Coca-Cola Firecracker 250

Coca-Cola Firecracker 250

NASCAR Xfinity Series
Venue	Daytona International Speedway
Location	Daytona Beach, Florida, United States
Corporate sponsor	Coca-Cola
First race	2002
Distance	250 miles (400 km)
Laps	100 (Stage 1: 30 Stage 2: 30 Stage 3: 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)
Most wins (driver)	Dale Earnhardt Jr. (3)
Most wins (team)	Dale Earnhardt, Inc. Joe Gibbs Racing Richard Childress Racing (3)
Most wins (manufacturer)	Chevrolet (11)
Circuit information
Surface	Asphalt
Length	2.5 mi (4.0 km)
Turns	4

The Coca-Cola Firecracker 250 is a NASCAR Xfinity Series race that is held at Daytona International Speedway. Scheduled as a 250-mile (400 km) race, it has been held the night before the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series' Coke Zero Sugar 400 during Independence Day weekend since 2002.

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, other three being at Michigan, Richmond (September), Charlotte (October).

Past winners

Manufacturer wins

# Wins	Make	Years won
11	Chevrolet	2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018
3	Toyota	2008, 2011, 2013
2	Ford	2004, 2016
1	Pontiac	2002

Television broadcasters

In 2002, 2004 and 2006, the race was held on FX. In 2003 and 2005, the race was held on TNT, In 2007–2014, the race was held on ESPN and ESPN2. Starting in 2015, the race is being aired on NBCSN.

• 2017: Race started on NBCSN on Friday but switched to CNBC on Saturday due to rain/postponement.

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.^[1]

• 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.^[2]

• 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.

References