The 2016 Fitzgerald Glider Kits 300 was the seventh stock car race of the 2016 NASCAR Xfinity Series season and the 34th iteration of the event. The race was held on Saturday, April 16, 2016, in Bristol, Tennessee at Bristol Motor Speedway, a 0.533 miles (0.858 km) permanent oval-shaped racetrack. The race took the scheduled 200 laps to complete, with the first 100 laps being split into two 50-lap heats of 20 cars. At race's end, Erik Jones, driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, would complete a late race charge on the final restart with three to go to win his third career NASCAR Xfinity Series win and his first of the season. To fill out the podium, Kyle Busch, driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, and Kyle Larson, driving for Chip Ganassi Racing, would finish second and third, respectively.
Background
The Bristol Motor Speedway, formerly known as Bristol International Raceway and Bristol Raceway, is a NASCAR short track venue located in Bristol, Tennessee. Constructed in 1960, it held its first NASCAR race on July 30, 1961. Despite its short length, Bristol is among the most popular tracks on the NASCAR schedule because of its distinct features, which include extraordinarily steep banking, an all concrete surface, two pit roads, and stadium-like seating. It has also been named one of the loudest NASCAR tracks.
Dash 4 Cash format and eligibility In 2016, NASCAR would announce changes to its Dash 4 Cash format. The format would now include heat races to determine qualifiers. Each driver would qualify for heats in knockout qualifying, with odd-position drivers driving in heat #1, and even-position drivers competing in heat #2. The top two finishers of each heat would compete for the Dash 4 Cash in the main race after the heats.
Entry list
(R) denotes rookie driver. (i) denotes driver who is ineligible for series driver points.
#DriverTeamMakeSponsor0Garrett SmithleyJD MotorsportsChevroletJD Motorsports1Elliott SadlerJR MotorsportsChevroletOneMain Financial01Ryan Preece (R)JD MotorsportsChevroletG&K Services2Austin Dillon (i)Richard Childress RacingChevroletRheem3Ty DillonRichard Childress RacingChevroletRed Kap4Ross ChastainJD MotorsportsChevroletJD Motorsports6Bubba WallaceRoush Fenway RacingFordFord EcoBoost7Justin AllgaierJR MotorsportsChevroletHellmann's, Food City07Ray Black Jr. (R)SS-Green Light RacingChevroletScubaLife10Matt DiBenedetto (i)TriStar MotorsportsToyotaTriStar Motorsports11Blake KochKaulig RacingChevroletLeafFilter Gutter Protection13Timmy Hill (i)MBM MotorsportsDodgeTruxx, Chris Kyle Memorial Benefit14J. J. YeleyTriStar MotorsportsToyotaTriStar Motorsports15Jeff GreenRick Ware RacingFordMain Gate Enterprises16Ryan ReedRoush Fenway RacingFordLilly Diabetes18Kyle Busch (i)Joe Gibbs RacingToyotaNOS Energy19Daniel SuárezJoe Gibbs RacingToyotaJuniper Networks20Erik Jones (R)Joe Gibbs RacingToyotaGameStop, Afterglow22Joey Logano (i)Team PenskeFordFitzgerald Glider Kits24Matt Tifft (i)JGL RacingToyotaArch Day25Harrison RhodesRick Ware RacingChevroletIndustrial Piping Solutions, Carport Empire28Dakoda ArmstrongJGL RacingToyotaWinField United33Brandon Jones (R)Richard Childress RacingChevroletCheck Into Cash39Ryan SiegRSS RacingChevroletRSS Racing40Carl LongMBM MotorsportsDodgeMBM Motorsports42Kyle Larson (i)Chip Ganassi RacingChevroletBelkin43Jeb BurtonRichard Petty MotorsportsFordJ. Streicher44David StarrTriStar MotorsportsToyotaZachry46Brandon GdovicPrecision Performance MotorsportsChevroletPitt Ohio Express48Brennan Poole (R)Chip Ganassi RacingChevroletDC Solar51Jeremy ClementsJeremy Clements RacingChevroletBRT Extrusions, All South Electric52Joey GaseJimmy Means RacingChevroletDonate Life Tennessee, Racing 2 Cure62Brendan GaughanRichard Childress RacingChevroletSouth Point Hotel, Casino & Spa70Derrike CopeDerrike Cope RacingChevroletTo The Point Apparel, E-Hydrate74Mike HarmonMike Harmon RacingDodgeMike Harmon Racing78B. J. McLeod (R)B. J. McLeod MotorsportsFordMain Gate Enterprises88Kevin Harvick (i)JR MotorsportsChevroletHunt Brothers Pizza89Morgan ShepherdShepherd Racing VenturesChevroletCourtney Construction, Racing with Jesus90Mario GosselinKing AutosportChevroletBucked Up Apparel93Josh Wise (i)RSS RacingChevroletRSS Racing97Ryan EllisObaika RacingChevroletVroom! Brands98Aric Almirola (i)Biagi-DenBeste RacingFordFresh From FloridaOfficial entry list
Practice
First practice The first practice session was held on Friday, April 15, at 12:30 PM EST. The session would last for one hour and 25 minutes. Austin Dillon, driving for Richard Childress Racing, would set the fastest time in the session, with a time of 15.570 and an average speed of . Pos.#DriverTeamMakeTimeSpeed12Austin Dillon (i)Richard Childress RacingChevrolet15.570123.237242Kyle Larson (i)Chip Ganassi RacingChevrolet15.588123.095333Brandon Jones (R)Richard Childress RacingChevrolet15.598123.016Full first practice results
Second and final practice The final practice session, sometimes known as Happy Hour, was held on Friday, April 15, at 3:00 PM EST. The session would last for 55 minutes. Blake Koch, driving for Kaulig Racing, would set the fastest time in the session, with a time of 15.516 and an average speed of . Pos.#DriverTeamMakeTimeSpeed111Blake KochKaulig RacingChevrolet15.516123.666218Kyle Busch (i)Joe Gibbs RacingToyota15.554123.36432Austin Dillon (i)Richard Childress RacingChevrolet15.555123.356Full Happy Hour practice results
Heat qualifying Qualifying for the two preliminary heat races was held on Saturday, April 16, at 9:30 AM EST. Since Bristol Motor Speedway is under 2 miles (3.2 km) in length, the qualifying system was a multi-car system that included three rounds. The first round was 15 minutes, where every driver would be able to set a lap within the 15 minutes. Then, the second round would consist of the fastest 24 cars in Round 1, and drivers would have 10 minutes to set a lap. Round 3 consisted of the fastest 12 drivers from Round 2, and the drivers would have 5 minutes to set a time. Whoever was fastest in Round 3 would win the pole.
Erik Jones, driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, would win the pole for heat #1, setting a time of 15.239 and an average speed of in the third round. Meanwhile, Austin Dillon, driving for Richard Childress Racing would win the pole for heat #2, setting a time of 15.284 and an average speed of in the third round.
Two drivers would fail to qualify: Morgan Shepherd and Carl Long.
Full qualifying results Pos.#DriverTeamMakeTime (R1)Speed (R1)Time (R2)Speed (R2)Time (R3)Speed (R3)120Erik Jones (R)Joe Gibbs RacingToyota15.363124.89715.299125.42015.239125.91422Austin Dillon (i)Richard Childress RacingChevrolet15.485123.91315.383124.73515.284125.543342Kyle Larson (i)Chip Ganassi RacingChevrolet15.283125.55115.326125.19915.337125.109419Daniel SuárezJoe Gibbs RacingToyota15.422124.42015.352124.98715.347125.028518Kyle Busch (i)Joe Gibbs RacingToyota15.363124.89715.464124.08215.355124.963622Joey Logano (i)Team PenskeFord15.370124.84115.456124.14615.431124.34777Justin AllgaierJR MotorsportsChevrolet15.337125.10915.458124.13015.440124.275898Aric Almirola (i)Biagi-DenBeste RacingFord15.430124.35515.354124.97115.440124.275933Brandon Jones (R)Richard Childress RacingChevrolet15.609122.92915.453124.17015.477123.978103Ty DillonRichard Childress RacingChevrolet15.466124.06615.450124.19415.549123.403114Ross ChastainJD MotorsportsChevrolet15.499123.80215.464124.08215.570123.2371288Kevin Harvick (i)JR MotorsportsChevrolet15.508123.73015.426124.38715.610122.921Eliminated in Round 21362Brendan GaughanRichard Childress RacingChevrolet15.606122.95315.472124.018 - -1411Blake KochKaulig RacingChevrolet15.584123.12615.493123.849 - -156Bubba WallaceRoush Fenway RacingFord15.531123.54615.496123.826 - -1643Jeb BurtonRichard Petty MotorsportsFord15.257125.76515.538123.491 - -1748Brennan Poole (R)Chip Ganassi RacingChevrolet15.550123.39515.545123.435 - -1839Ryan SiegRSS RacingChevrolet15.465124.07415.569123.245 - -191Elliott SadlerJR MotorsportsChevrolet15.535123.51515.571123.229 - -2090Mario GosselinKing AutosportChevrolet15.576123.19015.657122.552 - -2116Ryan ReedRoush Fenway RacingFord15.532123.53915.662122.513 - -2251Jeremy ClementsJeremy Clements RacingChevrolet15.594123.04715.698122.232 - -2310Matt DiBenedetto (i)TriStar MotorsportsToyota15.605122.961 - - - -2493Josh Wise (i)RSS RacingChevrolet15.616122.874 - - - -Eliminated in Round 12528Dakoda ArmstrongJGL RacingToyota15.637122.709 - - - -2601Ryan Preece (R)JD MotorsportsChevrolet15.694122.263 - - - -2715Jeff GreenRick Ware RacingFord15.714122.108 - - - -2814J. J. YeleyTriStar MotorsportsToyota15.726122.014 - - - -2924Matt Tifft (i)JGL RacingToyota15.746121.860 - - - -3044David StarrTriStar MotorsportsToyota15.753121.805 - - - -3146Brandon GdovicPrecision Performance MotorsportsChevrolet15.754121.798 - - - -3278B. J. McLeod (R)B. J. McLeod MotorsportsFord15.756121.782 - - - -3352Joey GaseJimmy Means RacingChevrolet15.775121.635 - - - -3407Ray Black Jr. (R)SS-Green Light RacingChevrolet15.803121.420 - - - -3525Harrison RhodesRick Ware RacingChevrolet15.812121.351 - - - -360Garrett Smithley (R)JD MotorsportsChevrolet15.827121.236 - - - -3713Timmy Hill (i)MBM MotorsportsDodge15.934120.422 - - - -3897Ryan EllisObaika RacingChevrolet16.018119.790 - - - -3974Mike HarmonMike Harmon RacingDodge16.054119.522 - - - -4070Derrike CopeDerrike Cope RacingChevrolet16.311117.638 - - - -Failed to qualify4189Morgan ShepherdShepherd Racing VenturesChevrolet15.776121.628 - - - -4240Carl LongMBM MotorsportsDodge15.844121.106 - - - -Official qualifying resultsHeat #1 lineupHeat #2 lineup
Heat #1 results Heat #1 was held on Saturday, April 16, at 12:30 PM EST. The race took 50 laps to complete. Erik Jones, driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, would dominate the race to win the heat and the overall pole. Kyle Larson would complete the two drivers in the heat eligible for the Dash 4 Cash. FinSt#DriverTeamMakeLapsLedStatus1120Erik Jones (R)Joe Gibbs RacingToyota5050running2242Kyle Larson (i)Chip Ganassi RacingChevrolet500running3318Kyle Busch (i)Joe Gibbs RacingToyota500running447Justin AllgaierJR MotorsportsChevrolet500running5533Brandon Jones (R)Richard Childress RacingChevrolet500running6762Brendan GaughanRichard Childress RacingChevrolet500running786Bubba WallaceRoush Fenway RacingFord500running8101Elliott SadlerJR MotorsportsChevrolet500running91116Ryan ReedRoush Fenway RacingFord500running10948Brennan Poole (R)Chip Ganassi RacingChevrolet490running1164Ross ChastainJD MotorsportsChevrolet490running121415Jeff GreenRick Ware RacingFord490running131524Matt Tifft (i)JGL RacingToyota490running141646Brandon GdovicPrecision Performance MotorsportsChevrolet490running151825Harrison RhodesRick Ware RacingChevrolet490running161328Dakoda ArmstrongJGL RacingToyota490running171752Joey GaseJimmy Means RacingChevrolet480running182074Mike HarmonMike Harmon RacingDodge460running191913Timmy Hill (i)MBM MotorsportsDodge140radiator201210Matt DiBenedetto (i)TriStar MotorsportsToyota30vibrationOfficial Heat #1 results
Heat #2 results Heat #2 was held on Saturday, April 16, at approximately 1:10 PM EST. The race took 50 laps to complete. Austin Dillon, driving for Richard Childress Racing, would dominate the race to win the outside pole. Ty Dillon would complete the two drivers in the heat eligible for the Dash 4 Cash.