Alsco 300 (Kentucky)

(Redirected from Feed the Children 300)

The Alsco 300 was a NASCAR Xfinity Series race held at Kentucky Speedway in Sparta, Kentucky, United States. The distance of the race was 300 miles (482.803 km).

Alsco 300
NASCAR Xfinity Series
VenueKentucky Speedway
LocationSparta, Kentucky, United States
Corporate sponsorAlsco
First race2001
Last race2020
Distance300 miles (480 km)
Laps200 (Stage 1: 45 Stage 2: 45 Stage 3: 110)
Previous namesOutback Steakhouse 300 (2001)
Kroger 300 (2002)
Meijer 300 (2003–2010)
Feed the Children 300 (2011–2013)
John R. Elliott HERO Campaign 300 presented by Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over (2014)
Kentucky 300 (2015)
Most wins (driver)Joey Logano
Brad Keselowski
Kyle Busch (3)
Most wins (team)Joe Gibbs Racing (6)
Most wins (manufacturer)Ford (7)
Circuit information
SurfaceAsphalt
Length1.5 mi (2.4 km)
Turns4

History

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Kentucky Speedway, opened in 2000 by Jerry Carrol, held its first Busch Series race in 2001. Brad Paisley sang the National Anthem, and then-Cincinnati Bengals player Corey Dillon gave the command to start engines. This race saw Travis Kvapil go upside down after clipping Rich Bickle's No. 59 car off of Turn 2, and the car slid all the way down the backstretch in the turn three grass. Kevin Harvick won the inaugural event.

Hypermarket chain Meijer was the race's sponsor since 2003 after previous sponsorship from Outback Steakhouse and Kroger. Nabisco, through its Oreo and Ritz brands, had been an associate sponsor since the 2002 race. For 2011, the race was sponsored by the Nonprofit organization Feed The Children. Starting in 2016, the race was sponsored by Alsco.[1] In 2017, Alsco signed a multi-year agreement to continue being the sponsor of the NASCAR XFINITY Series race.[2] Alsco is one of only two companies to serve as entitlement sponsor of multiple Xfinity Series events. Each year Alsco provides its sponsorship partners, employees, customer and prospects with over 1,500 tickets to the race.[3]

The race received a doubleheader in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[4] The second race, the Shady Rays 200, was held the day before the Alsco 300.[5]

Kentucky was removed from the 2021 Xfinity schedule.[6]

David Gilliland won here for an underfunded team in 2006 with 8 starts in his résumé. This win gave him the ride in the 38 car in mid-2006, replacing Elliott Sadler in the 38 car. Joey Logano is the first repeat winner, winning three straight years from 2008 to 2010. Also, four different drivers have won at Kentucky Speedway to claim their first Nationwide Series win. David Gilliland (2006), Stephen Leicht (2007), Joey Logano (2008), and Austin Dillon (2012).

Past winners

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YearDateNo.DriverTeamManufacturerRace DistanceRace TimeAverage Speed
(mph)
LapsMiles (km)
2001June 162Kevin HarvickRichard Childress RacingChevrolet200300 (482.803)2:31:47118.59
2002June 15/16*92Todd BodineHerzog MotorsportsChevrolet200300 (482.803)2:21:33127.164
2003June 1425Bobby Hamilton Jr.Team Rensi MotorsportsFord200300 (482.803)2:12:14136.123
2004June 195Kyle BuschHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet200300 (482.803)2:22:08126.642
2005June 1860Carl EdwardsRoush RacingFord200300 (482.803)2:33:42117.111
2006June 1784David GillilandClay Andrews RacingChevrolet200300 (482.803)2:35:10116.004
2007June 1690Stephen LeichtRobert Yates RacingFord200300 (482.803)2:32:56117.698
2008June 1420Joey LoganoJoe Gibbs RacingToyota200300 (482.803)2:12:50135.508
2009June 1320Joey LoganoJoe Gibbs RacingToyota200300 (482.803)2:20:51127.796
2010June 1220Joey LoganoJoe Gibbs RacingToyota200300 (482.803)2:36:08115.286
2011July 822Brad KeselowskiPenske RacingDodge200300 (482.803)2:10.03138.408
2012June 293Austin DillonRichard Childress RacingChevrolet200300 (482.803)1:58:42151.643
2013June 2822Brad KeselowskiPenske RacingFord170*255 (410.382)1:56:39131.162
2014June 275Kevin HarvickJR MotorsportsChevrolet200300 (482.803)2:15:33132.792
2015July 1022Brad KeselowskiTeam PenskeFord200300 (482.803)2:12:18136.054
2016July 818Kyle BuschJoe Gibbs RacingToyota201*301.5 (485.217)2:05:24144:258
2017July 8*18Kyle BuschJoe Gibbs RacingToyota200300 (482.803)2:30:56119.258
2018July 1320Christopher BellJoe Gibbs RacingToyota200300 (482.803)2:16:29131.884
2019July 1200Cole CusterStewart-Haas Racing with Biagi-DenBesteFord200300 (482.803)2:09:05139.445
2020July 1022Austin CindricTeam PenskeFord200300 (482.803)2:13:25134.916
  • 2002: Race started on Saturday night but was finished on Sunday afternoon due to rain.
  • 2013: Race shortened due to rain.
  • 2016: Race extended due to overtime.
  • 2017: Race postponed from Friday night to Saturday afternoon due to severe weather.

Multiple winners (drivers)

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# WinsDriverYears Won
3Joey Logano2008, 2009, 2010
Brad Keselowski2011, 2013, 2015
Kyle Busch2004, 2016, 2017
2Kevin Harvick2001, 2014

Multiple winners (teams)

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# WinsTeamYears Won
6Joe Gibbs Racing2008, 2009, 2010, 2016, 2017, 2018
4Team Penske2011, 2013, 2015, 2020
2Richard Childress Racing2001, 2012

Manufacturer wins

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# WinsMakeYears Won
7 Ford2003, 2005, 2007, 2013, 2015, 2019, 2020
6 Chevrolet2001, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2012, 2014
Toyota2008, 2009, 2010, 2016, 2017, 2018
1 Dodge2011

Notable races

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  • 2008: When Joey Logano won, he became the youngest winner in Nationwide Series history, at 18 years old, 21 days, shattering Casey Atwood's record (18 years, 313 days) that stood since 1999.
  • 2013: Rain struck Sparta as Feed the Children 300 ending short and the Quaker State 400 was moved to Sunday afternoon. Brad Keselowski won the rain-shortened race and would go on to get wrecked on Sunday as Kurt Busch turned into Keselowski. This may have started the Kurt Busch vs. Keselowski rivalry that would go on to the 2014 5-hour Energy 400.
  • 2014: Brad Keselowski overcame a speeding penalty to get a top 5 finish. Kevin Harvick held off a charging Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski.

References

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  1. ^ "New sponsor for KY Speedway race". WLW. January 21, 2016. Archived from the original on January 27, 2016. Retrieved January 21, 2016.
  2. ^ "Alsco Extends Partnership with Kentucky Speedway | News | Fan Info | Kentucky Speedway". www.kentuckyspeedway.com. Archived from the original on 2018-10-05.
  3. ^ "Alsco Celebrates Third Consecutive NASCAR Xfinity Series Alsco 300 at Kentucky Speedway | News | Fan Info | Kentucky Speedway". Archived from the original on 2018-10-05. Retrieved 2018-10-04.
  4. ^ Farmer, Keith (June 4, 2020). "Quaker State rescheduled, adds Xfinity races". WLEX-TV. Retrieved June 30, 2020.
  5. ^ "Shady Rays to sponsor XFINITY race at Kentucky Speedway". Kentucky Speedway (Press release). Jayski's Silly Season Site. June 30, 2020. Retrieved June 30, 2020.
  6. ^ Crandall, Kelly (October 30, 2020). "33 races on tap for 2021 NASCAR Xfinity Series". Racer. Retrieved March 2, 2021.
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