Go Bowling 250

(Redirected from Autolite 250)

The Go Bowling 250 was a NASCAR Xfinity Series stock car race that took place at Richmond Raceway in Richmond, Virginia in the month of September. It is held the night before the NASCAR Cup Series race, the Federated Auto Parts 400. Noah Gragson won the 2021 race which was the last year it was run.

Go Bowling 250
NASCAR Xfinity Series
VenueRichmond Raceway
LocationRichmond, Virginia, United States
Corporate sponsorGo Bowling[1]
First race1982
Last race2021
Distance187.5 miles (301.8 km)
Laps250
Stages 1/2: 75 each
Final stage: 100
Previous namesHarvest 150 (1982)
Miller Time 150 (1983)
Miller 150 (1984)
7-Eleven 150 (1985)
Freedlander 200 (1986–1987)
Commonwealth 200 (1988–1989)
Autolite 200 (1990–1992)
Autolite 250 (1993–1995)
Autolite Platinum 250 (1996–1999)
Autolite / Fram 250 (2000–2001)
Funai 250 (2002–2003)
Emerson Radio 250 (2004–2008)
Virginia 529 College Savings 250 (2009–2017)
Most wins (driver)Kevin Harvick
Kyle Busch (4)
Most wins (team)Dale Earnhardt, Inc.
Joe Gibbs Racing (5)
Most wins (manufacturer)Chevrolet (16)
Circuit information
SurfaceAsphalt
Length0.75 mi (1.21 km)
Turns4

In 2018, as part of schedule realignment, the event became the first race of the NASCAR Xfinity Series playoffs.

In 2020, as part of schedule realignment, this became the only Xfinity Series race at the track as NASCAR decided to give the track one Truck Series race instead. This schedule change was done in a swap with Martinsville Speedway, which previously had two Truck Series races and zero Xfinity Series races and would now have one Truck Series race and one Xfinity Series race (which replaced the spring race at Richmond).

In 2022, the September Xfinity Series race at Richmond was moved to the spring (in exchange for moving the Truck Series race to the summer race weekend) and there was no September race at the track for the first time in the series' history.

Past winners

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2017 Virginia 529 College Savings 250
YearDateNo.DriverTeamManufacturerRace DistanceRace TimeAverage Speed
(mph)
LapsMiles (km)
1982September 1101Butch LindleyEmanuel ZervakisPontiac15081.3 (130.839)1:03:2976.839
1983September 107Morgan ShepherdWhitaker RacingOldsmobile15081.3 (130.839)1:16:2463.848
1984September 812Tommy EllisEllis RacingPontiac15081.3 (130.839)1:14:4965.199
1985September 712Tommy EllisEllis RacingPontiac15081.3 (130.839)1:00:5480.539
1986September 68Dale EarnhardtDale Earnhardt, Inc.Chevrolet200108.4 (174.452)1:25:2376.174
1987*September 1221Mark MartinBruce LawmasterFord180*97.56 (157.007)1:28:2766.18
1988September 107Harry GantWhitaker RacingBuick200150 (241.401)1:40:3889.434
1989September 98Bobby HamiltonFILMAR RacingOldsmobile200150 (241.401)1:37:4592.071
1990September 822Rick MastA.G. Dillard MotorsportsBuick200150 (241.401)1:30:1399.759
1991*September 67Harry GantWhitaker RacingBuick200150 (241.401)1:43:4786.719
1992September 1159Robert PressleyAlliance MotorsportsOldsmobile200150 (241.401)1:34:2295.373
1993September 1060Mark MartinRoush RacingFord250187.5 (301.752)1:54:1298.511
1994September 98Kenny WallaceFILMAR RacingFord250187.5 (301.752)1:55:2497.487
1995September 832Dale JarrettDale JarrettFord250187.5 (301.752)1:47:13104.928
1996September 8*8Kenny WallaceFILMAR RacingFord250187.5 (301.752)1:51:24100.987
1997September 53Steve ParkDale Earnhardt, Inc.Chevrolet250187.5 (301.752)2:24:4277.747
1998September 113Dale Earnhardt Jr.Dale Earnhardt, Inc.Chevrolet250187.5 (301.752)2:17:0582.067
1999September 103Dale Earnhardt Jr.Dale Earnhardt, Inc.Chevrolet250187.5 (301.752)2:08:1287.754
2000September 89Jeff BurtonRoush RacingFord250187.5 (301.752)2:06:0789.203
2001September 71Jimmy SpencerPhoenix RacingChevrolet250187.5 (301.752)2:04:4790.156
2002September 68Dale Earnhardt Jr.Dale Earnhardt, Inc.Chevrolet250187.5 (301.752)2:24:0478.089
2003September 543Johnny SauterCurb RacingChevrolet250187.5 (301.752)1:53:0199.543
2004September 1055Robby GordonRobby Gordon MotorsportsChevrolet250187.5 (301.752)2:10:1586.372
2005September 921Kevin HarvickRichard Childress RacingChevrolet253*189.75 (305.373)2:08:2788.634
2006September 821Kevin HarvickRichard Childress RacingChevrolet250187.5 (301.752)2:11:2385.627
2007September 75Kyle BuschHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet252*189 (304.166)2:00:4593.913
2008September 7*60Carl EdwardsRoush Fenway RacingFord250187.5 (301.752)2:03:5590.787
2009September 1160Carl EdwardsRoush Fenway RacingFord250187.5 (301.752)1:50:53101.458
2010September 1033Kevin HarvickKevin Harvick Inc.Chevrolet250187.5 (301.752)1:54:4598.039
2011September 918Kyle Busch[2]Joe Gibbs RacingToyota250187.5 (301.752)2:03:4590.909
2012September 733Kevin HarvickRichard Childress RacingChevrolet250187.5 (301.752)2:02:3991.724
2013*September 622Brad KeselowskiPenske RacingFord250187.5 (301.752)1:55:3797.304
2014September 554Kyle Busch*Joe Gibbs RacingToyota250187.5 (301.752)2:01:1192.835
2015September 119Chase ElliottJR MotorsportsChevrolet250187.5 (301.752)2:04:5490.072
2016September 918Kyle BuschJoe Gibbs RacingToyota250187.5 (301.752)1:48:30103.687
2017September 822Brad KeselowskiTeam PenskeFord250187.5 (301.752)1:55:1597.614
2018September 2120Christopher BellJoe Gibbs RacingToyota250187.5 (301.752)2:03:0891.364
2019September 2020Christopher BellJoe Gibbs RacingToyota250187.5 (301.752)1:57:1695.935
2020*September 117Justin AllgaierJR MotorsportsChevrolet250187.5 (301.752)2:02:5991.476
2021September 119Noah GragsonJR MotorsportsChevrolet250187.5 (301.752)2:14:5783.364
  • 1987: Race shortened due to rain. Last race on old half-mile layout.
  • 1991: Race moved to a Friday night event.
  • 1996: Race postponed from Friday to Sunday due to power outage.
  • 2005 & 2007: Races extended due to NASCAR overtime.
  • 2008: Race postponed from Friday to Sunday due to rain from Hurricane Hanna.
  • 2013: Marked the 1,000th race held in series.[3]
  • 2014: Kyle Busch led all 250 laps.
  • 2020: Race held as the first race of a doubleheader weekend (the second race replaced the race at Michigan International Speedway due to COVID-19).

Track length

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  • 1982–1987: 0.5-mile oval
  • 1988–present: 0.75-mile D-shaped oval

Multiple winners (drivers)

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# WinsDriverYears Won
4Kevin Harvick2005–2006, 2010, 2012
Kyle Busch2007, 2011, 2014, 2016
3Dale Earnhardt Jr.1998–1999, 2002
2Tommy Ellis1984–1985
Mark Martin1987, 1993
Harry Gant1988, 1991
Kenny Wallace1994, 1996
Carl Edwards2008–2009
Brad Keselowski2013, 2017
Christopher Bell2018–2019

Multiple winners (teams)

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# WinsTeamYears Won
5Dale Earnhardt, Inc.1986, 1997–1999, 2002
Joe Gibbs Racing2011, 2014, 2016, 2018–2019
4Roush Fenway Racing1993, 2000, 2008–2009
3Whitaker Racing1983, 1988, 1991
FILMAR Racing1989, 1994, 1996
Richard Childress Racing2005–2006, 2012
JR Motorsports2015, 2020–2021
2Team Penske2013, 2017

Manufacturer wins

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# WinsMakeYears Won
16 Chevrolet1986, 1997–1999, 2001–2003, 2005–2007, 2010, 2012, 2015, 2020–2021
10 Ford1987, 1993–1996, 2000, 2008–2009, 2013, 2017
5 Toyota2011, 2014, 2016, 2018–2019
3 Pontiac1982, 1984–1985
Oldsmobile1983, 1989, 1992
Buick1988, 1990–1991

References

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  1. ^ "Richmond Raceway Strikes with Go Bowling as Fall NASCAR Xfinity Series Entitlement Sponsor for the Go Bowling 250". Richmond Raceway. February 5, 2018. Archived from the original on February 7, 2018. Retrieved January 9, 2021.
  2. ^ Kurz Jr., Hank (September 9, 2011). "Kyle Busch wins Nationwide race at Richmond, his eighth of the season". Washington Times. Richmond, Virginia. Associated Press. Retrieved February 25, 2012.
  3. ^ NASCAR (September 3, 2013). "Richmond to be 1000th Nationwide Series race". Yahoo! Sports. Archived from the original on September 6, 2013. Retrieved September 5, 2013.
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