2013 DRIVE4COPD 300

2013 DRIVE4COPD 300

Race details
Race 1 of 33 in the 2013 NASCAR Nationwide Series season
Date	February 23, 2013 (2013-02-23)
Location	Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach, Florida
Course	Permanent racing facility 2.5 mi (4.02336 km)
Distance	120 laps, 193.12 mi (300 km)
Weather	Temperatures reading up to 88 °F (31 °C); wind speeds up to 19 miles per hour (31 km/h)[1]
Average speed	139.951 mph (225.229 km/h)
Pole position
Driver	Trevor Bayne	Roush Fenway Racing
Most laps led
Driver	Regan Smith	JR Motorsports
Laps	23
Winner
No. 33	Tony Stewart	Richard Childress Racing
Television in the United States
Network	ESPN
Announcers	Allen Bestwick, Dale Jarrett, Andy Petree
Nielsen Ratings	2.2 (3.4 million viewers)[2]

The 2013 DRIVE4COPD 300 was a NASCAR Nationwide Series race held on February 23, 2013, at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It was the first race of the 2013 NASCAR Nationwide Series season. The race was the 32nd running of the DRIVE4COPD 300, and the pole position was held by Roush Fenway Racing's Trevor Bayne with a lap speed of 177.162 miles per hour (285.115 km/h),^[3] while Tony Stewart of Richard Childress Racing won the race. Sam Hornish, Jr. finished second, and Alex Bowman finished third.

Race

The race was marred by two crashes. On lap 116, 11 cars were involved in a crash, which led to Michael Annett suffering a bruised sternum,^[4] which kept him out of the next eight races of the season.^[5] Jamie Dick, Johanna Long and Hal Martin were also treated, and were released. The crash brought out a 20 minute red flag.^[6] On the final lap, Regan Smith was turned while trying to block Brad Keselowski, and Kyle Larson was collected in the crash, and Larson was sent airborne into the catchfence. Larson's engine and wheel entered the grandstand, and some debris flew into the second level.^[7] Ultimately, 28 fans were injured, with two in critical condition.^[8] In the midst of the chaos, Tony Stewart and Sam Hornish, Jr. escaped the wreck,^[9] as Stewart won the race, tying Dale Earnhardt for the most Nationwide wins at the track with seven.^[8] Alex Bowman, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Parker Kligerman closed out the top five, while Brian Scott, Justin Allgaier, Eric McClure, Robert Richardson, Jr. and Travis Pastrana rounded out the top ten.^[10]

In the aftermath of the incident, Daytona and Talladega Superspeedway added cables and tethers to the crossover gates, with Daytona's being installed in time for the Coke Zero 400 in July.^[11] The crash also resulted in the banning of the two-car tandem that had been prevelant since the 2011 introduction of the new cars. The rule change came into effect for the 2014 seasons of all three national touring series.

Results

Standings after the race

Being the highest finishing Nationwide points finisher in the race, Sam Hornish, Jr. started the season with the points lead.

References