The 2013 DRIVE4COPD 300 was a

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and hi ...

Nationwide Series The NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) is a stock car racing series organized by NASCAR. It is promoted as NASCAR's second-tier circuit to the organization's top level Cup Series. NXS events are frequently held as a support race on the day prior to a ...

race held on February 23, 2013 at

Daytona International Speedway Daytona International Speedway is a race track in Daytona Beach, Florida, United States. Since opening in 1959, it has been the home of the Daytona 500, the most prestigious race in NASCAR as well as its season opening event. In addition to NA ...

Daytona Beach, Florida Daytona Beach, or simply Daytona, is a coastal Resort town, resort-city in east-central Florida. Located on the eastern edge of Volusia County, Florida, Volusia County near the East Coast of the United States, Atlantic coastline, its population ...

. It was the first race of the

2013 NASCAR Nationwide Series The 2013 NASCAR Nationwide Series was the 32nd season of the Nationwide Series, a stock car racing series sanctioned by the NASCAR in the United States. The season was contested over thirty-three races and started on February 23, 2013 at Dayton ...

season. The race was the 32nd running of the

event Event may refer to: Gatherings of people * Ceremony, an event of ritual significance, performed on a special occasion * Convention (meeting), a gathering of individuals engaged in some common interest * Event management, the organization of eve ...

, and the

pole position In a motorsports race, the pole position is usually the best and "statistically the most advantageous" starting position on the track. The pole position is usually earned by the driver with the best qualifying times in the trials before the rac ...

given to

Roush Fenway Racing Roush is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: Politics *Glenn Roush (1934–2020), American politician in Montana *J. Edward Roush (1920–2004), United States Representative for Indiana, namesake of: ** J. Edward Roush Lake, a rese ...

Trevor Bayne Trevor Mitchell Bayne (born February 19, 1991) is an American professional stock car racing driver, dirt racing driver, team owner, and businessman. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 18 Toyota Supra for Joe ...

with a lap speed of , while

Tony Stewart Anthony Wayne Stewart (born May 20, 1971), nicknamed Smoke, is an American semi-retired professional stock car racing driver, current NASCAR team co-owner of Stewart-Haas Racing, and current co-owner of the Superstar Racing Experience. He is a ...

Richard Childress Racing Richard Childress Racing (RCR) is an American professional stock car racing team that currently competes in the NASCAR Cup Series and the NASCAR Xfinity Series. The team is based in Welcome, North Carolina, and is owned and operated by Richard ...

won the race.

Sam Hornish Jr. Samuel Jon Hornish Jr. (born July 2, 1979) is an American semi-retired professional auto racing driver. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 22 Ford Mustang for Team Penske in 2017. He began his top-tier raci ...

finished second and

Alex Bowman Alex Michael Bowman (born April 25, 1993) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 48 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Hendrick Motorsports, part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Seri ...

finished third.

Race

The race was marred by two crashes. On lap 116, 11 cars were involved in the first one, which led to

Michael Annett Michael W. Annett (born June 23, 1986) is an American retired professional stock car racing driver. He last competed in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 1 Chevrolet Camaro for JR Motorsports. Racing career Early career Save for a few ...

suffering a bruised sternum, which kept him out of the next eight races of the season.

Jamie Dick James A. Dick V (born February 5, 1989) is an American professional stock car racing driver. A veteran of the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West, Camping World West Series, he last competed in the NASCAR Xfinity Series on a part-time basis, driving the No ...

Johanna Long Johanna Robbins (; born May 26, 1992) is an American professional stock car racing driver. She is the winner of the 2010 Snowball Derby. Racing career Background Long's father raced late models and she wanted to start racing karts when she was ...

, and

Hal Martin Hal Martin (born December 29, 1985) is an American professional stock car racing driver who has competed in what is now the NASCAR Xfinity Series, the Truck Series, and the ARCA Racing Series. He earned the nickname The Ragin' Cajun due to bein ...

were also treated and were released. This crash brought out a 20-minute red flag. The second crash occurred on the final lap. This one started when Regan Smith got turned while trying to block

Brad Keselowski Bradley Aaron Keselowski (; born February 12, 1984) is an American professional stock car racing driver, team owner, and entrepreneur. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 6 Ford Mustang for RFK Racing, a team he also ...

Kyle Larson Kyle Miyata Larson (born July 31, 1992) is an American professional auto racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Hendrick Motorsports. Larson is the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champ ...

, who was collected in the crash, got the worst of it, as his car went airborne into the catchfence, ripping out everything from its firewall forward, except for the hood, most of which flew into the grandstand (including its engine and both wheels), as did some debris into the second level. Ultimately, 28 fans were injured, with two of them in critical condition. In the midst of the chaos,

escaped the wreck, and won the race, tying

Dale Earnhardt Ralph Dale Earnhardt Sr. (; April 29, 1951February 18, 2001) was an American professional stock car driver and team owner, who raced from 1975 to 2001 in the former NASCAR Winston Cup Series (now called the NASCAR Cup Series), most notably dri ...

for the most Nationwide Series wins at the track with seven.

;

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Ralph Dale Earnhardt Jr. (born October 10, 1974) is an American semi-retired professional stock car racing driver, team owner, author, and an analyst for ''NASCAR on NBC''. He currently competes part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving t ...

; and Parker Kligerman closed out the Top 5 while

Brian Scott Brian Joseph Scott (born January 12, 1988) is an American former professional stock car racing driver. Racing career Beginnings Scott has been racing competitively since the age of 12. One of his early career highlights came at the 360 Nationals ...

Justin Allgaier Justin M. Allgaier (born June 6, 1986) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 7 Chevrolet Camaro for JR Motorsports. He is the 2008 ARCA Re/Max Series champion a ...

Eric McClure Eric Wayne McClure (December 11, 1978 – May 2, 2021) was an American professional stock car racing driver and team owner. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 0 Chevrolet Camaro for JD Motorsports. Racing car ...

; Robert Richardson Jr.; and

Travis Pastrana Travis Alan Pastrana (born October 8, 1983) is an American professional motorsports competitor and stunt performer who has won championships and X Games gold medals in several disciplines, including supercross, motocross, freestyle motocross, an ...

rounded out the Top 10. Much of the tragedy was due to the car hitting a crossover gate in the catch fence, where the fence is not as strong. In the aftermath of the incident, Daytona and

Talladega Superspeedway Talladega Superspeedway, nicknamed “'Dega”, and formerly named Alabama International Motor Speedway (AIMS) from 1969 to 1989, is a motorsports complex located north of Talladega, Alabama. It is located on the former Anniston Air Force Base ...

added cables and tethers to the crossover gates, with Daytona's being installed in time for the Sprint Cup Series'

Coke Zero 400 The Coke Zero Sugar 400 is an annual NASCAR Cup Series stock car race at Daytona International Speedway. First held in 1959, the event consists of 160 laps, , and is the second of two major stock car events held at Daytona on the Cup Series c ...

in July. The crash also resulted in the banning of the two-car tandem that had been prevalent since the 2011 introduction of the new cars. This rule change came into effect for the 2014 seasons of all three national touring series. The picture of Larson's car getting shredded by the catch fence remains as one of the most well-known and reproduced images in the sport's history.

Results

Standings after the race

TSM350 - 2015 - Sam Hornish Jr - Stierch

References

External links

NASCAR settles with fan injured in race at Daytona International Speedway
(The Daytona Beach News-Journal, Feb 7, 2017)
USAF Thunderbirds, Daytona 2013 - More Than a Flyover
(YouTube, posted May 3, 2013)
Thunderbird 9, Maj. Michael Carletti
(YouTube, NASCAR Feature for ESPN, posted July 4, 2013) {{2013 NASCAR Nationwide

DRIVE4COPD 300 The Daytona 300, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Beef. It's What's for Dinner. 300, is the first race of the NASCAR Xfinity Series season, held at Daytona International Speedway. It is held the day before the Daytona 500, and is c ...

NASCAR races at Daytona International Speedway February 2013 sports events in the United States 2013 NASCAR Nationwide Series