"NASCAR realignment" refers to changes in the schedule of the NASCAR Cup Series. In a January 2003 press conference, NASCAR's chairman of the board, Bill France, Jr., caused a stir when he interrupted the conference to announce big changes for 2004. France said that many tracks were under fire and being looked at as having race dates taken from them, and given to other facilities. Among the scenarios being looked at by France were how tracks did with ticket sales, and how the weather affected those races. Two tracks immediately looked at by the media were the North Carolina Speedway and Darlington Raceway. Both tracks' events almost never sold out, and the weather, especially at the North Carolina Speedway, had been a major problem, as rain forced many races to be postponed until the next day, typically Monday, which caused attendance to be even worse.
Chicagoland Speedway is a 1.5 miles (2.4 km) tri-oval speedway in Joliet, Illinois, southwest of Chicago. The speedway opened in 2001 and actively hosted NASCAR racing including the NASCAR Cup Series until 2019. Until 2010, the speedway has also hosted the IndyCar Series, recording numerous close finishes including the closest finish in IndyCar history. The speedway is currently owned and operated by NASCAR.
Kansas Speedway is a 1.5-mile (2.4 km) tri-oval race track in the Village West area near Kansas City, Kansas, United States. It was built in 2001 and it currently hosts two annual NASCAR race weekends. The IndyCar Series also held races at the venue until 2011. The speedway is owned and operated by NASCAR.
Justin M. Allgaier 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.
Samuel Jon Hornish Jr. 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.
The Alsco Uniforms 300 is an annual 300-mile (482.803 km) NASCAR Xfinity Series race held at the Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina during Memorial Day weekend as a support race for the Coca-Cola 600.
The race last run as Drive for the Cure 250 presented by Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina is a NASCAR Xfinity Series stock car race that takes place at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina. The 1985 race was extended to 400.5 miles (644.5 km), which still stands as the longest race distance run in Xfinity Series history.
The Contender Boats 300 is a NASCAR Xfinity Series race that takes place at Homestead–Miami Speedway. For much of its history, it was the final race of the Xfinity season. Myatt Snider is the defending winner.
The Camping World 225 was a NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series race that took place at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois.
The CRC Brakleen 150 is a 150-mile-long (241.402 km) annual race on the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series calendar at the Pocono Raceway.
The Pennzoil 150 is a NASCAR Xfinity Series auto race held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway since 2012. It takes place the Saturday of Kroger Super Weekend. This race replaced the Kroger 200, which had been held at the nearby Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis, formerly known as Indianapolis Raceway Park, for the previous 30 years. Brad Keselowski won the inaugural event.
Erik Benjamin Jones is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 43 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Petty GMS Motorsports. His nicknames are EJ, his initials, and That Jones Boy, given to him by announcer Ken Squier. Until 2021, Jones had spent his entire NASCAR and ARCA career with Toyota, and while in their driver development program, he won the 2015 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship.
Ross Kenseth is an American stock car racing driver who currently competes part-time in the Blizzard Series. He is the son of 2003 NASCAR Winston Cup Series champion Matt Kenseth. He has competed part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and Camping World Truck Series, ARCA Midwest Tour, CRA Super Series and ARCA Racing Series.
Obaika Racing was an African professional stock car racing team. The team was owned by African entrepreneur Victor Obaika. It has competed in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Xfinity Series.
The 2016 NASCAR Xfinity Series was the 35th season of the Xfinity Series, a stock car racing series sanctioned by the NASCAR in the United States. The season started at Daytona International Speedway on February 20 and ended at Homestead-Miami Speedway on November 19. Daniel Suárez of Joe Gibbs Racing won the championship, becoming the first non-American to win a title in NASCAR's top 3 divisions.
The Pocono Green 225 Recycled by J.P. Mascaro & Sons is a NASCAR Xfinity Series stock car race held at Pocono Raceway. Its inaugural race was held on June 4, 2016 with a scheduled distance of 100 laps/250 miles. However, the race was shortened after only 53 laps/132.5 miles because of persistent rain showers. The race marked the first time NASCAR's second-tier series visited and raced in the state of Pennsylvania since the closure of Nazareth Speedway in 2004. The second running of the event was the first NASCAR-sanctioned event at Pocono to use the stage format, a format that was created prior to the 2017 NASCAR season for all three divisions for all race tracks; the 100 laps were split into three stages, with the first two being 25 laps each and the last consisting of the final 50.
Joshua M. Bilicki is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes part-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 77 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Spire Motorsports and part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series driving the No. 36 Chevrolet Camaro for DGM Racing and the No. 44 and 45 for Alpha Prime Racing.
Chase David Wayne Briscoe is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 14 Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing and part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 08 Mustang for SS-Green Light Racing. He also owns a World of Outlaws sprint car racing team, Chase Briscoe Racing. He won the 2016 ARCA Racing Series championship.
The 2020 Toyota 200 was a NASCAR Xfinity Series race held on May 21, 2020 -- postponed from May 19 due to weather -- at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina. The race replaced the Chicagoland 300 for the 2020 season. Contested over 147 laps on the 1.366-mile (2.198 km) egg-shaped oval, it was the fifth race of the 2020 NASCAR Xfinity Series season. Chase Briscoe took home his second victory of the season in NASCAR's return from the COVID-19 pandemic.
The 2013 STP 300 was the 18th stock car race of the 2013 NASCAR Nationwide Series and the 24th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, July 21, 2013, in Joliet, Illinois, at Chicagoland Speedway, a 1.5 miles (2.41 km) tri-oval speedway. The race took the scheduled 200 laps to complete. At race's end, Joey Logano, driving for Penske Racing, would be able to take away the lead from teammate and eventual-second-place finisher Sam Hornish Jr. to win his 20th career NASCAR Nationwide Series win and his second of the season. To fill out the podium, Austin Dillon of Richard Childress Racing finished third.
