All You Should Know About the ‘State of Virginia’ Trophy for NASCAR Winners at Richmond Raceway

Published 04/17/2021, 7:30 AM EDT

NASCAR has often come out with some unique trophies to commemorate wins, which makes drivers just a bit more motivated to perform well at such races. While the Martinsville grandfather clock trophy is one of the famous ones, Richmond also boasts of a unique trophy of its own.

Apparently, the trophy is in the shape of the state of Virginia. Every year the race winner receives this special trophy to adorn their cabinet.

The iconic state of Virginia trophy returned to the NASCAR scene back in September 2018. Since then, the Richmond Raceway winner has taken the trophy home. As it turns out, this trophy is made of wood and an airbrushed metal.

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Apparently, the wooden part embodies the Richmond Raceway’s past while the metal part symbolizes the original Federated Auto Parts 400. With the amalgamation of the two elements, it brought the Federated Auto Parts 400 trophy to a new era in NASCAR.

Who will win this iconic NASCAR trophy?

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“Richmond Raceway is returning to our roots by bringing back the iconic wooden shape of Virginia trophy to the Federated Auto Parts 400 with a modern take on the Richmond classic,” said Richmond President Dennis Bickmeier.

“We are strong supporters of the Commonwealth of Virginia, and we wanted to honor our Racing Virginia heritage for our first-ever NASCAR Playoff Race Weekend. The new historic State of Virginia trophy is the perfect tie back to our dedicated entitlement partner Federated Auto Parts, who also calls the Commonwealth home.”

For this weekend’s race, Martin Truex Jr will line up on pole position after grabbing his second Cup win in 2021. However, he has teammate and championship rival, Denny Hamlin alongside him on the front row. Truex Jr is hunting for his third win, while Hamlin is on the prowl for his maiden win. If Hamlin does ending up taking his first win this season, it would extend his already massive lead in the championship.

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Martin Truex Jr. Takes Pole: Starting Lineup for Richmond Raceway NASCAR Cup Series 2021 Race

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Dhruv George is a senior Formula One and NASCAR analyst for EssentiallySports, having authored nearly 12000 articles spanning different sports like F1, NASCAR, Tennis, NFL, and eSports. He graduated with a PG Diploma in Journalism from the Xavier Institute of Communications. Dhruv has also conducted interviews with F1 driver Pierre Gasly and Moto2 rider Tony Arbolino.