The O'Reilly Auto Parts 253 was a NASCAR Cup Series race on the Daytona International Speedway infield road course in Daytona Beach, Florida. Originally created in 2020 as a temporary event in response to races canceled by the COVID-19 pandemic, the race returned in 2021 for the same reason.
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| NASCAR Cup Series | |
|---|---|
| Venue | Daytona International Speedway |
| Location | Daytona Beach, Florida |
| Corporate sponsor | O'Reilly Auto Parts |
| First race | 2020 |
| Last race | 2021 |
| Distance | 252.70 miles (406.68 km) |
| Laps | 70 Stage 1: 16 Stage 2: 18 Final stage: 36 |
| Previous names | Go Bowling 235 (2020) |
| Most wins (driver) | Chase Elliott Christopher Bell |
| Most wins (team) | Hendrick Motorsports Joe Gibbs Racing |
| Most wins (manufacturer) | Chevrolet Toyota |
| Circuit information | |
| Surface | Asphalt |
| Length | 3.61 mi (5.81 km) |
| Turns | 14 |
Christopher Bell is the most recent race winner. The race weekend included support events by the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and NASCAR Xfinity Series, respectively called the BrakeBest Select 159 and Super Start Batteries 188.
History
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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 Busch Clash exhibition race would begin using the road course instead of the oval in 2021.[1]
The COVID-19 pandemic impacted much of the 2020 NASCAR schedule, resulting in races being postponed or canceled. In July, the August-planned Go Bowling at The Glen road course race at Watkins Glen International was called off due to New York's quarantine restrictions for out-of-state visitors. In response, NASCAR elected to move the Watkins Glen event to the Daytona road course, two weeks before the speedway was to host the Coke Zero Sugar 400.[2] Watkins Glen race sponsor GoBowling.com transferred its sponsorship to the new race,[3] and WGI's trophy maker Corning Museum of Glass produced a glass trophy for the event.[4] 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.[5]
Chase Elliott won the event in its inaugural 2020 running, which saw the speedway's grandstand capacity reduced to 10 percent for social distancing and a brief stoppage due to lightning part way through the event.[6] Although intended to be a one-off race, the event returned in 2021 as the second race of the season after the Auto Club 400 at Auto Club Speedway was canceled for concerns stemming from COVID-19.[7] The addition made the race the seventh road course date on the Cup schedule, the most in series history.[8] The race was also extended to 70 laps in length.[9] O'Reilly Auto Parts assumed naming rights for all three national series races, with the Cup date being renamed the O'Reilly Auto Parts 253.[10]
Past winners
edit| Year | Day | Date | No. | Driver | Team | Sponsor | Manufacturer | Race Distance | Race Time | Average Speed (mph) |
Report | Ref | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Laps | Miles (km) | ||||||||||||
| 2020 | Sunday | August 16 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | NAPA Auto Parts | Chevrolet | 65 | 234.7 (377.7) | 2:37:30 | 89.39 | Report | [11] |
| 2021 | Sunday | February 21 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing | Rheem | Toyota | 70 | 252.7 (406.7) | 2:59:32 | 84.452 | Report | [12] |
Manufacturer wins
edit| # Wins | Make | Years Won |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Chevrolet
|
2020 |
 Toyota
|
2021 |
References
edit- ^ Cain, Holly (March 4, 2020). "NASCAR's season-opening Busch Clash moving to Daytona road course in 2021". NASCAR. Retrieved January 4, 2021.
- ^ "NASCAR moving Watkins Glen race to Daytona road course". USA Today. AP. July 8, 2020. Retrieved January 4, 2021.
- ^ "Go Bowling, Daytona International Speedway partner for Go Bowling 235". Daytona International Speedway. July 31, 2020. Retrieved January 4, 2021.
- ^ McFadin, Daniel (August 14, 2020). "Daytona road course trophy: Handle with care". NBC Sports. Retrieved February 13, 2021.
- ^ Crandall, Kelly (July 30, 2020). "NASCAR adds chicane for Daytona road course". Racer. Retrieved January 4, 2021.
- ^ Willis, Ken (August 16, 2020). "NASCAR'S road-racing weekend a successful Daytona moment". Daytona Beach News-Journal. Retrieved January 16, 2021.
- ^ Estrada, Chris (December 8, 2020). "Schedule shuffle: Fontana races move to Daytona road course". NBC Sports. Retrieved January 4, 2021.
- ^ Nguyen, Justin (December 8, 2020). "NASCAR's road course love story continues with Daytona RC addition to create Florida tripleheader, Fontana removed". The Checkered Flag. Retrieved January 1, 2021.
- ^ "Stage lengths for 2021 NASCAR season". NASCAR. January 25, 2021. Retrieved January 31, 2021.
- ^ "O'Reilly Auto Parts 253 At DAYTONA Set for NASCAR Cup Series Race". Daytona International Speedway. February 16, 2021. Retrieved February 16, 2021.
- ^ "2020 Go Bowling 235". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved February 21, 2021.
- ^ "2021 O'Reilly Auto Parts 253". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved February 21, 2021.
External links
edit
- Daytona International Speedway Road Course race results at Racing-Reference