Richmond Int'l Raceway news 2010-01-05

RICHMOND INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY ANNOUNCES NEW STATE-OF-THE-ART SCORING TOWER AND VIDEO SCREENS

RICHMOND (Jan. 5, 2010) -- The bright, flashy lights of Times Square and its giant New Year's Eve ball have nothing on Richmond International Raceway. The track is ringing in the New Year--and the upcoming racing season--with a "larger than life," state-of-the-art video scoring tower which will support four giant video screens high above the infield of America's Premier Short Track beginning in 2010. The new leaderboard and video screens, which combined will be the largest in all of motorsports, will be visible from every seat at Richmond International Raceway and installed in time for the NASCAR Doubleheader weekend April 30-May 1.

"The new leaderboard and video screens mark a major upgrade and improvement to our facility and will enhance the overall guest experience at America's Premier Short Track," said track president Doug Fritz.

Richmond International Raceway has long been committed to providing the best fan experience in motorsports. At the heart of that commitment is both asking for and listening to fan feedback.

"Looking at surveys, fan emails and comments, our fans asked for a new leaderboard to replace the current model in the infield," added Fritz. "I'm proud to say we're giving our fans something, not only that they have asked for, but something that will be unparalleled in the motorsports industry."

Designed by Panasonic, the entire structure will stand 130 feet tall and feature four LED (Light-emitting diode) video screens at the peak. At 130-feet high, it will be the tallest in motorsports. Each enormous LED video screen will measure 38-feet wide by 24-feet high, and the four-sided design will provide spectacular views of the video, including live race action, to fans all around Richmond International Raceway. The LED video screens will display live race action, highlights and replays, pre-produced videos and other animations and graphics.

Below the video screens, a four-sided LED leaderboard will stretch 67-feet high by 13-feet wide and provide real-time running order, lap times, points standings, including the current Chase standings during "One Last Race to Make the Chase," and other scoring functions during races.

Combined, the leaderboard and video screens will feature the largest amount of LED square footage in the motorsports industry.

"We're very excited about this new, first-class fan amenity. It's going to keep our fans both informed and entertained during our events," continued Fritz.

The new leaderboard and video screens at Richmond International Raceway will stand almost 72 feet taller than the current scoring pylon, and the video screens alone will be over three times wider than the current pylon.

NASCAR returns to Richmond International Raceway for a doubleheader weekend, featuring the Crown Royal Presents The Your Name Here 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race "under the lights" on Saturday night May 1. Tickets, starting at $40, go on sale this Saturday, January 9, at 9 a.m and are available by calling 866-455-RACE (7223), logging on to www.rir.com or stopping by the Richmond International Raceway ticket office at 600 E. Laburnum Ave, Richmond, VA, 23222. The Spring NASCAR Doubleheader weekend kicks off on Friday, April 30 with the NASCAR Nationwide Series 250.

-source: rir