Venue Bristol Motor Speedway First race 1982 (1982) | Corporate sponsor Fitzgerald Glider Kits Distance 159.9 miles (257.3 km) | |
 | ||
Location Bristol, Tennessee, United States Laps 300 (Stage 1: 85 Stage 2: 85 Stage 3: 130) | ||
The Fitzgerald Glider Kits 300 is a NASCAR Xfinity Series race that takes place at Bristol Motor Speedway, the first of two Bristol races on the schedule. The first Busch Series race at Bristol was 150 laps, and was won by Phil Parsons in 1982. The race was not held in 1984. The race has increased in length several times since then. It was lengthened to 200 laps in 1985, 250 laps in 1990, and 300 laps in 2006. In 2016, the Bristol format was changed to include two 50-lap heat races and a 200-lap feature for a total of 300 laps, as part of the Xfinity Dash 4 Cash program. In 2017 that format will not return and will return to its 300 lap distance with the new stage format. Stages 1 and 2 will be 85 laps each, with stage 3 being the final 130 laps.
The race has been put on broadcast network television to heighten the popularity of the circuit; Fox's broadcasts of Bristol's Food City 500 were the first time broadcast network television covered the event; the races between 2004 and 2006 aired as Nationwide/Cup Fox doubleheaders. Beginning in 2007 the event aired on ABC as part of ESPN2's new Nationwide Series television package, as ESPN2 had committed to the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament at the time.