Corporate sponsor Invesco PowerShares First Xfinity Series race 1982 | First race 1959 Distance 482,803 m | |
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Location Daytona Beach, Florida, United States Laps 120 (Stage 1: 30 Stage 2: 30 Stage 3: 60) Previous names Modified Sportsman Race (1959–1965)
Permatex 300 (1966–1977)
Sportsman 300 (1978–1981)
Goody's 300 (1982–1995)
Goody's Headache Powder 300 (1996)
Gargoyles 300 (1997)
NAPA Auto Parts 300 (1998–2001)
EAS/GNC Live Well 300 (2002)
Koolerz 300 (2003)
Hershey's Kisses 300 (2004)
Hershey's Take 5 300 (2005)
Hershey's Kissables 300 (2006)
Orbitz 300 (2007)
Camping World 300 (2008–2009)
DRIVE4COPD 300 (2010–2014)
Alert Today Florida 300 (2015) Venue Daytona International Speedway | ||
2017 nxs powershares qqq 300 hd
The PowerShares QQQ 300 is the first race of the NASCAR Xfinity Series season, 300-mile-long (483 km) annual race held at Daytona International Speedway. It is held the day before the Daytona 500, and is considered the most prestigious event of the Xfinity Series. Until 2002, it was the only event of the Xfinity Series to be annually held at Daytona International Speedway. Ryan Reed is the defending race winner after winning the race in 2017.
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History
The race originates from races held at the Daytona Beach Road Course during the 1948 NASCAR Modified series season, the first sanctioned races held by the organization. Between 1950 and 1958, the race was held as part of the Modified/Sportsman Series, at the Daytona Beach Road Course. It was held the Friday or Saturday before the track's Grand National Series race.
In 1956–1959, a race in the short-lived NASCAR Convertible Division was also held.
The race moved to the new 2.5-mile Daytona International Speedway for 1959. It was scheduled the day before the Daytona 500, and ran a distance of either 200 or 250 miles. In 1966, the race became known as the Permatex 300, making it only the second race on the NASCAR schedule to be named for a corporate sponsor (the Motor Trend 500 at Riverside being the first). In 1968 the Permatex 300 was shifted from the Modifieds division to the newly organized NASCAR Late Model Sportsman Division. In 1982, the Late Model Sportsman Division was reorganized into the modern day NASCAR Xfinity Series, and the race was sponsored by Goody's for several years.
Incidents
In the 1970s and early 1980s, the race was often ridiculed and exploited by local media for its frequent crashes and massive pileups. Several major accidents and fires over the years were blamed on the low level of experience by several of the drivers, and the older equipment used. The level of prestige held by the event, along with the relatively large purses, attracted numerous independent and one-off entries, contributing to the inexperience of drivers in the field.
Under current NASCAR rules, drivers must be cleared to race at Daytona and Talladega (added to the second tier series in 1992), requiring enough experience at intermediate tracks to be cleared by NASCAR to participate at Daytona. Drivers who intend to run the 300 will often enter other lower-tier shorter support races, whether it was the former Dash Series race (which ended after 2004 -- it used less powerful cars) or in recent years, the ARCA race the week prior to gain NASCAR clearance, especially if a driver has turned 18 after the preceding October Talladega Camping World Truck Series race the previous October. (Drivers must be 18 to participate in any NASCAR national series race on a track 1.366 miles or longer.)
Inclement weather also plagued many early runnings.
The 1960 race is notable for having the largest pileup in NASCAR history. On the first lap, 37 cars crashed in turn four (out of a starting field of 68).
In 1981 and 2004, the race started on Saturday, but was halted by rain, and finished Monday, the day after the Daytona 500. The 1969 race was red flagged three times for rain and also saw the fatal crash involving Don McTavish.
The 1979 running was shortened by rain and won by Darrell Waltrip. A brutal crash erupted off Turn Two where fire exploded from the Preacher Cox Mercury of Joe Frasson; driver Don Williams was gravely injured in the crash and would die ten years later from the incident.
The 2013 race featured two large accidents. With five laps remaining, Michael Annett and Austin Dillon collided and a multi-car crash erupted in the first turn. The race was halted as a red flag was given to clean up the debris. Annett was hospitalized overnight after sustaining bruises on his chest, but was released the following day in time for the Daytona 500, but was ruled out for the following race at Phoenix because of a sternum injury. Following the red flag the race had two laps remaining. Regan Smith and Brad Keselowski moved into the lead on the final lap, but off the fourth turn, Keselowski turned Smith into the wall head on, causing the field to pile in. Kyle Larson had the most significant impact, as his No.32 Chevrolet flew into the tri-oval catch fence, causing its nose to snag a crossover gate, which tore open. The force of the collision dug the engine in, ripping it out of the car. The car's entire front half disintegrated and one front wheel lodged onto the engine and another flew approximately ten rows into the grandstand, injuring 30 spectators (two in critical condition). A total of twelve cars were involved in the crash, but all were unharmed. The two spectators that were seriously injured by the debris from Larson's crash were treated at the nearby Halifax Medical Center and were later released.
In 2015, two cautions in the final forty laps were caused by separate collisions that included eleven cars. In the first collision, Regan Smith's car flipped over once in the tri-oval, while in the second collision, Kyle Busch collided into a concrete wall head on, suffering a fracture in his leg and foot. As a result of his injuries, Busch was forced to miss the first 11 races of the Sprint Cup Series season.
Signal Pirates
Since its inception, due to its prestige and prominent position on the Speedweeks calendar, the race has long attracted Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series regulars, known as Buschwhackers (Anheuser-Busch, 1982-2006), Claim Jumpers (Nationwide, 2007-14), or Signal Pirates. Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series regulars have dominated the race over the past 30 years, winning all but three runnings since 1981. Notable Cup regulars who have won the race multiple times include Dale Earnhardt (7 wins), Tony Stewart (7), Darrell Waltrip (5), and Dale Earnhardt Jr. (3).
Several Cup Signal Pirates have swept the weekend, winning both the 300 and the Daytona 500: Bobby Allison (1988), Darrell Waltrip (1989), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (2004), Kevin Harvick (2007).
Despite NASCAR's new 2017 limits on Signal Pirates, Daytona is the first race of the season and the limits on Signal Pirates will not affect this race. Furthermore, some Xfinity Series regulars will be replaced by Signal Pirates because of regulations regarding driver experience that prohibit a driver from participating in this race, but not in the next race in Atlanta Motor Speedway. Some younger drivers have often used the more experienced drivers as mentors for this race, especially during drafting practice.
Television
In the early-1990s, ESPN began airing the race same-day tape delay. From 1997 to 2000, the race was shown live on CBS, which also held broadcast rights to the Daytona 500 at the time. From 2001 to 2006, the live television rights to the race were held by Fox (odd years) and NBC/TNT (even years). The race was shown on ESPN or ESPN2 and was the only event of Speedweeks not shown on the Fox family of networks between 2007 and 2014. Fox Sports 1 started broadcasting the race in 2015 under the current NASCAR television contract.