The Wawa 250 Powered By Coca-Cola is a NASCAR Xfinity Series race that is held at Daytona International Speedway. Scheduled as a 250-mile (400 km) race, it is held the night before the NASCAR Cup Series' Coke Zero Sugar 400, and was run on Independence Day weekend until 2019.

Wawa 250
NASCAR Xfinity Series
VenueDaytona International Speedway
LocationDaytona Beach, Florida, United States
Corporate sponsorWawa, Coca-Cola
First race2002
Distance250 miles (400 km)
Laps100
Stages 1/2: 30 each
Final stage: 40
Previous namesStacker 2/GNC Live Well 250 (2002)
Winn-Dixie 250 (2003)
Winn-Dixie 250 presented by PepsiCo (2004–2007)
Winn-Dixie 250 Powered by Coca-Cola (2008)
Subway Jalapeño 250 (2009–2012)
Subway Firecracker 250 Powered by Coca-Cola (2013–2016)
Coca Cola Firecracker 250 (2017–2018)
Circle K Firecracker 250 (2019)
Most wins (driver)Dale Earnhardt Jr. (3)
Most wins (team)Dale Earnhardt, Inc.
Joe Gibbs Racing
Richard Childress Racing
Kaulig Racing
JR Motorsports (3)
Most wins (manufacturer)Chevrolet (16)
Circuit information
SurfaceAsphalt
Length2.5 mi (4.0 km)
Turns4

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 edit

Year Date No. Driver Team Manufacturer Race distance Race time Average speed
(mph)
Full Results Ref
Laps Miles (km)
2002 July 5 87 Joe Nemechek NEMCO Motorsports Pontiac 100 250 (402.336) 1:59:09 125.892 [1]
2003 July 4 8 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chance 2 Motorsports Chevrolet 100 250 (402.336) 1:37:35 153.715 [2]
2004 July 2 4 Mike Wallace Biagi Brothers Racing Ford 100 250 (402.336) 1:51:06 135.014 [3]
2005 July 1 8 Martin Truex Jr. Chance 2 Motorsports Chevrolet 104* 260 (418.429) 1:51:19 140.141 [4]
2006 June 30 8 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Dale Earnhardt, Inc. Chevrolet 103* 257.5 (414.406) 1:55:52 133.343 [5]
2007 July 7* 5 Kyle Busch Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 102* 255 (410.382) 1:50:00 139.091 [6]
2008 July 4 20 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 105* 262.5 (422.452) 1:41:07 155.761 [7]
2009 July 3 29 Clint Bowyer Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 102* 255 (410.382) 2:04:28 122.924 [8]
2010 July 2 3 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 102* 255 (410.382) 1:44:37 146.248 Report [9]
2011 July 1 20 Joey Logano Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 100 250 (402.336) 1:49:57 136.426 Report [10]
2012 July 6 1 Kurt Busch Phoenix Racing Chevrolet 101* 252.5 (406.359) 1:54:44 132.045 Report [11]
2013 July 5 18 Matt Kenseth Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 101* 252.5 (406.359) 1:43:56 145.767 Report [12]
2014 July 4 5 Kasey Kahne JR Motorsports Chevrolet 103* 257.5 (414.406) 1:38:24 157.012 Report [13]
2015 July 4 33 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 104* 260 (418.429) 1:57:28 132.804 Report [14]
2016 July 1 98 Aric Almirola Biagi-DenBeste Racing Ford 103* 257.5 (414.406) 2:07:29 121.192 Report [15]
2017 June 30–
July 1*
9 William Byron JR Motorsports Chevrolet 104* 260 (418.429) 2:13:56 116.476 Report [16]
2018 July 6 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 105* 262.5 (422.452) 2:01:35 131.541 Report [17]
2019 July 5–6* 16 Ross Chastain Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 100 250 (402.336) 1:59:15 125.786 Report [18]
2020 August 28 11 Justin Haley Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 100 250 (402.336) 2:02:55 122.034 Report [19]
2021 August 27–28* 11 Justin Haley Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 100 250 (402.336) 2:03:12 121.753 Report [20]
2022 August 26–27* 51 Jeremy Clements Jeremy Clements Racing Chevrolet 118* 295 (474.756) 2:36:11 113.328 Report [21]
2023 August 25 7 Justin Allgaier JR Motorsports Chevrolet 110* 275 (442.569) 2:12:14 124.779 Report [22]

Notes edit

Races have been lengthened due to NASCAR overtime 14 times, notable for being the most overtime finishes of any race in the series:

  • 2012 and 2013 252.5 miles (101 laps)
  • 2007, 2009, and 2010: 255 miles (102 laps)
  • 2006, 2014, and 2016: 257.5 miles (103 laps)
  • 2005, 2015, and 2017: 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) edit

# Wins Driver Years won
3 Dale Earnhardt Jr. 2003, 2006, 2010
2 Justin Haley 2020–2021

Multiple winners (teams) edit

# Wins Team Years won
3 Dale Earnhardt, Inc./Chance 2 2003, 2005–2006
Joe Gibbs Racing 2008, 2011, 2013
Richard Childress Racing 2009–2010, 2015
Kaulig Racing 2019–2021
JR Motorsports 2014, 2017, 2023
2 Biagi-DenBeste Racing 2004, 2016

Manufacturer wins edit

# Wins Make Years won
16   Chevrolet 2003, 2005–2007, 2009–2010, 2012, 2014–2015, 2017–2023
3   Toyota 2008, 2011, 2013
2   Ford 2004, 2016
1   Pontiac 2002

Notable moments edit

  • 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.[23]
  • 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.[24]
  • 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.[25] The event replaced the road course date at Watkins Glen International, which was removed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[26]

References edit

  1. ^ "2002 Stacker 2 / GNC Live Well 250". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved November 12, 2023.
  2. ^ "2003 Winn-Dixie 250 Presented by PepsiCo". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved November 12, 2023.
  3. ^ "2004 Winn-Dixie 250 Presented by PepsiCo". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved November 12, 2023.
  4. ^ "2005 Winn-Dixie 250 Presented by PepsiCo". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved November 12, 2023.
  5. ^ "2006 Winn-Dixie 250 Presented by PepsiCo". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved November 12, 2023.
  6. ^ "2007 Winn Dixie 250 Presented by PepsiCo". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved November 12, 2023.
  7. ^ "2008 Winn-Dixie 250 Presented by PepsiCo". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved November 12, 2023.
  8. ^ "2009 Subway Jalapeno 250 Powered by Coca-Cola". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved November 12, 2023.
  9. ^ "2010 Subway Jalapeno 250 Powered by Coca-Cola". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved November 12, 2023.
  10. ^ "2011 Subway Jalapeno 250 Powered by Coca-Cola". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved November 12, 2023.
  11. ^ "2012 Subway Jalapeno 250". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved November 12, 2023.
  12. ^ "2013 Subway Firecracker 250". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved November 12, 2023.
  13. ^ "2014 Subway Firecracker 250". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved November 12, 2023.
  14. ^ "2015 Subway Firecracker 250". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved November 12, 2023.
  15. ^ "2016 Subway Firecracker 250". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved November 12, 2023.
  16. ^ "2017 Coca-Cola Firecracker 250". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved November 12, 2023.
  17. ^ "2018 Coca-Cola Firecracker 250". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved November 12, 2023.
  18. ^ "2019 Circle K Firecracker 250". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved November 12, 2023.
  19. ^ "2020 Wawa 250 Powered by Coca-Cola". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved November 12, 2023.
  20. ^ "2021 Wawa 250". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved November 12, 2023.
  21. ^ "2022 Wawa 250 Powered by Coca-Cola". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved November 12, 2023.
  22. ^ "2023 Wawa 250 Powered by Coca-Cola". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved November 12, 2023.
  23. ^ Finish of 2011 Subway 250 from YouTube
  24. ^ Finish of 2012 Subway 250 from YouTube
  25. ^ "UNOH and General Tire - Join Historic DAYTONA Road Course Weekend". Daytona International Speedway. August 10, 2020. Retrieved August 10, 2020.
  26. ^ "NASCAR reveals rest of revamped 2020 regular-season schedule". NASCAR. July 8, 2020. Retrieved August 8, 2020.

External links edit


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