Dennis Bickmeier oversees his final NASCAR race this weekend at a pivotal moment for Richmond Raceway – Richmond Times-Dispatch
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Dennis Bickmeier wants to wrap up his time at Richmond Raceway with a glorious finale.
Sunday’s Toyota Owners 400 NASCAR Cup Series race will be the 55-year-old Bickmeier’s last as track president.
On April 18, he’ll be arranging family photos on his desk with Henrico County, where he will become the executive director of the county’s new sports and entertainment authority. There, he will oversee the development and operation of both a 180,000-square-foot indoor sports and convocation center at Virginia Center Commons and a 17,000-seat arena.
Bickmeier’s tenure has not been the easiest of times for NASCAR or for sports in general, even before the enormous burden of the pandemic.
Stock car racing’s surge in popularity had slowed by the time he came to Richmond in 2011. He has presided over the reduction of the track’s seating capacity from 112,000 to about 50,000.
On the other hand, he and his staff shepherded a $30 million renovation of the track’s infield, a major upgrade for both competitors and fans. Bickmeier is especially proud of the raised walkway, lined with photo murals saluting Virginia’s racing history, that gives fans a close-up look at crews doing their jobs.
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NASCAR owns and operates Richmond Raceway. A source with the sanctioning body said the company will appoint a new track president, but did not disclose a timetable for the replacement. The track is one of a handful that still hosts two annual Cup Series races, the second scheduled for Aug. 14.
For now, Bickmeier’s focus is on the business at hand at his race track. The preliminaries start with Wednesday evening’s Track Laps for Charity, allowing fans who donate to take laps on the ¾-mile D-shaped track. NASCAR’s Modified Tour runs a 150-lap race Friday evening, the Xfinity Series cars have a 250-lapper Saturday afternoon.
The main event, Sunday afternoon’s 400-lap Cup race, will be the series’ first points event on a track under a mile in length for NASCAR’s Next Gen cars. Dennis said he shares the fans’ anticipation at the prospect of watching a Cup race with the new rules package designed to reward driving talent and blunt the advantage of big-budget teams.
“So far, we’ve had six races and six different winners – three of them first-time winners,” Bickmeier said. “We have a lot of young talent in the Cup Series. I think the veteran drivers might be having a little bit of an ‘uh-oh’ moment.”
The Next Gen cars have produced not only new winners, but also an abundance of hotly contested racing on the way to those victories.
Last Sunday’s race on the Circuit of the Americas road course in Austin, Texas, came down to the last lap, a fender-banging battle among three Chevrolet drivers. Ross Chastain won after he jostled A.J. Allmendinger aside and Allmendinger clipped Alex Bowman in the third Chevy.
Bickmeier said that race and the season so far will make for lively pre-race conversation when, for one last time as track president, he ventures out to interact with fans – one of his favorite endeavors in his 11 years at the helm.
“I’ve enjoyed my time getting to know fans at the track,” he said. “I’ve gotten to know some of them at a personal level – become friends and will remain friends.
“I like walking along the midway, in the Fangrounds, walking through …….
Dennis Bickmeier wants to wrap up his time at Richmond Raceway with a glorious finale.
Sunday’s Toyota Owners 400 NASCAR Cup Series race will be the 55-year-old Bickmeier’s last as track president.
On April 18, he’ll be arranging family photos on his desk with Henrico County, where he will become the executive director of the county’s new sports and entertainment authority. There, he will oversee the development and operation of both a 180,000-square-foot indoor sports and convocation center at Virginia Center Commons and a 17,000-seat arena.
Bickmeier’s tenure has not been the easiest of times for NASCAR or for sports in general, even before t…….
Dennis Bickmeier wants to wrap up his time at Richmond Raceway with a glorious finale.
Sunday’s Toyota Owners 400 NASCAR Cup Series race will be the 55-year-old Bickmeier’s last as track president.
On April 18, he’ll be arranging family photos on his desk with Henrico County, where he will become the executive director of the county’s new sports and entertainment authority. There, he will oversee the development and operation of both a 180,000-square-foot indoor sports and convocation center at Virginia Center Commons and a 17,000-seat arena.
Bickmeier’s tenure has not been the easiest of times for NASCAR or for sports in general, even before t…….