Drag racing is facing two pandemics — one is COVID-19, and the other is tracks across the country that continue to close for various reasons. The latest track to go silent is Richmond Dragway in Sandston, Virginia, a once-thriving track that held weekly events.

Richmond Dragway wasn’t able to open in 2020 due to COVID-19 restrictions and rumors began to circulate that the facility was for sale. A post was made on the Richmond Dragway Facebook page denying this and that a 2021 season was being planned. A little over a month later, Johnny Davis, the owner and operator of Richmond Dragway announced via Facebook the track would be sold.

According to the statement released by Davis, the prolonged shutdown of the track thanks to COVID-19 played a major role in his decision to sell the facility.

“Following a year of uncertainty and change in 2020, one unexpected positive was the fact that our break from our routines challenged everyone to reimagine their own ‘normals.’ As I reflect on the past 10 and a half months, the clarity that has come to me is that my family means the world to me and to spend time engaged in their interests, passions, and hobbies has been a most wonderful gift to me. It also means that tough decisions must be made.  Decisions that are painful and have challenged me to my core.”

Ultimately, the 72-acre facility was sold to Greenspring Realty Partners for a whopping $3.2 million dollars. Greenspring hasn’t announced its plans for the property, but it’s highly doubtful it will be used as a racetrack. While not all tracks that have been offered up for sale have closed, it’s a disturbing trend to see so many venues up for sale in such a shot period of time.