It has hosted nearly every type of road racing, from the Formula One United States Grand Prix ( 1961 – 1980 ), to one of the few races in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series not conducted on an oval speedway.

Until 1984, the Nashville Speedway USA had conducted a pair of 420-lap Cup races, but NASCAR pulled its sanctioning license from the circuit after disputes over who would manage the track took place prior to the start of the 1985 season.

It is also a popular attraction for many celebrities who visit Richmond, including actors Robert Duvall and Sam Neill, musicians from Bob Dylan to The Black Crowes, and sports figures such as two-time Daytona 500 champion driver Sterling Marlin and NASCAR two-time Sprint Cup champion crew chief and current NASCAR on Fox commentator Jeff Hammond ( who conducted the Marlin interview in 2002 in the museum ; Marlin is a Civil War buff ), among others.

NASCAR responded in a way that they hoped would make the cars safer and more equal, so the race series would be more a test of the drivers, rather than a test of car technology.

For 2012, GT3 cars will be allowed, with spec wings and splitters, as long as they pass a test at the NASCAR Research and Development Center in Concord, North Carolina, thus allowing GT3 cars to run with few modifications relative to other series ( NASCAR, the parent company of Grand-Am, does not permit anti-lock brakes or traction control to be used on Grand-Am GT cars ).

NASCAR held its first open test session on at the track from May 5 – 7.

In late 2009, Trulli was asked to test a NASCAR stock car in North America for Toyota.

On June 22 – 23, 1992, nine top NASCAR Winston Cup series teams were invited to Indy to participate in a Goodyear tire test.

On August 16 – 17 the same year, thirty-five NASCAR teams took part in an open test at the Speedway.

Wallace circled the 2. 66-mile ( 4. 28-km ) trioval in 44. 270 seconds, which surpassed the previous record held by Bill Elliott ( 212. 809 mph ) set in 1987, but doesn't replace the record due to the fact it was a radio test and not a NASCAR sanctioned event.

He is still an active test driver for DEI, and occasionally drives in the NASCAR Nationwide Series ( NNS ).

NASCAR later stated their original test was inaccurate.

Several NASCAR Sprint Cup Series teams test at GIR in preparation for these events.

Kurt Busch, the 2004 NASCAR Sprint Cup Champion and Las Vegas native, became the first Sprint Cup driver to test a stock car on the newly reconfigured track in his # 2 Miller Lite Penske Dodge.

In NASCAR, test driving has mainly related to " Research and Development cars ".

NASCAR teams rarely have specific test drivers on staff.

IROC has historically employed former NASCAR drivers Dave Marcis, Dick Trickle and Jim Sauter as test drivers to prepare the setups for cars competing in the IROC series.

On May 9, 2009, Mayfield was suspended indefinitely as both owner and driver by NASCAR following what NASCAR said was a positive test for methamphetamine.

In 2008, a new half-mile oval was built behind the backstretch for driving schools, but quickly became a popular test track for NASCAR race cars in preparation for races at Martinsville Speedway, as the tracks are similar in length and radius of turns.

Due to NASCAR's ban on testing at tracks with NASCAR races, many NASCAR teams run test sessions at PPIR.

Hmiel failed a drug test at Dover in 2005, and was escorted from the garage by NASCAR officials.

After failing a third drug test in early 2006, Hmiel was banned from NASCAR for life ... a ban that would be partially lifted in 2012 ( see below ).

Following the August 16, 2008 NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Michigan International Speedway, NASCAR used a dynometer to test the horsepower of several cars from all competing manufacturers.

For example, NASCAR Sprint cup series now requires fuel injection.

Also in 1957, Chevrolet sold enough of their new fuel injected engines to the public in order to make them available for racing ( and Ford began selling superchargers as an option ), but Bill France immediately banned fuel injection and superchargers from NASCAR before they could race.

Sunoco fuel supply truck at 2010 NASCAR race

In 2004, Sunoco replaced ConocoPhillips ' 76 brand as the official fuel of NASCAR.

Unocal 76 was the official fuel and motor oil of NASCAR from the sport's inaugural season in 1948 until the end of the 2003 season when Sunoco became the official fuel and Mobil 1 became the official motor oil.

In the first scheduled NASCAR event of 1989, the 1989 Daytona 500, Waltrip won the race for the first time, in his 17th career attempt with a fuel mileage strategy along with his long-time crew-chief Jeff Hammond, making his final pit stop for fuel a distant 53 laps, ( 132 miles ), from the finish.

To cut costs, NASCAR reduced the maximum number of pit crew members allowed over the wall for a pit stop from seven to five, and required teams to only take either fuel or tires on a single pit stop.

With the partnership of McLaren Electronic Systems, they helped the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series vehicles convert from carburetors to fuel injection starting in 2012.

NASCAR has announced that it will change to fuel injection for the 2012 season.

After the first round of qualifying for the 2007 Daytona 500, NASCAR inspectors found evidence in the engine manifold that Waltrip's team had used an illegal fuel additive.

On August 3, Carl got his fourth NASCAR Sprint Cup victory of the season, surviving a rain delay and fuel shortage to win at Pocono.

On July 8, he finally won his first NASCAR race, a Busch Series race at Chicagoland Speedway, coasting to the finish after running out of fuel. Casey Mears racing in his Busch Series car

One of the poles, however, was at the DieHard 500, and the car was found to have violated the rules with an illegal fuel substance, and penalties resulted in the team earning-25 points from the race ( his 126 points, earned by finishing 14th and leading a lap, were offset by the 151 point penalty NASCAR handed down ).

Bliss scored his second career Nationwide win, taking advantage of a his fuel mileage and getting a caution at the right time, at Lowes Motor Speedway, and NASCAR declared the race official after 170 of 200 laps due to rain.

With the introduction of fuel injection to NASCAR, vapor lock has been almost eliminated.

Believing that Sorenson slowed due to being out of fuel, Fellows drove past them at nearly race speed, though NASCAR rules stipulate that a driver must maintain reasonable speed while under the caution flag.

In 2008, Sunoco, the official NASCAR fuel supplier, based in Pennsylvania, and the Philadelphia region of the American Red Cross, agreed to sponsorship of the race and charity events to benefit the American Red Cross South Pennsylvania-Philadelphia region.

Unlike NASCAR, which up until 2012 required carbureted engines for all its nationally touring series, ASA requires fuel injection in all of its engines.

It was a dismal first year for the # 55 Toyota Camry in NASCAR top series competition, as Waltrip's team faced stiff penalties for using illegal fuel additives during qualifying for the Daytona 500.

With the fuel injected 283, the 150 model two door sedan version, called the " black widow ", was the first car that was outlawed ( and quickly so ) by NASCAR as it proved almost unbeatable on virtually all the NASCAR tracks in early 1957.