NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series at Daytona International Speedway

Stock car racing events in the NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series have been held at Daytona International Speedway, in Daytona Beach, Florida during numerous seasons and times of year since 1982.

Spring race

The United Rentals 300 is the first race of the NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series season, 300-mile-long (483 km) held at Daytona International Speedway. It is held the day before the Daytona 500, and is considered the most prestigious event of the O'Reilly Series. Until 2002, it was the only event of the O'Reilly Series to be annually held at Daytona International Speedway. Austin Hill is the defending winner of the event.

History

In 1959, the new 2.5-mile Daytona International Speedway hosted its first O'Reilly Series event. 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. 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 O'Reilly Auto Parts 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.

By the time the race had become part of a NASCAR touring series race, NASCAR tightened driver eligibility requirements, and the number of incidents has drastically been reduced. Under current NASCAR rules, drivers must be cleared to race at Daytona, Talladega (added to the second tier series in 1992), and Atlanta (after the 2022 redesign) requiring enough experience at intermediate tracks to be cleared by NASCAR to participate at Daytona. Drivers who intend to run the 300 or the Truck Series Fresh From Florida 250 are required to participate in other lower-tier shorter support races, whether it was the former Dash Series race (which ended after 2004—it used less powerful cars) or until 2020, the ARCA race the week prior to gain NASCAR clearance, especially if a driver has turned 18 after the preceding October Talladega Craftsman Truck Series race (the ARCA race was moved to the Xfinity race day in 2021). NASCAR will also mandate the driver to participate in the January ARCA test at Daytona prior to the ARCA race or any national series race they intend to enter at Daytona, Talladega, or Atlanta during a season before they are allowed to participate in an ARCA or national series race at those circuits and there are no intermediate tracks beforehand.

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 MacTavish, which his whole front of the car ripped off.

The 1979 running was shortened by rain and won by Darrell Waltrip. A brutal crash erupted off Turn Two where fire exploded from the Marion 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. Ryan Reed would win the race, the first race under the Xfinity banner. As a result of his injuries, Busch was forced to miss the first 11 races of the Sprint Cup Series season however he would still manage to win the season championship.

The 2018 race produced the closest finish in any of NASCAR's top three series, when Tyler Reddick edged Elliott Sadler by 0.0004 seconds, making it the closest finish in NASCAR history. Since NASCAR scoring and timing does not measure beyond thousands of a second, the margin of victory was officially listed as 0.000 seconds (with video review which declared Reddick the winner by less than three inches). Analysis after the race by NASCAR timing and scoring officials placed Reddick's margin of victory at 0.0004 seconds. This race also had a record five overtime finishes, extending the race length to 143 laps. From 2019–2020, the race was known as the NASCAR Racing Experience 300.

On the final lap of the 2022 Beef. It's What's for Dinner. 300 (under the National Livestock and Meat Board sponsorship, the event was also alternatively known as "Beef 300" in NASCAR media), Myatt Snider flipped into the catchfence coming into turn 3 at Daytona International Speedway on February 19, 2022. The driver of the 31 TaxSlayer Chevy walked away from the crash. This gave former NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver Austin Hill his first career NASCAR Xfinity Series win. Hill would win the race again in 2023 and 2024, before his teammate Jesse Love ended Hill's streak in 2025.

Past winners

Notes

• 1964: Race shortened due to late start caused by three-hour rain delay.
• 1974: Race scheduled for 108 laps (270 miles) due to energy crisis.
• 1979: Race shortened due to rain.
• 1981, 2004, & 2024: Races postponed from Saturday to Monday due to rain.
• 2014, 2017, 2018, 2021, 2023, and 2025: Races extended due to NASCAR overtime.

Multiple winners (drivers)

Multiple winners (teams)

Manufacturer wins

Summer race

The Winn-Dixie 250 Powered By Coca-Cola is a NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series race that is held at Daytona International Speedway. Connor Zilisch, although having relief driver Parker Kligerman relieving for him, is the defending winner of the event, having won it in 2025. As an 250-mile (400 km) race, it is held the night before the NASCAR Cup Series' Coke Zero Sugar 400.

History

The race was previously run on Independence Day weekend until 2019.

Until 2006, there had been a different winner in each race. Dale Earnhardt Jr. became the first repeat winner when he won the 2006 event.

The 2010 running of the event marked the first of four races using the Nationwide Series version of the Car of Tomorrow, the other three being at Michigan, Richmond (September), and Charlotte (October).

Past winners

Notes

Races have been lengthened due to NASCAR overtime 16 times, notable for being the most overtime finishes of any race in the series:

• 2012 and 2013 252.5 miles (101 laps)
• 2007, 2009, 2010 and 2024: 255 miles (102 laps)
• 2006, 2014, and 2016: 257.5 miles (103 laps)
• 2005, 2015, 2017, and 2025: 260 miles (104 laps)
• 2008 and 2018: 262.5 miles (105 laps)
• 2022: 295 miles (118 laps)
• 2023: 275 miles (110 laps)

The following races have been rescheduled from their original dates.

• 2007: Postponed from Friday night to Saturday morning because of rain.
• 2017 and 2021: Race started on Friday night, suspended until Saturday afternoon because of rain.
• 2019 and 2022: Race started on Friday and finished after midnight on Saturday after a rain delay.

Multiple winner (driver)

Multiple winners (teams)

Manufacturer wins

Notable moments

• 2003: Dale Earnhardt Jr. led all 100 laps en route to victory.
• 2004: First race in which the cars ran a roof spoiler. The last 10 laps involved several lead changes. Dale Earnhardt Jr. took the lead with 10 laps to go. With 3 laps remaining, Michael Waltrip and Jason Leffler passed Dale Jr., putting Waltrip in the lead. Leffler then went for the lead and the two cars raced nose-to-nose for over a lap before Waltrip cut in front of Leffler off Turn Two on the final lap; Leffler hit Waltrip and Waltrip's car spun into the inside wall. NASCAR kept the green flag out (there is often a caution flag when a crash occurs) as Dale challenged Leffler for the lead. Leffler swerved and Dale crashed into the wall in Turn Four, allowing Mike Wallace to pass everyone for the victory. Despite crossing the line second, Leffler was relegated to the last car on the lead lap for aggressive driving, giving Greg Biffle (who finished 3rd) second.
• 2010: Dale Earnhardt Jr. drove a Chevrolet fielded by Richard Childress and numbered 3 to an unchallenged win. It was Junior's final time to drive the No. 3.
• 2011: With the new two-car tandem draft in effect, Kevin Harvick Incorporated swept the top four positions in qualifying. The lead changed a then-race record 35 times, primarily between Cup drivers Carl Edwards, Kevin Harvick, Jamie McMurray, Tony Stewart, Clint Bowyer as well as Nationwide Series regulars Aric Almirola, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Trevor Bayne, and part-timer Danica Patrick. Eric McClure crashed hard after contact with teammate Mike Bliss, requiring a trip to the hospital. At the end of the race, a multi-car pileup involving 16 cars, ensued when Patrick, who had slapped the Turn One wall on the final lap, made contact with Mike Wallace approaching the start-finish line, enabling Joey Logano and Kyle Busch to slip by and finish 1–2.
• 2012: Kurt Busch, fired from Penske Racing the year before for several off-track incidents, stormed to the win in the most competitive Daytona race for NASCAR's second-tier touring series in any of its varied incarnations at the time (Late Model Sportsman, Busch Grand National, Nationwide Series). The lead changed a series track-record 42 times as on the final lap Busch roared past Joey Logano and Elliott Sadler with Ricky Stenhouse Jr. pushing him; Austin Dillon in Richard Childress' No. 3 raced into the fray pushed by Michael Annett in a Richard Petty No. 43; at the stripe Dillon got hit and spun through the trioval grass as Sadler tried for the win at the stripe; Dillon spun back into traffic and a huge crash ensued.
• 2015: NBC returned to NASCAR with the running of the Subway Firecracker 250 on NBCSN. There were two big ones that happened, one with 10 laps to go and the other one with just 5 laps to go.
• 2018: Originally Justin Haley was thought to be the winner of the race, but video evidence revealed that he dipped below the yellow line and Kyle Larson had actually won the race. There were two big ones that happened, one with 19 laps to go with 17 cars wrecked and the other one with just 3 laps to go with 11 cars wrecked.
• 2020: Third Daytona race of the 2020 season. A 300 km road course event was held on August 15. The event replaced the road course date at Watkins Glen International, which was removed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• 2025: Parker Kligerman replaced Connor Zilisch on lap 15 because of recuperation from a collarbone injury suffered at Watkins Glen two-weeks prior. Officially, Zilisch got credit for winning the race, but Kligerman drove the car to win.

Former road course race

The Super Start Batteries 188 was a NASCAR Xfinity Series race on the Daytona International Speedway infield road course in Daytona Beach, Florida. The event was developed in 2020 as a temporary event in response to New York state authorities cancelling the Watkins Glen race because of state-related lockdowns, the race returned in 2021 to replace the California 300 at Fontana for the same reason. The Daytona road course serves as NASCAR's emergency contingency plans in case of cancellations of other events.

Ty Gibbs was the final race winner in the event.

History

The Daytona road course, which uses elements of the 2.5 mi (4.0 km) speedway oval, is commonly used for the 24 Hours of Daytona sports car race and Daytona 200 motorcycle race. In March 2020, NASCAR announced the NASCAR Cup Series' Busch Clash exhibition race would use the road course instead of the oval beginning in 2021 as part of a plan to have teams use the sixth-generation chassis for the opening race of the season instead of the new seventh-generation chassis on the oval after numerous incidents in the 2020 race to prevent teams from using the new chassis and damaging them in crashes.

In July 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic forced the Zippo 200 at The Glen road course race at Watkins Glen International, which was planned for August, to be replaced by the temporary Daytona road course event due to New York's quarantine rules for out-of-state visitors. While much of the road course layout remained the same as the sports car configuration, NASCAR added a chicane exiting the oval's turn four to allow cars to slow down entering the braking-heavy turn one. Austin Cindric, driving for Team Penske, won the event in 2020, which was delayed two hours by lightning; it was Cindric's fifth win in six races.

Although intended to be a temporary race, the 300 kilometer race returned to the Xfinity Series schedule in 2021 after the originally-scheduled race weekend at Auto Club Speedway was canceled due to concerns related to COVID-19. O'Reilly Auto Parts took over naming rights for the race weekend, naming the Xfinity event the Super Start Batteries 188. Ty Gibbs won in his Xfinity Series debut, becoming the sixth driver in series history to do so and the series' youngest road course winner at 18 years, four months, and 16 days.

Past winners

Notes

• 2021: Race extended due to a NASCAR Overtime finish.

Manufacturer wins

External links

• race results at Racing-Reference