism Corporation in the press release. “The Virginia Motorsports Heritage Trail will allow travelers to experience the state in a new way by exploring the history behind the heart-pounding action fans experience.”

“Virginia’s racing history is full of excitement and interesting information that many people simply do not know about. We have great race tours like the very popular SMART Modified Tour that holds races at tracks like South Boston Speedway, Dominion Raceway, Franklin County Speedway, and the Motor Mile Speedway every year,” Senator William M. Stanley Jr. stated in that same press release.

“The Virginia Motorsports Heritage Trail will showcase these incredible stories and bring more spectators and motorsports history lovers to the area for our network of tracks and attractions,” he added.

Stanley Jr. is the Virginia lawmaker who introduced the bill to create a motorsports heritage trail to promote tourism. And the good times and memories he envisioned are set to begin this month.

What's on the agenda?

From April 1 -3, Virginia will host a NASCAR Cup Series race weekend at Richmond Raceway, and from April 7 – 9, the state will have race weekend at Martinsville Speedway.

On April 29 – 30, fans can watch the fastest cars in the history of the South Boston Speedway for the “first-ever 410-winged Sprint car event.”

That will be followed by an “Automotive Amusement Park” at Virginia International Raceway’s HyperFest, “the largest motorsports festival on the East Coast,” running from May 13- 15.

Next month, on May 21, there will be a $20,000 prize on the table at the Virginia is for Racing Lovers King of the Commonwealth Cup at Virginia Motor Speedway.

Races will be held every weekend during the summer and fall. For more on events and the Virginia Motorsports Heritage Trail, you can visit virginia.org/events/motorsports.

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