The 2013 DRIVE4COPD 300 was a NASCAR Nationwide Series race held on February 23, 2013, at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It was the first race of the 2013 NASCAR Nationwide Series season. The race was the 32nd running of the event, and the pole position given to Roush Fenway Racing's Trevor Bayne with a lap speed of , while Tony Stewart of Richard Childress Racing won the race. Sam Hornish Jr. finished 2nd, and Alex Bowman finished 3rd.
Background 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 NASCAR, the track also hosts races for ARCA, AMA Superbike, IMSA, SCCA, and Motocross. The track features multiple layouts including the primary high-speed tri-oval, a sports car course, a motorcycle course, and a karting and motorcycle flat-track. The track's infield includes the Lake Lloyd, which has hosted powerboat racing. The speedway is operated by NASCAR pursuant to a lease with the City of Daytona Beach on the property that runs until 2054. Dale Earnhardt is Daytona International Speedway's all-time winningest driver, with a total of 34 career victories (12- Daytona 500 Qualifying Races) (7- NASCAR Xfinity Series Races) (6- Busch Clash Races) (6- IROC Races) (2- Pepsi 400 July Races) (1- The 1998 Daytona 500).
Entry list (R) denotes rookie driver (i) denotes driver who is ineligible for series driver points #DriverTeamMake 00 Jason White SR² Motorsports Toyota 01 Mike Wallace JD Motorsports Chevrolet 1 Kurt Busch (i) Phoenix Racing Chevrolet 2 Brian Scott Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 4 Danny Efland JD Motorsports Chevrolet 5 Kasey Kahne (i) JR Motorsports Chevrolet 6 Trevor Bayne Roush Fenway Racing Ford 7 Regan Smith JR Motorsports Chevrolet 8 Scott Lagasse Jr. Team SLR Chevrolet 10 Jeff Green TriStar Motorsports Toyota 11 Elliott Sadler Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 12 Sam Hornish Jr. Penske Racing Ford 14 Eric McClure TriStar Motorsports Toyota 15 Juan Carlos Blum (R) Rick Ware Racing Ford 18 Matt Kenseth (i) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 19 Mike Bliss TriStar Motorsports Toyota 20 Brian Vickers Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 22 Brad Keselowski (i) Penske Racing Ford 23 Robert Richardson Jr. (i) R3 Motorsports Chevrolet 24 Blake Koch SR² Motorsports Toyota 30 Nelson Piquet Jr. (R) Turner Scott Motorsports Chevrolet 31 Justin Allgaier Turner Scott Motorsports Chevrolet 32 Kyle Larson (R) Turner Scott Motorsports Chevrolet 33 Tony Stewart (i) Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 34 Danica Patrick (i) Turner Scott Motorsports Chevrolet 40 Reed Sorenson The Motorsports Group Chevrolet 41 Donnie Neuenberger Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet 43 Michael Annett Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 44 Hal Martin (R) TriStar Motorsports Toyota 51 Jeremy Clements Jeremy Clements Racing Chevrolet 52 Joey Gase Hamilton Means Racing Toyota 54 Kyle Busch (i) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 55 Jamie Dick Viva Motorsports with Frank Cicci Chevrolet 60 Travis Pastrana Roush Fenway Racing Ford 70 Johanna Long ML Motorsports Chevrolet 74 Mike Harmon Harmon-Novak Racing Dodge 77 Parker Kligerman Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota 79 Jeffrey Earnhardt (R) Go Green Racing Ford 85 Bobby Gerhart Gerhart Racing Chevrolet 87 Joe Nemechek NEMCO-Jay Robinson Racing Toyota 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. (i) JR Motorsports Chevrolet 89 Morgan Shepherd Shepherd Racing Ventures Dodge 92 Dexter Stacey (R) KH Motorsports Ford 99 Alex Bowman (R) RAB Racing ToyotaOfficial Entry list
Qualifying Trevor Bayne won the pole for the race with a time of 50.801 and a speed of 177.162. Grid Driver Team Manufacturer Time Speed 1 6 Trevor Bayne Roush Fenway Racing Ford 50.801 177.162 2 12 Sam Hornish Jr. Penske Racing Ford 50.885 176.869 3 77 Parker Kligerman Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota 50.905 176.800 4 60 Travis Pastrana Roush Fenway Racing Ford 50.952 176.637 5 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 51.020 176.401 6 11 Elliott Sadler Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 51.030 176.367 7 54 Kyle Busch (i) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 51.030 176.367 8 99 Alex Bowman (R) RAB Racing Toyota 51.038 176.339 9 18 Matt Kenseth (i) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 51.042 176.325 10 33 Tony Stewart (i) Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 51.043 176.322 11 22 Brad Keselowski (i) Penske Racing Ford 51.043 176.322 12 34 Danica Patrick (i) Turner Scott Motorsports Chevrolet 51.067 176.239 13 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. (i) JR Motorsports Chevrolet 51.071 176.225 14 31 Justin Allgaier Turner Scott Motorsports Chevrolet 51.078 176.201 15 7 Regan Smith JR Motorsports Chevrolet 51.086 176.174 16 10 Jeff Green TriStar Motorsports Toyota 51.161 175.915 17 30 Nelson Piquet Jr. (R) Turner Scott Motorsports Chevrolet 51.167 175.895 18 55 Jamie Dick Viva Motorsports with Frank Cicci Chevrolet 51.195 175.798 19 5 Kasey Kahne (i) JR Motorsports Chevrolet 51.202 175.774 20 20 Brian Vickers Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 51.217 175.723 21 32 Kyle Larson (R) Turner Scott Motorsports Chevrolet 51.222 175.706 22 43 Michael Annett Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 51.266 175.555 23 01 Mike Wallace JD Motorsports Chevrolet 51.305 175.421 24 8 Scott Lagasse Jr. Team SLR Chevrolet 51.358 175.240 25 70 Johanna Long ML Motorsports Chevrolet 51.363 175.223 26 19 Mike Bliss TriStar Motorsports Toyota 51.400 175.097 27 74 Mike Harmon** Harmon-Novak Racing Dodge 51.433 174.985 28 14 Eric McClure TriStar Motorsports Toyota 51.435 174.978 29 2 Brian Scott Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 51.450 174.927 30 23 Robert Richardson Jr. (i)** R3 Motorsports Chevrolet 51.630 174.317 31 79 Jeffrey Earnhardt (R) Go Green Racing Ford 51.632 174.311 32 44 Hal Martin (R) TriStar Motorsports Toyota 51.713 174.037 33 87 Joe Nemechek NEMCO-Jay Robinson Racing Toyota 51.719 174.017 34 24 Blake Koch** SR² Motorsports Toyota 51.911 173.374 35 00 Jason White SR² Motorsports Toyota 51.929 173.314 36 15 Juan Carlos Blum (R) Rick Ware Racing Ford 52.205 172.397 37 51 Jeremy Clements Jeremy Clements Racing Chevrolet 52.283 172.140 38 4 Danny Efland JD Motorsports Chevrolet 52.323 172.008 39 40 Reed Sorenson* The Motorsports Group Chevrolet 52.787 170.497 40 1 Kurt Busch (i) Phoenix Racing Chevrolet 51.435 174.978Failed to qualify, withdrew, or driver changes 41 85 Bobby Gerhart Gerhart Racing Chevrolet 51.831 173.641 42 89 Morgan Shepherd Shepherd Racing Ventures Dodge 51.912 173.370 43 92 Dexter Stacey (R) KH Motorsports Ford 52.413 171.713 44 52 Joey Gase Hamilton Means Racing Toyota 52.963 169.930 WD 41 Donnie Neuenberger Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet — —Official Starting grid
* – Made the field via owners points
** – Mike Harmon, Robert Richardson Jr., and Blake Koch all had to start at the rear of the field. Richardson and Harmon missed the drivers meeting and Koch had adjustments outside impound.
Race At the start, the pack began to form into tandems. Pole sitter Trevor Bayne led the first lap of the race with Parker Kligerman pushing him. On lap 4, Bayne and Kligerman got split up, allowing Tony Stewart to take the lead with Danica Patrick behind him. This tandem also separated, which let Kyle Busch take the lead with Matt Kenseth pushing him. Tony Stewart took the lead on lap 6 with Austin Dillon pushing him. On lap 7, Danica Patrick took the lead with Elliott Sadler pushing her. The first caution of the race flew when Scott Lagasse Jr. got turned by Trevor Bayne through the tri-oval near the start line. The right front splitter of his car dug into the grass; the damage was enough to force Lagasse to retire from the race. During the caution, most of the field came down to pit for fuel except for leader Danica Patrick. The race would restart on lap 12. On the restart, Elliott Sadler took the lead with a push from his teammate Brian Vickers. Vickers took the lead at lap 18. On lap 23, Sadler claimed the lead with a push from Kyle Busch. On lap 28, Brad Keselowski took the lead with a push from his teammate Sam Hornish Jr. On lap 30, Hornish took the lead, but would be passed three-wide by Trevor Bayne and Kyle Busch with Busch taking the lead with Dale Earnhardt Jr. On lap 31, Danica Patrick's engine failed, forcing her to retire. At the same time, the second caution occurred when Regan Smith got turned by Elliott Sadler in turn 4 and would save it not to spin back across the field. Fearing Smith would cross the track, rookie Juan Carlos Blum spun his car and hit the inside wall, ending his run. The race would restart on lap 36 with Kyle Busch leading and his teammate Matt Kenseth behind him. Kenseth passed Busch for the lead on lap 45. On lap 50, Justin Allgaier took the lead with Michael Annett. Kenseth would take it back the next lap after Allgaier and Annett got separated. On lap 58, Earnhardt Jr. took the lead with Kurt Busch pushing him after Kenseth and Kyle Busch switched positions. Kyle would take the lead on lap 60 when Earnhardt Jr. and Kurt got separated. On lap 63, Kasey Kahne took the lead with Regan Smith. On lap 64, the third caution would be called for a four-car crash in the tri-oval. Mike Wallace went downslope to go in front of Michael Annett, but turned across Annett's nose and turned down into Kurt Busch. Wallace also clipped Reed Sorenson, who spun up and collected Joe Nemechek in a chain reaction wreck, and the four spun through the infield grass. Only Kurt Busch would retire from the race following the crash.
Final laps