Virginia Motorsports Park

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.

Virginia Motorsports Park
LocationPetersburg, Virginia
Time zoneUTC−5
Coordinates37°09′59.29″N 77°31′26.51″W
Capacity23,000
OwnerTommy & Judy Franklin
Address8018 Boydton Plank Road
North Dinwiddie, VA 23803
Opened1994
Major events
  • NHRA
    • Virginia NHRA Nationals
  • PDRA
    • PDRA Summer Shootout
    • PDRA World Finals
Websitehttp://www.virginiamotorsports.com
Dragstrip
SurfaceConcrete
Length.402 km (.25 miles)

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 will be returning May 13-15, 2022.[4]

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.[5] The current owners are Tommy and Judy Franklin, who purchased the facility in 2017.[6] Tommy Franklin is also one of the founders of PDRA.[7] The track has been hosting the PDRA Brian Olson Memorial World Finals since October 2019.[8]

Virginia Motorsports Park has a dirt track located beside the dragstrip which hosts tractor pulling, motorcross and other events.[9] The facility also hosts the annual Dinwiddie County Fair in October.[10][11]

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. National Hot Rod Association, 2022 Virginia NHRA Nationals, Retrieved Apr. 15, 2022.
  5. Professional Drag Racers Association, Retrieved Jun. 10, 2018.
  6. The Progress-Index, Drag racing returns to Virginia Motorsports Park by Geneva Heffernan, June 8, 2018, Retrieved Jun. 10, 2018.
  7. Professional Drag Racers Association - About PDRA, Retrieved Jun. 10, 2018.
  8. Professional Drag Racers Association, 2022 Schedule, Retrieved Apr. 15, 2022.
  9. Virginia Motorsports Park - Dirt Track, Retrieved Jun. 10, 2018.
  10. Richmond Times-Dispatch, 2019 Dinwiddie County Fair, Retrieved May 19, 2019.
  11. Discover Dinwiddie, 2019 Dinwiddie County Fair, Retrieved May 19, 2019.
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