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| NASCAR Cup Series | |
|---|---|
| Venue | Daytona International Speedway |
| Location | Daytona Beach, Florida |
| Corporatesponsor | O'Reilly Auto Parts |
| First race | 2020 |
| Last race | 2021 |
| Distance | 252.70 miles (406.68 km) |
| Laps | 70 Stage 1: 16 Stage 2: 18 Final stage: 36 |
| Previous names | Go Bowling 235 (2020) |
| Most wins (driver) | Chase Elliott Christopher Bell |
| Most wins (team) | Hendrick Motorsports Joe Gibbs Racing |
| Most wins (manufacturer) | Chevrolet Toyota |
| Circuit information | |
| Surface | Asphalt |
| Length | 3.61 mi (5.81 km) |
| Turns | 14 |
TheO'Reilly Auto Parts 253 was aNASCAR Cup Series race on theDaytona International Speedway infield road course inDaytona Beach, Florida. Originally created in 2020 as a temporary event in response to races canceled by theCOVID-19 pandemic, the race returned in 2021 for the same reason.
Christopher Bell is the most recent race winner. The race weekend included support events by theNASCAR Camping World Truck Series andNASCAR Xfinity Series, respectively called theBrakeBest Select 159 andSuper Start Batteries 188.
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The Daytona road course, which uses elements of the 2.5 mi (4.0 km) speedway oval, is commonly used for the24 Hours of Daytona sports car race andDaytona 200 motorcycle race. In March 2020, NASCAR announced theBusch Clash exhibition race would begin using the road course instead of the oval in 2021.[1]
The COVID-19 pandemic impacted much of the 2020 NASCAR schedule, resulting in races being postponed or canceled. In July, the August-plannedGo Bowling at The Glen road course race atWatkins Glen International was called off due toNew York's quarantine restrictions for out-of-state visitors. In response, NASCAR elected to move the Watkins Glen event to the Daytona road course, two weeks before the speedway was to host theCoke Zero Sugar 400.[2] Watkins Glen race sponsor GoBowling.com transferred its sponsorship to the new race,[3] and WGI's trophy makerCorning Museum of Glass produced a glass trophy for the event.[4] While much of the road course layout remained the same as the sports car configuration, NASCAR added a chicane exiting the oval's turn four to allow cars to slow down entering the braking-heavy turn one.[5]
Chase Elliott won the event in its inaugural 2020 running, which saw the speedway's grandstand capacity reduced to 10 percent forsocial distancing and a brief stoppage due tolightning part way through the event.[6] Although intended to be a one-off race, the event returned in 2021 as the second race of the season after theAuto Club 400 atAuto Club Speedway was canceled for concerns stemming from COVID-19.[7] The addition made the race the seventh road course date on the Cup schedule, the most in series history.[8] The race was also extended to 70 laps in length.[9]O'Reilly Auto Parts assumednaming rights for all three national series races, with the Cup date being renamed the O'Reilly Auto Parts 253.[10]
| Year | Day | Date | No. | Driver | Team | Sponsor | Manufacturer | Race Distance | Race Time | Average Speed (mph) | Report | Ref | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Laps | Miles (km) | ||||||||||||
| 2020 | Sunday | August 16 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | NAPA Auto Parts | Chevrolet | 65 | 234.7 (377.7) | 2:37:30 | 89.39 | Report | [11] |
| 2021 | Sunday | February 21 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing | Rheem | Toyota | 70 | 252.7 (406.7) | 2:59:32 | 84.452 | Report | [12] |
| # Wins | Make | Years won |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Chevrolet | 2020 |
 Toyota | 2021 |
