The 2020 NASCAR Xfinity and Gander Outdoors Truck Series will see the return of some old tracks to their schedules for the first time in over a decade. Revealed on Wednesday, Martinsville Speedway will once again host an Xfinity race, while Richmond Raceway will play host to a Truck event once more.
Martinsville last held an Xfinity Series race in 2006 – when it was known as the Busch Series – with the Goody’s 250, the first race for the series at the short track since 1990. The final NASCAR starts for NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee Darrell Waltrip and veteran Ricky Craven, Kevin Harvick won the event. Waltrip and Craven finished twenty-eighth and thirty-ninth, respectively. It was replaced by Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in 2007.
On Twitter, the track tweeted:
From the series’ inaugural season in 1995 to 2005, Richmond held a Truck race last known as the Cheerios Betty Crocker 200. The last edition was won by Mike Skinner, who along with Tony Stewart (2002, 2003) and Jack Sprague (1998, 2001) are the lone two-time winners of the event (Skinner also won in 1996). Richmond will also be the Xfinity Series’ final race before its playoffs.
“Since I came to Richmond in 2011, I have been asked one question more than any other, ‘When are the trucks coming back?'” RR President Dennis Bickmeier stated in a track release. “We have actively pursued a NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series race for years, so we look forward to welcoming the Gander Trucks back home to Richmond next spring.”
Other schedule changes were made to align with the 2020 Cup Series schedule, such as Martinsville being the penultimate round for all thee series leading into the championships at ISM Raceway. The Cup Series’ doubleheader at Pocono Raceway on 27–28 July will feature the two series as support events, with the Trucks on Saturday and Xfinity on Sunday.
The Xfinity Series’ race at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, typically held in the summer, has been moved up to 30 May; the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval and Martinsville will serve as the second-tier series’ playoff elimination races. The Truck Series’ cutoff rounds will also be at different tracks for 2020 with Bristol Motor Speedway and Martinsville.
