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Harvick scores ninth Cup victory of 2020 at Bristol

Having won two weeks ago at Darlington Raceway and securing his spot to the second round of the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, Kevin Harvick came into the Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway on Saturday, September 19, with an objective to win again and extend his momentum to a dominating season. Under the lights at Thunder Valley and with the grandstands packed with a limited number of fans, Harvick accomplished his mission after outlasting a vicious battle from Kyle Busch over the final 40 laps and grabbing another thrilling victory of this season. The victory marked Harvick’s career-high ninth of the season and the 58th of his Cup career, which kept him in ninth place in the all-time Cup wins list.

The starting lineup was based on four statistical categories: current owner standings, the driver’s result from a previous Cup race, the team owner’s result from a previous Cup race and the fastest lap recorded from a previous Cup race. With that, Team Penske’s two-car lineup occupied the front row with Brad Keselowski on pole position and teammate Joey Logano starting next to him.

Prior to the race, Joe Gibbs Racing’s Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin and Erik Jones started at the rear of the field due to their respective cars failing pre-race inspection twice. J.J. Yeley also dropped to the rear of the field due to a driver change along with Bubba Wallace and Corey LaJoie, both due to unapproved adjustments.

When the green flag waved and the race started, Keselowski jumped ahead with the lead as he led the opening lap while Kevin Harvick moved up to second place over Logano. Behind, Chase Elliott moved up to fourth place followed by Martin Truex Jr., Alex Bowman and Austin Dillon.

Five laps into the race, Keselowski stabilized a nearly two-tenths of a second lead over Harvick. Behind, teammates Aric Almirola and Clint Bowyer battled for eighth place in front of teammate Cole Custer, all of whom were also vying for transfer spots to the Round of 12 in the Playoffs. Settling behind Custer were Ryan Blaney and Matt DiBenedetto, both of whom started the evening below the top-12 cutline.

With the first 10 laps of the race complete and the early racing around the circuit settling in, Keselowski continued to stabilize his advantage to nearly three-tenths of a second over Harvick followed by Logano, Elliott and Truex. Behind, teammates Kyle Busch, Hamlin and Jones made their way into the top 30 after starting at the rear of the field.

On Lap 18, Harvick made his way into the lead after passing Keselowski. Two laps later, Harvick started to extend his advantage to nearly a second over Keselowski followed by teammate Logano, Elliott and Truex while Austin Dillon was closing in for a top-five spot. Way behind the leaders, Kyle Busch was using the high lane to march his way to the front. By then, he was scored inside the top 25.

The first caution of the race flew near the Lap 30 mark when contact from Jimmie Johnson entering Turn 2 sent Ricky Stenhouse Jr. spinning and making head-on contact into the inside wall just before he slid across the banking in Turn 3. The damage to Stenhouse’s No. 47 Kroger Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, which was engulfed in flames and spilling oil through Turns 3 and 4, was enough to end his night with a wrecked race car. The caution for Stenhouse’s incident served as the competition caution originally planned on Lap 30. By then, Harvick was ahead by nearly two seconds over Keselowski.

Under competition caution, the leaders pitted and DiBenedetto, driving the Wood Brothers Racing’s No. 21 Menards/Dutch Boy Ford Mustang, emerged with the lead following a two-tire stop. Tyler Reddick exited in second place after he also elected for a two-tire stop followed by Keselowski (the first on four tires), Logano, Harvick and Elliott. During the pit stops, Kyle Busch was pinned behind Daniel Suarez in his pit box and was shuffled all the way back to 25th place. In addition, Ryan Newman was sent to the rear of the field for speeding on pit road.

When the race restarted on Lap 40, DiBenedetto retained the lead followed by Keselowski and Logano. On Lap 43, Keselowski reassumed the lead from DiBenedetto. Behind, Reddick slipped back to ninth place behind Logano, Elliott, Bowman, Almirola, Blaney and Truex.

By Lap 50, Keselowski extended his advantage to more than a second over DiBenedetto while Logano also trailed by more than a second. Meanwhile, Harvick was in 10th place followed by teammate Cole Custer, Christopher Bell, Austin Dillon, Bowyer and William Byron. Hamlin was in 16th followed by Kurt Busch while Kyle Busch was back in 22nd behind Erik Jones.

Ten laps later, on Lap 60, Keselowski was still ahead by nearly two seconds over DiBenedetto while Logano was locked into a battle with Elliott for third place. In addition, Blaney and his No. 12 Advance Auto Parts Ford Mustang cracked the the top five while Almirola and Truex stared to catch Alex Bowman for sixth place. By then, Harvick was in ninth, Byron was in 13th, Hamlin was in 15th and Kyle Busch moved back into the top 20. With that, all 16 Playoff contenders were running inside the top 20.

Another 10 laps later, on Lap 70, and with the leaders starting to approach lapped traffic, Keselowski and his No. 2 Discount Tire Ford Mustang were ahead of second-place DiBenedetto by more than two seconds with Logano and Elliott trailing by approximately three seconds. By then, Kyle Busch and his No. 18 Skittles Toyota Camry continued to muscle towards the front in 14th place behind Austin Dillon’s No. 3 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE.

With the laps winding down in the first stage, Keselowski was still leading by more than two seconds over DiBenedetto, who was still holding strong with two fresh tires, while Elliott made his way into third place over Logano. Blaney continued to run in fifth place while Harvick muscled his way into sixth place in front of Bowman and Truex. In addition, Kyle Busch made his way up to ninth place followed by Almirola, Reddick and Byron. Kurt Busch, Austin Dillon, Hamlin and Clint Bowyer were running in the top 20 while Cole Custer was the lowest-running Playoff competitor in 24th place.

By Lap 93, Elliott made his way into second place after passing DiBenedetto. In addition, Harvick passed Blaney and started to track DiBenedetto and Logano for more. Additionally, Kyle Busch started to challenge Blaney for sixth place.

When the field reached the Lap 100 mark, Keselowski was still ahead by more than a second over Elliott. Behind, Kyle Busch made a bold move on the inside lane in Turn 3 to move into fourth place ahead of DiBenedetto and Harvick. Soon after, Busch moved into third place after passing Logano. By then, Harvick was still stuck behind DiBenedetto as Bowman started to join the party.

With the battling around the track continuing to intensify, the battle for the lead started to ignite as Elliott cut the deficit to a tenth of a second over Keselowski. On Lap 107, Elliott and his No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE emerged with the lead over Keselowski.

By Lap 110, Elliott extended his advantage to nearly a second over Keselowski while Blaney fell all the way back to 14th place. Kyle Busch was still in third place followed by Logano, Harvick and Bowman while DiBenedetto had fallen back into eighth place ahead of Kurt Busch and Byron.

With five laps remaining in the first stage, on Lap 120, Elliott was still leading by less than a second over Kyle Busch, who continued to close for the lead while encountering heavy lapped traffic, while Harvick passed Keselowski to move into third place.

When the first stage concluded on Lap 125, Elliott was able to claim his seventh stage win of the season. Kyle Busch settled in second place followed by Harvick, Bowman and Bell. Kurt Busch, Keselowski, Byron, Logano and Bubba Wallace were scored in the top 10. With his top-10 result in the first stage, Logano clinched his spot for the Round of 12 in the Playoffs. By the time the first stage concluded, Hamlin, DiBenedetto, Truex, Almirola, Bowyer and Austin Dillon were in 11th, 12th, 15th, 18th, 19th and 20th. In addition, Blaney fell all the way back to 23rd place ahead of Custer.

Under the stage break, the leaders pitted and Kyle Busch emerged with the lead followed by Elliott, Harvick, Bowman and Kurt Busch. Prior to the restart and under the Choose Rule effect, Bowman moved up to the front row beneath Kyle Busch while Elliott and Logano lined up in the second row. Byron and Harvick lined up in the third row followed by Kurt Busch, Hamlin, Keselowski and Wallace,

The second stage started on Lap 136 with Kyle Busch launching ahead with the lead while Bowman was able to move in front of teammate Elliott and retain second place. Elliott, Harvick, Logano and Kurt Busch retained third through sixth in a single-file line followed by Keselowski, Byron, Hamlin and Bell. Behind, Truex and DiBenedetto were in 14th and 15th while running in front of teammates Bowyer and Almirola. Custer and Austin Dillon were mired back in 21st and 22nd while Blaney was back in 26th.

By Lap 150, Kyle Busch was ahead by less than a second over Elliott. Harvick and Logano moved up to third and fourth while Bowman settled back in fifth place ahead of Kurt Busch and Keselowski. By then, Bowyer, Custer, DiBenedetto and Blaney were scored outside the top-12 cutline in the Playoff standings.

Ten laps later, on Lap 160, Elliott cut Kyle Busch’s advantage to nearly six-tenths of a second while Harvick was trailing the two leaders by more than a second. Logano continued to run in fourth place followed by Kurt Busch, Bowman, Hamlin, Keselowski and Byron. Truex was back in 14th in front of Erik Jones, DiBenedetto, Bowyer and Almirola. Austin Dillon was mired back in 21st followed by Blaney and Custer while names like Ryan Newman, Daniel Suarez and Corey LaJoie were pinned a lap behind the leaders.

By Lap 175, Kurt Busch was scored in fifth place ahead of Hamlin while Bowman slipped back to seventh place. At the front, Kyle Busch was still leading by four-tenths of a second over Elliott with Harvick closing in on his rear bumper for the spot. Meanwhile, DiBenedetto and Blaney were mired back in 19th and 20th while Austin Dillon and Custer were in 21st and 23rd.

Nearing the Lap 190 mark, DiBenedetto made a pit stop under green due to a loose right-rear wheel. By the time he returned to the track, he was three laps behind the leaders as his title hopes for this season was slowly diminishing. At the front, Kyle Busch continued to lead despite encountering lapped traffic while Elliott and Harvick continued to battle for second place.

When the raced reached its 200-lap mark, Elliott and Harvick closed in to the rear bumper of Kyle Busch’s No. 18 Toyota for the lead while Custer, who was in 23rd place, was fighting to remain on the lead lap. Behind, Logano and Hamlin were still in the top five followed by Kurt Busch, Bowman, Bell, Keselowski and Byron. Almirola was in 13th while Bowyer was in 16th place, two spots ahead of Blaney. Truex and Austin Dillon were mired back in the top 20.

Nearing the Lap 220 mark, Truex made a pit stop under green due to a tire issue as a result of tapping the Turn 2 outside wall a few laps earlier, where he went straight into the wall. During Truex’s incident, teammate Hamlin, who had nowhere else to go, ran into the back of Truex’s No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota. Despite the damage to the front nose of his No. 11 FedEx Toyota, Hamlin continued to run in sixth place and the race remained under green.

By Lap 220, Kyle Busch was still leading by more than a second over Harvick and Elliott while Logano and Kurt Busch were in the top five. Ten laps later, on Lap 230, Harvick and Elliott were less than a second behind Kyle Busch while Logano and Kurt Busch continued to run inside the top five. Hamlin continued to run in sixth place despite the damage while Keselowski, who fell back inside the top 20, was lapped by Kyle Busch.

With less than 20 laps remaining in the second stage, the caution flew when smoke started billowing out of the No. 24 Liberty University Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE driven by William Byron as a result of Byron running into the back of Christopher Bell, who checked up for the lapped car of Joey Gase, and damaging the front nose of his Chevrolet on the track. The smoke was enough to send Byron to the garage as his hopes of moving to the second round of the 2020 Playoffs came to an end.

Under caution, the leaders pitted and Kyle Busch retained the lead following his pit stop ahead of Harvick and Logano.

With eight laps remaining in the second stage, the race restarted and Kyle Busch received a strong start to retain the lead. Harvick was in second place followed by Logano, Elliott and Kurt Busch. By then, teammates Almirola and Bowyer moved inside the top 10 along with Austin Dillon while Blaney was outside the top 10.

The second stage concluded under caution when Ryan Newman spun in Turn 2. At the front of the field when the stage concluded, the leader Kyle Busch was able to claim his second stage victory of the season. Harvick was scored in second place followed by Elliott, Logano and Kurt Busch. Bowman, Almirola, Bowyer, Erik Jones and Austin Dillon settled in the top 10 ahead of Blaney and Keselowski. With his result in the second stage, Elliott clinched his spot for the second round of the Playoffs.

In terms of points, Bowyer moved back inside the top-12 cutline while Custer, DiBenedetto, Blaney and Byron were scored outside of the cutline and in position of being eliminated from title contention.

Under the stage break, some like Keselowski, Bell, Matt Kenseth, Michael McDowell, Truex and Hamlin pitted while the rest led by Kyle Busch, Harvick and Elliott remained on the track. Prior to the restart and under the Choose Rule effect, Logano moved up to restart in second place beneath Kyle Busch while Harvick and Kurt Busch restarted in the second row.

With 240 laps remaining, the final stage commenced and Kyle Busch retained the lead following a strong start on the outside lane. Harvick moved up to second place in front of Logano while Elliott and Kurt Busch were in the top five. Behind, Blaney’s car started to come back alive as he moved up to eighth place behind Bowyer following his early struggles. In addition, Austin Dillon fought his way back to 10th place.

With 220 laps remaining, Harvick started to battle Kyle Busch for the lead. A lap later, Harvick emerged with the lead for the first time since Lap 34 following a pass on the outside lane. By then, Elliott was in third place ahead of Logano followed by Kurt Busch, Bowman, Blaney, Bowyer, Jones and Almirola. Austin Dillon was back in 11th place, Keselowski was in 13th and Custer was all the way back in 23rd. DiBenedetto was mired back in 24th while Truex was back in 28th.

Down to the final 200 laps of the race, the battle for the lead between Harvick and Kyle Busch continued to ignite while Keselowski was lapped by the leaders as he was battling power steering issues to his No. 2 Ford. In addition, Bowman made an unscheduled pit stop due to a vibration report on the No. 88 AXALTA Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE. Elliott continued to run in third place while Logano and Kurt Busch settled in the top five. Blaney, who was still scored outside of the top-12 cutline in the Playoff standings, continued to march forward in sixth place while Bowyer, grasping with sole possession of the 12th and final transfer spot in the Playoffs, was in seventh place.

With less than 190 laps remaining, Blaney made his way into the top five in fifth place followed by Bowyer. At the front, Harvick continued to lead by approximately half a second over Kyle Busch while Elliott and Logano continued to run in third and fourth. A few laps later, Keselowski, who was black-flagged and pitted to address the issues to his No. 2 Ford, made the turn to the garage.

Fifteen laps later, with 175 laps remaining in the race, Harvick stabilized his advantage to more than a second over Kyle Busch while Elliott, Logano and Blaney continued to run in the top five. By then, non-title contenders like Erik Jones, Reddick and Jimmie Johnson were running inside the top 10. In addition, Kurt Busch, who was running in 12th place, made an unscheduled pit stop under green due to a loose wheel on his No. 1 Monster Energy Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE.

Down to the final 150 laps of the race, Harvick extended his advantage to less than two seconds over Kyle Busch while Elliott trailed by less than six seconds. Meanwhile, Bowyer moved up into fourth place followed by Reddick, Logano, Johnson, Jones, Almirola and Austin Dillon. By then, Blaney, who fell back to 13th place, was lapped by Harvick as only 12 competitors were scored on the lead lap. Soon after, Blaney made a pit stop under green due to a right front issue.

With approximately 130 laps remaining, 10 competitors were scored on the lead lap. Not long after, Logano made a pit stop under green as Harvick continued to lead.

With 120 laps remaining, Harvick was still leading by less than four seconds over Kyle Busch. Behind, Elliott remained in third place, trailing the two leaders by six seconds, while Bowyer was in fourth place in front of Reddick and Johnson. Almirola was in eighth, Austin Dillon was in ninth and DiBenedetto was in 11th, a lap behind.

Down to the final 100 laps of the race, Harvick continued to navigate his way through the lapped traffic and maintain a nearly six-second lead over Kyle Busch. By then, eight competitors were scored on the lead lap while Austin Dillon was lapped in ninth place. In addition, pit stops under green started to occur as Hamlin pitted.

With 93 laps remaining, the caution flew when James Davison spun and made contact into the Turn 1 wall following on-track contact with Austin Dillon. The contact into Davison was a result of Dillon reacting to Harvick, who was slowing down, pulling his car below the apron and was initially prepared to pit before opting out due to the wreck, thus escaping with no damage. The wreck also nearly collected Custer, Truex and Johnson as Davison’s No. 53 car was coming back down from the banking. By then, six cars were scored on the lead lap.

Under caution, the leaders pitted and Harvick retained the lead followed by Kyle Busch, Bowyer, Reddick and Almirola. Prior to the restart and under the Choose Rule effect, Bowyer moved into second place and beneath teammate Harvick on the front row while teammates Jones and Kyle Busch lined up in the second row.

With 82 laps remaining, the race restarted and the outside lane continued to prevail as Harvick retained the lead followed by Kyle Busch and Bowyer. Jones settled in fourth followed by Reddick and Almirola with only six competitors scored on the lead lap. DiBenedetto was the first competitor a lap behind in seventh place followed by Chris Buescher, Ryan Preece and Michael McDowell.

At the front, the battle for the lead between Harvick and Kyle Busch started to ignite with 70 laps remaining. With both separated by three-tenths of a second, Busch would gain a run running on the outside lane entering the turns, but Harvick would have enough momentum entering the straightaways to maintain his advantage while running on the inside lane.

Ten laps later, with 60 laps remaining, Kyle Busch gained another run towards the rear bumper of Harvick’s No. 4 Busch Light Ford Mustang in his pursuit for the lead. Despite his late charge, Harvick managed to stabilize his advantage by less than half a second over Busch’s No. 18 Toyota. Behind, Erik Jones trailed by nearly three seconds while Bowyer was in fifth place in between Reddick and Almirola.

With less than 45 laps remaining, Harvick approached a handful of lapped traffic that included Austin Dillon and Blaney. With Harvick stalled behind the lapped cars of Blaney and Gray Gaulding, Kyle Busch made a move beneath Harvick and reassumed the lead with 41 laps remaining, though Harvick kept Busch within his sights.

With approximately 30 laps remaining, Harvick reassumed the lead following a tight, vicious battle with Kyle Busch, who was being held up by Logano’s No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang. By the time both cleared Logano, Harvick was back ahead by four-tenths of a second over Kyle Busch while Jones trailed by two seconds.

With approximately 20 laps remaining, Harvick and Kyle Busch continued to run in first and second, separated by two-tenths of a second. Meanwhile, Bell made contact into the wall after cutting a tire, but the race remained under green.

Down to the final 15 laps of the race, Harvick was still ahead by two-tenths of a second over Kyle Busch while Jones was behind by approximately a second and trying to close in on the two leaders. Five laps later, with 10 laps remaining, Kyle Busch continued to close by being a tenth of a second behind Harvick and with Jones trailing in third place by a second.

With five laps remaining, only three-tenths of a second separated Harvick and Kyle Busch with Erik Jones behind by eight-tenths of a second. Though Kyle Busch continued to remain within sight of Harvick, he could not close the gap to his rear bumper.

On the final lap, Harvick was still ahead with a narrow margin over Kyle Busch. Entering Turn 3, Busch gained a run and tried to run into the back bumper of Harvick’s No. 4 Ford to loosen him up for the lead and the win. He could not, however, draw himself to the rear bumper of Harvick entering the turn as Harvick had enough momentum to win and claim the checkered flag by three-tenths of a second over Busch.

With his victory, Harvick became the first competitor to claim two victories in this year’s Cup Playoffs, he claimed his third win at Bristol Motor Speedway and he notched his 35th win while driving for Stewart-Haas Racing in NASCAR’s premier series. In addition, Stewart-Haas Racing claimed its 65th Cup career win while Ford claimed its 17th victory of 2020.

“Yeah! Bristol, baby!” Harvick exclaimed on the frontstretch on NBCSN. “Man, I just wanna say thank you to all the fans. Thank you, guys! I was so jacked up when we started this race because of you guys and Bristol Motor Speedway. Just proud of everybody on our Busch Light Ford…To beat Kyle Busch at Bristol, I kind of got myself in a little bit of a ringer there. I hit a lapped car and got a hole in the right-front nose, but just kept fighting. We don’t have anything else to lose. We were here to try to win a race. I know how much [crew chief] Rodney [Childers] really enjoys coming here. Hell, how could you not enjoy coming here with all this enthusiasm. Everybody’s tired of being at home! I’m glad we’re all here having a hell of a time. Thank you!”

Kyle Busch settled in a disappointing second-place result for the fourth time this season and for his 12th top-five result of this season despite rallying from the rear of the field as his winless streak to the 2020 Cup season extended to 29 races. Though Busch was displeased with the lapped traffic, particularly at Logano, for interfering with his chances of beating Harvick, the lone silver lining for Busch and his No. 18 team was transferring to the Round of 12 in the Playoffs with an opportunity to defend last year’s title.

“[I] Just didn’t have enough there at the end,” Busch said on pit road on NBCSN. “The guys did a great job and gave me a really good piece tonight to contend and at least be up there and be close. Unfortunately, just didn’t have enough. Lapped cars were definitely a problem, but it’s part of racing. You got to try to get around them where you can. There’s just no room for me to do what I needed to do on a couple of those opportunities to get pass them. [Harvick], obviously, had the better car, the faster car, than us tonight. [Crew chief] Adam [Stevens] made some good adjustments on that last run in order to keep us in the ball game and keep us close…I don’t know. Just come up short. What do you say?”

Erik Jones finished in third place for his seventh top-five result of this season and as the highest-finishing non-title contender followed by Reddick. Teammates Almirola and Bowyer finished fifth and sixth as both Stewart-Haas Racing competitors transferred to the Round of 12 in the Playoffs. Elliott ended his night in seventh place, a lap behind, while Buescher, Preece and McDowell finished in the top 10. Jimmie Johnson finished 17th in his 38th and final run at Bristol.

Kevin Harvick, Denny Hamlin, Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano, Chase Elliott, Martin Truex Jr., Alex Bowman, Austin Dillon, Aric Almirola, Kyle Busch, Clint Bowyer and Kurt Busch transferred into the Round of 12 in the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs. Cole Custer, Matt DiBenedetto, Ryan Blaney and William Byron were eliminated from title contention.

There were 14 lead changes for eight different leaders. The race featured five cautions for 50 laps.

Results.

1. Kevin Harvick, 226 laps led,

2. Kyle Busch, 159 laps led, Stage 2 winner

3. Erik Jones

4. Tyler Reddick

5. Aric Almirola, one lap led

6. Clint Bowyer

7. Chase Elliott, one lap down, 23 laps led, Stage 1 winner

8. Chris Buescher, one lap down

9. Ryan Preece, one lap down

10. Michael McDowell, two laps down

11. Joey Logano, two laps down

12. Austin Dillon, two laps down

13. Ryan Blaney, two laps down

14. Matt Kenseth, two laps down

15. Kurt Busch, two laps down

16. Alex Bowman, two laps down

17. Jimmie Johnson, two laps down

18. Ty Dillon, three laps down

19. Matt DiBenedetto, three laps down, seven laps led

20. John Hunter Nemechek, three laps down

21. Denny Hamlin, three laps down, one lap led

22. Bubba Wallace, three laps down

23. Cole Custer, three laps down

24. Martin Truex Jr., four laps down

25. Ryan Newman, four laps down

26. Daniel Suarez, five laps down

27. Gray Gaulding, 12 laps down

28. Christopher Bell, 13 laps down, one lap led

29. Quin Houff, 17 laps down

30. J.J. Yeley, 21 laps down

31. Joey Gase, 37 laps down

32. Garrett Smithley, 64 laps down

33. Corey LaJoie – OUT, Steering

34. Brad Keselowski, 88 laps down, 82 laps led

35. James Davison – OUT, Accident

36. Reed Sorenson – OUT, Electrical

37. Timmy Hill – OUT, Steering

38. William Byron – OUT, Accident

39. Josh Bilicki – OUT, Fuel pump

40. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – OUT, Accident

Bold indicates Playoff contenders

Playoff standings.

1. Kevin Harvick – Advanced

2. Denny Hamlin – Advanced

3. Brad Keselowski – Advanced

4. Joey Logano – Advanced

5. Chase Elliott – Advanced

6. Martin Truex Jr. – Advanced

7. Alex Bowman – Advanced

8. Austin Dillon – Advanced

9. Aric Almirola – Advanced

10. Kyle Busch – Advanced

11. Clint Bowyer – Advanced

12. Kurt Busch – Advanced

13. Cole Custer – Eliminated

14. Matt DiBenedetto – Eliminated

15. Ryan Blaney – Eliminated

16. William Byron – Eliminated

The Round of 12 in the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs will commence at Las Vegas Motor Speedway for the South Point 400. The race will occur on Sunday, September 27, at 7 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

September 20, 2020
Mike Shiplett to reach 150 Cup starts as crew chief at Bristol

A significant milestone is in the making for Mike Shiplett, crew chief for this year’s NASCAR Cup Series Playoff contender and Rookie-of-the-Year recipient Cole Custer. When the Cup Series competes in this weekend’s Playoff race at Bristol Motor Speedway, Shiplett will call his 150th race in NASCAR’s premier series as a crew chief.

A native of Amherst, Ohio, Shiplett grew up working on street stock cars for local short track racing with his uncle before he raced his prepared street stock across Ohio at age 16, eventually moving up to late model stock cars. He went on to attain a degree in diesel technology at the University of Northwestern Ohio in 1992. Afterwards, he joined Liberty Racing as a mechanic in the American Speed Association in 1995, which made the eventual move to the NASCAR Truck Series.

In 1998, Shiplett moved to North Carolina and worked as a car chief for the No. 75 Butch Mock Motorsports team that competed in the NASCAR Cup Series. Following the 2000 season, Shiplett joined forces with Ultra Motorsports in 2001 and continued to work as a car chief. Two years later, he joined Evernham Motorsports and another four years later, he worked as a crew chief for Evernham’s Xfinity Series program. Working with seven competitors in the 2007 NASCAAR Xfinity season, Shiplett won his first two NASCAR career races as a crew chief with Kasey Kahne.

In 2008, when Evernham Motorsports became Gillett-Evernham Motorsports, Shiplett was named a full-time NASCAR Cup Series crew chief for the No. 10 Dodge team that started the season with Patrick Carpentier, the 1997 CART Rookie of the Year and Champ Car competitor from LaSalle, Quebec, Canada, behind the wheel. The 2008 season marked Shiplett’s first as a Cup crew chief. From 2008 to 2009, Shiplett worked with five different drivers (Patrick Carpentier, Terry Labonte, Mike Wallace, Reed Sorenson and A.J. Allmendinger) while remaining with the team that became Richard Petty Motorsports in 2009. In August 2008, Shiplett served as a crew chief for Carpentier for the NASCAR Truck Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway, where he finished 25th. Following the 2009 season, Shiplett called 66 Cup career races.

In 2010, Shiplett worked as a full-time Cup crew chief with Allmendinger and the No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports Ford team. Together, Allmendinger and Shiplett achieved a pole position at Phoenix Raceway in April, two top-five results and eight top-10 results as Allmendinger concluded the season in 19th place in the final standings. Following the 2010 season, Shiplett reached 100 Cup races as a crew chief.

For the first 19 Cup races of the 2011 season, Shiplett remained as crew chief for Allmendinger and the No. 43 RPM Ford team as Allmendinger earned one top-five result, four top-10 results and was ranked in 16th place in the standings following the recent Cup race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in July. Afterwards, Shiplett was replaced by Greg Erwin for the remainder of the season and Allmendinger went on to conclude the season in a career-best 15th place in the final standings.

In 2012, Shiplett scaled back to the Xfinity Series and worked at Turner Motorsports. He served as a crew chief for 23 Xfinity races while working with Kasey Kahne and Brad Sweet, both of whom split driving roles in the No. 38 Great Clips Chevrolet. He also served as a crew chief for Kahne in the Truck Series race at Rockingham Speedway in April, where Kahne went on to win.

From 2013 to 2014, Shiplett rejoined Richard Petty Motorsports and was involved with the team’s research-and-development program. He also served as an Xfinity Series crew chief for Corey LaJoie in the finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway in November when LaJoie made his series debut.

In 2015, Shiplett rejoined the Xfinity Series and worked as a crew chief for HScott Motorsports with Chip Ganassi Racing and the No. 42 Chevrolet Camaro team driven between Kyle Larson, Justin Marks and Brennan Poole. Shiplett remained with the organization when the No. 42 car returned only under the Chip Ganassi Racing banner in 2016. From 2015 to 2018, Shiplett won a total of 15 Xfinity races between Larson, Marks, Tyler Reddick, Alex Bowman, Ross Chastain and John Hunter Nemechek.

After Chip Ganassi Racing’s Xfinity program shut down due to sponsorship woes, Shiplett joined Stewart-Haas Racing to serve as crew chief for Cole Custer and the No. 00 Haas Automation Ford Mustang team. Together, Custer and Shiplett had great success all season long as they achieved seven victories, six poles, 17 top-five results, 24 top-10 results and an average result of 9.0. In the end, however, Custer and Shiplett finished in second place in the final standings behind the champions Tyler Reddick and crew chief Randall Burnett of Richard Childress Racing.

Following a successful 2019 Xfinity Series season, Stewart-Haas Racing named Shiplett as a full-time crew chief of the No. 41 Haas Ford Mustang driven by Custer for the 2020 season as Custer entered this season as a Rookie-of-the-Year contender. Through the first 16 Cup races of this season, Custer and Shiplett achieved one top-five result, two top-10 results and were ranked in 25th place in the regular-season standings.

The following race at Kentucky Speedway, however, Custer took advantage on a two-lap shootout and made a bold four-wide pass for the lead on the final lap and against names like Ryan Blaney, Kevin Harvick and Martin Truex Jr. to achieve his first Cup career victory in his 20th series start. The win was also Shiplett’s first in the Cup level as the victory guaranteed Custer, Shiplett and the No. 41 team a spot in the 2020 Cup Playoffs. Custer and Shiplett went on to achieve three additional top-10 results throughout the regular-season stretch. By the time the 2020 Cup Playoff field was set following the regular-season finale at Daytona International Speedway in August, Custer was named the 2020 Cup Rookie of the Year since he was the lone rookie candidate to make the 16-car Playoff field.

Through the first two Cup Playoff races of this season, Custer and Shiplett achieved 12th- and 14th-place results at Darlington Raceway and at Richmond Raceway. Currently, Custer is eight points below the top-12 cutline and is one of four competitor who are on the brink of elimination from title contention entering this weekend’s race at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Catch Shiplett’s milestone start at Bristol Motor Speedway for the Bass Pro Shops Night Race on Saturday, September 19. The race will air at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

September 17, 2020
Harvick wins the 2020 Cup Playoff opener at Darlington Raceway

Kevin Harvick capped off a thrilling triple-header Labor Day weekend of racing at Darlington Raceway and opened the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs by winning the Cook Out Southern 500. Harvick’s opportunity of winning came with 15 laps remaining following a late incident involving leaders Martin Truex Jr. and Chase Elliott while Harvick was back in third place. With Truex pitting and Elliott falling off the pace, Harvick was able to snatch the lead and fend off a late charge from Austin Dillon to notch another victory of this season and continue his quest for a second Cup championship.

The starting lineup was based on four statistical categories: current owner standings, the driver’s result from a previous Cup race, the team owner’s result from a previous Cup race and the fastest lap recorded from a previous Cup race. With that, Chase Elliott started on pole position and was joined on the front row with Denny Hamlin.

Prior to the race, Playoff contender Ryan Blaney dropped to the rear of the field and his crew chief Todd Gordon was suspended for the main event due to an improperly mounted ballast discovered on Blaney’s No. 12 Menards/Maytag Ford Mustang during pre-race inspection. Blaney’s team was also docked 10 driver/owner points as a result of the ballast, leaving him with a one-point deficit to start this year’s Playoffs. With Gordon out, Travis Geisler, Team Penske’s competition director, served as an interim crew chief for Blaney at Darlington. In addition, Playoff contender Austin Dillon and Joey Gase dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments along with Ross Chastain due to a driver change.

When the green flag waved and the 2020 Cup Playoffs commenced, Elliott and Hamlin battled dead even through Turns 1 and 2 before Elliott managed to clear Hamlin entering Turn 3 and come back around to lead the first lap.

With Elliott in the lead, teammate Alex Bowman moved into second place followed by Martin Truex Jr. while Hamlin fell back to fourth in front of William Byron and Kevin Harvick.

Five laps into the race, 14 of the 16 Playoff contenders were running in the top-14 positions on the track led by teammates Elliott and Bowman. Behind, Jimmie Johnson was the highest-running non-title contender in 15th place. Way behind, Blaney was in 26th while Austin Dillon was in 31st.

Five laps later and following the first 10 laps of the race, Elliott was still leading by nearly a second over teammate Bowman while Truex, Hamlin and Byron were in the top five. Harvick was settled in sixth place followed by teammate Aric Almirola, Brad Keselowski, Clint Bowyer and Joey Logano. The Busch brothers were in 11th and 12th while Johnson moved up to 13th ahead of Matt DiBenedetto and Cole Custer. Behind, Bubba Wallace was in 17th behind Tyler Reddick, Erik Jones was in 18th, Matt Kenseth was in 20th behind Chris Buescher, John Hunter Nemechek was in 22nd, Christopher Bell was in 25th and Ryan Newman was in 27th. Blaney was in 21st while Austin Dillon made his way into the top 30.

By Lap 20, Elliott extended his advantage to more than a second over Truex, who passed Bowman to move into second place. Behind, Harvick and Hamlin battled for fifth place while Keselowski moved up to seventh place.

On Lap 25, the competition caution flew with Elliott and his No. 9 NAPA Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE at the front of the pack ahead of Truex, Bowman, Byron and Hamlin while Harvick, Keselowski, Almirola, Logano and Bowyer were in the top 10. By then, Blaney was scored in 21st while Austin Dillon was in 29th.

Under the competition caution, the lead lap competitors pitted and Elliott retained the lead after exiting pit road first by a nose over Truex followed by Bowman, Hamlin, Harvick and Byron. Prior to the restart and under the Choose Rule lane effect, Truex elected to restart in fourth place and in the second row on the outside lane while teammates Bowman and Byron moved up to restart in second and third. Logano and Hamlin restarted on the third row while teammates Bowyer and Harvick restarted on the fourth row

When the race restarted under green on Lap 31, Elliott retained the lead after clearing Bowman’s No. 88 ChevyGoods.com/Truck Hero Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE in Turn 3. Behind, Truex charged his way back to second place followed by teammate Hamlin while Bowman settled in fourth place in front of Harvick. Byron fell back to sixth ahead of Keselowski while Johnson and Logano battled for eighth.

By Lap 35, Elliott and his No. 9 NAPA Chevrolet were ahead by nearly three-tenths of a second over Truex. Behind, Harvick moved up to fourth and Johnson was gaining ground on Keselowski for seventh place. A few laps later, Byron passed teammate Bowman for fifth place.

With the first 40 laps of the race complete, Elliott was still leading by half a second over Truex and after leading every lap thus far. In addition, all 16 Playoff contenders were scored in the top 20 on track with nine in the top 10.

A few laps later, Playoff contenders Kyle Busch and Clint Bowyer made contact, where Busch ran into the back of Bowyer’s rear bumper and loosened him up in Turn 1 before passing him for 10th place. With Kyle up to 10th, Kurt Busch was in 12th place in between Bowyer and Erik Jones.

Following the first 50 laps of the race, Elliott extended his advantage by more than a second over Truex. Elliott’s three teammates from Hendrick Motorsports (Byron, Bowman and Johnson) were running in fifth, sixth and seventh while Harvick and Hamlin were in fourth and fifth.

By Lap 60 and with the leaders catching and making their way past lapped traffic, it was still Elliott with the lead by more than a second over Truex followed by Harvick and Hamlin, both of whom continued to battle intensely for position. Johnson, meanwhile, continued to march towards the front as he was in sixth place ahead of Bowman and reeling in on teammate Byron for more while Keselowski and Logano battled for eighth place. Behind, Kurt Busch and Bowyer overtook Kyle Busch for 10th and 11th. Blaney and Austin Dillon were in 16th and 18th while Almirola, DiBenedetto and Custer were back in 15th, 19th and 21st.

Not long after, Austin Dillon made a pit stop under green due to a flat right rear tire. When the race surpassed the Lap 70 mark and with Elliott still ahead of Truex with the lead, a few competitors like Nemechek and Newman pitted. In addition, Kyle Busch pulled his No. 18 M&M’s Toyota Camry to pit road for a pit stop. Shortly after, pit stops under green for the leaders continued as Bowman pitted. When the pit stops concluded, Elliott retained the lead ahead of Truex.

The second caution flew past the Lap 80 mark due to debris on the track that started when Keselowski cut a right-front tire following contact with Almirola before he made contact with the outside wall near Turn 3, thus sustaining damage to the right side of his No. 2 Discount Tire Ford Mustang.

Under caution, nearly the entire field led by Elliott pitted for service, fresh tires and fuel. Following the stops, Truex emerged with the lead after exiting pit road in first place followed by teammate Hamlin and Elliott. By then, Keselowski lost a lap to the leaders while his No. 2 crew went to work to repair the damage to the car. Back on the track, Kurt Busch and Wallace moved up to first and second when both opted to remain on track on old tires.

With the race restarting on Lap 86, Kurt Busch and Truex battled dead even through the first three turns before Truex and his No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry cleared Busch’s No. 1 Monster Energy Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE entering Turn 4 to take the lead. While Wallace dropped out of the top five and was clinging inside the top 10, Kurt Busch retained second place followed by Elliott, Johnson, Hamlin, Bowman, Logano and Byron.

When the race reached its 100-lap mark, Truex was leading by more than two seconds over Elliott and Johnson. Kurt Busch was back in fifth in between Hamlin and Bowman while Byron was in eighth behind Logano. Harvick was in ninth ahead of Kyle Busch and Jones while Blaney was in 13th in between Bowyer and Reddick. Bowyer, Austin Dillon and Custer were in 12th, 16th and 17th while DiBenedetto was back in 26th. Keselowski was back in 31st place and a lap behind following his incident.

Five laps later and with 10 laps remaining in the first stage, Johnson and his No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, muscled his way into second place after passing teammate Elliott a lap earlier in Turn 4.

Though Johnson had a fast race car and started to reel in Truex for the lead, Truex was able to stabilize his advantage by four seconds and win the first stage on Lap 115 for his third stage victory of the season. Johnson settled in second followed by Elliott, Hamlin and Kurt Busch while Bowman, Logano, Byron, Kyle Busch and Harvick were scored in the top 10.

Under the stage break and with the skies setting into darkness, the leaders pitted for service and adjustments with Truex retaining the lead after exiting pit road in first place. Following the pit stops, Elliott moved up to second followed by Hamlin, Kurt Busch, Logano and Kyle Busch while Johnson fell all the way back to eighth place following a slow pit stop.

The second stage started on Lap 121 with Truex and Hamlin on the front row followed by Logano, Elliott, Johnson and Kurt Busch while Blaney made an unscheduled pit stop prior to the restart to address a flat left-rear tire. At the front, Truex managed to clear Hamlin entering Turn 2 to retain the lead while Elliott moved up to second place.

By Lap 130, Truex was ahead by nearly eight-tenths of a second over Elliott with Hamlin trailing by more than a second. Johnson was in seventh behind Kyle Busch while Harvick was in ninth in between Bowman and Jones. Kurt Busch and Logano were in fourth and fifth while Byron was in 12th in between Reddick and Bowyer. Way behind the leaders, Blaney was in 31st and two laps behind.

Ten laps later and on Lap 140, Truex was still ahead by more than two seconds over Elliott, who had made contact with the wall a few laps earlier but continued to run on the track in second place. Hamlin, Kurt Busch and Logano were in the top five while Johnson was in sixth place ahead of Kyle Busch.

Another eight laps later, Hamlin and Kurt Busch overtook Elliott to move into second and third. By then Truex’s advantage grew to more than three seconds.

Just past the Lap 155 mark, Harvick made a pit stop under green. Nearly 15 laps later and on Lap 170, Truex was still ahead by more than four seconds over Kurt Busch followed by Hamlin while Elliott and Logano battled for fourth place ahead of Johnson.

By then, pit stops under green started to commence as DiBenedetto pitted along with Corey LaJoie, Ryan Preece, Johnson, Newman, Christopher Bell, Bowman, Jones, Custer, Bowyer, Hamlin and Kyle Busch. When the pit stops under green cycled through, Harvick emerged with the lead by eight seconds over Truex with Johnson back up to third place.

Just shy of the Lap 180 mark, the caution returned when Wallace got loose and spun entering Turn 4. Under caution, the leaders led by Harvick pitted, but Truex emerged with the lead after exiting ahead of Harvick on pit road in first place. Following the pit stops, Custer was sent to the rear for speeding on pit road.

With the race reaching Lap 185 and past its halfway mark, the race restarted under green. At the front, Truex muscled his way back to the lead after passing Hamlin in Turn 2 while Harvick moved up to second place by Turns 3 and 4. With Hamlin in third, Johnson was in fourth followed by Bowman, Kyle Busch, Jones and Austin Dillon. Byron was in 11th behind Kurt Busch while Elliott was back in 14th behind Logano and Matt Kenseth.

Nearly five laps later and on Lap 190, Truex was ahead by half a second over Harvick with Hamlin trailing by less than a second. By then, 12 of the 16 Playoff contenders were running inside the top 15, with eight being scored in the top 10. In addition, Penske teammates Keselowski and Blaney, both of whom raced their way back on the lead lap under the last caution involving Wallace, were in 19th and 24th.

Ten laps later and on Lap 200, Truex stabilized his lead by seven-tenths of a second over Harvick with Hamlin trailing by less than two seconds. By then, Wallace took his No. 43 Cash App Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE to the garage due to mechanical issues.

Another 20 laps later and on Lap 220, Truex was still ahead by more than four seconds over teammate Hamlin with Harvick, Johnson, Bowman and Kyle Busch trailing by six or more seconds.

For the remainder of the second stage, Truex was able to extend his advantage by more than five seconds to claim the stage victory on Lap 230 as he claimed his fourth stage win of the season. Hamlin settled in second followed by Harvick, Bowman and Johnson, who made late contact with the outside wall, while Kyle Busch, Jones, Austin Dillon, Bowyer and Kurt Busch were scored in the top 10. By then, 24 of the 39-car field were running on the lead lap. In addition, DiBenedetto was pinned a lap behind the leaders in 27th place while Custer was in 24th, the final car on the lead lap.

Under the stage break, the leaders pitted and Hamlin emerged the lead over teammate Truex following his pit stop. Harvick exited in third place followed by Bowman, Kyle Busch, Jones, Austin Dillon, Johnson and Elliott.

With 132 laps remaining and the lights shining around the track, the race restarted under green with Hamlin and Bowman on the front row. At the start, a stack-up behind occurred that left Logano with damage to the rear end of his No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang, where he was hit by Corey LaJoie.

Following an intense battle for the lead, Hamlin and his No. 11 Federal Express Toyota Camry cleared the field with the lead in Turn 3 followed by teammate Truex. Harvick also moved up to third place while Bowman fell back to fourth. While Joe Gibbs Racing’s Jones and Kyle Busch moved up to fifth and sixth, Johnson was stuck in a battle with Kurt Busch for seventh place. In addition, Bowyer was starting to battle Austin Dillon for ninth place with teammate Almirola joining the party.

With 123 laps remaining, the caution returned when John Hunter Nemechek cut a right-front tire and made contact with the outside wall in Turn 1 with sparks flying out from his No. 38 Citgard Ford Mustang. Under cautions, the leaders returned to pit road for service and Truex reassumed the lead following his pit stop ahead of teammate Hamlin with Kyle Busch, Harvick and Johnson scored in the top five. During the stops, Bowman dropped from fourth to 14th due to a jack issue during his pit stop. In addition, Logano and Blaney pitted to have the damage on their respective Fords addressed. Under caution, Bell took his No. 95 Rheem Toyota Camry to the garage due to a mechanical issue.

The race restarted under green with 117 laps remaining and with teammates Truex and Kyle Busch on the front row. At the start, Truex launched ahead with the lead through Turn 1 before Busch initiated a challenge in Turn 2. Truex, however, was able to clear Busch through Turns 3 and 4 with the lead while Hamlin pulled a crossover move in an attempt to pass Busch for second place.

Behind the three Joe Gibbs Racing competitors, Harvick and Kurt Busch started to reel in Hamlin for third place while Bowyer was in sixth and Elliott moved up to seventh ahead of teammate Johnson. Jones was in ninth, Almirola was in 10th ahead of teammate Custer and Keselowski rallied his way back into 12th place.

With 100 laps remaining, Truex was out in front by more than a second over teammate Kyle Busch with teammate Hamlin trailing by three seconds. By then 12 of the 16 Playoff contenders were running no lower than 14th, with eight scored in the top 10. Meanwhile, Logano was back in 17th while teammate Blaney was back in 24th. In addition, Byron was in 18th while DiBenedetto was in 20th.

Ten laps later and with 90 laps remaining, Truex’s lead grew to nearly two seconds over teammate Kyle Busch with teammate Hamlin still lurking behind by less than four seconds. Harvick and Kurt Busch stabilized their spots in the top five followed by Bowyer, who reported voltage issues to his No. 14 PEAK Ford Mustang. Elliott was in seventh ahead of Jones while Johnson was in ninth ahead of Almirola, Austin Dillon, Keselowski, Custer and Bowman.

With approximately 85 laps remaining, Johnson made a pit stop under green. Shortly after, Austin Dillon pitted. Then, pit stops under green for most of the lead lap competitors commenced as Bowman, Blaney, Logano and Harvick pitted. During the stops, Ty Dillon was assessed a pass-through penalty for speeding on pit road.

With 70 laps remaining, Truex was still out in front by more than two seconds over teammate Kyle Busch and more than three seconds over teammate Hamlin. By then, the top-six competitors led by Truex had yet to pit.

Four laps later, Bowyer pitted under green. Shortly after, Keselowski pitted. With 60 laps remaining, Truex and teammate Kyle Busch pitted while Hamlin assumed the lead. Another lap later, Hamlin missed the pit road entrance when he struggled to turn his car below the apron in Turn 3 towards the entrance, was hit by Johnson and was unable to slow his car in time to make the turn to the pit road entrance. As a result, he had to cycle around the track for another circuit before he could enter pit road successfully and pit for service. The late misfortune dropped Hamlin out of race-winning contention.

Following the stops from the Joe Gibbs Racing competitors, Harvick was back at the front by less than a second over Elliott and coming to 55 laps remaining. Nearly eight laps later, just as Elliott passed Harvick for the lead, the caution flew due to debris on the backstretch. Under caution, the competitors on the lead lap pitted and Elliott retained the lead after beating Harvick by a nose off of pit road.

With 41 laps remaining, the race restarted under green with Elliott and Truex on the front row followed by Harvick, Austin Dillon, Jones and Almirola. At the start, Elliott and Truex duked for the lead through Turn 1 before Elliott cleared Truex for the lead following a push from Harvick. Truex and Harvick went to work in battling one another for position and closing in on Elliott for the lead while Logano made his way up to fifth place with a damaged rear end and behind Austin Dillon’s No. 3 American Ethanol Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE.

With Elliott maintaining a three-tenths of a second advantage over Truex, Jones was back in sixth place in front of Almirola and Byron while Kyle Busch was in ninth place ahead of Bowman. Hamlin was in 14th behind Kurt Busch, Custer and Bowyer while Johnson was in 16th behind Keselowski.

Under 30 laps remaining, Elliott’s advantage grew to less than a second over Truex with Harvick trailing by less than two seconds. Behind, Bowman made his way into ninth place after passing Almirola while Byron and Kyle Busch were in seventh and eighth. Jones was the highest-running non-title contender in sixth place while Johnson was in 15th.

With 20 laps remaining, the battle for the lead started to ignite with Truex trailing Elliott by less than two-tenths of a second and continuing to close to the rear bumper of Elliott’s No. 9 Chevrolet. Behind, Harvick and his No. 4 Busch Beer Ford Mustang trailed the two leaders by more than five seconds with Austin Dillon and Logano continuing to run in the top five.

With 15 laps remaining, Truex gained a huge run on Elliott entering Turn 4 as he crossed beneath him past the start/finish line to take the lead. In Turn 1, however, Truex tried to slide up in front of Elliott, but they made contact and both made contact against the outside wall. Despite the damage, Truex continued with the lead while Elliott continued to run in second place, trailing by less than two seconds.

Shortly after, Truex pitted due to sustaining a flat right-rear tire. Back on the track, Harvick assumed the lead and was followed by Austin Dillon while Elliott started to fade out of race-winning contention.

With 10 laps remaining, Harvick was ahead by six-tenths of a second over Austin Dillon followed by Logano, Jones and Byron while Elliott dropped back to eighth place after being passed by teammate Bowman and Kyle Busch. Elliott would continue to lose more positions as he was off the pace with the field.

With the laps winding down and the leaders approaching lapped traffic, Harvick was still out in front while Austin Dillon continued to keep Harvick in his sights for the lead. However, with five laps remaining, Harvick started to extend his advantage to a second over Austin Dillon with Logano trailing by less than two seconds.

When Harvick started the final lap, he was still ahead by six-tenths of a second over Austin Dillon. For one final circuit, Austin Dillon got the deficit down to less than three-tenths of a second, but it was not enough through Turns 3 and 4 as Harvick managed to streak across the finish line in first place and add a second Southern 500 title to his racing resume.

The victory was Harvick’s eighth of this season, his fourth win since August and the 57th of his Cup career, which he surpassed fellow competitor Kyle Busch and moved into ninth place on the NASCAR Cup Series all-time wins list. In addition, Harvick’s win was the 15th of the season for Ford and the ninth of the season for Stewart-Haas Racing. With the victory, Harvick clinched his spot to the Round of 12 in the Playoffs.

Ironically, Darlington Raceway served as the track where NASCAR made its return to on-track racing back in May amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and where the race was also won by Harvick. Compared to May, where the grandstands were empty, Harvick’s victory on Sunday evening at Darlington was met by a chorus of cheers from the fans with up to 8,000 spectators allowed to attend the race from the grandstands, something that delighted Harvick upon saluting the fans with his win.

“The first thing I wanna say is, ‘Welcome back, fans!’ Woo!” Harvick exclaimed on the frontstretch on NBCSN. “This interview’s a hell of a lot more fun with you guys up there. [I] Just wanna say thank you to everybody from NASCAR, all of you fans here in South Carolina…Just wound up fighting all night long. This Busch Beer Ford Mustang wasn’t where we wanted it to be, but the leaders got tangled up there and the next thing you know, we were racing for the win. Anytime you can win the Southern 500, it’s a good day. This is one of the most prestigious races in our sport and this is one of the most prestigious race tracks in our sport. Anytime you can win at Darlington, it’s a big deal. Man, Southern 500!”

Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images

Austin Dillon rallied from starting at the rear of the field to post a strong runner-up result while Logano made a nice rally from his incident at the start of the final stage to finish in third place. Jones, the reigning Southern 500 winner, finished in fourth place as he emerged as the highest-finishing non-title contender in the field while Byron rallied to finish in fifth place and record his third consecutive top-five result.

Playoff contenders Bowman, Kyle Busch, Kurt Busch, Almirola and Bowyer finished inside the top 10 on the track. Keselowski finished 11th ahead of Custer, Hamlin finished 13th, Elliott faded back to 20th and Truex ended his night in 22nd, a lap behind the leaders. DiBenedetto finished 21st, a lap down, while Blaney finished 24th, the lowest-finishing Playoff contender in the field.

There were 18 lead changes for six different leaders. The race featured seven cautions for 34 laps.

Results.

1. Kevin Harvick, 32 laps led

2. Austin Dillon

3. Joey Logano

4. Erik Jones

5. William Byron

6. Alex Bowman, one lap led

7. Kyle Busch

8. Kurt Busch, five laps led

9. Aric Almirola

10. Clint Bowyer

11. Brad Keselowski

12. Cole Custer

13. Denny Hamlin, 19 laps led

14. Matt Kenseth

15. Ryan Newman

16. Michael McDowell

17. Ryan Preece

18. Jimmie Johnson

19. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

20. Chase Elliott, 114 laps led

21. Matt DiBenedetto, one lap down

22. Martin Truex Jr., one lap down, 196 laps led, Stage 1 & 2 winner

23. Tyler Reddick, one lap down

24. Ryan Blaney, one lap down

25. Daniel Suarez, three laps down

26. Chris Buescher, three laps down

27. Ty Dillon, four laps down

28. Brennan Poole, five laps down

29. Ross Chastain, seven laps down

30. J.J. Yeley, seven laps down

31. Quin Houff, 10 laps down

32. Josh Bilicki, 11 laps down

33. Joey Gase, 16 laps down

34. Christopher Bell, 18 laps down

35. Timmy Hill – OUT, Overheating

36. John Hunter Nemechek – OUT, Accident

37. Corey LaJoie – OUT, Accident

38. Bubba Wallace – OUT, Transmission

39. James Davison – OUT, Engine

*Bold indicates Playoff contenders

Playoff standings

1. Kevin Harvick – Advanced

2. Denny Hamlin +54

3. Joey Logano +27

4. Brad Keselowski +22

5. Alex Bowman +19

6. Martin Truex Jr. +16

7. Chase Elliott +12

8. Austin Dillon +10

9. William Byron +9

10. Kyle Busch +7

11. Kurt Busch +4

12. Aric Almirola +0

13. Clint Bowyer -0

14. Cole Custer -3

15. Matt DiBenedetto -17

16. Ryan Blaney -17

Next on the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series schedule is Richmond Raceway for the Federated Auto Parts 400 and the second Playoff race of the season. The race will occur on Saturday, September 12, at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

September 7, 2020
Elliott to start on pole position for Playoff opener at Darlington

Chase Elliott was awarded the pole position and will lead the field to the start of the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series Playoff opener at Darlington Raceway on Sunday, September 6, for the Cook Out Southern 500.

The starting lineup was based on a modified metric formula to the starting lineup for an upcoming NASCAR race based on four stats: the driver’s result from a previous Cup race, the owner’s result from a previous Cup race, the current owner’s points standings and the fastest lap recorded from a previous race. The owner’s finishing result is a new category that was added as part of the lineup formula on September 1 and will affect the starting positions for any car/team that changes a competitor from a previous race.

In addition, with the 2020 Cup Playoffs set to commence this weekend at Darlington, the competitors competing in the Playoffs will occupy the top starting positions on the grid. Even after every round of the Playoffs, consisting of three races per round and where four competitors will be eliminated from title contention after each round until the Championship Round, the competitors still contending for the championship will line up ahead of the rest of the field on the grid for an upcoming race.

Elliott, who finished in the runner-up position in last weekend’s regular-season event at Daytona International Speedway, will lead the field to the start of a Cup race for the third time this season. This season marks Elliott’s fifth consecutive season of making the Cup Playoffs as he will contend for his first championship in NASCAR’s premier series (second division title after winning the 2014 Xfinity Series championship).

In addition, with the upcoming race at Darlington Raceway set to occur on Labor Day weekend and known as NASCAR’s throwback weekend, celebrating the past, present and future of the sport, Elliott is one of a multitude of competitors who will be sporting throwback-inspired schemes on race day on Sunday. Elliott’s No. 9 NAPA Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE will mirror the 2009 scheme that teammate and seven-time Cup champion Jimmie Johnson sported when he achieved his record-setting fourth consecutive championship as he pays tribute to Johnson’s final full-time season of racing in NASCAR.

Denny Hamlin, a three-time Darlington winner who will sport a special purple, white and orange throwback scheme to his No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Camry while paying tribute to the inception of Federal Express in 1973 and when NASCAR Hall of Famer Cale Yarborough competed in the No. 11 car during the same year, will start alongside Elliott on the front row. This season marks Hamlin’s 14th postseason season as a title contender as he pursues his first Cup title.

William Byron, fresh off his first Cup career victory last weekend at Daytona and a two-year contract extension with Hendrick Motorsports, will start in third place in a patriotic scheme that mirrors the scheme Jimmie Johnson sported when he achieved his record-leading fourth All-Star win in 2013. Teammate Alex Bowman will start alongside Byron in the second row and in a scheme that mirrors the 2006 scheme Johnson sported when he achieved his first of seven Cup titles.

Brad Keselowski, sporting a Discount Tire scheme that mirrors his 2010 Xfinity Series championship scheme, will start in fifth place alongside Martin Truex Jr., who will sport a black, yellow and red Bass Pro Shops throwback scheme that mirrors the scheme former competitor Hank Parker Jr. sported at Atlanta Motor Speedway in 2003 while driving for Chance 2 Motorsports and which marked the first primary sponsorship of Bass Pro Shops.

Ryan Blaney, who will sport a blue, yellow, orange, red and white Menards throwback scheme while paying tribute to former competitor Paul Menard and his early career in racing, will start in seventh place followed by Kevin Harvick, who will sport a retro blue and white Busch Beer scheme on his No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford Mustang; teammate Clint Bowyer, who will sport a blue, white and red PEAK Antifreeze scheme that mirrors the scheme former competitor Kyle Petty sported when he achieved his third Cup career victory at Rockingham Speedway in 1990; and teammate Aric Almirola, fresh off a one-year contract extension with SHR and who will sport a special red and white throwback scheme that mirrors the scheme the late NASCAR Hall of Famer Fireball Roberts sported in the 1957 season, where he won eight races.

Matt DiBenedetto, who will be sporting a red and white throwback scheme to his No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford Mustang that pays tribute and was also driven by names like Tiny Lund, Glenn Wood and Marvin Panch, will start in 11th place alongside Austin Dillon, who will sport a white and red throwback scheme to his No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE that pays tribute to the late NASCAR Hall of Famer Junior Johnson.

Joey Logano will start in 13th place and in a red and white throwback scheme that mirrors the scheme the 1983 NASCAR Cup champion Bobby Allison sported in 1985 while Cole Custer, the 2020 Cup Rookie-of-the-Year recipient, will line up in 14th place in a red and white scheme that pays tribute to the late NASCAR Hall of Famer Curtis Turner and the 1965 Ford Galaxie he drove in his final Cup season.

Finally, Kyle Busch will line up in 15th place in a throwback No. 18 M&M’s Toyota scheme that mirrors the scheme driven by former competitor/veteran Elliott Sadler in 2004 while brother Kurt will start in 16th place.

Bubba Wallace, the first non-Playoff contender, will start in 17th place followed by John Hunter Nemechek, teammate Michael McDowell and Chris Buescher. Christopher Bell will start in 21st place alongside Jimmie Johnson, who will make his 24th and final start at Darlington and is set to sport a special red, white, blue and black scheme that pays tribute to seven-time Cup champions Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt.

Rounding out the field in positions 25-39 are Brennan Poole, Tyler Reddick, Ty Dillon, Matt Kenseth, Corey LaJoie, Daniel Suarez, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Erik Jones, Ryan Newman, Quin Houff, Timmy Hill, Reed Sorenson, Ryan Preece, James Davison, J.J. Yeley, Josh Bilicki and Joey Gase.

The Cook Out Southern 500, which marks the first race of the 2020 Cup Playoffs, will occur on September 6 at 6 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

September 2, 2020
Custer wraps up 2020 Cup Rookie-of-the-Year title

Following a seven-month regular-season voyage and an eventful regular-season finale at Daytona International Speedway on August 29, the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series Playoff field is set as 16 competitors will compete for this year’s Cup title in a 10-race postseason stretch, beginning next weekend at Darlington Raceway in September. Of the 16 competitors that have qualified for the Playoffs, one competitor is also celebrating a major achievement to this season. That competitor is Cole Custer, who was named this year’s Cup Rookie-of-the-Year recipient.

The 22-year-old native from Ladera Ranch, California, wrapped up the title by being the only rookie Cup candidate of this season to make the Playoffs and since he will emerge as the highest-finishing rookie candidate in the standings. The Cup Rookie-of-the-Year Award marks the first time Custer has achieved the award within NASCAR’s three major division series after he came into this season competing against fellow Truck and Xfinity Series competitors Tyler Reddick, Christopher Bell, John Hunter Nemechek and Brennan Poole. Quin Houff was also part of this year’s rookie battle.

Following a productive path through NASCAR’s touring series, including finishing the 2018 and 2019 Xfinity Series seasons as the championship runner-up behind Reddick, Custer was promoted to a full-time driving role in the 2020 Cup Series season and in the No. 41 Haas Automation Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing led by veteran crew chief Mike Shiplett. By then, Custer had already made three previous starts in NASCAR’s premier series in 2018. In addition, Reddick, Bell, Nemechek, Poole and Houff were also set to compete for the first time in the Cup circuit as full-time competitors.

For the first 15 races of his rookie season, Custer achieved one top-10 result (ninth place at Phoenix Raceway in March) and was ranked in 26th place in the regular-season standings. The turning point for Custer and his team came the following race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in July, where Custer notched his first top-five career result in fifth place. The following race at Kentucky Speedway, he made a bold four-wide move against teammate Kevin Harvick, Martin Truex Jr. and Ryan Blaney on the final lap to storm to his first Cup career victory in his 20th series start. Custer’s victory at Kentucky guaranteed himself a spot in this year’s Playoffs.

For the remaining nine regular-season events, Custer went on to record three additional top-10 results while Reddick, Bell, Nemechek, Poole and Houff were unable to record a win to make the Playoffs and challenge Custer for the rookie title through the season finale at Phoenix in November.

With his accomplishment, Custer is the sixth competitor from the NASCAR Next initiative to earn the Cup Rookie-of-the-Year Award, an accomplishment that has also been made by Kyle Larson, Brett Moffitt, Chase Elliott, Erik Jones and William Byron. He also became the first competitor to achieve the Cup Rookie-of-the-Year title while driving for Stewart-Haas Racing as his three SHR teammates (Aric Almirola, Clint Bowyer and Kevin Harvick) have also made this year’s Playoffs.

Based on his victory at Kentucky and points he earned throughout the 26-race regular-season stretch, Custer will start the Playoffs ranked in a three-way tie with teammate Aric Almirola and Austin Dillon for 10th place in the standings with 2,005 points. He and Matt DiBenedetto are the lone newcomers to qualify for the Cup Playoffs as title contenders.

Custer’s first run to a Cup championship in the Playoffs will begin on Sunday, September 6, at Darlington Raceway for the Cook Out Southern 500, which will occur at 6 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

August 30, 2020
Byron scores first Cup career win at Daytona; 2020 Cup Playoff field is set

Dropping the hammer and refusing to lift out of the throttle at the right timing and in a last-stretch effort to keep his championship hopes alive, William Byron raced his way into the 2020 NASCAR Cup Playoffs after forcing his way into the lead with two laps remaining and holding off the field in overtime to score his first Cup career win in the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway under the lights on August 29. The victory was Byron’s first in his 98th career start in NASCAR’s premier series as he became the 11th Cup competitor to clinch a spot into the Playoffs by winning a regular-season race.

The starting lineup was based on three statistical categories: current owner points standings, the results from a previous Cup race and the fastest lap from a previous Cup race. With that, Kevin Harvick, coming off his victory in the second of a Dover International Speedway doubleheader last weekend and who is the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series regular-season champion, started on pole position and was joined on the front row with Martin Truex Jr. Austin Dillon dropped to the rear of the field due to failing pre-race technical inspection twice along with Clint Bowyer due to unapproved adjustments.

When the green flag waved and the race started, the field battled two by two for a full circuit until Truex was able to move in front of Harvick and lead the first lap. The following lap, Harvick gained a push from Brad Keselowski in Turn 2 and was able to come back around to lead the second lap by a nose over Truex’s No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry.

Approaching the third lap, William Byron made a move on the outside lane with drafting help from teammate Alex Bowman and started to challenge Harvick for the lead through the tri-oval and in Turn 1 with sparks flying beneath Byron’s No. 24 Liberty University Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE.

On the fifth lap, Harvick was still leading, but the outside lane led by Byron gained a huge run entering Turns 1 and 2. Though the inside lane led by Harvick gained a run through Turns 3 and 4, Byron was able to lead a lap for himself on the sixth lap.

Through the early stages of the race and the opening 10 laps, the competitors running on the outside lane would gain an advantage through Turns 1 and 2, but the competitors on the inside lane would gain an advantage through Turns 3, 4 and the tri-oval, which kept the field dead even against one another while racing two to three wide approaching and past the start/finish line.

By Lap 10, Byron, racing on the outside lane, was back in the lead as he held a narrow advantage over teammate Bowman, rookie Cole Custer, Erik Jones and rookie Tyler Reddick all on the outside lane while Harvick was in sixth place and the first car running on the inside lane. In addition, J.J. Yeley was slowly limping his car back to pit road. Three laps later, Harvick dropped below the yellow line in Turn 2 and surrendered track position towards the front to tuck behind Ryan Newman’s No. 6 Guaranteed Rate Ford Mustang in 24th place to have debris removed from the grille of his No. 4 Mobil 1 Ford Mustang.

Back at the front on Lap 14, Byron and the No. 24 car were still leading ahead of teammate Bowman, Custer, Jones, Reddick, Kyle Busch and rookie John Hunter Nemechek all on the outside lane with Keselowski leading a pack of cars on the inside lane.

For the next six laps, Byron was able to remain ahead of a bevy of competitors in a single-file line through the competition caution flew on Lap 20. By then, Jones and Reddick were in fourth and fifth behind Custer while names like Daniel Suarez, Nemechek, rookie Christopher and Michael McDowell were in the top 10. Jimmie Johnson was in 11th ahead of Denny Hamlin, Keselowski, Truex and Ryan Blaney while Matt Kenseth, Bubba Wallace, Chase Elliott and Joey Logano were in 16th, 18th, 19th and 20th. Matt DiBenedetto was in 21st ahead of Kurt Busch, Ryan Newman and Chris Buescher while teammates Aric Almirola and Harvick were in 26th and 28th. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was in 30th behind teammate Ryan Preece while Clint Bowyer was in 33rd in between Brendan Gaughan and Austin Dillon.

Under the competition caution, nearly the entire field led by Byron pitted while names like Almirola, Truex, Harvick, Stenhouse and Ross Chastain, all of whom were racing towards the rear of the field, remained on track. Shortly after, the remaining cars that remained on track pitted prior to the restart.

Nearing the 25-lap mark, the race restarted under green with teammates Byron and Bowman on the front row. At the start, Byron moved in front of teammate Bowman on the inside lane to retain the lead. With Reddick running in third place behind the two leading Hendrick Motorsports competitors, Jones, who was scored in fourth place, was the first car to form a pack on the inside lane.

Not long after, Johnson moved up to fourth place while the inside lane led by Jones followed by teammate Kyle Busch and including Keselowski and Logano. After a handful attempts in trying to move in front of the Chevrolet brigade on the outside lane led by Byron, Jones emerged with the lead followed by his teammates Kyle Busch and Hamlin on Lap 29.

A lap later and with the pack continuing to battle intensely within the draft, Jones was still leading teammate Kyle Busch and Bell followed by McDowell, Logano and Kenseth. By then, Byron was back in seventh place.

On Lap 34, Byron returned to the lead followed by teammate Bowman, Reddick and Logano while Jones and Kyle Busch fell back to fifth and seventh. Two laps later, Logano emerged with the lead as the field continued to battle dead even in a pack for the top spot.

By Lap 40, Logano was still leading over teammate Blaney and his No. 12 Body Armor Ford Mustang followed by Jones, Kyle Busch, Bell and Hamlin. In addition, Byron was in 10th behind DiBenedetto and ahead of Reddick and Johnson, who earlier made a move on the inside lane in Turn 3 but lost his momentum when no one opted to go with him. Way behind the pack and trailing by approximately nine seconds, Bowyer was in 34th ahead of teammates Almirola and Harvick.

With approximately five laps remaining in the first stage, a pack of cars on the inside lane led by Reddick and his No. 8 KC Motorgroup Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE started to charge towards the front on the inside lane as he was in fifth place while pursuing for more on the track.

At the start of the final lap of the first stage, Jones attempted to make a move on Logano’s No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang for the lead, but Logano blocked his momentum and retained his advantage through Turns 1 and 2. By then, the competitors running towards the front started to battle intensely for many positions as possible with Reddick, Johnson and Byron starting to charge on the inside lane. In Turn 3, Reddick gained a run and tried to side-draft Logano for the lead. Logano, nonetheless, was able to have enough horsepower on the outside lane and drafting help from Jones through Turn 4 to win the first stage on Lap 50 and for his fifth stage victory of the season. Jones settled in second in front of Reddick, Blaney and Johnson while Bell, Byron, McDowell, Hamlin and Kyle Busch were scored in the top 10.

In terms of the battle for the final three spots to the Playoffs, Bowyer was able to clinch a spot for this year’s postseason, though he finished 33rd in the first stage. With Bowyer’s accomplishment, all four Stewart-Haas competitors have made the Playoffs for the second time in the last three seasons. In addition, with Bowyer securing a Playoff spot, that left two spots vacant. Thus far, DiBenedetto was inside the top-16 cutline by three points and Byron was ahead by two with teammate Johnson trailing by two. The remaining competitors led by Jones and Reddick were placed in a “must-win” situation to make the Playoffs.

Under the stage break, the majority of the field led by Logano pitted while some led by Keselowski remained on track. Prior to the start of the second stage, however, Keselowski pitted along with Harvick, Logano, Almirola, Newman, Hamlin, Chastain, DiBenedetto, Buescher and Custer to top off their respective cars with fuel. Following the pit stops, however, Hamlin was penalized and sent to the rear of the field due to not entering pit road in a single-file line.

The second stage started on Lap 55 with Bell and Jones at the front of the pack. At the start, Jones gained a push from Johnson on the outside lane to move into the lead. With Jones leading and in a “must-win” situation to make the Playoffs, Johnson settled in second place followed by Chip Ganassi Racing’s Kurt Busch and Kenseth. Bowman and his No. 88 AXALTA Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE were in fifth ahead of teammate Chase Elliott and Austin Dillon while Bell and Kyle Busch were back in eighth and ninth just ahead of Wallace.

By Lap 60, Jones and his No. 20 Auto-Owners Insurance Toyota Camry were still leading over Johnson and his No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE. Kurt Busch and Kenseth were still in third and fourth followed by Bowman, Elliott, Austin Dillon, Bell, Kyle Busch and Wallace (all of whom were part of a bevy of competitors running in a single-file lane on the outside lane). In addition, names like Ricky Stenhouse Jr., rookie Brennan Poole, Nemechek and DiBenedetto were running in the top 15.

A few laps later, Wallace dropped out of the lead pack due to power issues on his No. 43 World Wide Technology Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, an issue he was able to diagnose and fix while racing at the back of the pack. Shortly after, on Lap 65, a number of Chevrolet competitors including Byron, Johnson, Elliott, Bowman, Reddick, Austin Dillon, Kenseth and Kurt Busch pitted for fuel under green as part of a strategic call to complete the remainder of the second stage on fuel. Another lap later, the next wave of competitors including Jones, Bell, Poole and rookie Quin Houff pitted for fuel.

Back on the track, Kyle Busch and his No. 18 Interstate Batteries Toyota Camry assumed the lead followed by Stenhouse, Nemechek, DiBenedetto and Logano. Then, on Lap 72, Suarez, who has finished no higher than 18th place all season long, assumed the lead followed by Ty Dillon, Corey LaJoie, Wallace, Hamlin and Kyle Busch as a bevy of cars running in a single-file lane started to approach the lead group.

Eight laps later and at the halfway mark on Lap 80, Suarez and his No. 96 CommScope Toyota Camry from Gaunt Brothers Racing were still leading over Ty Dillon, Wallace and Kyle Busch. With Hamlin in fifth, names like Stenhouse, Nemechek, DiBenedetto and LaJoie were running in the top 10. Logano was in 10th ahead of teammate Blaney, Newman was in 13th ahead of McDowell, Harvick was in 18th ahead of teammates Bowyer and Almirola, Keselowski was in 21st, Johnson was in 24th ahead of Kurt Busch and Elliott, Jones was in 28th and Byron was in 31st ahead of Reddick and Bell.

With 12 laps remaining in the second stage, names like Ty Dillon, Wallace, LaJoie and Gaughan pitted for fuel while Suarez continued to lead over ex-teammates Kyle Busch and Hamlin. Three laps later and with the laps in the second stage winding down, Logano gained a huge run on the outside lane followed by teammate Blaney, Truex and a bevy of cars through Turns 2 and 3 to reassume the lead over Suarez.

With five laps remaining in the second stage, the Chevrolet pack led by Johnson caught back up to the lead pack as Johnson started to make his move towards the front. Approaching two laps remaining, Kyle Busch made a green flag pit stop for fuel.

At the front, Logano was still ahead followed by teammate Blaney with Truex leading the outside lane and pushing for more. At the start of the final lap of the second stage, Johnson, who was in fourth, attempted to make a move beneath Bowyer for more, but Bowyer blocked and was nearly turned in the process entering Turn 1.

Despite the intensity that was occurring behind him, Logano was able to hold off the field to win the second stage on Lap 100 and for his sixth stage victory of the season. Truex settled in second place followed by Bowyer, Kurt Busch and Johnson while Keselowski, DiBenedetto, Stenhouse, Blaney and Bell settled in the top 10.

In terms of the Playoff picture following the second stage, DiBenedetto was still ahead of the top-16 cutline by five points and Johnson ahead by four with Byron now trailing by four points as a result of Byron failing to gain stage points in the second stage while Johnson and DiBenedetto did.

Under the stage break, the leaders pitted for fuel and Logano retained the lead following a stellar four-tire pit stop. Prior to the restart, Harvick and Hamlin were among a number of competitors who made a pit stop for final adjustments and to top off their respective cars with fuel.

With 55 laps remaining, the final stage commenced under green with Logano and Truex leading the field. In Turn 1, Truex received a push from Johnson and was just able to slide in front of Logano to move into the lead. Bowyer was in third place followed by the Busch brothers and Johnson. Behind, DiBenedetto was battling Kenseth for seventh place.

Five laps later and with 50 laps remaining, Truex was still the leader ahead of Logano and a pack of cars running two to three wide. By then, the top-24 competitors were separated by less than a second.

Two laps later, Logano and Bowyer gained a drafting run on the outside of Truex through Turns 2 and 3 as Logano moved back to the lead. Truex, however, was able to reassume the advantage the following lap followed by teammate Kyle Busch, Johnson, Elliott and Kurt Busch while Logano dropped back to sixth.

With 41 laps remaining and the battle for the top spot within the lead pack continuing to intensify and with two- to three-wide racing ongoing, Kyle Busch moved into the lead while Johnson fell out of the draft and was clinging within the top-15 running order. Another lap later, Johnson was scored in 13th while Byron and DiBenedetto were scored in fifth and 13th while Elliott and Kurt Busch were running in second and third behind Kyle Busch. By then, Johnson was scored outside of the cutline in the standings.

Another lap later, things got tight for the lead pack running three wide as the field had to avoid Chastain, who was being lapped and was running as close to the outside wall in Turn 3. In addition, entering Turn 4, Blaney wiggled following contact with Jones, but he managed to straighten his car without spinning it in the middle of the pack.

With 35 laps remaining, the Chevrolet competitors led by Elliott and including Kurt Busch, Byron, Stenhouse, Bowman, Wallace, Austin Dillon, Reddick, Johnson and Kenseth made a pit stop under green for fuel. Another lap later, the Toyota competitors led by Kyle Busch and including Hamlin, Jones, Truex, Bell and Suarez pitted. Poole and Chastain also pitted with the Toyota competitors.

With 30 laps remaining, 13 Ford competitors led by Logano and followed by DiBenedetto, McDowell, Buescher and Nemechek were at the front of the pack. Shortly after, the Ford competitors led by Logano and including Buescher, Nemechek, Newman, Keselowski, Bowyer, McDowell, Blaney, Almirola, Harvick, LaJoie and Custer pitted for fuel.

Back on track, Kyle Busch assumed the lead followed by teammate Hamlin, Byron, Kurt Busch, Austin Dillon and a number of competitors running in a single-file line with less than 30 laps remaining. With the laps continuing to wind down, the competition heating up towards the front and with 20 laps remaining, Kyle Busch was still leading ahead of teammate Hamlin, Byron, Kurt Busch, Austin Dillon and Logano. Behind, Johnson was in 20th and scored outside of the top-16 cutline behind Byron and DiBenedetto, who was in 17th. In addition, Stenhouse, who made a handful of attempts to grab the lead on the inside lane, was back in 12th.

With 18 laps remaining, the caution flew when James Davison spun in Turn 3. Under caution, some like Byron, Elliott, Johnson, Bowman, Blaney, Almirola, Harvick, Ty Dillon, Buescher, Newman and Suarez pitted while the rest led by Kyle Busch remained on track.

The racing under green resumed with 13 laps remaining and with teammates Kyle Busch and Hamlin on the front row. At the start, Kyle Busch moved in front of Hamlin’s No. 11 FedEx Toyota Camry to retain the lead. Three laps later, with the competition at the front heating up and with 10 laps remaining, Kyle Busch was still leading ahead of Hamlin, Kurt Busch, Bell, McDowell, Buescher and a multitude of cars.

A lap later, Kurt Busch and his No. 1 Monster Energy Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE gained a run underneath brother Kyle to lead a lap, but Kyle reassumed the lead past the tri-oval. Behind, Reddick started to gain a huge run on the outside lane. In Turns 2 and 3, Reddick made a move beneath Kyle Busch for the lead.

In Turn 3, Reddick moved up the track and tried to squeeze and slide in front of Busch’s No. 18 Toyota. While trying to slide in front of Busch’s car, however, they touched and made contact with the outside wall. In addition, a chain reaction accident erupted that collected Jones, Kurt Busch, Truex, Austin Dillon, Stenhouse, Ryan Preece, McDowell and Newman. In the midst of the wreck, DiBenedetto along with teammates Johnson and Byron made it through with no damage to their respective cars. Following the carnage, Hamlin emerged with the lead over Reddick and the race was red-flagged for 10 minutes.

When the red flag was lifted and the race resumed under green with five laps remaining, Hamlin and Reddick battled for the lead dead even through Turn 1 while Reddick gained a push from Buescher and his No. 17 Fifth Third Bank Ford Mustang to move into the lead in Turn 2. The following lap, Logano drafted Hamlin to the lead and blocked a run from Bowyer while Reddick fell back to fourth.

In Turn 1, the following lap, Wallace started to form a third line on the outside lane and started to draft Logano to the front. With two laps remaining, Logano crossed over Hamlin at the tri-oval to move back into the lead while Wallace started to mount a challenge on the outside lane.

Entering Turn 1, however, Hamlin made contact with Logano and he bumped into Wallace, though all three kept their respective cars pointing straight. In addition, Byron stuck his nose in between Wallace, Logano and Hamlin in a four-wide battle for the lead as more contact was made amongst the leaders. With sparks flying underneath his car, Logano was turned off the front nose of DiBenedetto and made hard contact against the outside wall before being hit by Custer. In addition, another multi-car accident erupted that collected Reddick, Kenseth, Bell, Bowman, Suarez and Nemechek. Also involved was Johnson, who was hit by Kenseth across the outside wall, spun and sustained heavy damage to his No. 48 Ally Chevrolet. Following the accident, where Byron, Wallace and DiBenedetto managed to escape the carnage, the race was red-flagged for more than five minutes.

When the second red flag period was lifted and the race restarted under green in overtime, Hamlin and Byron were on the front row ahead of Bowyer and DiBenedetto. Way behind the leaders, Johnson continued on the lead lap following repairs to his car.

At the front, Byron received a push from Bowyer on the inside lane to take the lead ahead of Hamlin. In Turn 2, however, Bell and his No. 95 Rheem Toyota Camry gained a run to Byron’s rear bumper. When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Byron was still ahead. Behind, Truex moved up to second after passing Bell and started to challenge Byron for the lead on the outside lane. In Turn 1, Bowyer and his No. 14 Haas Automation Ford Mustang slipped following contact with Hamlin and he made contact with the outside wall. Behind him, Harvick, who had made contact with Buescher a lap earlier in Turn 2, also got into the wall amid a shower of sparks after cutting a tire.

At the front and with no caution flying, Truex and Byron continued to battle dead even for the lead and the win. Right behind them through Turn 2, LaJoie spun and made contact with the wall after being bumped by Bell while Almirola and Ty Dillon also wrecked. With still no caution flying and with Bell making contact with the wall, Byron fought back on the inside lane entering Turn 3 and received a push from teammate Elliott and his No. 9 Hooters Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE to retain the lead while Truex lost his momentum after being placed in a three-wide battle with Hamlin and Brendan Gaughan.

Entering Turn 4 and with the checkered flag flying, Byron was able to hold off Elliott and a small pack of cars to streak across the finish line in first place and grab a win and a spot in the Playoffs.

With the victory, Byron recorded the 260th NASCAR Cup career win for Hendrick Motorsports and the first win for the No. 24 car since November 2015 at Martinsville Speedway, which was last made by NASCAR Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon. In addition, Byron and Gordon are the only competitors to record a Cup win while driving the No. 24 car. The Charlotte native also became the 195th competitor to win a Cup race, the second first-time winner of this season and the 34th competitor to record a win across NASCAR’s three major division series (Cup, Xfinity and Truck Series). In addition, crew chief Chad Knaus recorded his first Cup win since June 2017 at Dover International Speedway and he extended his Playoff appearance as a title contender to 17 consecutive seasons.

Ironically, this marked the third consecutive season where the second Cup race at Daytona’s oval-shaped circuit produced a first-time winner (Erik Jones in 2018 and Justin Haley in 2019).

“This is incredible, man,” Byron said on NBC at the tri-oval and with fans present at the facility. “I’m just extremely blessed. It’s been a hard couple of year in the Cup Series and trying to get my first win, try to gel with this team and these guys have done an awesome job today and got us in the Playoffs. It’s amazing, man. [Daytona is] Probably the hardest track to points race. We didn’t have a great Stage 2, kind of got back in the pack, got shuffled when everyone went single file. [I] Thought my hopes were up there. We were racing around [DiBenedetto] and [Johnson] in the final stage. I was like, ‘Man, I got to really make something happen.’ Luckily, I was able to push [Wallace], [Logano] and him made some contact and opened up a hole for me. I wasn’t gonna lift, so it’s awesome. Thanks to Liberty University, Chevrolet. Thanks to God. It’s amazing.”

Elliott finished in second place nearly two weeks after he won on Daytona’s road course layout. Teammates Hamlin and Truex finished third and fourth while Wallace made a late rally to finish in fifth place for his third top-five career finish in the Cup Series.

Blaney finished in sixth place while Bowman, Gaughan, Buescher and Keselowski rounded out the top 10.

DiBenedetto finished 12th and secured one of two final spots to the Playoffs while Johnson finished 17th and failed to make the postseason in his final full-time season of racing.

“First and foremost, congratulations to my teammate getting his first Cup win like that,” Johnson said. “This setting and the drama to go with it – that’s a big win for Chad Knaus and William Byron. I’m really happy for those guys. I really felt like we had a way to transfer, to win, or point our way in the way it went in the first two stages. Things just got ugly down in turn one. Unfortunate, but that’s plate racing. The last couple of months, we’ve been really getting our act together and running well. Definitely disappointed to not be in the Playoffs – that was the number one goal to start the year. But, when I look back at the disqualification at Charlotte and then missing the Brickyard 400 due to my COVID-19 positive test and only miss it by six points – we did all that we could this year. I’m so thankful for Hendrick Motorsports and the career that I’ve had there, the relationship with Ally and their continued support for this race team. [Crew chief] Cliff Daniels and these guys on my team – they pour their guts out for me. There’s 10 races left, 10 trophies to go chase and we’ll have to focus our efforts there.”

“We made it!” DiBenedetto exclaimed. “I don’t care how we did it. I wasn’t, obviously, super thrilled with the finish. We couldn’t get going there on the restart. I don’t care. My goal was to come in here and make it. We had some really good competitors. Obviously, Jimmie [Johnson] and Willy B. [William Byron]. Congrats to him on his first win. Man, I wanted this so bad for this team, for Menards, Dutch Boy, Motorcraft, Quicklane and the Wood Brothers! Man, driving for the Wood Brothers. It’s something special. We’ll celebrate tomorrow and have a good day. It’s gonna be time to get to work, but I’m so glad we made the Playoffs. This team deserves this. I’m mentally tired after that one.”

Kevin Harvick, Denny Hamlin, Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano, Chase Elliott, Martin Truex Jr., Ryan Blaney, Alex Bowman, William Byron, Austin Dillon, Cole Custer, Aric Almirola, Clint Bowyer, Kyle Busch, Kurt Busch and Matt DiBenedetto will make up the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series Playoff field.

Drivers that include Jimmie Johnson, Erik Jones, Tyler Reddick, Christopher Bell, Chris Buescher, Bubba Wallace, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Michael McDowell, Ryan Newman, John Hunter Nemechek, Ty Dillon, Matt Kenseth, Corey LaJoie, Ryan Preece, Daniel Suarez, Brennan Poole and Quin Houff missed the Playoffs and will not contend for this year’s championship battle.

There were 35 lead changes for 16 different leaders. The race featured six cautions for 21 laps.

Results.

1. William Byron, 24 laps led

2. Chase Elliott

3. Denny Hamlin, nine laps led

4. Martin Truex Jr., 14 laps led

5. Bubba Wallace

6. Ryan Blaney, one lap led

7. Alex Bowman, one lap led

8. Brendan Gaughan

9. Chris Buescher

10. Brad Keselowski, one lap led

11. John Hunter Nemechek

12. Matt DiBenedetto

13. Christopher Bell, two laps led

14. Michael McDowell, two laps led

15. Brennan Poole

16. Ross Chastain

17. Jimmie Johnson

18. Aric Almirola, one lap led

19. Clint Bowyer

20. Kevin Harvick, six laps led

21. Corey LaJoie – OUT, Accident

22. Ty Dillon – OUT, Accident

23. Quin Houff, two laps down

24. Timmy Hill, three laps down

25. Austin Dillon, three laps down

26. Daniel Suarez – OUT, Accident, 19 laps led

27. Joey Logano – OUT, Accident, 36 laps led, Stage 1 & 2 winner

28. Matt Kenseth – OUT, Accident

29. Tyler Reddick – OUT, Accident, one lap led

30. Cole Custer – OUT, Accident

31. Joey Gase, six laps down

32. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – OUT, Accident

33. Kyle Busch – OUT, Accident, 31 laps led

34. Kurt Busch – OUT, Accident, one lap led

35. Erik Jones – OUT, Accident, 15 laps led

36. Ryan Newman – OUT, Accident

37. Ryan Preece – OUT, Accident

38. Josh Bilicki, 13 laps down

39. James Davison – OUT, Accident

40. J.J. Yeley – OUT, Engine

The 2020 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs will commence on September 6 at Darlington Raceway for the Cook Out Southern 500. The race will air at 6 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

August 30, 2020
Harvick records milestone win for Ford at Dover, clinches regular-season championship

The moment Kevin Harvick, who started 17th, stormed to the lead in the the closing laps of the first stage, it was lights out for the driver of the No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford compared to the rest of the competition. From there, Harvick went on to sweep both stages and storm to a dominating win in the second Drydene 311 event at Dover International Speedway on Sunday, August 23.

The victory was Harvick’s seventh of the season, third at Dover and the 56th of his NASCAR Cup Series career. In addition, Harvick notched the 700th Cup career win for Ford and he clinched his first regular-season championship after maintaining the lead in the regular-season standings by 134 points over Denny Hamlin.

The starting lineup was based on the results from Saturday’s Cup event, where only the top-20 finishers were inverted for Sunday’s race. With that, Matt DiBenedetto started on pole position and was joined on the front row by Ryan Newman.

Kurt Busch and Alex Bowman started at the rear of the field after they elected to race in backup cars on Sunday along with Garrett Smithley due to an engine change.

When the green flag waved, DiBenedetto took off with the lead and he led the first lap while Aric Almirola worked his way to second place after passing Newman. Behind, Austin Dillon was in fourth while Chris Buescher moved up to fifth.

Shortly after, Ryan Blaney moved up into the top five as he was running in fourth place behind Newman and in front of Austin Dillon, teammate Tyler Reddick and Buescher.

While the competitors around the track continued to battle early and hard for positions, the caution flew around the fifth lap when contact from Joey Logano entering Turn 4 got Ricky Stenhouse Jr. loose as Stenhouse spun and made contact with the inside wall backwards. In the ensuing chaos, Chase Elliott sustained damage to the front nose of his No. 9 NAPA Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE after running into the rear bumper of Kyle Busch’s No. 18 Interstate Batteries Toyota Camry while Garrett Smithley and Joey Gase spun entering Turn 4 as Gase made hard contact with the outside wall.

Following the wreck, Elliott and Gase retired while Kyle Busch, Stenhouse and Smithley continued. Under caution, Erik Jones made a pit stop after he sustained minimal damage to his No. 20 Reser’s Fine Foods Toyota Camry.

When the race restarted under green on Lap 11, Almirola and his No. 10 Smithfield Hometown Original Ford Mustang gained a strong start on the inside lane to take over the lead from DiBenedetto and the Wood Brothers Racing’s No. 21 Menards/Richmond Ford Mustang. Behind, Blaney moved up to second place while DiBenedetto settled in third place ahead of Newman. Reddick moved up to fifth place in front of teammate Austin Dillon and Brad Keselowski.

Meanwhile, Denny Hamlin and his No. 11 FedEx Toyota Camry were in 12th place in front of William Byron while Jimmie Johnson and his No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE were in 15th in front of Kevin Harvick. Martin Truex Jr. was in 17th ahead of Bubba Wallace and Matt Kenseth. Kurt Busch was back in 22nd while Alex Bowman was in 24th. Jones was in 27th while Kyle Busch was back in 29th.

Following the first 20 laps, Almirola was leading by a second over Blaney followed by DiBenedetto, Reddick and Austin Dillon. Behind Logano moved up to eighth place after passing Newman while rookie Cole Custer was scored in seventh behind Keselowski. Buescher, on the other hand, had fallen back to 10th in front of Clint Bowyer.

Six laps later, on Lap 26, the battling behind the leaders continued to ensue as Hamlin moved into the top 10 after passing Newman. Just behind him, Harvick moved up to 11th while Truex was in 13th ahead of Buescher. Shortly after, Harvick passed Hamlin for 10th place while Truex moved up to 12th. Meanwhile, Byron was in 13th place and running two spots ahead of teammate and rival for the final Playoff spot, Johnson. Way behind, Kyle Busch was in 24th while Kurt Busch was in 25th.

Just past the Lap 30 mark, the caution returned due to debris spotted on the track. Under caution, most of the leaders led by Almirola, DiBenedetto and Keselowski pitted while others led by Blaney, Byron and Kurt Busch remained on track.

When the race restarted on Lap 39, Blaney took off with the lead following a strong start on the outside lane while Byron moved up to the runner-up spot. By the following lap, DiBenedetto, the first one on fresh tires, made his way up to third place followed by Keselowski while Kurt Busch fell back to fifth place. Behind, Austin Dillon was in sixth place in front of Johnson, Almirola, Logano and Custer. Harvick was up in 11th and primed to move back into the top 10 while Bowyer, Hamlin and Truex were in 13th, 14th and 15th.

By Lap 50, Blaney and his No. 12 Advance Auto Parts Ford Mustang were leading by more than a second over Byron and his No. 24 AXALTA Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE. DiBenedetto, Keselowski and Kurt Busch continued to run inside the top five while Almirola passed Johnson to move into seventh place. Harvick and Logano were in ninth and 10th while Bowyer, Hamlin and Truex continued to run within the top 15. Wallace was in 17th in between Alex Bowman and Jones while Buescher and Kenseth were in the top 20. Newman was back in 22nd ahead of Daniel Suarez while Kyle Busch was back in 25th in between Ty Dillon and rookie Christopher Bell.

Six laps later, Harvick continued his march to the front as he passed Austin Dillon and Kurt Busch to move up to sixth while Johnson continued to retain ninth place ahead of Logano. Towards the front, Keselowski muscled his way to third place and DiBenedetto and Almirola continued to battle while Harvick joined the party.

With all the battling around the track continuing to take place, Blaney was still leading by more than a second over Byron. By Lap 62, however, Harvick moved up to third place after passing Keselowski. Four laps later, Harvick and his No. 4 Mobil 1 Ford Mustang moved into second place after passing Byron as he started to reel in to race leader Blaney for the first stage win with a fast car.

On the penultimate lap of the stage, Harvick took the lead from Blaney following a pass on the outside lane and he was gone from there as he claimed the first stage on Lap 70 and his sixth stage victory of the season. Blaney settled in second behind Harvick while Byron, Almirola, and Keselowski were scored in the top five followed by Logano, DiBenedetto. Johnson, Kurt Busch and Austin Dillon.

Under the stage break, the leaders pitted and Harvick retained the lead following a stellar stop from the No. 4 pit crew. Blaney exited second ahead of Byron, Logano and Keselowski. Following the pit stops, however, Almirola was sent to the rear of the field due to speeding on pit road.

Shortly after, the red flag was displayed and the race was halted for more than 12 minutes due to safety workers repairing the concrete/pavement in between Turns 3 and 4.

Once the engines re-fired, the cars returned under cautious pace and the racing under green resumed on Lap 78, Harvick rocketed away with the lead on the outside lane followed by Blaney and Logano while Byron fell back to fourth. Behind, Hamlin and Keselowski battled for fifth place while Truex, Johnson and DiBenedetto were battling in the top 10 ahead of Bowyer and his No. 14 Haas Automation Ford Mustang.

More than 10 laps later on Lap 90, Harvick was still leading by more than a second over Blaney and more than two seconds over Logano and Byron with Hamlin trailing by more than four seconds and Keselowski by more than five seconds. With Byron in fourth, teammate Johnson was in eighth ahead of DiBenedetto, Bowyer and Kurt Busch. Rookies Custer and Reddick were in 12th and 14th while Jones was in 15th ahead of Wallace, Kenseth and Kyle Busch. Almirola was back in 21st ahead of Austin Dillon and Bell while Newman was in 25th.

Just shy of the Lap 100 mark, the caution returned due to a spin involving Corey LaJoie in Turn 2 following contact with Ty Dillon. Under caution, the leaders pitted and Logano emerged with the lead after exiting first ahead of Harvick and Blaney while Truex and Hamlin exited inside the top five ahead of Byron. Following the pits stops, however, Johnson was sent to the rear of the field due to speeding on pit road.

When the race restarted on Lap 106, Logano and Harvick battled dead even through Turns 1 and 2 before Logano and his No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang prevailed by clearing Harvick and the field. Blaney, Hamlin and Truex continued running in a single-file lane in the top five followed by Byron, Keselowski, Bell, Kurt Busch and DiBenedetto. Soon after, Bell and DiBenedetto battled intensely for ninth place with Custer and Bowyer trailing behind.

At the front, Harvick started to intimidate Logano for the lead. After spending the previous few laps trying to gain a run and navigate his way around Logano, Harvick prevailed and reassumed the lead on Lap 115. Meanwhile, Byron was in sixth while Johnson was up to 23rd.

By Lap 130, with the field settling into single-file racing, Harvick was still leading by more than a second over Logano with Blaney trailing by less than three seconds. Hamlin and Truex were still in the top five followed by Byron. Keselowski, Kurt Busch, DiBenedetto and Bowyer continued racing in the top 10 while Almirola was in 13th in between Bowman and Reddick. Austin Dillon was in 15th ahead of Jones, Johnson, Kenseth, Buescher and Kyle Busch. Wallace was back in 23rd ahead of Newman and Michael McDowell.

Ten laps later and on Lap 140, Harvick was at the front of the field by more than two seconds over Logano with Blaney and Hamlin trailing by less than five seconds.

Another twenty five laps later and past the halfway mark, Harvick extended his advantage to more than seven seconds over Penske teammates Logano and Blaney. Joe Gibbs Racing’s Hamlin and Truex were in fourth and fifth as both continued to reel in the Penske teammates. Behind, Byron was in fifth place while teammate Bowman, racing in a backup car, was in sixth. Behind, Johnson was up in 12th in between Stewart-Haas Racing’s Bowyer and Almirola while Kurt Busch was in 10th behind Keselowski and Custer. DiBenedetto was in 15th ahead of Buescher and Reddick while Kyle Busch was in 19th. Behind, competitors like Jones, Newman, Wallace, McDowell, Bell, Ryan Preece, LaJoie, Suarez and Ty Dillon were pinned a lap behind the leaders.

By Lap 180 and with the laps in the second stage winding down, Harvick continued to extend his advantage as he was leading by more than eight seconds over Logano. Behind, Hamlin and Truex made a three-wide move on Blaney as Hamlin moved up to third place in front of Truex while Blaney was back in fifth place in front of Byron.

With no challengers mounting close behind his fast car, Harvick streaked across the start/finish line to claim the second stage on Lap 185 for his seventh stage victory of the season. By then, he clinched the regular-season championship and will earn an extra 15 points towards the 2020 Cup Playoffs in September. Logano settled behind Harvick followed by Hamlin, Truex and Blaney. Byron, Bowman, Custer, Johnson and Keselowski were scored in the top 10.

Under the stage break, the leaders pitted and Harvick retained the lead followed by Logano, Hamlin, Truex, Byron and Blaney. Prior to the start of the final stage, Hamlin opted to restart beneath Harvick on the front row while Logano restarted in the second row and on the outside lane next to Truex’s No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry.

With approximately 190 laps remaining, the final stage commenced as Harvick rocketed away with the lead. Logano moved up to second place ahead of Hamlin and Truex while Byron, Bowman and Blaney battled for more. Johnson was in 10th place ahead of Kurt Busch while Almirola worked his way back to 12th in front of teammate Bowyer. DiBenedetto was back in 15th while Kyle Busch was in 18th ahead of Reddick. Jones, meanwhile, was in 27th and pinned a lap behind the leaders.

At the Lap 200 mark and with 111 laps remaining, Harvick was leading by more than a second over Logano with Hamlin trailing by more than two seconds and Truex and Byron trailing by less than four seconds.

With 100 laps remaining, Harvick’s advantage extended to more than two seconds over Logano while Hamlin and Truex were stabilized in third and fourth. Byron was in fifth, four spots ahead of teammate Johnson with Almirola trailing Johnson. Almirola and Bowyer were in 10th and 11th followed by Kurt Busch. DiBenedetto was still in 15th while Kyle Busch made his way up to 16th.

Four laps later, the caution returned when rookie Quin Houff got loose and spun in Turn 1 from the outside lane and down to the banking. Under caution, the leaders pitted and Harvick retained the lead after exiting pit road first followed by Logano, Hamlin, Truex, Bowman and Byron.

With 90 laps remaining, the race restarted under green as Harvick, once again, jumped ahead with the advantage. While Hamlin and Logano pursued Harvick for the lead, Truex retained fourth place ahead of Bowman, Byron and Blaney while Bowyer passed teammate Custer for eighth place. Behind, Johnson was back in 13th behind Keselowski and ahead of Kyle Busch while Kurt Busch and DiBenedetto were back in 17th and 18th.

With less than 85 laps remaining, Hamlin dropped off the pace and made an unscheduled pit stop to address a loose wheel as his hopes of winning two Dover races in one weekend evaporated.

At the front, Harvick continued to lead by two seconds over Logano while Truex trailed by more than three seconds. Hamlin’s misfortune moved Hendrick Motorsports’ teammates Bowman and Byron back into the top five while Stewart-Haas Racing’s Bowyer and Almirola battled for seventh place. Johnson moved back into 10th place behind Custer while Kyle Busch and Kurt Busch moved up to 13th and 15th.

Less than 60 laps remaining, Harvick’s advantage grew to more than three seconds over Logano while Truex trailed the leaders by less than five seconds. Behind Bowman and Byron, Almirola was up in sixth place in front of Blaney while Johnson was in ninth in between teammates Bowyer and Custer. Not long after, Bowyer and Johnson passed Blaney and then, Johnson passed Bowyer to move into seventh place.

With 50 laps remaining and with dark clouds starting to overshadow the track, Harvick was leading by more than four seconds over Logano while Truex trailed by five seconds. Byron was in fifth place while Johnson continued his march towards the front in seventh place. By then, Blaney had fallen back to 11th place while Custer and Austin Dillon occupied the final spots in the top 10.

With less than 40 laps remaining, Harvick’s advantage grew to more than five seconds over Logano as he was also navigating his way through lapped traffic. Meanwhile, Johnson passed Almirola to move up to sixth place as he started to pursue his teammate/Playoff rival Byron for more.

Down to under 25 laps remaining, the caution returned when LaJoie made contact with the Turn 3 outside wall after cutting a right-front tire. The caution all but evaporated Harvick’s advantage of more than five seconds over Logano, Truex and Bowman while Johnson was behind Byron by more than a second for fifth place.

Under caution, the leaders pitted and Johnson emerged with the lead following a gusty two-tire pit stop. Harvick exited in second followed by Harvick, Truex, Bowman, Logano and Byron.

With 17 laps remaining, the racing under green resumed as Johnson and his No. 48 Chevrolet retained the lead for three turns. Through Turns 3 and 4, however, Harvick was back in command with the lead as Johnson retained second place in front of Truex. Byron, meanwhile, was in fourth place.

Four laps later, Truex moved into second place as Johnson had teammates Byron in the No. 24 car and Bowman in the No. 88 car in his rearview mirror. Another four laps later and with 10 laps remaining, Harvick extended his lead to nearly three seconds over Truex while Johnson was still in third place just ahead of teammates Byron and Bowman. Behind, Kyle Busch battled Custer for the final spot in the top 10.

For the final five laps, while the field around the track continued to battle for positions, Harvick was long gone from the field and he had enough of a big cushion over Truex to streak his No. 4 Ford across the finish line and grab another win to a dominating season and in his quest for his second Cup championship.

With 56 Cup career wins, Harvick moved into a tie with Kyle Busch for ninth place on the all-time NASCAR Cup wins list. In addition, Harvick became the third competitor to clinch the regular-season title since its inception in 2017 as he also recorded the 63rd Cup career win for Stewart-Haas Racing.

“I have to thank everybody on our Mobil 1 Ford Mustang,” Harvick said in Victory Lane on NBCSN. “Congratulations to Ford on their 700th Cup win. Just really got to thank everybody on this team. [Crew chief] Rodney [Childers] and everybody at Stewart-Haas Racing for overcoming what happened yesterday with the track bar, being able to nail the balance today. Man, what a year. What a seven years. Just really, really proud of everybody at Stewart-Haas Racing for being able to drive this car. Week after week, they just put so much effort into making this thing go fast and it’s just been a great year. I love the grit about our race team. I think that’s what Gene Haas and Tony Stewart have built at Stewart-Haas Racing. Sometimes, we don’t have the fastest car, but we have guys that are willing to just suck it up and win. We have a weak link on that day, somebody else is gonna carry the team. Just really proud of that because that’s what it’s all about. You’re only as good as the people around you, and we have great people.”

Truex rallied from vibration issues in the closing laps to finish in the runner-up spot for the second day in a row. Compared to Saturday’s run in the late stages, Truex had nothing for race winner Harvick.

“Definitely not the same way [as Saturday],” Truex said. “I thought, if anything, we were probably a little bit worse today. We tried some things overnight, definitely didn’t do what we hoped it would do. Live and learn. It was a tough day. The Bass Pro Camry had good speed. It was just a handful again. Just never could get it to do what we wanted it to do. We fought hard, we battled. We executed well. Came home with a good result. We’ll keep working to try to get a little bit better. A finish [at Daytona] would be fabulous. If not, hopefully, we’ll pay it forward with a little bit of luck for Talladega in the Playoffs.”

Behind, Johnson held off teammates Byron and Bowman to finish in third place in his 38th and final event at the Monster Mile. With their results and the stage points both earned on Sunday, Byron holds sole possession of the 16th and final spot to the Playoffs by four points over teammate Johnson heading into next weekend’s regular-season finale at Daytona International Speedway.

Logano finished in sixth place while Almirola, Keselowski, Austin Dillon and Custer finished in the top 10 ahead of Kyle Busch, Blaney, Kurt Busch, Buescher and Kenseth.

Based on their top-15 results, Almirola and the Busch brothers secured spots for this year’s Cup Playoffs based on points along with Bowyer, who finished 16th, ahead of DiBenedetto.

Sunday’s Cup race capped off an eventful weekend of motorsports racing at the Monster Mile that involved a Cup race on Saturday, two Xfinity Series races on back-to-back dates, a Truck Series and an ARCA Menards Series event on Friday. Prior to Harvick’s win, the 104th running of the Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway occurred, with Takuma Sato achieving his second Indy title over Scott Dixon and Graham Rahal.

There were 15 lead changes for six different leaders. The race featured seven cautions for 40 laps.

Results.

1. Kevin Harvick, 223 laps led, Stage 1 & 2 winner

2. Martin Truex Jr.

3. Jimmie Johnson, three laps led

4. William Byron

5. Alex Bowman

6. Joey Logano, 15 laps led

7. Aric Almirola, 22 laps led

8. Brad Keselowski

9. Austin Dillon

10. Cole Custer

11. Kyle Busch

12. Ryan Blaney, 37 laps led

13. Kurt Busch

14. Chris Buescher

15. Matt Kenseth

16. Clint Bowyer

17. Matt DiBenedetto, 11 laps led

18. Tyler Reddick

19. Denny Hamlin

20. John Hunter Nemechek

21. Bubba Wallace

22. Erik Jones, one lap down

23. Corey LaJoie, one lap down

24. Ryan Newman, one lap down

25. Michael McDowell, one lap down

26. Ryan Preece, one lap down

27. Christopher Bell, one lap down

28. Daniel Suarez, two laps down

29. Ty Dillon, two laps down

30. Brennan Poole, six laps down

31. B.J. McLeod, eight laps down

32. Josh Bilicki, nine laps down

33. Reed Sorenson, nine laps down

34. Quin Houff, nine laps down

35. Garrett Smithley, 15 laps down

36. Timmy Hill – OUT

37. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., 96 laps down

38. J.J. Yeley – OUT

39. Chase Elliott – OUT, Accident

40. Joey Gase – OUT, Accident

The NASCAR Cup Series will return to Daytona International Speedway for the Coke Zero Sugar 400 and the site of the final regular-season event on Saturday, August 29, where the 2020 Cup Playoffs will be determined. The race will air at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBC.

August 23, 2020
2020 NASCAR Cup Rookie of the Year mid-season review

Five months after the first green flag of the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season waved, the series has reached its halfway mark of this year. During the first 18 races of the 36-race schedule, a lot has occurred within the sport both on and off the track. From Ryan Newman’s harrowing accident on the final lap of the Daytona 500 to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic that paused the on-track racing from nearly two months, from the sport returning at Darlington Raceway in May to running doubleheaders and four to five division series races a week, this season has been like none other in recent years. Among the storylines that have been ongoing throughout this year’s racing season has been the battle for this year’s Rookie-of-the-Year title between six up-and-coming competitors working their way to emerge as the next future stars of the Cup Series.

Through the first 18 Cup races of this season, Tyler Reddick continues to lead the way in the rookie standings. Even though he is currently 17th in the regular-season standings and is 14 points shy of moving into the top-16 cutline to qualify for the Playoffs, Reddick has recorded a stage win at Talladega Superspeedway in June, the most top-10 results (six) and the best average result (17.17) among his five fellow rookie contenders. He is coming off a career-best result of second place at Texas Motor Speedway, where he finished behind teammate and race winner Austin Dillon following a late strategic call for fuel only. His previous best result was fourth place at Homestead-Miami Speedway in June. In addition to his stats, another factor the Corning, California, native has displayed through the first half of this season is the speed to keep pace and contend against NASCAR’s elite on a weekly basis. With eight races remaining until the Playoffs is set, Reddick and his No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE team led by crew chief Randall Burnett look to carry the speed and competitiveness throughout this season and from winning the previous two Xfinity Series championships towards contending for the 2020 Cup title.

Trailing behind Reddick is Christopher Bell. For Bell, it has been an up-and-down first half of his rookie Cup campaign that has seen a major improvement entering the second half of the season. For the first five races of the year, the Oklahoma native and the No. 95 Leavine Family Racing Toyota Camry team finished no higher than 21st, sustained two DNFs and were ranked 32nd in the regular-season standings. Since the second Darlington race in May through last weekend’s race at Texas, Bell has recorded five top-10 results and has worked his way up to 21st in the standings. His highlight run was at Pocono Raceway in June, the first of two Pocono races of the weekend, where he rallied from starting 36th to record a career-best fourth-place result ahead of former boss Kyle Busch. He is, however, 102 points below the top-16 cutline to make the Playoffs and needs to generate more strong results to come within reach of the Playoffs mark. With Bell and Leavine Family Racing’s future uncertain beyond 2020, the combo aims to strive for more and emerge as a competitive single-car organization for this season and beyond.

Also trailing Reddick for the lead in the rookie standings is Cole Custer. While Reddick leads this year’s rookie class, the thing that Custer has, and the others rookies do not have, is a win. That was the case in July, when Custer made a bold, four-wide pass for the lead on the final lap against top names like Ryan Blaney, Kevin Harvick and Martin Truex Jr. to score his first NASCAR Cup career win in his 20th series start and in an upset fashion. The victory not only made Custer as the first rookie contender to win a Cup race since 2016, but it also guaranteed the Californian and his No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford Mustang team a spot to this year’s Playoffs with an opportunity to contend for a Cup title. Prior to the win, Custer’s season started off on a low note with a lone top-10 result (ninth) at Phoenix in March along with seven results outside the top 20 in the first 16 races of the season. The turning point came at Indianapolis Motor Speedway during the Fourth of July weekend, where he recorded his first top-five finish in NASCAR’s premier series. A week later, ironically, Custer won his first Cup race at Kentucky. Despite being involved in a multi-car wreck last weekend at Texas, Custer and his team appear to adapt to this year’s weekly approach of starting in a position based on a random draw and diving into competitive race trim on race day. With the Playoffs a month away from commencing, Custer and his team have time to continue to gain more momentum and contend for more wins and points that would make the Californian not only a potential Rookie-of-the-Year winner, but also as a title threat for this season.

Next up is John Hunter Nemechek. A third-generation driver from Mooresville, North Carolina, the opportunity for Nemechek to move to the Cup level came in the final three races of the 2019 season, when he took over the Front Row Motorsports Ford entry driven by Matt Tifft. When Tifft suffered a seizure and opted to focus on his health, Nemechek was named one of two full-time competitors for FRM. He started off his rookie season strong by finishing 11th in the Daytona 500 before he recorded finishes outside the top 20 the following three races. He rebounded on a strong note at Darlington in May by finishing ninth for his first top-10 career result in the Cup level. He finished in the top 20 in four of the next seven races before recording a career-best finish of eighth at Talladega, a result where Nemechek was in race-winning position before being involved in an incident approaching the finish line. Thus far, he has finished in the top 20 nine times and he is currently 25th in the regular-season standings, 120 points below the cutline. With the recent string of consistent finishes inside the top 15 to 20 results and the momentum building for Front Row Motorsports, Nemechek looks to place an FRM entry into their first postseason appearance since 2016 and extend the on-track success previously displayed by his father, Joe.

Behind him is Brennan Poole. Like Bell, this season marks Poole’s first season ever racing in the Cup level, an opportunity that he announced last December when signing with Premium Motorsports. Unlike Bell, Poole has struggled in keeping pace with his fellow rookie contenders. His lone highlight was finishing 16th in the season-opening Daytona 500 in his first Cup race. For the next 17 races, he has finished no higher than 24th, which occurred at Bristol Motor Speedway in May. With the Texas native 32nd in the regular-season standings, he needs to grab a win and work his way into the top 30 in the standings to have any shot towards making this year’s Playoffs.

Last but not least is Quin Houff, who was promoted to a full-time driving role in StarCom Racing’s No. 00 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE for the 2020 and 2021 Cup seasons. Since his start this season, however, Houff has finished no higher than 23rd, which he finished at Indianapolis. He has also recorded five DNFs this season, including last weekend at Texas, where a last-minute turn to slow and come to pit road resulted with him clipping the cars of Bell and Matt DiBenedetto before wrecking himself out of the race. It was a move that was met by sharp criticism by Brad Keselowski. He is 34th in the regular-season standings and like Poole, he needs to grab a win and generate consistent results towards the front to work his way into the top 30 in the standings and have any shot for this year’s Playoffs.

While Reddick leads the 2020 Cup Rookie-of-the-Year standings through the first half of this season, Harrison Burton leads the current Xfinity Series rookie standings while Christian Eckes leads the current Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series rookie standings.

The Cup rookie contenders will embark on an 18-race stretch to conclude this year’s racing season and strive for more on-track success for the future, beginning on Thursday, July 23, for the Super Start Batteries 400 at Kansas Speedway. The race will air at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

July 23, 2020
Truex on pole position for NASCAR All-Star Race

The 2017 NASCAR Cup Series champion Martin Truex Jr. will start on pole position for the 2020 NASCAR All-Star Race on Wednesday, July 15, by virtue of a random draw. The lineup was revealed during Monday night’s coverage of NASCAR Race Hub on FS1.

Truex, who is in his second season driving the No. 19 Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing, is ranked seventh in the Cup Series regular-season standings and trails points leader Kevin Harvick by 132 points. He is guaranteed a spot in the 2020 Playoffs by virtue of his victory at Martinsville Speedway in June. He will also make his ninth career start in NASCAR’s All-Star feature.

Joining Truex on the front row is Alex Bowman, who will make his third consecutive All-Star Race appearance. Ryan Blaney, who will make his fourth consecutive All-Star start, will start third followed by newcomer Justin Haley, who will make his All-Star Race debut. Kevin Harvick, a two-time winner of the All-Star Race, will start fifth.

Matt Kenseth, the 2004 All-Star Race champion who will pilot the No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE that won last year’s race with Kyle Larson, will start in sixth followed by the 2010 All-Star winner and teammate Kurt Busch. Rookie Cole Custer, coming off his thrilling victory last Sunday at Kentucky Speedway, will roll off the grid in eighth while making his All-Star Race debut. Brad Keselowski will start ninth while Kyle Busch, the 2017 All-Star Race champion, will round out the top 10.

Ryan Newman, the 2002 All-Star Race champion, will start 11th alongside Joey Logano, winner of the 2016 All-Star feature. Chase Elliott will start 13th next to teammate Jimmie Johnson, a four-time All-Star Race winner who will make his 19th and final start in the featured race. Denny Hamlin, the 2015 All-Star champion, will start 15th while teammate Erik Jones will round out the top-16 field as competitors that have already been guaranteed a spot for the main event.

The final four spots of the 20-car field will be determined following the NASCAR All-Star Open, which will occur prior to the All-Star Race on July 15. The leaders/winners of each of the three segments will advance to the All-Star Race and will be joined by the Fan Vote winner.

This year’s All-Star Race will occur at Bristol Motor Speedway for the first time in NASCAR history. Among the rules featured for the race includes the Choose Rule, where the competitors must commit to the inside or outside lane for a restart while approaching a designated spot on the track; extra sponsor exposure, where the car number will move to the rear wheel and allow the exposure of sponsors; and underglow lights, where the car automatically qualified for the All-Star Race will have lights glowing beneath the racing vehicles. This will mark the first time where the underglow lights will be featured on the cars since Chip Ganassi Racing’s Kurt Busch and Kyle Larson sported underglow lights to their cars during the Burnouts on Broadway spectacle as part of NASCAR’s Champion’s Week in Nashville last December.

This year’s All-Star Race will feature four segments with 55 laps in the first segment, 35 in the second, 35 in the third and 15 for the fourth and final segment, a total of 140 laps where one million dollars awaits the winner.

The 2020 NASCAR All-Star Race will air on July 15 at 8:30 p.m. ET on FS1.

July 13, 2020
2020 Cup Playoff outlook after Kentucky

With nine races remaining until the 2020 NASCAR Cup Playoffs commences, a new name has been added to the postseason field.

After his thrilling, four-wide pass for the win on Sunday in the Quaker State 400 at Kentucky Speedway, rookie Cole Custer has gone from being an Xfinity Series title contender to a Cup Series rookie and now, a Cup Series winner in a span of nine months. Of all the records he accomplished with his victory at Kentucky, the biggest one of all is guaranteeing himself and his No. 41 Haas Automation/Stewart-Haas Racing Ford Mustang team a spot in the postseason with an opportunity to contend for a Cup Series championship. In addition, he is set to become the 37th competitor to make the Cup Series Playoffs since its inception in 2004 and the first rookie contender to make the Playoffs since Chase Elliott and Chris Buescher qualified in 2016.

Custer’s win at the Bluegrass State also stirred a major shakeup to the Playoff field with the Californian leaping from 25th to a spot within the top-16 postseason field. Through the first 17 Cup races of the 2020 season, nine competitors, including Custer, are guaranteed spots in the Playoffs by virtue of a win. That leaves seven spots vacant and many big names on the bubble or looking on the outside of the cutline with the postseason more than a month away from starting.

The first competitor on the bubble is Aric Almirola, Custer’s teammate. Almirola and his No. 10 Smithfield/Stewart-Haas Racing Ford Mustang team had a race-winning setup at Kentucky after leading a race-high 128 laps and winning the first stage. An eighth-place result was a result that was not in mind for the Floridian, who has not won a Cup race since Talladega Superspeedway in October 2018. The good news for Almirola is he holds a 133-point cushion above the top-16 cutline and he recorded five consecutive top-five results prior to Kentucky, which indicates that his No. 10 team is hitting their strides late into the regular season while preparing for a title run.

Like Almirola, Kurt Busch had a strong run at Kentucky. Starting seventh, Busch was shuffled out of the top 10 at the start of the race, but he was able to work his way back towards the front as the run progressed. Restarting fifth with two laps remaining, the 2004 Cup champion also had an opportunity to repeat his magic from last year’s Kentucky race, where he won in a thrilling two-lap shootout against his brother, Kyle. This year, however, Busch could only work his way as high as fifth when the checkered flag flew. While he did not earn his first win of the 2020 season, he and his No. 1 Monster Energy/Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE team are 104 points above the cutline.

Unlike Kurt, Kyle Busch had a disappointing run at Kentucky. A two-time Cup winner at the Bluegrass State, he started on pole by virtue of a random draw. After leading the first nine laps, things fell apart for Busch’s No. 18 M&M’s Toyota team, where they struggled in keeping pace with the leaders as the driver also fought grip issues. With less than 100 laps remaining, Busch nearly wrecked in Turn 4, but he was able to straighten his car and continue at the expense of losing multiple spots on the track. A 21st-place result left the reigning two-time Cup Series champion winless for another week into the 2020 season, but he remains 89 points above the cutline.

If there was someone who had a great run at Kentucky on Sunday, it was Matt DiBenedetto and the No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford Mustang team. Starting 10th, DiBenedetto ran within the top five and top 10 throughout the race. On the final restart, he was able to charge his way from eighth to third when the checkered flag flew. DiBenedetto’s third-place result was his best since finishing in the runner-up spot at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in February. The podium spot was enough for DiBenedetto to stabilize himself above the cutline by 85 points.

For Clint Bowyer, the Kentucky race was a day where late restarts hindered Bowyer’s run for a top-10 result. Starting 15th, Bowyer was able to work his way up to ninth when the first stage concluded. He was also in position for a top-10 result in the second stage, but a caution during a round of pit stops under green cost Bowyer spots as he could work his way back as high as 13th. In the final laps, Bowyer was in position to notch a top-10 result, but he was shuffled back to 14th when he crossed the finish line under the checkered flag. Bowyer’s eighth top-15 result of the season kept him 64 points above the cutline.

For William Byron, it was a salvageable day for the Charlotte native and the No. 24 AXALTA/Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE team. Starting 21st, Byron made his way within the top 10 in the opening laps, but struggled on the bottom lane the ensuing restart. He worked his way up to 15th when the first stage concluded. The second stage was where Byron struggled the most with loose conditions as he settled outside the top 20 when the stage concluded. Making his way up towards the top 15 in the final stage, an opportunity presented itself for Byron during a cycle of pit stops under green and he was leading with 38 laps remaining. The caution allowed Byron to pit for four fresh tires and line up in sixth for the following restart. The bottom lane, however, hindered Byron’s progress to move towards the front. Despite starting seventh with two laps remaining, he was shuffled back to 11th when the checkered flag flew. With his 11th top-15 result of his junior season in the Cup level, he is 47 points above the cutline.

A week after COVID-19 symptoms prevented him from racing for the first time since his debut in the Cup Series, Jimmie Johnson came roaring into Kentucky with vengeance and with a grand opportunity to leap himself into the Playoffs in his swan song season in the series. For much of the race, it appeared that Johnson and his No. 48 Ally/Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE team were growing closer and closer towards the front, working their way from starting 20th and running within the top 10. In the closing laps, Johnson was able to muscle his way into the top five and was lined up in third on a restart with 19 laps remaining with an opportunity to snatch the lead and his first win in over two years. Then, it came to a crushing blow when contact from Brad Keselowski sent Johnson sideways and out of contention. While Johnson was able to continue, the damage was done as he could only work his way back as high as 21st when the checkered flag flew. Even after missing last weekend’s race at Indianapolis followed by his result outside the top 20 at Kentucky, Johnson holds sole possession of the 16th and final spot to the Playoffs by 24 points as he is, already, setting his sights towards the upcoming regular-season races.

With a 13th-place result, Austin Dillon finds himself outside the top-16 cutline by 24 points. The same goes for his Richard Childress Racing teammate and rookie Tyler Reddick, who trails by 41 points and continues to pursue his first Cup career win. Erik Jones, who struggled all race long at Kentucky with handling issues, finished 22nd as he and his No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Camry team trail by 42 points. Like Jones, Bubba Wallace struggled with keeping up to pace with the leaders, and his 27th-place result, two laps behind, marked his seventh result outside the top 20. Wallace and the No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE team, however, remain in pursuit of the top-16 cutline by 84 points.

Other notables that trail the top-16 cutline include Chris Buescher, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Christopher Bell, Michael McDowell, rookie John Hunter Nemechek, Ryan Newman, Ty Dillon, Matt Kenseth, Corey LaJoie, Ryan Preece and Daniel Suarez.

Next on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the All-Star Race at Bristol Motor Speedway on July 15, which starts with the All-Star Open at 7 p.m. ET on FS1 before the All-Star Race commences at 8:30 p.m. ET on FS1. The next Cup points race is scheduled at Texas Motor Speedway on July 19, which will air at 3 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

July 13, 2020