Aaron's 312 (Talladega)

NASCAR race infobox
Name=Aaron's 312
Logo=
Img_size=
Venue=Talladega Superspeedway
Sponsor=Aaron's Rents, Inc.
First race=1992
Distance=311.22 miles
Laps=117
Previous names=Fram Filter 500k (1992-1994)

Humminbird Fishfinder 500K(1995-1996)

Birmingham Auto Dealers 500K (1997)

Touchstone Energy 300 (1998-2000)

Subway 300 (2001)

Aaron's 312 at Talladega (2002)

The Aaron's 312 is a NASCAR Nationwide Series race held at Talladega Superspeedway. The race's sponsor, Aaron's, is a lease-to-own retailer. The twelve extra miles are tacked on to what would normally be a 300-mile race for targeted advertising purposes.

At its inception, the event debuted as a 500-kilometer (312-mile) event, the longest race on the NASCAR Nationwide Series schedule. Automobile races in the United States measured in kilometers, especially those in NASCAR, are rare. As was the case at Talladega Superspeedway throughout its history, the ARCA races held at the track (one was removed for this race) carried were advertised with the more lucrative and more attractive "500" distance, even if it meant "500 kilometers" instead of miles (a custom at Riverside International Raceway, and currently 500km is a distance used at Phoenix International Raceway). In 1998, fans complained about the use of kilometers, which was seen as a European custom. They argued that kilometers are rarely even used in the United States, noting that the track measurement itself is still advertised in miles. Management changed the race to a 300-mile event from 1998-2001. The change shortened the race distance by four laps.

In 2002, Aaron's assumed title sponsorship and returned the race to a 312-mile event. The race distance is only coincidentally the same as in 1997 since the distance in miles was set to reflect the sponsor's slogan ("3 ways to buy, 12 reasons to shop at Aaron's").

Large wrecks involving 20 or more cars have occurred a number of times in the history of the event, most notably in 2002. 30 cars were involved in an accident on the backstretch on lap 14, with 19 knocked out of the race at that point. The remainder of the race, following a long red-flag period, had little resemblance to typical restrictor plate racing as only two cars were within short distance at the checkered flag and only three finished on the lead lap.

Past winners

Aaron's 312
* 2008 Tony Stewart
* 2007 Bobby Labonte(120 laps / 319.5 miles / 514 kilometers because of green-white-checkered rule)
* 2006 Martin Truex Jr.
* 2005 Martin Truex Jr. (120 laps / 319.5 miles / 514 kilometers because of green-white-checkered rule)
* 2004 Martin Truex Jr.
* 2003 Dale Earnhardt Jr.
* 2002 Jason Keller (race returned to 117 laps / 311.2 miles / 500 kilometers)

Subway 300
* 2001 Mike McLaughlin

Touchstone Energy 300
* 2000 Joe Nemechek
* 1999 Terry Labonte
* 1998 Joe Nemechek (raced changed to 113 laps / 300.58 miles due to fan complaints)

Birmingham 500K
* 1997 Mark Martin

Humminbird Fishfinder 500K
* 1996 Greg Sacks
* 1995 Chad Little

Fram Filters 500k
*1994 Ken Schrader
*1993 Dale Earnhardt
*1992 Ernie Irvan