PowerShares QQQ 300

The PowerShares QQQ 300 is the first race of the NASCAR Xfinity Series season, 300-mile (482 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. Tyler Reddick won the most recent race, in 2018.
==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, 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 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.Associated Press, February 23, 2013 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.
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.
===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.
Year	Network	Lap-by-lap 	Color commentator(s)
1990	Prime 	Bob Varsha 	Johnny Hayes
1991	 	 	
1992	ESPN 	Bob Jenkins 	Benny Parsons
1993	ESPN 	Bob Jenkins 	Benny Parsons
1994	ESPN 	Bob Jenkins 	Benny Parsons
1995	ESPN 	Bob Jenkins 	Benny Parsons and Kyle Petty
1996	ESPN 	Bob Jenkins 	Benny Parsons and Kyle Petty
1997	CBS 	Ken Squier 	Ned Jarrett and Darrell Waltrip
1998	CBS 	Mike Joy 	Ned Jarrett and Buddy Baker
1999	CBS 	Mike Joy 	Ned Jarrett and Buddy Baker
2000	CBS 	Mike Joy 	Ned Jarrett and Buddy Baker
2001	Fox 	Mike Joy 	Darrell Waltrip and Larry McReynolds
2002	TNT 	Allen Bestwick	Benny Parsons and Wally Dallenbach
2003	Fox 	Mike Joy 	Darrell Waltrip and Larry McReynolds
2004	NBC 	Allen Bestwick	Benny Parsons and Dale Jarrett then Wally Dallenbach*
2005	Fox 	Mike Joy 	Darrell Waltrip and Larry McReynolds
2006	TNT 	Bill Weber 	Wally Dallenbach and Benny Parsons
2007	ESPN 	Jerry Punch 	Rusty Wallace and Andy Petree
2008	ESPN 	Jerry Punch 	Rusty Wallace and Andy Petree
2009	ESPN 	Jerry Punch 	Rusty Wallace and Andy Petree
2010	ESPN 	Marty Reid 	Dale Jarrett and Andy Petree
2011	ESPN 	Marty Reid 	Dale Jarrett and Andy Petree
2012	ESPN 	Allen Bestwick	Dale Jarrett and Andy Petree
2013	ESPN 	Allen Bestwick	Dale Jarrett and Andy Petree
2014	ESPN 	Allen Bestwick	Dale Jarrett and Andy Petree
2015	FS1 	Adam Alexander	Michael Waltrip and Kevin Harvick
2016	FS1 	Adam Alexander	Michael Waltrip and Kevin Harvick
2017	FS1 	Adam Alexander	Michael Waltrip and Kevin Harvick
2018	FS1 	Adam Alexander	Michael Waltrip and Brad Keselowski
*Jarrett was the guest commentator for the race since Dallenbach was running in the race. Before the rain hit, Wally was caught up in the big one early and dropped out. Since the race didn't get restarted until Monday, Dallenbach took back over since Jarrett left to race the Daytona 500 and head off to Rockingham.
==Past winners==
===Daytona Beach Road Course===
Year	Date 	Car number	Driver 	Team 	Manufacturer	Race Distance	Race Distance 	Race Time	Average Speed(mph)
Year	Date 	Car number	Driver 	Team 	Manufacturer	Laps 	Miles (km) 	Race Time	Average Speed(mph)
1948	February 15	22 	Red Byron 	Ray Parks 	Ford 	68 	149.6 (240.757)	1:58:29 	75.757
1948	August 8 	1 	Fonty Flock 	 	Ford 	68 	149.6 (240.757)	2:01:25 	73.92
1949	January 16 	8 	Marshall Teague	 	Ford 	47 	202.1 (325.248)	2:16:08 	88.23
1950	February 4 	 	Gober Sosebee 	 	Ford 	 	 	 	
1951	February 10	50 	Gober Sosebee 	 	Ford 	39 	159.9 (257.334)	1:56:37 	82.27
1952	February 9 	91 	Tim Flock 	 	Ford 	 	 	1:08:39 	87.39
1953	February 14	30 	Cotton Owens 	 	Plymouth 	24 	98.4 (158.359) 	1:05:33 	91.54
1954	February 20	30 	Cotton Owens 	 	Plymouth 	30 	123 (197.949) 	 	93.87
1955	February 26	49JR 	Banjo Matthews 	Melvin Joseph	Ford 	19* 	77.9 (125.367) 	 	98.04
1956	February 24	47A 	Tim Flock 	Joe Wolf 	Chevrolet 	31 	127.1 (204.547)	1:25:17 	89.41
1957	February 15	30 	Speedy Thompson	Lester Hunter	Plymouth 	31 	127.1 (204.547)	1:15:41 	99.097
1958	February 21	M4 	Banjo Matthews 	 	Ford 	31 	127.1 (204.547)	1:17:01 	97.381
*1955: Shortened from 125 kilometers (77.9 miles) due to a large crash and fire on the 17th lap which injured 3 drivers and 3 spectators.
===Daytona International Speedway===
Year 	Date 	Car number	Driver 	Team 	Manufacturer	Race Distance	Race Distance 	Race Time	Average Speed(mph)
Year 	Date 	Car number	Driver 	Team 	Manufacturer	Laps 	Miles (km) 	Race Time	Average Speed(mph)
1959 	February 21 	49 	Banjo Matthews 	 	Ford 	80 	200 (321.868) 	1:29:07 	134.65
1960 	February 13 	81 	Bubba Farr 	Roy Cook 	Ford 	100 	250 (402.336) 	2:08:38 	116.610
1961 	February 25 	50 	Jimmy Thompson 	 	Ford 	100 	250 (402.336) 	1:45:50 	141.732
1962 	February 17 	9 	Lee Roy Yarbrough 	 	Ford 	100 	250 (402.336) 	1:42:14 	146.723
1963 	February 23 	70 	Lee Roy Yarbrough 	 	Studebaker 	100 	250 (402.336) 	1:42:02 	147.01
1964 	February 22 	55 	Tiny Lund 	 	Ford 	80* 	200 (321.868) 	1:54:49 	104.506
1965 	February 13 	50 	Marvin Panch 	Marion Cox 	Ford 	100 	250 (402.336) 	1:55:48 	129.533
1966 	February 27 	87 	Curtis Turner 	Andy Hotten 	Ford 	120 	300 (482.803) 	2:04:33 	144.52
1967 	February 25 	04 	Jim Paschal 	 	Plymouth 	120 	300 (482.803) 	2:01:28 	148.188
1968 	February 24 	3 	Bunkie Blackburn 	Ray Fox 	Dodge 	120 	300 (482.803) 	2:08:11 	140.423
1969*	February 22 	29 	Lee Roy Yarbrough 	Bondy Long 	Ford 	120 	300 (482.803) 	2:49:13 	105.365
1970 	February 21 	29 	Tiny Lund 	Bondy Long 	Ford 	120 	300 (482.803) 	2:15:01 	133.316
1971 	February 13 	97 	Red Farmer 	 	Ford 	120 	300 (482.803) 	2:27:43 	140.936
1972 	February 19 	90 	Bill Dennis 	Junie Donlavey 	Mercury 	120 	300 (482.803) 	2:12:43 	135.627
1973 	February 17 	90 	Bill Dennis 	Junie Donlavey 	Mercury 	120 	300 (482.803) 	2:14:10 	134.161
1974 	February 16 	90 	Bill Dennis 	Junie Donlavey 	Mercury 	108* 	270 (434.522) 	1:55:20 	140.462
1975 	February 15 	11 	Jack Ingram 	 	Chevrolet 	120 	300 (482.803) 	2:10:20 	138.107
1976 	February 14 	04 	Joe Millikan 	Petty Enterprises 	Dodge 	120 	300 (482.803) 	2:03:26 	145.828
1977 	February 19 	21 	Donnie Allison 	 	Chevrolet 	120 	300 (482.803) 	1:56:36 	154.396
1978 	February 18 	88 	Darrell Waltrip 	DiGard Racing 	Chevrolet 	120 	300 (482.803) 	1:50:39 	162.675
1979 	February 17 	88 	Darrell Waltrip 	DiGard Racing 	Chevrolet 	69* 	172 (276.807) 	1:50:22 	93.778
1980 	February 16 	94 	Jack Ingram 	Junie Donlavey 	Ford 	120 	300 (482.803) 	2:19:44 	128.817
1981 	February 14/16*	21 	David Pearson 	Joel Halpern 	Pontiac 	120 	300 (482.803) 	2:19:05 	129.419
1982 	February 13 	15 	Dale Earnhardt 	Robert Gee 	Pontiac 	120 	300 (482.803) 	1:56:29 	154.529
1983 	February 19 	17 	Darrell Waltrip 	DarWal, Inc. 	Pontiac 	120 	300 (482.803) 	2:01:55 	147.642
1984 	February 18 	17 	Darrell Waltrip 	DarWal, Inc. 	Pontiac 	120 	300 (482.803) 	1:54:56 	156.613
1985 	February 16 	5 	Geoffrey Bodine 	Hendrick Motorsports 	Pontiac 	120 	300 (482.803) 	1:54:33 	157.137
1986 	February 15 	8 	Dale Earnhardt 	Dale Earnhardt, Inc. 	Pontiac 	120 	300 (482.803) 	2:00:52 	148.924
1987 	February 14 	15 	Geoffrey Bodine 	Hendrick Motorsports 	Chevrolet 	120 	300 (482.803) 	1:56:03 	155.106
1988 	February 13 	12 	Bobby Allison 	Bobby Allison 	Buick 	120 	300 (482.803) 	2:15:09 	132.825
1989 	February 18 	17 	Darrell Waltrip 	DarWal, Inc. 	Chevrolet 	120 	300 (482.803) 	2:17:11 	131.211
1990 	February 17 	3 	Dale Earnhardt 	Dale Earnhardt, Inc. 	Chevrolet 	120 	300 (482.803) 	2:00:31 	149.357
1991 	February 16 	3 	Dale Earnhardt 	Dale Earnhardt, Inc. 	Chevrolet 	120 	300 (482.803) 	2:04:50 	144.192
1992 	February 15 	3 	Dale Earnhardt 	Dale Earnhardt, Inc. 	Chevrolet 	120 	300 (482.803) 	2:15:55 	132.434
1993 	February 13 	3 	Dale Earnhardt 	Dale Earnhardt, Inc. 	Chevrolet 	120 	300 (482.803) 	2:02:55 	146.440
1994 	February 19 	3 	Dale Earnhardt 	Dale Earnhardt, Inc. 	Chevrolet 	120 	300 (482.803) 	2:04:53 	144.135
1995 	February 18 	23 	Chad Little 	ppc Racing 	Ford 	120 	300 (482.803) 	1:59:25 	150.732
1996 	February 17 	29 	Steve Grissom 	Diamond Ridge Motorsports	Chevrolet 	120 	300 (482.803) 	2:07:52 	140.722
1997 	February 15 	74 	Randy LaJoie 	BACE Motorsports 	Chevrolet 	120 	300 (482.803) 	2:00:15 	149.688
1998 	February 14 	87 	Joe Nemechek 	NEMCO Motorsports 	Chevrolet 	120 	300 (482.803) 	2:11:11 	137.213
1999 	February 13 	1 	Randy LaJoie 	Phoenix Racing 	Chevrolet 	120 	300 (482.803) 	2:10:04 	138.391
2000 	February 19 	17 	Matt Kenseth 	Reiser Enterprises 	Chevrolet 	120 	300 (482.803) 	2:07:54 	140.735
2001 	February 17 	7 	Randy LaJoie 	Evans Motorsports 	Pontiac 	120 	300 (482.803) 	2:13:11 	135.152
2002 	February 16 	3 	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	Richard Childress Racing 	Chevrolet 	120 	300 (482.803) 	2:01:54 	147.662
2003 	February 15 	8 	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	Dale Earnhardt, Inc. 	Chevrolet 	120 	300 (482.803) 	2:05:12 	143.770
2004 	February 14/16*	8 	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	Dale Earnhardt, Inc. 	Chevrolet 	120 	300 (482.803) 	2:21:32 	127.179
2005 	February 19 	33 	Tony Stewart 	Kevin Harvick Inc. 	Chevrolet 	120 	300 (482.803) 	1:59:59 	150.021
2006 	February 18 	33 	Tony Stewart 	Kevin Harvick Inc. 	Chevrolet 	120 	300 (482.803) 	2:23:49 	125.159
2007 	February 17 	21 	Kevin Harvick 	Richard Childress Racing 	Chevrolet 	120 	300 (482.803) 	1:55:13 	156.227
2008 	February 16 	20 	Tony Stewart 	Joe Gibbs Racing 	Toyota 	120 	300 (482.803) 	1:56:46 	154.154
2009 	February 14 	80 	Tony Stewart 	Hendrick Motorsports 	Chevrolet 	120 	300 (482.803) 	2:09:59 	138.479
2010 	February 13 	4 	Tony Stewart 	Kevin Harvick Inc. 	Chevrolet 	120 	300 (482.803) 	2:25:32 	123.683
2011 	February 19 	4 	Tony Stewart* 	Kevin Harvick Inc. 	Chevrolet 	120 	300 (482.803) 	2:08:52 	139.679
2012 	February 25 	30 	James Buescher 	Turner Motorsports 	Chevrolet 	120 	300 (482.803) 	2:18:51 	129.636
2013 	February 23 	33 	Tony Stewart 	Richard Childress Racing 	Chevrolet 	120 	300 (482.803) 	2:08:37 	139.951
2014 	February 22 	7 	Regan Smith 	JR Motorsports 	Chevrolet 	121* 	302.5 (486.826)	2:02:28 	148.204
2015 	February 21 	16 	Ryan Reed* 	Roush Fenway Racing 	Ford 	120 	300 (482.803) 	2:00:59 	148.781
2016 	February 20 	88 	Chase Elliott 	JR Motorsports 	Chevrolet 	120 	300 (482.803) 	1:59:04 	151.176
2017 	February 25 	16 	Ryan Reed 	Roush Fenway Racing 	Ford 	124* 	310 (498.897) 	2:38:47 	117.141
2018 	February 17 	9 	Tyler Reddick* 	JR Motorsports 	Chevrolet 	143* 	357.5 (575.34) 	3:00:06 	119.1
*1964: Race shortened due to late start caused by three-hour rain delay.
*1969: Three red flags during the race due to rain. 1966 Sportsman Champion Don MacTavish was killed in one of the most violent crashes in NASCAR history.
*1974: Race scheduled for 108 laps (270 miles) due to energy crisis.
*1979: Race shortened due to rain.
*1981 and 2004: Race started on Saturday but finished on Monday due to rain.
*2011: Tony Stewart wins his 4th straight February race edging Clint Bowyer by 0.007 seconds.
*2014, and 2017-18: Race extended due to a NASCAR Overtime finish. 2018 Took five tries, the most since 2004.
*2015: Ryan Reed became the first NASCAR driver with Type 1 Diabetes to win a NASCAR-sanctioned race. The race was decided by a last-lap pass.
*2018: Tyler Reddick beat Elliott Sadler in the closest finish ever in NASCAR, with a margin of victory of 0.0004 seconds. It was also the Xfinity Series’ second longest race in history in most miles run. (The 1985 October Charlotte race was scheduled for 400 miles.)
===Multiple winners (drivers)===
# Wins	Driver 	Years Won
7 	Dale Earnhardt 	1982, 1986, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994
7 	Tony Stewart 	2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013
5 	Darrell Waltrip 	1978, 1979, 1983, 1984, 1989
3 	Banjo Matthews 	1955, 1958, 1959
3 	LeeRoy Yarbrough 	1962, 1963, 1969
3 	Bill Dennis 	1972, 1973, 1974
3 	Randy LaJoie 	1997, 1999, 2001
3 	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	2002, 2003, 2004
2 	Gober Sosebee 	1950, 1951
2 	Cotton Owens 	1953, 1954
2 	Tim Flock 	1952, 1956
2 	Tiny Lund 	1964, 1970
2 	Jack Ingram 	1975, 1980
2 	Geoff Bodine 	1985, 1987
2 	Ryan Reed 	2015, 2017
===Multiple winners (teams)===
# Wins	Team 	Years Won
8 	Dale Earnhardt, Inc. 	1986, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 2003, 2004
4 	Junie Donlavey 	1972, 1973, 1974, 1980
4 	Kevin Harvick Inc. 	2005, 2006, 2010, 2011
3 	DarWal, Inc. 	1983, 1984, 1989
3 	Hendrick Motorsports 	1985, 1987, 2009
3 	Richard Childress Racing	2002, 2007, 2013
3 	JR Motorsports 	2014, 2016, 2018
2 	Bondy Long 	1969, 1970
2 	DiGard Racing 	1978, 1979
2 	Roush Fenway Racing 	2015, 2017
===Manufacturer wins===
# Wins	Make 	Years Won
31 	Chevrolet 	1956, 1975, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1987, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 1998,1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2018
21 	Ford 	1948, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1955, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1969,1970, 1971, 1980, 1995, 2015, 2017
7 	Pontiac 	1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 2001
4 	Plymouth 	1953, 1954, 1957, 1967
3 	Mercury 	1972, 1973, 1974
2 	Dodge 	1968, 1976
1 	Studebaker	1963
1 	Buick 	1988
1 	Toyota 	2008
==See also==
*Daytona 500
*NextEra Energy Resources 250
==References==
*http://racing-reference.info
*Orlando Sentinel; microfilm; (1959–1981)
Category:1959 establishments in Florida
Category:Xfinity Series races
 
Category:Recurring sporting events established in 1959