Venue | Richmond International Raceway |
---|---|
Location | Richmond, Virginia, United States |
Corporate sponsor | Federated Auto Parts |
First race | 1958 |
Distance | 300 miles (480 km) |
Laps | 400 (Stage 1: 100 Stage 2: 100 Stage 3: 200) |
Previous names |
Richmond 200 (1958) Capital City 200 (1959–1961) Capital City 300 (1962–1968) Capital City 250 (1969) Capital City 500 (1970–1975) Capital City 400 (1976–1980) Wrangler Sanfor-Set 400 (1981–1985) Wrangler Jeans Indigo 400 (1986–1987) Miller High Life 400 (1988–1989) Miller Genuine Draft 400 (1990–1995) Miller 400 (1996) Exide NASCAR Select Batteries 400 (1997–1999) Chevrolet Monte Carlo 400 (2000) Chevrolet Monte Carlo 400 with the Looney Tunes (2001–2002) Chevy Rock & Roll 400 (2003–2009) Air Guard 400 (2010) Wonderful Pistachios 400 (2011) |
Most wins (driver) | Richard Petty (7) |
Most wins (team) | Petty Enterprises (7) |
Most wins (manufacturer) | Chevrolet (16) |
Surface | Asphalt |
Length | 0.75 mi (1.21 km) |
Turns | 4 |
The Federated Auto Parts 400 is an annual Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series held at the Richmond International Raceway in Richmond, Virginia, the other one being the Toyota Owners 400, Since 2004, the race has served as the last race in NASCAR's "regular season" for the NASCAR Cup Series. Following the race, the top sixteen drivers in points standings advance to the NASCAR Chase for the Championship.
Starting in 1991, the race was moved from Sunday afternoon to Saturday night. It became the second night race on the NASCAR schedule, following Bristol which takes place a few weeks earlier.
From 2000–2009, the race was sponsored in some form by Chevrolet. For 2001 and 2002, the race sponsorship was in conjunction with Warner Bros., with Looney Tunes characters featured in several cars' paint jobs. For the 2003–2009 races the race was known as the Chevy Rock and Roll 400 and various cars were painted to promote various rock music acts. The 2010 race saw the sponsorship move from Chevrolet to the Air National Guard, a branch of the United States Air Force. The race was sponsored by Roll Global through its Wonderful Pistachios brand, a division of Roll Global subsidiary Paramount Nuts in 2011. On May 2, 2012, Federated Auto Parts and Richmond International Raceway announced that Federated Auto Parts will be the race's sponsor starting in 2012 and ending in 2014.
Because of its proximity to (and its occasionally being run on) Patriot Day, the Pledge of Allegiance is included as part of the opening ceremony.