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It doesn't rank among the world's most impressive construction projects, but in it's own way the conversion of the 1/2-mile State Fairgrounds Raceway at Richmond, Virginia, into the 3/4-mile Richmond International Raceway is a tribute to what can be done when it absolutely, positively has to get done. In this case, the demolition of the antiquated half-miler with its steel guardrailing, scaffolding and board bleachers, and primitive amenities and the construction of a state-of-the-art, fan-friendly track on the same site was scheduled for late February to early September of 1988. The people who made it happen were Paul Sawyer and his sons, Billy and Wayne. The family had been involved with NASCAR racing in Richmond for more than 40 years and had always wanted to build or operate something bigger and better than the fairgrounds track. After several failed attempts to buy land for a superspeedway in Virginia, the Sawyers decided in 1986 to tear down what they had and start from scratch. Time was of the essence. They went into the 1988 season with Winston Cup races scheduled for February and September, giving them precious little "fat" time if things went bad. No sooner had the checkered flag fallen on the Pontiac 400 in February (which Neil Bonnett won) that Richard petty climbed on a bulldozer and began digging up the frontstreach in a photo op that heralded the Sawyer's commitment to upgrade their facility. Within weeks, the place looked like a war zone. Gone were the asphalt track, gone were the wooden bleachers, the dangerous and inadequate steel railings, gone were the catch fences, and gone were the outbuildings that had seen better decades. With weather playing into their hands, construction crews made great progress throughout the spring and summer. Teams that showed up for the Miller High Life 400 the second weekend in September were amazed at the transformation. The old, flat, slow half-miler was a distant memory when compared to the 3/4-mile, D-shaped, moderately banked track that seated 70,000, more than twice as many as the old track. Today, Richmond International Raceway had almost 100,000 seats, a vast array of VIP and corporate luxury boxes, pedestrian and vehicular tunnels, clean and modern fan and competitor amenities, and one of the best lighting systems in all of NASCAR.
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