Richmond’s WRVA-AM Celebrates 25 Years as The Commonwealth’s Motor Racing Network Flagship

The 2017 NASCAR season will be special in Richmond for many reasons. Richmond International Raceway (Richmond) will host a pair of Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR XFINITY Series race weekends on April 28, 29 & 30 and September 8 & 9. In the fall, NASCAR will crown its inaugural Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series regular season champion in the Capital City on September 9 at the Federated Auto Parts 400. The one constant in these events will be News Radio WRVA 1140 AM having these thrill-packed events live across The Commonwealth, and the Mid-Atlantic region, via a partnership with the Motor Racing Network (MRN).

This year marks the 25th season that MRN and News Radio WRVA 1140 AM have combined their energies to bring NASCAR fans turn-by-turn coverage of America’s most action-packed sport.  The 2017 April and September races at Richmond International Raceway will be the 49th and 50th NASCAR Cup Series events to air on iHeartMedia as part of this partnership. 

“I signed WRVA’s very first agreement with MRN in 1993,” said MRN President and Executive Producer, David Hyatt. “A 25-year partnership is an amazing benchmark and we’re happy to celebrate with WRVA and iHeart Media during Richmond’s high-profile spring race weekend.” 

During the upcoming pre-race ceremonies for the Toyota Owners 400 on Sunday, April 30, Hyatt and Richmond President Dennis Bickmeier will present iHeart Virginia Area President Rick Green with a special award commemorating the station’s 25 years as the Radio Home of NASCAR here in Richmond.

“NewsRadio 1140 WRVA is proud to partner with MRN to bring Richmond unparalleled coverage of NASCAR over the past quarter-century,” said Green. “NASCAR’s history at Richmond International Raceway is a perfect fit with NewsRadio 1140 WRVA’s heritage in Richmond.”

The first hometown race heard live on WRVA took place on March 7, 1993, when Davey Allison won the spring race at Richmond. Rusty Wallace took the checkered flag at the September 11, 1993 when MRN next visited “The Action Track”. The relationship between MRN and WRVA began in 1993, the same year that Dale Earnhardt won the sixth of his record-tying seven Cup championships.

“With 50,000 watts of power behind their signal, WRVA-AM has, for a generation, been the voice of motorsports in Virginia,” said Bickmeier. “NASCAR racing, and motorsports overall, is a passion in The Commonwealth, and no one tells our story better than the #1 station in Richmond. We are glad to have them as a partner for our race weekends, and as great stewards of all that makes our Capital City great.”

RIR PR