08/11/2026
Fifty-six years to the day after Richard Petty won at Ona Speedway, a missing piece of that history will be restored.
On Tuesday, August 11, 1970, Richard Petty captured the West Virginia 300 at International Raceway Park—now known as Ona Speedway. The event was part of the NASCAR Grand National Series, now known as the NASCAR Cup Series, and became forever remembered as “the night the lights went out.” A blackout stopped the race for nearly 30 minutes before Petty went on to claim the victory.
This past winter, Ona Speedway historian Steve Chapman was visiting the Petty Museum when he noticed that the trophy from that victory was missing its winner’s plaque. We may never know what happened to the original plaque, but we knew that historic trophy deserved to be complete.
At 11:00 a.m. Tuesday, August 11, exactly 56 years after the victory, representatives from Ona Speedway will present Mr. Petty with a new winner’s plaque during a special ceremony at the Petty Museum in Randleman, North Carolina.
The ceremony will be broadcast live on the Ona Speedway page and simulcast on WSAZ NewsChannel 3+.
Be sure to join us Tuesday morning as we honor an unforgettable piece of Ona Speedway history and talk with Richard Petty about his memories of racing at Ona.
