The Virginia Lottery is an independent agency of the Commonwealth of Virginia. It was created when Virginians voted in 1987 in favor of a state lottery. The first ticket was sold on September 20, 1988. All profits from Virginia Lottery ticket sales go to K-12 public education in the Commonwealth. In Fiscal Year 2012, the Lottery's profits totaled $487 million, which accounted for approximately 8 percent of school funding in Virginia. That brought total Lottery profits in Virginia to $8.4 billion.
Richmond International Raceway (RIR) is a 3/4-mile (1.2 km), D-shaped, asphalt race track located just outside Richmond, Virginia in Henrico County. It hosts the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and Nationwide Series. "America's Premier Short Track" formerly hosted a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race, an IZOD IndyCar Series race, and two United States Auto Club sprint car races.