Toyota to sponsor Richmond races

Two of Richmond International Raceway’s three spring NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races will be sponsored by Toyota. RIR, one of NASCAR’s most venerable and popular tracks (its first Cup race was in 1953), recently announced its multi-year sponsorship package with Toyota.

The ToyotaCare Nationwide Series 250 will be on Friday night, April 26, and the Toyota Owners Sprint Cup 400 will be on Saturday night, April 27. In recent years RIR’s sponsorship deals included Pontiac, Chevrolet, Crown Royal, Federated Auto Parts, Air National Guard, Virginia Tourism, Exide, Miller and Wonderful Pistachios. The 3/4-mile track will host the K&N East Pro Series on Thursday night, April 25.

“This Toyota partnership allows us to align with a premium brand that has been supporting NASCAR for nearly a decade," said RIR president Dennis Bickmeier. “These multi-year entitlements will allow RIR to continue delivering the high-quality events our fans have enjoyed for 60 years. To put on these NASCAR spectacles, we require two core ingredients: the fans and the sponsors—both of which drive our business and allow us to provide top-notch events."