The inaugural race was held on June 5, 2011. Like the fall race at Kansas, the distance of the race was 400.5 miles (644.542 km).
Brad Keselowski won the inaugural running of the race ahead of
Dale Earnhardt Jr. after saving fuel. Unlike 2011, the 2012 race was moved to April 22, 2012, to allow more time for the Kansas Speedway to complete the track's reconfiguration. During the
2012 STP 400,
A. J. Allmendinger won the
pole position with a time of 30.683 seconds, but
Denny Hamlin won the race after passing
Martin Truex Jr. For 2013, the race remained as the eighth race of the season in April, and was held on April 21, 2013. In 2014, the race swapped dates with the
Southern 500 and was held in May under the lights for the first time. In 2020, the race was moved to a Sunday afternoon time and the weekend after the
Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte, but the
COVID-19 pandemic resulted in it being postponed to July 23 as a Thursday night event. The race has undergone various name changes throughout its history. After being known as the STP 400 from 2011 to 2013, it was renamed the "
5-hour Energy 400 Benefiting
Special Operations Warrior Foundation" in 2014.
Nickelodeon sponsored the 2015 race via the
SpongeBob SquarePants television show, followed by GoBowling.com from 2016 to 2017.
KC Masterpiece and
Digital Ally respectively assumed naming rights in 2018 and 2019, followed by
O'Reilly Auto Parts' Super Start Batteries brand in 2020. The title sponsorship for the race changed again in 2021 from Super Start Batteries to
Busch Beer, one of NASCAR's premier partners. The name of the race itself was announced as the "Busch Name This Race 400", as the company announced that fans would have the opportunity to choose another name for the race through a contest on their website. Fans paid $1 to participate, which went to the non-profit charity Farm Rescue. The winning name was "Buschy McBusch Race 400". ==Past winners==