DRIVE4COPD 300

DRIVE4COPD 300

Venue	Daytona International Speedway
Sponsor	Boehringer Ingelheim
First race	1959
Distance	300 miles (482.803 km)
Laps	120
Previous names	Modified Sportsman Race (1959–1965) Daytona Permatex 300 (1966–1977) Sportsman 300 (1978–1981) Goody's Sportsman 300 (1982–1984) Goody's 300 (1985–1995) 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)

The DRIVE4COPD 300 is the first race of the NASCAR Nationwide Series season, held at Daytona International Speedway. It is held the day before the Daytona 500, and is considered the most prestigious event on the Nationwide Series calendar. Until 2002, it was the only Nationwide Series event to be held at Daytona International Speedway. Tony Stewart is the defending race winner after winning it in 2013.

History

The race originates back to the Daytona Beach & Road Course during the 1948 NASCAR Modified series season, the first sanctioned races held by the organization. In 1950–1958, the race was held as part of the Modified/Sportsman Series, at the Beach Course. It was held the Saturday or Friday before the Grand National Series race also at the Beach course.

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 Busch Grand National Series, and the race was sponsored by Goody's for several years. For 2008, the series becomes known as the NASCAR Nationwide Series, but its organizational structure remains the same.

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.

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.

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 pass away ten years later.

The 2013 running saw two huge accidents. With five laps remaining Michael Annett and Austin Dillon collided and a multicar crash erupted in the first turn. The race was red flagged and Annett sustained bruising on his chest. He was hospitalized overnight and was then released 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 shook into a two-lap shootout. Regan Smith and Brad Keselowski stormed to the lead on the final lap, but off the fourth turn Keselowski got into Smith and Smith punched the wall head on; the field stacked into the melee and Kyle Larson's Chevrolet flew into the air and then struck the tri-oval catch fence; the front of the car snagged a crossover gate and the gate tore open; the engine dug in, was ripped out of the car, and the entire front half of the car disintegrated; one front wheel lodged onto the engine while the other flew ten rows into the grandstands. Larson was uninjured and eleven other cars were involved in the melee, but some thirty spectators were injured. Two seriously injured spectators were treated at Halifax Medical Center and later released.

Buschwhackers

Since its inception, due to its prestige and prominent position on the Speedweeks calendar, the race has long attracted Sprint Cup Series regulars, known as Buschwhackers. Sprint Cup 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 Buschwhackers 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)

Television

In the early 1990s, ESPN began airing the race same-day tape delay. In 1998–2000, the race was shown live on CBS, which also held broadcast rights to the Daytona 500 at the time. From 2001–2006, the live television rights to the race were held by FOX/FX (odd years) and NBC/TNT (even years). Under the current NASCAR television contract, the race is shown on ESPN/ABC. It is the only event of Speedweeks not shown on the FOX family of networks.

Past winners

Beach and Road Course

Year	Date	Driver	Team	Manufacturer	Race Distance		Race Time	Average Speed (mph)
					Laps	Miles (km)
1948	February 15	Red Byron	Ray Parks	Ford	68	149.6 (240.757)	1:58:29	75.757
	August 8	Fonty Flock		Ford	68	149.6 (240.757)	2:01:25	73.92
1949	January 16	Marshall Teague		Ford	47	202.1 (325.248)	2:16:08	88.23
1950	February 4	Gober Sosebee		Ford
1951	February 10	Gober Sosebee		Ford	39	159.9 (257.334)	1:56:37	82.27
1952	February 9	Tim Flock		Ford			1:08:39	87.39
1953	February 14	Cotton Owens		Plymouth	24	98.4 (158.359)	1:05:33	91.54
1954	February 20	Cotton Owens		Plymouth	30	123 (197.949)		93.87
1955	February 26	Banjo Matthews	Melvin Joseph	Ford	19*	77.9 (125.367)		98.04
1956	February 24	Tim Flock	Joe Wolf	Chevrolet	31	127.1 (204.547)	1:25:17	89.41
1957	February 15	Speedy Thompson	Lester Hunter	Plymouth	31	127.1 (204.547)	1:15:41	99.097
1958	February 21	Banjo Matthews		Ford	31	127.1 (204.547)	1:17:01	97.381

• 1955: Shortened from 125 miles due to a large crash and fire on the 17th lap which injured 3 drivers and 3 spectators.

Daytona International Speedway

Year	Date	Driver	Team	Manufacturer	Race Distance		Race Time	Average Speed (mph)
					Laps	Miles (km)
1959	February 21	Banjo Matthews		Ford	80	200 (321.868)	1:29:07	134.65
1960	February 13	Marion Farr	Roy Cook	Ford	100	250 (402.336)	2:08:38	116.610
1961	February 25	Jimmy Thompson		Ford	100	250 (402.336)	1:45:50	141.732
1962	February 16	Lee Roy Yarbrough		Ford	100	250 (402.336)	1:42:14	146.723
1963	February 23	Lee Roy Yarbrough		Studebaker	100	250 (402.336)	1:42:02	147.01
1964	February 22	Tiny Lund		Ford	80*	200 (321.868)	1:54:49	104.506
1965	February 13	Marvin Panch	Marion Cox	Ford	100	250 (402.336)	1:55:48	129.533
1966	February 27	Curtis Turner	Andy Hotten	Ford	120	300 (482.803)	2:04:33	144.52
1967	February 25	Jim Paschal		Plymouth	120	300 (482.803)	2:01:28	148.188
1968	February 24	James Blackburn	Ray Fox	Dodge	120	300 (482.803)	2:08:11	140.423
1969*	February 22	Lee Roy Yarbrough	Bondy Long	Ford	120	300 (482.803)	2:49:13	105.365
1970	February 21	Tiny Lund	Bondy Long	Ford	120	300 (482.803)	2:15:01	133.316
1971	February 13	Red Farmer		Ford	120	300 (482.803)	2:27:43	140.936
1972	February 19	Bill Dennis	Junie Donlavey	Mercury	120	300 (482.803)	2:12:43	135.627
1973	February 17	Bill Dennis	Junie Donlavey	Mercury	120	300 (482.803)	2:14:10	134.161
1974	February 16	Bill Dennis	Junie Donlavey	Mercury	108*	270 (434.522)	1:55:20	140.462
1975	February 15	Jack Ingram		Chevrolet	120	300 (482.803)	2:10:20	138.107
1976	February 14	Joe Millikan	Petty Enterprises	Dodge	120	300 (482.803)	2:03:26	145.828
1977	February 19	Donnie Allison		Chevrolet	120	300 (482.803)	1:56:36	154.396
1978	February 18	Darrell Waltrip	DiGard Racing	Chevrolet	120	300 (482.803)	1:50:39	162.675
1979	February 17	Darrell Waltrip	DiGard Racing	Chevrolet	69*	172 (276.807)	1:50:22	93.778
1980	February 16	Jack Ingram	Junie Donlavey	Ford	120	300 (482.803)	2:19:44	128.817
1981	February 14/16*	David Pearson	Joel Halpern	Pontiac	120	300 (482.803)	2:19:05	129.419
1982	February 13	Dale Earnhardt	Robert Gee	Pontiac	120	300 (482.803)	1:56:29	154.529
1983	February 19	Darrell Waltrip	DarWal, Inc.	Pontiac	120	300 (482.803)	2:01:55	147.642
1984	February 18	Darrell Waltrip	DarWal, Inc.	Pontiac	120	300 (482.803)	1:54:56	156.613
1985	February 16	Geoffrey Bodine	Hendrick Motorsports	Pontiac	120	300 (482.803)	1:54:33	157.137
1986	February 15	Dale Earnhardt	Dale Earnhardt, Inc.	Pontiac	120	300 (482.803)	2:00:52	148.924
1987	February 14	Geoffrey Bodine	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	120	300 (482.803)	1:56:03	155.106
1988	February 13	Bobby Allison	Bobby Allison	Buick	120	300 (482.803)	2:15:09	132.825
1989	February 18	Darrell Waltrip	DarWal, Inc.	Chevrolet	120	300 (482.803)	2:17:11	131.211
1990	February 17	Dale Earnhardt	Dale Earnhardt, Inc.	Chevrolet	120	300 (482.803)	2:00:31	149.357
1991	February 16	Dale Earnhardt	Dale Earnhardt, Inc.	Chevrolet	120	300 (482.803)	2:04:50	144.192
1992	February 15	Dale Earnhardt	Dale Earnhardt, Inc.	Chevrolet	120	300 (482.803)	2:15:55	132.434
1993	February 13	Dale Earnhardt	Dale Earnhardt, Inc.	Chevrolet	120	300 (482.803)	2:02:55	146.440
1994	February 19	Dale Earnhardt	Dale Earnhardt, Inc.	Chevrolet	120	300 (482.803)	2:04:53	144.135
1995	February 18	Chad Little	ppc Racing	Ford	120	300 (482.803)	1:59:25	150.732
1996	February 17	Steve Grissom	Diamond Ridge Motorsports	Chevrolet	120	300 (482.803)	2:07:52	140.722
1997	February 15	Randy LaJoie	BACE Motorsports	Chevrolet	120	300 (482.803)	2:00:15	149.688
1998	February 14	Joe Nemechek	NEMCO Motorsports	Chevrolet	120	300 (482.803)	2:11:11	137.213
1999	February 13	Randy LaJoie	Phoenix Racing	Chevrolet	120	300 (482.803)	2:10:04	138.391
2000	February 19	Matt Kenseth	Reiser Enterprises	Chevrolet	120	300 (482.803)	2:07:54	140.735
2001	February 17	Randy LaJoie	Evans Motorsports	Pontiac	120	300 (482.803)	2:13:11	135.152
2002	February 16	Dale Earnhardt, Jr.	Richard Childress Racing	Chevrolet	120	300 (482.803)	2:01:54	147.662
2003	February 15	Dale Earnhardt, Jr.	Dale Earnhardt, Inc.	Chevrolet	120	300 (482.803)	2:05:12	143.770
2004	February 16*	Dale Earnhardt, Jr.	Dale Earnhardt, Inc.	Chevrolet	120	300 (482.803)	2:21:32	127.179
2005	February 19	Tony Stewart	Kevin Harvick Inc.	Chevrolet	120	300 (482.803)	1:59:59	150.021
2006	February 18	Tony Stewart	Kevin Harvick Inc.	Chevrolet	120	300 (482.803)	2:23:49	125.159
2007	February 17	Kevin Harvick	Richard Childress Racing	Chevrolet	120	300 (482.803)	1:55:13	156.227
2008	February 16	Tony Stewart	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	120	300 (482.803)	1:56:46	154.154
2009	February 14	Tony Stewart	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	120	300 (482.803)	2:09:59	138.479
2010	February 13	Tony Stewart	Kevin Harvick Inc.	Chevrolet	120	300 (482.803)	2:25:32	123.683
2011	February 19	Tony Stewart*	Kevin Harvick Inc.	Chevrolet	120	300 (482.803)	2:08:52	139.679
2012	February 25	James Buescher	Turner Motorsports	Chevrolet	120	300 (482.803)	2:18:51	129.636
2013	February 23	Tony Stewart	Richard Childress Racing	Chevrolet	120	300 (482.803)	2:08:37	139.951

• 1964: Race shortened due to late start caused by three hour rain delay.
• 1969: Three red flags during the race due to rain.
• 1974: Race scheduled for 108 laps(270 miles) due to energy crisis.
• 1979: Race shortened due to rain.
• 1981: Race started on Saturday February 14, halted after 11 laps due to rain, completed on Monday February 16.
• 2004: Race postponed from Saturday to Monday due to rain.
• 2011: Tony Stewart wins his 4th straight February race edging Clint Bowyer by 0.007 seconds.

Multiple winners (drivers)

# Wins	Driver	Years Won
7	Dale Earnhardt	1982, 1986, 1990-1994
	Tony Stewart	2005-2006, 2008-2011, 2013
5	Darrell Waltrip	1978-1979, 1983-1984, 1989
3	Lee Roy Yarbrough	1962-1963, 1969
	Bill Dennis	1972-1974
	Randy LaJoie	1997, 1999, 2001
	Dale Earnhardt, Jr.	2002-2004
2	Tiny Lund	1964, 1970
	Jack Ingram	1975, 1980
	Geoffrey Bodine	1985, 1987

Multiple winners (teams)

# Wins	Team	Years Won
8	Dale Earnhardt, Inc.	1986, 1990-1994, 2003-2004
4	Junie Donlavey	1972-1974, 1980
	Kevin Harvick Inc.	2005-2006, 2010-2011
3	DarWal, Inc.	1983-1984, 1989
	Hendrick Motorsports	1985, 1987, 2009
	Richard Childress Racing	2002, 2007, 2013
2	Bondy Long	1969-1970
	DiGard Racing	1978-1979

Manufacturer wins

# Wins	Make	Years Won
27	Chevrolet	1975, 1977-1979, 1987, 1989-1994, 1996-2000, 2002-2007, 2009-2013
12	Ford	1959-1962, 1964-1966, 1969-1971, 1980, 1995
7	Pontiac	1981-1986, 2001
3	Mercury	1972-1974
2	Dodge	1968, 1976
1	Studebaker	1963
	Plymouth	1967
	Buick	1988
	Toyota	2008

See also

• Subway Firecracker 250
• Daytona 500
• NextEra Energy Resources 250

References

• http://racing-reference.info
• Orlando Sentinel; microfilm; (1959–1981)