Full Throttle Fare

When NASCAR cruises into Richmond for its August 16 Cup Series race, it won’t just be the engines drawing attention. The fanfare surrounding Richmond Raceway’s only 2025 Cup Series event extends far beyond the track — all the way to the concession stands and catered suites. With a surge of fans present, the grandstands will be buzzing, and whether you’re a race-day regular grabbing a quick bite or a VIP relaxing in the luxe Torque Club, you’ll find a food experience that’s anything but standard stadium fare. 

“When you think of concessions, you might think of hot dogs, popcorn, and Coca-Cola,” says Richmond Raceway President Lori Waran. “What you may not know is that Levy, our NASCAR catering and concessions partner, closely collaborates with local farms and purveyors of hand-crafted foods.”

Based in Chicago, Levy serves up creative cuisine at major sporting events, music festivals, and in more than 350 venues nationwide. But despite its global footprint, the hospitality heavyweight adds local flair to its menu wherever it goes — and Richmond is no exception.

For this region, Levy has seized upon the much-loved Hanover tomato, grown just a few miles from Richmond Raceway. The much-celebrated tomato will be featured in a specialty item, the double-decker Hanover Tomato BLT made with local bacon and Duke’s Real Mayonnaise, “which any Virginian knows is the perfect complement,” Waran says. 

Duke’s, of course, has long been a cult favorite in the South. Richmond-based C.F. Sauer Company and its surviving descendant, Sauer Brands, have owned and trumpeted the tangy condiment since 1929, though it’s produced in South Carolina, and Sauer Brands is now a subsidiary of a Boston-based corporation. 

The Hanover tomato steals the show, as it often does, the red fruit being a geographic phenomenon, not a variety produced by random agricultural evolution. The secret? “Hanover has that loamy soil,” explains Kevin Kirby, fourth-generation head of Kirby Farms in Hanover County. “Good tomato soil.”

Kirby Farms, more than a century old, is a wholesale operation supplying its goods to customers in the mid-Atlantic region, including tomatoes for Levy when it comes to Richmond to work NASCAR’s visits.

“If you grow a tomato in Hanover County, it’s a Hanover tomato,” Kirby says. That might sound modest, but the tomato’s reputation was hard-earned, forged over decades at 17th Street Market that began in Richmond’s Shockoe Bottom in the 1700s. 

Now operated by Richmond’s Department of Parks, Recreation, and Community Facilities, the Market is possibly Virginia’s longest continuously running farmers market (held bimonthly). Through much of the 20th century, it was a bustling place where a tomato could earn a reputation. Kirby explains that for years, nearly all the tomatoes up and down the East Coast were grown in Florida, picked green and gas-ripened. “Then Hanover farmers started bringing their tomatoes,” he says. “They were fresh-picked, and fresh-picked tastes better.”

The comparison with Florida tomatoes was good PR, but the actual tomato had to back it up with the best taste and best texture year after year. A lot of consumers will tell you the Hanover tomato did that — and still does.

Backyard farmers may wonder if the race’s mid-August date tempts fate. Will Hanover’s farms still have enough fresh-picked tomatoes? “If Mother Nature cooperates, we will,” Kirby says. 

Besides the beloved tomato in a starring role, Waran says the Raceway will also feature other Virginia foods and beverages. “From local craft beers and wines from the Virginia region, to hand-crafted cheeses, cured meats, fruits, vegetables, and even honey, the Levy culinary team works to infuse the best of our region and the Commonwealth of Virginia,” she says. “We have a lot to be proud to showcase in Virginia.”

Full Throttle Fare

Behind the grills with NASCAR’s go-to meal crew

While fans enjoy local eats, NASCAR drivers and crews fuel up with meals from Kat’s Kitchen, a North Carolina-based mobile prep service that feeds most of the Cup Series teams. Founder Kat MacDonald and her lean team handle everything from breakfast to dinner for hundreds of hungry crew members. When they roll into Richmond for the Aug. 16 race, they'll set up shop in the Cup garage with four tents, eight commercial grills, and a smoker.

On race days, the Kat’s Kitchen crew starts at 6 a.m. Breakfast is ready by 9, and lunch is served from 11 to 2. “Those boys can eat,” says Will Byler, MacDonald’s second in command. “It’s hammer-down for us.” The green flag waves just after 3 p.m., signaling the race’s start. About a third into the race, Kat’s Kitchen delivers the last course. Standard meal fare includes burgers, hotdogs, chicken, beef, pasta, fruit, and vegetables — with filet mignon reserved for the previous week’s winning team. 

MacDonald and her team earn high praise not just from the crews they feed but also from respected voices in the culinary world, including Micheal Sparks, founder and CEO of The Underground Kitchen in Richmond, known for its curated dining experiences. A true bon vivant with a passion for stock car racing, Sparks attended a 2024 Cup Series event at Richmond Raceway and saw Kat’s Kitchen in action. “It’s really quite exceptional,” Sparks says. “You have to be impressed with the logistics of what they do, the reality of their circumstances. To feed that many people — and feed them well — in the midst of an intense work environment, is truly remarkable.”