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Tailgating during Toyota Owners 400 Weekend at Richmond Raceway 2023 | Harrelson Photos
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Tailgating during the Cook Out 400 | Harrelson Photos
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The Torque Club buffet during the Cook Out 400 | Harrelson Photos
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Fangrounds infield at Richmond Raceway during the 2023 Toyota Owners 400 | Harrelson Photos
This weekend, Richmond Raceway will host its first NASCAR events of the year. The three-day affair marks the 69th annual spring NASCAR Cup Series race and the track will come alive to host tens of thousands of hungry race fans. Keeping them all fueled is a massive undertaking requiring hundreds of employees and a gargantuan amount of food and beverages — including local options. So, how does it happen?
Tonie Stevens, Richmond Raceway’s director of event marketing, says that RR begins preparing for the race in January. One month prior, they begin ramping up orders and making way for local vendors.
"Over the weekend, we’ll fill about a thousand shifts,” Stevens says. “During the Toyota Owners 500 on Sunday night under the lights, we will have around 350 people working, in addition to the vendors working their stands and food trucks. There will be eight concession booths in addition to 16 food trucks spread out around the Midway Fan Zone, the Infield Fan Grounds, as well as Concourse and Level 2.”
In order to make it happen, they also call for backup. The week of the race, a group of support travelers from other NASCAR/Levy tracks, such as Daytona, Charlotte, Atlanta, Michigan, Bristol and Texas, will join the Richmond team. The stadium can seat over 50,000 people, and food and beverage service is a crucial part of race day.
Food culture for NASCAR events is multifaceted. Sure, there are classic concessions and pop-ups, but then there’s tailgating. The tradition is kept alive and well with hundreds of folks bringing grills and cooking out at the facility's campgrounds and parking lots. Fans go all out with tents, family recipes, dips, chips, epic picnics and well-stocked coolers. Attendees are permitted to bring their own pre-packaged and sealed food and beverage items in a soft-sided cooler inside the stadium — including alcoholic beverages (no glass of course) — which helps to keep things affordable.
The drivers, however, tailgate a little differently. The track hosts dozens of professional drivers and their crews. The race teams travel with professional chefs, who prepare meals in portable private kitchens inside the garage area. With Easter on Sunday, the holiday will influence some of the weekend’s fare. Suite VIP ticket-holders can expect a seasonal holiday menu of ham, deviled eggs, biscuits, pimento cheese, Easter-themed cupcakes and more Southern favorites. The track will also host an Easter Sunday service.
This year, there are also local restaurants in the mix. The lineup includes La Milpa, Cobra Cabana, Jiji Frozen Custard and more, as well as offerings from O’Taste and See, Mr. Ray’z Big Dogs, Emerald Armor Cafe and Oven Baked 4U.
Josh Novicki, co-owner of Cobra Cabana, says they will close their Carver neighborhood restaurant for the race, although their patio bar will remain open for limited service. They’re bringing most of the staff to the infield, where they’ll serve favorites from the restaurant, such as carne asada waffle fries, the Snake Plissken Burger and Carver Chop Cheese. The Cobra crew will also set up several cocktail bars around the track. On the menu: a Snow Job piña colada and the Strawberry Jacuzzi, which features vodka, strawberry puree, orange and pineapple juices.
Cobra Cabana co-owner Herbie Abernathy says, “With all the businesses we have, it’s hard to open something else brick-and-mortar. We thought it might be a chance to expand our business through a big or recurring event.” Abernathy and his partners also own Richmond’s Hot for Pizza, the seafood concept Sand Spur in Carolina Beach, and KINGS live music venue in Raleigh. “It seemed like a cool challenge to do something way different from what we’re used to.”
The local theme also spills over into beverage offerings. Alongside Virginia-based Devil’s Backbone Craft Brewing and Bold Rock Hard Cider, patrons will spot selections from Richmond’s Hardywood Park Craft Brewing and Stone Brewing, including seasonal drafts. Spirits hail from Belle Isle Moonshine and wine from New Kent Winery, available at the 22 different bars spattered around the complex. In 2023, RR served over 16,000 spiked drinks and another 10,000 nonalcoholic beverages.
Koy DePompeo, territory sales manager at Stone Brewing Co., says they began working with the Levy Group, which manages restaurants at major sports and entertainment venues across the country, including RR, last year. “I am excited for any chance to share our beers with locals and to work with local organizations,” says DePompeo. “This NASCAR and other future events will no doubt bring in people from all over the country, and I believe that seeing Stone on the beer menu will not only be a familiar name, but a great opportunity for the RR to showcase new, local offerings."
This is DePompeo’s first race, and he plans to celebrate with friends at Chaos Corner. That’s the general admission seating area with a view of the fourth turn of the track, where, statistically, the most excitement (read: crashes) happens.
Stevens says they hope to continue to pursue partnerships with local in mind. “The diversity of our food and beverage offerings has really increased,” she says. “We have hosted four local vendor interest sessions to encourage the RVA food and beverage community to connect with us. These interest sessions put potential vendors face to face with our management team to see what a partnership with us looks like.”
