Wawa 250 Explained

Race Title:	Wawa 250
Series Long:	NASCAR Xfinity Series
Venue:	Daytona International Speedway
Location:	Daytona Beach, Florida, United States
Sponsor:	Wawa, Coca-Cola
First Race:	2002
Distance:	250miles
Laps:	100 Stages 1/2: 30 each Final stage: 40
Previous Names:	Stacker 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)
Surface:	Asphalt
Length Mi:	2.5
Turns:	4

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

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

Year	Date		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]
2024	August 23									Report

Notes

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)

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

Multiple winners (teams)

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

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

• 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]

Notes and References

1. Web site: 2002 Stacker 2 / GNC Live Well 250. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 12, 2023.
2. Web site: 2003 Winn-Dixie 250 Presented by PepsiCo. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 12, 2023.
3. Web site: 2004 Winn-Dixie 250 Presented by PepsiCo. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 12, 2023.
4. Web site: 2005 Winn-Dixie 250 Presented by PepsiCo. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 12, 2023.
5. Web site: 2006 Winn-Dixie 250 Presented by PepsiCo. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 12, 2023.
6. Web site: 2007 Winn Dixie 250 Presented by PepsiCo. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 12, 2023.
7. Web site: 2008 Winn-Dixie 250 Presented by PepsiCo. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 12, 2023.
8. Web site: 2009 Subway Jalapeno 250 Powered by Coca-Cola. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 12, 2023.
9. Web site: 2010 Subway Jalapeno 250 Powered by Coca-Cola. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 12, 2023.
10. Web site: 2011 Subway Jalapeno 250 Powered by Coca-Cola. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 12, 2023.
11. Web site: 2012 Subway Jalapeno 250. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 12, 2023.
12. Web site: 2013 Subway Firecracker 250. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 12, 2023.
13. Web site: 2014 Subway Firecracker 250. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 12, 2023.
14. Web site: 2015 Subway Firecracker 250. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 12, 2023.
15. Web site: 2016 Subway Firecracker 250. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 12, 2023.
16. Web site: 2017 Coca-Cola Firecracker 250. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 12, 2023.
17. Web site: 2018 Coca-Cola Firecracker 250. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 12, 2023.
18. Web site: 2019 Circle K Firecracker 250. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 12, 2023.
19. Web site: 2020 Wawa 250 Powered by Coca-Cola. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 12, 2023.
20. Web site: 2021 Wawa 250. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 12, 2023.
21. Web site: 2022 Wawa 250 Powered by Coca-Cola. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 12, 2023.
22. Web site: 2023 Wawa 250 Powered by Coca-Cola. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 12, 2023.
23. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_NlhJkG_nZ8 Finish of 2011 Subway 250
24. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJuZ_mfHals Finish of 2012 Subway 250
25. Web site: UNOH and General Tire - Join Historic DAYTONA Road Course Weekend. Daytona International Speedway. August 10, 2020. August 10, 2020.
26. News: NASCAR reveals rest of revamped 2020 regular-season schedule. NASCAR. July 8, 2020. August 8, 2020.