Aquafina 200

The Aquafina 200 is an annual race held at Baton Rouge Motor Speedway, a 0.5 mile paved oval track in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. It is the first of two NASCAR Coca-Cola Cup Series races held at the track each season, with the second race being the crown jewel Amazon 200 race. After the Amazon 200 race continued to produce some of the best races on the schedule, as well as fans clamoring for more short track races, NASCAR added the Aquafina 200 in 2009. The race has been sponsored by and called the Aquafina 200 since it's inception. The race has been held as the third race of the season every year, except 2013, when it was postponed from it's usual spot.

## 2009 - Inaugural Race

Jimmy Allen started on the pole in the #88. The majority of the race was a three-way battle while negotiating lap traffic between #9 Daniel Thompson, #22 Alex Hall and #88 Jimmy Allen. On the final lap, Thompson drove high up the track, while Hall carved the bottom. Thompson got a huge run off the corner and just squeaked by Hall at the line to win the closest finish in the series history.

## 2010

Alex Hall and the #22 started off the race on the pole, seeking redemption for their narrow loss last time. There was an early caution on Lap 22, but shockingly, that would be the only yellow of the entire race. This forced green flag pit stops for the first time in the track's history, and as the laps clicked off, #6 Wade Tucker continued to run the bottom, and eventually took the lead. Tucker took the win with ease, getting Peterson Motorsports their first non-restrictor plate win since 2004.

## 2011

Alex Smith's #24 rolled off from the first position, but only led 34 laps before falling off. The race turned into a battle between future teammates, #4 Anthony Rush and #17 Paul Green, as the two swapped the lead back-and-forth. Green made a critical error by getting in the wrong lane while lapping cars with just 8 laps to go, and Rush drove by for the victory. The race was a wreckfest, with half of the field ending the race in the garage after numerous cautions. In victory lane, Rush said, "this is amateur hour out here. I mean, come on, this isn't a (expletive) Jack Links or late model race!"

## 2012

Renowned short track driver Johnny Trout won the pole in the #88 in his final full-time season. Trout led the first 53 laps, but #18 Paul Kaiser flew by him for the lead. Kaiser, despite qualifying outside the Top 10, would lead the rest of the race en route to a dominating victory.

## 2013

#18 Paul Kaiser started where he left off by sitting on the pole. This race was the second of a doubleheader at Baton Rouge in 2013 due to the postponement of the race from it's originally scheduled date, making this the penultimate round of the season. Kaiser won the first race of the doubleheader, and battled teammate #11 Chase Wood for the sweep. However, Kaiser's car got tight during the final 22 lap stint, and Wood would pull away to win his 2nd Baton Rouge race, but his first in the Aquafina 200.

## 2014

The 2014 Aquafina 200 will be the third race of the Cup season. It is scheduled to take place on May 27th, 2022, and it will be the first Aquafina 200 broadcast on Instagram.

## Trivia

* The Aquafina 200 has never seen a repeat race-winner, nor a repeat pole-winner.
* The eventual champion of the season has won this race two times (2009, 2012).
* No one has ever won their first career Cup victory in this event.
* Aquafina is a PepsiCo brand, which rivals Coca-Cola's Dasani water. However, Aquafina's race sponsorship began before Coca-Cola sponsored the series, which grandfathered in Aquafina's sponsorship to continue despite the conflict.