The Ambetter Health 200 is a
NASCAR Xfinity 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 at
New Hampshire Motor Speedway
New Hampshire Motor Speedway is a Oval track racing, oval speedway located in Loudon, New Hampshire, which has hosted NASCAR racing annually since 1990, as well as the longest-running motorcycle race in North America, the Loudon Classic. Nickna ...
in
Loudon, New Hampshire
Loudon is a town in Merrimack County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 5,576 at the 2020 census. Loudon is the home of New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
The main village in town, where 711 people lived at the 2020 census, is defined a ...
. When first held in
1990
File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...
, the race was 300 laps. It was scaled back to 250 laps, the length of the former fall NHMS race, starting in
1993
File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...
, and again to its current 200 laps in
1996
File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...
.
Until 2010, in 23 races held at NHMS, there had never been a repeat Xfinity Series winner, the longest such streak in any of NASCAR's national touring series.
Kyle Busch
Kyle Thomas Busch (born May 2, 1985) is an American professional stock car racing driver and team owner. He currently competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 8 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Richard Childress Racing and part-t ...
broke the streak with victories in 2009 and 2010. He would also win the 2011, 2013, 2016, and 2017 Xfinity Series races at the track.
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 ...
and
Christopher Bell would later also become repeat winners of the Xfinity Series race at New Hampshire. Additionally,
Toyota
is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...
and
Joe Gibbs Racing
Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) is an American professional stock car racing organization owned and operated by former Washington Redskins (today the Washington Commanders) coach Joe Gibbs, which first started racing on the NASCAR circuit in 1991. His s ...
won this race each year from 2008 to 2021 except for Keselowski's two wins in 2012 and 2014, both of which were for
Team Penske
Team Penske (formerly Penske Racing) is an American professional auto racing organization, competing in the IndyCar Series, NTT IndyCar Series, NASCAR Cup Series, and the FIA World Endurance Championship. Debuting at the 1966 24 Hours of Daytona ...
. He drove a Dodge in 2012 and a Ford in 2014.
History
From 1990 to 1992, New Hampshire held a second Busch Series race in the fall. The second race was removed from the schedule in 1993, in exchange for a Winston Cup Series race at the track. During the practice for the 2000 event,
Adam Petty
Adam Kyler Petty (July 10, 1980 – May 12, 2000) was an American professional stock car racing driver. He was the fourth generation from the Petty family to drive in races in the highest division of NASCAR racing, mostly in what was then kno ...
died after he lost control of his car after his throttle were stuck wide open going into turn three; Petty's death was caused by a
basilar skull fracture
A basilar skull fracture is a break of a bone in the base of the skull. Symptoms may include bruising behind the ears, bruising around the eyes, or blood behind the ear drum. A cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leak occurs in about 20% of cases and m ...
from the ensuing impact. Cup Series driver
Kenny Irwin Jr.
Kenneth Dale Irwin Jr. (August 5, 1969 – July 7, 2000) was an American stock car racing driver. He had driven in all three NASCAR national touring series, and had two total victories, both in the Craftsman Truck Series (today Camping World Tru ...
also died under similar circumstances during the practice of
thatlook.com 300
The Crayon 301 is a 301 lap ( annual NASCAR Cup Series stock car race held at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, New Hampshire.
Christopher Bell is the defending winner, having won it in 2022.
History
The race has been traditionally ...
, occurring eight weeks later at the same track, leading NASCAR to make significant rule changes to maintain driver safety.
The 2020 race was canceled and replaced by a race at
Kentucky Speedway
Kentucky Speedway is a tri-oval speedway in Sparta, Kentucky, which has hosted ARCA, NASCAR and Indy Racing League racing annually since it opened in 2000. The track is currently owned and operated by Speedway Motorsports, Inc. Before 2008 J ...
due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
.
In 2021, the race returned to the Xfinity Series schedule and Ambetter (owned by
Centene Corporation) became the title sponsor of the race. With them being a healthcare company and the race being held during the time when people were getting COVID-19 vaccines, Ambetter added "get vaccinated" in the name of the race next to their own so it would sound like "better get vaccinated" to encourage people to get a COVID-19 vaccine. On May 21, 2022, it was announced that Crayon Software Experts would be the title sponsor of the Xfinity Series of the race
after Ambetter became the title sponsor of the Cup Series race at New Hampshire in 2022 (replacing
Foxwoods Resort Casino
Foxwoods Resort Casino is a hotel and casino complex owned and operated by the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation on their reservation located in Ledyard, Connecticut. Including six casinos, the resort covers an area of . The casinos have more t ...
).
Past winners
*2005, 2011, and 2013: Race extended due to a
green–white–checker finish
In North American auto racing, a green–white–checker finish (GWC) is a racing restart procedure one in which the race is restarted from a caution period with 2 laps remaining. When the race distance is extended to accommodate such a finish, i ...
. 2013 race took three attempts.
*2020: Race canceled and moved to
Kentucky
Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...
due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
.
Multiple winners (drivers)
Multiple winners (teams)
Manufacturer wins
References
External links
*
{{NASCAR Xfinity Series races, state=collapsed
1990 establishments in New Hampshire
NASCAR Xfinity Series races
Recurring sporting events established in 1990
Annual sporting events in the United States