Raptor King of Tough 250 explained

Race Title:Raptor King of Tough 250
Series Long:NASCAR Xfinity Series
Venue:Atlanta Motor Speedway
Location:Hampton, Georgia, United States
Sponsor:RAPTOR Coatings[1]
First Race:1992
Distance:251.02miles
Laps:163
Stages 1/2: 40 each
Final stage: 83
Previous Names:Atlanta 300 (1992)
Slick 50 300 (1993)
Busch Light 300 (1994–1996)
Stihl Outdoor Power Tools 300 (1997)
Stihl 300 (1998)
Yellow Freight 300 (1999)
Aaron's 312 (2000–2005)
Nicorette 300 (2006–2008)
Degree Men V12 300 (2009)
Great Clips 300 (2010–2011)
NRA American Warrior 300 (2012)
Great Clips / Grit Chips 300 (2013)
Great Clips 300 benefiting Feed the Children (2014)
Hisense 250 (2015)
Heads Up Georgia 250 (2016)
Rinnai 250 (2017–2019)
EchoPark 250 (2020–2021)
Nalley Cars 250 (2022)
Most Wins Driver:Kevin Harvick (5)
Most Wins Team:Roush Fenway Racing (7)
Most Wins Manufacturer:Chevrolet (18)
Surface:Asphalt
Length Mi:1.54
Turns:4

The Raptor King of Tough 250 is a NASCAR Xfinity Series stock car race held at Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Georgia, a few miles south of Atlanta. This race had been Atlanta's lone Busch/Nationwide/Xfinity Series date until 2021 when a second race was added in July. Although it has been shuffled around the schedule several times, most years, it has been held at the beginning of the season in February or March.

History

Jeff Gordon, Mike Skinner, Jamie McMurray, and Carl Edwards have gotten their first series wins in this race.

Following the transfer of the season ending Cup series race from Atlanta to Homestead-Miami Speedway after the 2001 season (although due to the September 11 attacks, the 2001 Atlanta fall race was the second-to-last race of the season when the race at New Hampshire was moved from September to November as the last race of the season), the then 312-mile race was moved to Atlanta's fall race weekend where it remained until Aaron's Rental, who was sponsoring the race, chose instead to sponsor the lone Busch event at Talladega. The race gained sponsorship from GlaxoSmithKline through its Nicorette brand[2] [3] and moved back to its traditional spring date.

In September 2008, NASCAR officials announced that Nicorette would not renew its corporate sponsorship for race after the 2008 season. On October 26, 2008 it was announced that Unilever's deodorant brand Degree will take over sponsorship of this race starting in 2009. It was later announced that the now-Degree V12 300 would be moving to September as part of the latest round of NASCAR realignment, which resulted in the Pep Boys Auto 500, the AMP Energy 500 at Talladega, and the Pepsi 500 at Fontana/Auto Club Speedway trading places. The Degree V12 300 took the place of the Camping World RV Service 300 on NASCAR's Labor Day weekend race schedule and serves as an accompanying race to the AdvoCare 500.

In 2015, the Xfinity race at Atlanta moved along with the Cup race (Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500) to the second weekend of the season and ran as a doubleheader on Saturday afternoon along with the Truck Series. The race was also reduced to 250 miles in order to make the race a doubleheader on the same day.[4]

EchoPark Automotive became the title sponsor of the race in 2020,[5] replacing Rinnai. That year, the race had been moved from being in February and the second race of the season and the first race before the three-race west coast swing to March and as the fifth race of the season as the first race after the west coast swing. However, the race was moved again from March to June due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[6] In 2021, the race returned to March. In 2022, Nalley Automotive Group replaced EchoPark as the title sponsor and the new name of the race was the Nalley Cars 250.[7] In 2023, Raptor Coatings replaced Nalley as the title sponsor and the new name of the race was the Raptor King of Tough 250.[1]

Past winners

YearDateDriverTeamManufacturerRace DistanceRace TimeAverage Speed
(mph)		Ref
LapsMiles (km)
1992March 141Jeff GordonBill Davis RacingFord197299.834 (482.536)2:24:36124.412[8]
1993November 13*2Ward BurtonA.G. Dillard MotorsportsChevrolet197299.834 (482.536)2:44:05109.64[9]
1994March 127Harry GantWhitaker RacingChevrolet197299.834 (482.536)2:20:56127.649[10]
1995March 1174Johnny Benson Jr.BACE MotorsportsChevrolet197299.834 (482.536)2:03:45145.767[11]
1996March 95Terry LabonteLabonte MotorsportsChevrolet197299.834 (482.536)2:08:15139.656[12]
1997March 860Mark MartinRoush RacingFord197299.834 (482.536)1:58:55151.751[13]
1998November 760Mark MartinRoush RacingFord195300.3 (483.286)2:10:23138.193[14]
1999March 1319Mike SkinnerEmerald Performance GroupChevrolet195300.3 (483.286)2:33:46117.178#[15]
2000March 11*60Mark MartinRoush RacingFord203312.62 (503.113)2:27:47126.924[16]
2001March 1087Joe NemechekNEMCO MotorsportsChevrolet203312.62 (503.113)2:10:18143.954[17]
2002October 2627Jamie McMurrayBrewco MotorsportsChevrolet203312.62 (503.113)2:15:09138.788[18]
2003October 257Greg BiffleEvans MotorsportsChevrolet203312.62 (503.113)2:08:17146.217[19]
2004October 3017Matt KensethReiser EnterprisesFord208*320.32 (515.505)2:24:08133.343[20]
2005March 1960Carl EdwardsRoush RacingFord203312.62 (503.113)2:23:34130.651[21]
2006March 1821Jeff BurtonRichard Childress RacingChevrolet195300.3 (483.286)2:20:47127.984[22]
2007March 1729Jeff BurtonRichard Childress RacingChevrolet195300.3 (483.286)2:21:39127.201[23]
2008March 817Matt KensethRoush Fenway RacingFord198*304.92 (490.721)2:19:21131.29[24]
2009September 533Kevin HarvickKevin Harvick Inc.Chevrolet195300.3 (483.286)2:04:04145.228[25]
2010September 488Jamie McMurrayJR MotorsportsChevrolet195300.3 (483.286)2:04:44144.452[26]
2011September 360Carl EdwardsRoush Fenway RacingFord195300.3 (483.286)2:15:40132.811[27]
2012September 16Ricky Stenhouse Jr.Roush Fenway RacingFord195300.3 (483.286)2:32:51117.88[28]
2013August 3133Kevin HarvickRichard Childress RacingChevrolet195300.3 (483.286)2:08:01140.747[29]
2014August 305Kevin HarvickJR MotorsportsChevrolet195300.3 (483.286)2:08:37140.091[30]
2015February 2888Kevin HarvickJR MotorsportsChevrolet163251.02 (403.977)1:40:32149.813[31]
2016February 2718Kyle BuschJoe Gibbs RacingToyota163251.02 (403.977)1:49:53137.065[32]
2017March 418Kyle BuschJoe Gibbs RacingToyota163251.02 (403.977)1:57:16128.435[33]
2018February 2498Kevin HarvickStewart-Haas Racing with
Biagi-DenBeste		Ford163251.02 (403.977)1:56:09129.67[34]
2019February 2320Christopher BellJoe Gibbs RacingToyota163251.02 (403.977)1:48:00139.456[35]
2020June 6*16A. J. AllmendingerKaulig RacingChevrolet163251.02 (403.977)2:02:37122.832[36]
2021March 207Justin AllgaierJR MotorsportsChevrolet163251.02 (403.977)2:10:50115.117[37]
2022March 1954Ty GibbsJoe Gibbs RacingToyota172*264.88 (426.282)2:36:39101.454[38]
2023March 1821Austin HillRichard Childress RacingChevrolet163251.02 (403.977)2:44:4991.382[39]
2024February 2421Austin HillRichard Childress RacingChevrolet169*260.26 1:55:16135.474[40]

Notes

Track length notes

Multiple winners (drivers)

  1. Wins
DriverYears Won
5Kevin Harvick2009, 2013-2015, 2018
3Mark Martin1997, 1998, 2000
2Jamie McMurray2002, 2010
Matt Kenseth2004, 2008
Carl Edwards2005, 2011
Jeff Burton2006, 2007
Kyle Busch2016, 2017
Austin Hill2023, 2024

Multiple winners (teams)

  1. Wins
TeamYears Won
7Roush Fenway Racing1997, 1998, 2000, 2005, 2008, 2011, 2012
5Richard Childress Racing2006, 2007, 2013, 2023, 2024
4JR Motorsports2010, 2014, 2015, 2021
Joe Gibbs Racing2016, 2017, 2019, 2022

Manufacturer wins

  1. Wins
MakeYears Won
19 Chevrolet1993-1996, 1999, 2001-2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2013-2015, 2020, 2021, 2023, 2024
10 Ford1992, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2004, 2005, 2008, 2011, 2012, 2018
4 Toyota2016, 2017, 2019, 2022

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: RAPTOR King of Tough 250 and Fr8 208 Doubleheader . . . November 28, 2022.
  2. Web site: NASCAR leaves smoking days farther behind. 2005-01-27. ESPN. https://web.archive.org/web/20150108102927/http://sports.espn.go.com/rpm/news/story?id=1977186. 2015-01-08. 2015-01-01. live.
  3. Web site: Nicorette, NASCAR sign sponsorship deal. Horovitz. Bruce. 2005-01-26. USA Today. https://web.archive.org/web/20160304045112/http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/money/advertising/2005-01-26-nascar-usat_x.htm. 2016-03-04. 2015-01-01. dead.
  4. News: NASCAR reveals 2015 schedules for national series . . August 26, 2014 . August 26, 2014.
  5. Web site: EchoPark Automotive to sponsor NASCAR Xfinity race on March 14 at AMS. Atlanta Motor Speedway. March 6, 2020. March 6, 2020.
  6. Web site: NASCAR postpones Atlanta, Homestead races. ESPN. March 13, 2020. March 13, 2020.
  7. Web site: Nalley Automotive Group, Alsco Uniforms Sponsoring Xfinity Races at Atlanta in 2022 . . NASCAR Digital Media, LLC . October 21, 2021.
  8. Web site: 1992 Atlanta 300. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 12, 2023.
  9. Web site: 1993 Slick 50 300. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 12, 2023.
  10. Web site: 1994 Busch Light 300. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 12, 2023.
  11. Web site: 1995 Busch Light 300. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 12, 2023.
  12. Web site: 1996 Busch Light 300. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 12, 2023.
  13. Web site: 1997 Stihl Outdoor Power Tools 300. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 12, 2023.
  14. Web site: 1998 Stihl 300. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 12, 2023.
  15. Web site: 1999 Yellow Fright 300. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 12, 2023.
  16. Web site: 2000 Aaron's 312. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 12, 2023.
  17. Web site: 2001 Aaron's 312. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 12, 2023.
  18. Web site: 2002 Aaron's 312. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 12, 2023.
  19. Web site: 2003 Aaron's 312. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 12, 2023.
  20. Web site: 2004 Aaron's 312. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 12, 2023.
  21. Web site: 2005 Aaron's 312. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 12, 2023.
  22. Web site: 2006 Nicorette 300. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 12, 2023.
  23. Web site: 2007 Nicorette 300. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 12, 2023.
  24. Web site: 2008 Nicorette 300. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 12, 2023.
  25. Web site: 2009 Degree V12 300. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 12, 2023.
  26. Web site: 2010 Great Clips 300. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 12, 2023.
  27. Web site: 2011 Great Clips 300. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 12, 2023.
  28. Web site: 2012 NRA American Warrior 300. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 12, 2023.
  29. Web site: 2013 Great Clips Grit Chips 300. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 12, 2023.
  30. Web site: 2014 Great Clips 300 to benefit Feed the Children. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 12, 2023.
  31. Web site: 2015 Hisense 250. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 12, 2023.
  32. Web site: 2016 Heads Up Georgia 250. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 12, 2023.
  33. Web site: 2017 Rinnai 250. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 12, 2023.
  34. Web site: 2018 Rinnai 250. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 12, 2023.
  35. Web site: 2019 Rinnai 250. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 12, 2023.
  36. Web site: 2020 Echo Park 250. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 12, 2023.
  37. Web site: 2021 Echo Park 250. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 12, 2023.
  38. Web site: 2022 Nailey Cars 250. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 12, 2023.
  39. Web site: 2023 Raptor King of Tough 250. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 12, 2023.
  40. Web site: 2024 Raptor King of Tough 250. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. February 24, 2024.
  41. Web site: 2020 NASCAR Xfinity Series Atlanta Race Page. Jayski's Silly Season Site. November 12, 2023.

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