Kentucky 300

Not to be confused with Kentucky Indy 300 or VisitMyrtleBeach.com 300.

"Meijer 300" redirects here. For the Indy Racing League race, see Meijer Indy 300.

Kentucky 300

Venue	Kentucky Speedway
Sponsor	none
First race	2001
Distance	300 miles (482.803 km)
Laps	200
Previous names	Outback 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)

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

History

Kentucky Speedway, opened in 2000, by Jerry Carrol. Darrell Waltrip took place to design part of the racetrack. The first Xfinity Series race was held in 2001. Brad Paisley sang the National Anthem, and then Cincinnati Bengals player Corey Dillon gave the command to start engines. This race is notable when Travis Kvapil went upside down after clipping Rich Bickle's 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 is now sponsored by the Nonprofit organization Feed The Children.

David Gilliland, won here in an underfunded team in 2006, with 8 starts in his resume. 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 and did it back to back to back from the pole.

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

Year	Date	Driver	Team	Manufacturer	Race Distance		Race Time	Average Speed (mph)
					Laps	Miles (km)
2001	June 16	Kevin Harvick	Richard Childress Racing	Chevrolet	200	300 (482.803)	2:31:47	118.59
2002	June 15/16*	Todd Bodine	Herzog Motorsports	Chevrolet	200	300 (482.803)	2:21:33	127.164
2003	June 14	Bobby Hamilton Jr.	Team Rensi Motorsports	Ford	200	300 (482.803)	2:12:14	136.123
2004	June 19	Kyle Busch	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	200	300 (482.803)	2:22:08	126.642
2005	June 18	Carl Edwards	Roush Racing	Ford	200	300 (482.803)	2:33:42	117.111
2006	June 17	David Gilliland	Clay Andrews Racing	Chevrolet	200	300 (482.803)	2:35:10	116.004
2007	June 16	Stephen Leicht	Robert Yates Racing	Ford	200	300 (482.803)	2:32:56	117.698
2008	June 14	Joey Logano	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	200	300 (482.803)	2:12:50	135.508
2009	June 13	Joey Logano	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	200	300 (482.803)	2:20:51	127.796
2010	June 12	Joey Logano	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	200	300 (482.803)	2:36:08	115.286
2011	July 8	Brad Keselowski	Penske Racing	Dodge	200	300 (482.803)	2:10.03	138.408
2012	June 29	Austin Dillon	Richard Childress Racing	Chevrolet	200	300 (482.803)	1:58:42	151.643
2013	June 28	Brad Keselowski	Penske Racing	Ford	170*	255 (410.382)	1:56:39	131.162
2014	June 27	Kevin Harvick	JR Motorsports	Chevrolet	200	300 (482.803)	2:15:33	132.792
2015	July 10	Brad Keselowski	Team Penske	Ford	200	300 (482.803)	2:12:18	136.054

• 2002: Race started on Saturday night but was finished on Sunday afternoon due to rain.
• 2013: Race shortened due to rain.

Multiple winners (drivers)

# Wins	Driver	Years Won
3	Joey Logano	2008, 2009, 2010
	Brad Keselowski	2011, 2013, 2015
2	Kevin Harvick	2001, 2014

Multiple winners (teams)

# Wins	Team	Years Won
3	Joe Gibbs Racing	2008, 2009, 2010
	Team Penske	2011, 2013, 2015
2	Richard Childress Racing	2001, 2012

Manufacturer wins

# Wins	Make	Years Won
6	Chevrolet	2001, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2012, 2014
5	Ford	2003, 2005, 2007, 2013, 2015
3	Toyota	2008, 2009, 2010
1	Dodge	2011

Notable races

• 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.

External links

• Racing-Reference.info – Kentucky Speedway Race Results

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NASCAR Xfinity Series Kentucky 300

Next race: Lakes Region 200