Tag: John Hunter Nemechek

It was deja vu for Chase Elliott, who rallied from an unscheduled pit stop nearing the midway point to address a loose wheel to muscle back to the lead with 18 laps remaining and power away on a restart with 10 laps remaining to win the third annual running of the Bank of America ROVAL 400 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course on a cloudy, slick afternoon on Sunday, October 11. With his third victory of the season and his ninth NASCAR Cup Series career win, Elliott became the first repeat winner of the Roval in the Cup Series and he raced his way into the Round of 8 in the 2020 Cup Series Playoffs.

The starting lineup was based on four statistical categories: current owner’s 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, Denny Hamlin, coming off his thrilling victory last weekend at Talladega Superspeedway, started on pole position and was joined on the front row with Chase Elliott. 

Prior to the race, Josh Bilicki started at the rear of the field due to a driver change. In addition, Erik Jones also started at the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments and after his crew worked on his car on pit road.

The race started with rain tires, which marked the first time a Cup Series race utilized rain tires for a race. The move came a day after the NASCAR Xfinity Series endured a dark, wet and wild event on the Roval a day earlier, where a number of competitors slid across every wet turn and where A.J. Allmendinger came out on top to win amid the Xfinity Playoffs.

When the green flag waved and the race started on a wet, cloudy afternoon, Hamlin jumped ahead with the lead while Elliott and Brad Keselowski pursued closely behind him. Following an intense battle through the infield turns, the outer track turns and the backstretch chicane, Keselowski was able to pull ahead of Hamlin and Elliott. Coming back to the start/finish line, Keselowski was able to lead the first lap as everyone else behind was able to cycle their way through one full lap around the wet, racing surface on the Roval. 

Keselowski continued to lead following the second lap while Hamlin and Elliott pursued. Kevin Harvick was in fourth place followed by Joey Logano and Martin Truex Jr. Meanwhile, Ty Dillon, who started 17th, moved up to seventh place followed by Kyle Busch, Alex Bowman and Austin Dillon.  

By the third lap, Elliott moved up to second place over Hamlin and Harvick while Ty Dillon moved up to fifth place. By then, Keselowski extended his advantage to more than a second.

The following lap, Ty Dillon continued to flex his muscles on the wet, slick surface of the Roval by moving up to third place. Truex also moved up to fourth place while Hamlin fell back to fifth place. In addition, Harvick fell back to eighth place while Logano and Kyle Busch each moved up a spot. 

By the fifth lap, Keselowski was leading by nearly a second over Elliott, with both ahead of third-place Truex by more than three seconds. Ty Dillon retained fourth place followed by Logano while teammates Hamlin and Kyle Busch battled for sixth place. Shortly after, Clint Bowyer, who announced his retirement from full-time racing three days ago, moved up to sixth place. 

Entering the backstretch chicane, Elliott was able to narrow the gap between himself and Keselowski to one car length, though Keselowski retained the lead. A lap later, Elliott was able to take the lead from Keselowski through Turns 2 and 3. While Elliott started to extend his advantage to a second, Truex and Bowyer started to reel in on Keselowski for the runner-up spot.

A lap later, Truex moved up to second place and Bowyer also moved up to third place while Keselowski fell back to fourth place. Though Truex and Bowyer started to pounce on Elliott for the lead, Elliott was able to retain the lead through the 10th lap and when the competition caution flew.

At the time of competition caution, nine of 12 Playoff contenders were running in the top 10 while Ty Dillon was the only non-title contender in the top 10, running in fifth place. Logano was in sixth place followed by Kyle Busch, Hamlin, Kurt Busch and Harvick. Alex Bowman and Austin Dillon were in 13th and 14th while Aric Almirola was mired back in 22nd place. 

Under the competition caution, some like Harvick, Ty Dillon, William Byron, Austin Dillon, Ryan Blaney, Almirola and Matt DiBenedetto pitted while others led by Elliott remained on track. During the stops, Ryan Newman and Ty Dillon opted for slick tires. 

When the race restarted on Lap 12, Truex jumped ahead with the lead past the start/finish line and through Turn 1 while Bowyer moved up to second place over Elliott. Entering the frontstretch chicane, however, Bowyer made a move beneath Truex and took over the top spot. 

By Lap 15, Bowyer continued to lead the race over Playoff contenders Truex, Elliott, Kyle Busch, Kurt Busch, Keselowski, Hamlin and Logano. William Byron was in ninth place followed by Christopher Bell, Erik Jones, Tyler Reddick, Ryan Preece, Harvick and Austin Dillon. Bowman was in 17th ahead of Blaney while Almirola was in 21st in between Michael McDowell and Bubba Wallace. Jimmie Johnson and Matt Kenseth were in 26th and 27th behind Cole Custer and Matt DiBenedetto. Chris Buescher, who was penalized for a crew member jumping over the pit wall early prior to Buescher’s pit stop, was back in 28th place. Teammate Newman, who spun in Turn 4, dropped all the way back to 38th, last place.

Three laps later, Bowyer stabilized his advantage to more than two seconds over Truex while Kurt Busch moved up to third place over Elliott. By then and with the sun starting to peak amid the clouds, Bell and Jimmie Johnson pitted for slick tires. Shortly after, more pit stops under green continued as Reddick, Blaney, Wallace, Custer, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and John Hunter Nemechek pitted for slick tires. Logano, Byron, Jones, Preece, Harvick, Bowman, Kenseth and Buescher also pitted for slick tires.

By Lap 20, Bowyer continued to lead by less than two seconds over Ty Dillon, who continued to pounce, while Truex was in third place ahead of the Busch brothers. Elliott was back in seventh place behind DiBenedetto.

A lap later, Ty Dillon and the No. 13 GEICO Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE moved into the lead over Bowyer entering the backstretch chicane. By then, Keselowski and Hamlin pitted for slick tires. Following his stop, however, Hamlin spun in Turn 4 and sustained damage to the front nose of his No. 11 FedEx Toyota Camry. He was able to re-fire, drive his car out of the grass and continue with the race remaining under green. 

With three laps remaining in the first stage, the caution flew due to Nemechek driving off the track in Turn 6 and getting stuck in the grass. By then, Elliott, Corey LaJoie and Almirola pitted for slick tires while Ty Dillon was leading over Bowyer, Truex, DiBenedetto and the Busch brothers. Despite his incident, Nemechek was able to re-fire his No. 38 Citigard Ford Mustang and drive away, though he took part of an EchoPark billboard with him. 

Under caution, Bowyer, Truex and Kyle Busch pitted for slick tires while Ty Dillon continued to lead followed by DiBenedetto and Timmy Hill. 

With the race restarting on a one-lap dash to conclude the first stage, Ty Dillon was able to retain the lead over DiBenedetto while Christopher Bell moved up to second place. For one full lap, Ty Dillon was able to retain the lead and hold off Bell to win the first stage on Lap 25 and claim his first stage victory of the season. Bell settled in second place followed by DiBenedetto while Byron overtook Timmy Hill entering the frontstretch chicane to finish in fourth. Newman, Blaney, Logano, Wallace and Jones settled in the top 10. By then, Keselowski and Kurt Busch were in 12th and 13th, Bowman was in 17th and Harvick, Elliott and Almirola were in 19th, 20th and 21st. Hamlin was in 24th, teammates Kyle Busch and Truex were in 26th and 27th and Bowyer was in 29th. Austin Dillon was in 37th.  

Under the stage break, some like Harvick, Hamlin, Ty Dillon, Hill, Wallace, Kurt Busch, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Quin Houff, LaJoie, Brennan Poole, James Davison and Josh Bilicki pitted while the rest led by Bell and DiBenedetto remained on the track. By then, with his result in the first stage, Harvick clinched his spot for the Round of 8 in the Playoffs.

The second stage started on Lap 28 and Bell was able to retain the lead while Byron challenged and overtook DiBenedetto for the runner-up spot through the first three turns. Behind, Newman, who rallied from spinning in the first stage and falling to the rear of the field, moved up to fourth while teammates Logano and Blaney along with Jimmie Johnson battled for fifth place. 

By Lap 30 and with a multitude of on-track battles ensuing, Byron moved into the lead over Bell and DiBenedetto while Penske teammates Logano and Blaney overtook Newman for spots in the top five. Behind, Johnson and Erik Jones battled for seventh place while Keselowski joined the party when Johnson, Newman and Jones battled entering Turn 1.  

Three laps later, Byron and his No. 24 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE stretched out by less than two seconds over Bell and his No. 95 Rheem Toyota Camry while Logano and Blaney overtook DiBenedetto for third and fourth on the track. Jones and Keselowski were in sixth and seventh while Johnson was in eighth ahead of teammate Alex Bowman and Elliott. Kyle Busch was in 12th while Bowyer and Truex were in 14th and 15th. Kurt Busch was in 17th ahead of Almirola while Harvick was in 25th. Hamlin and Austin Dillon were mired back in 30th and 31st.

A lap later, Keselowski spun in Turn 4 as Jones and DiBenedetto came to a full stop to avoid hitting Keselowski’s No. 2 Western Star/Alliance Parts Ford Mustang. Though he continued, Keselowski reported a little vibration to his car. Another lap later, Bell spun in Turn 4 while running in second place. Though he continued, he dropped back to ninth place. Despite all of these incidents, the race remained under green and with Byron leading Blaney, Logano, Elliott and Bowman.  

A few laps later, Almirola and Newman each spun. Amidst the spins and with the race remaining under green, Byron continued to lead while Blaney started to reel in for the lead. Logano, Elliott and Bowman continued to run in the top five followed by Kyle Busch, Custer, Bowyer, Truex and Bell.

On lap 39, Blaney emerged as the new leader over Byron after passing Byron’s No. 24 Chevrolet in Turn 1. Logano, Elliott and Bowman continued to run in the top five while Kyle Busch settled in sixth place ahead of Custer. 

Three laps later, Blaney extended his advantage to more than three seconds over Byron while Logano trailed by four seconds. Trailing behind by more than 13 seconds was Elliott while teammate Bowman settled in fifth place. Kyle Busch, Custer, Bowyer, Truex and Bell settled in the top 10 ahead of Kurt Busch, Johnson, Jones, Keselowski and McDowell.

With five laps remaining in the second stage, Blaney continued to lead by less than four seconds over Byron, who started to have Logano close in and ignite a challenge for second place. Hendrick Motorsports’ teammates Elliott and Bowman were in the top five while Kyle Busch retained fifth place over Stewart-Haas Racing teammates Bowyer and Custer. Truex was in ninth place followed by Kurt Busch, Jones and Keselowski.

Shortly after, the caution flew due to J.J. Yeley getting stalled in Turn 5. By then, Hamlin pitted. Harvick, Almirola, Bell and DiBenedetto also pitted. Some like Byron and Kyle Busch pitted while others led by Blaney and Logano remained on track. 

With the race restarting on a two-lap dash to conclude the second stage, Blaney jumped ahead with the lead while Elliott and Logano battled for second. The following lap, Elliott overtook Logano for second place while Bell and Truex closed in for more. Behind, Kyle Busch fell off the pace due to sustaining a flat left-front tire and minor left-front damage to his No. 18 M&M’s Toyota following contact with Bowyer in Turn 4. In addition, teammate Hamlin spun out of Turn 8, but he continued as the race continued under green. 

Towards the front, Bell and Truex overtook Logano for third and fourth while Blaney continued to lead. With no one having anything for the leaders at the front, Blaney was able to hold off Elliott to claim the second stage victory on Lap 50 and for his fourth stage victory of the season. Elliott settled in second followed by Bell, Truex and Logano while Bowman, Byron, Reddick, McDowell and Keselowski settled in the top 10. 

Under the stage break, some like Blaney, Elliott, Truex, Logano, Bowman, McDowell, Keselowski, Newman, Brennan Poole, Houff, Bilicki and Hamlin pitted while others led by Bell remained on the track. Kyle Busch also pitted to have the left-front tire changed along with the damage repaired as he restarted at the rear of the field. Following the pit stops, Truex was assessed a speeding penalty for speeding on pit road as he also dropped to the rear of the field. 

With 56 laps remaining and with the sun continuing to shine amid the clouds, the final stage commenced with Bell and Byron on the front row ahead of Reddick, Keselowski, Harvick, Bowyer, Kurt Busch, Buescher, Custer and Johnson. Prior to the restart, however, Elliott surrendered his track position and made another pit stop to address a loose left-front wheel on his No. 9 NAPA Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE. At the start, Byron overtook Bell for the lead. Behind, Custer spun in Turn 6 along with Hamlin, who spun following contact with James Davison. Hamlin was able to reverse his damaged No. 11 FedEx Toyota out of the grass in Turns 6 and 7 and return to pit road.

With the race reaching its halfway mark in between Laps 54 and 55, Byron continued to lead by more than a second over Bell while Keselowski, Bowyer and Kurt Busch were in the top five. Johnson was in sixth followed by Reddick, Harvick, Jones and Buescher. 

With 50 laps remaining, Byron stabilized his advantage to less than a second over Bell while Keselowski, Bowyer and Kurt Busch were in the top five. Harvick was in seventh behind Johnson while Austin Dillon was in 12th. Behind, Kyle Busch, facing a “must-win” situation, was in 22nd behind Logano and Bowman while Truex was in 17th. Elliott was in 24th ahead of Almirola, who was also in a “must-win” situation. Hamlin, meanwhile, was in 32nd. 

Nearly five laps later, the caution flew due to debris in Turn 6 and at the time where Ty Dillon also spun in the turn. He continued with damage on the left-front nose of his No. 13 GEICO Chevrolet. Earlier, Keselowski got off line and was overtaken by Bowyer for third place while Byron continued to lead over Bell.

Under caution, a majority of the field pitted while some like Byron, Bell, Bowyer, Johnson, Harvick, Blaney, Buescher, McDowell and DiBenedetto remained on the track. Following the pit stops, Newman was assessed a speeding penalty for speeding on pit road.

With 42 laps remaining and with dark clouds returning to the track with reported rain approaching the speedway, the race restarted under green with Byron and Bell on the front row ahead of Bowyer and Johnson. At the start, Byron retained the lead while Bowyer moved up to second place. Bell fell back to third place ahead of Johnson while Harvick was in fifth ahead of Kurt Busch and McDowell. 

Two laps later, with 40 laps remaining, the caution returned when Austin Dillon spun and made contact towards the inside wall near the frontstretch chicane following contact with Kyle Busch. By then, Byron was still ahead with the lead over Bowyer and Bell while Blaney moved up to fourth place. Johnson was in fifth place ahead of Kurt Busch while Logano, Elliott, Stenhouse and Harvick were in the top 10. 

Under caution, most of the leaders led by Byron pitted while some like Blaney, Stenhouse, Jones, Preece, Bowman, Kyle Busch, Gray Gaulding, Wallace and Houff remained on track. During the stops, Bowyer lost a multitude of stops following a slow pit stop. Following the stops, Byron was assessed a penalty for speeding on pit road.

The race restarted with 37 laps remaining and Blaney retained the lead through the first turn. Behind, Wallace made contact with Stenhouse, who spun as Bowyer sustained front-nose damage. Shortly after, Bowyer reported no power steering to his No. 14 Rush Truck Centers/Cummins Ford Mustang as his hopes of winning and transferring to the Round of 8 were diminishing. Back at the line, Blaney continued to lead followed by Preece, Bowman, Logano and Jones. Wallace continued to run in sixth place followed by Gaulding, Kurt Busch, Kyle Busch and Elliott. 

Two laps later, Preece emerged with the lead after Blaney spun in Turn 3 and plowed his No. 12 Menards/Cardell Cabinetry Ford Mustang into the infield grass, where he was also dodged from the oncoming traffic. With Blaney’s misfortune, Bowman moved up to second place followed by Logano, Jones and Wallace. The situation went from bad to worse for Blaney, who sped on pit road and was assessed a drive-through penalty on pit road after pitting following his on-track spin. 

At the front, Preece, racing in his No. 37 Maxwell Houses for Heroes Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, continued to lead followed by Bowman and Logano while Jones, Elliott and Kyle Busch were running in fourth through sixth. 

With 30 laps remaining, Preece retained the lead followed by a hard-charging Bowman while Logano, Elliott, Jones and Kyle Busch started to join the party. 

Two laps later, Bowman emerged with the lead and teammate Elliott along with Logano and Kyle Busch moved up while Preece fell back to fifth place. At the front, the two Hendrick Motorsports’ teammates battled for the next two laps before Elliott, who rallied from his late loose wheel pit stop, reassumed the lead through Turns 5 and 6. 

With 24 laps remaining, Elliott continued to lead by more than a second over teammate Bowman, who was retaining one of the final transfer spots to the Round of 8 in the Playoffs. Kyle Busch was in third place and in a “must-win” situation ahead of Logano, who was also battling for one of the final transfer spots to the Round of 8. Shortly after, the caution returned due to debris spotted in Turn 4. In addition, Matt Kenseth wrecked into the tire barriers in Turn 3. 

Under caution, a majority of the leaders pitted while some led by Kyle Busch, Bell, Hamlin, Jones and Blaney remained on the track.

With 20 laps remaining, the race restarted under green. At the start, Kyle Busch and his No. 18 M&M’s Toyota jumped ahead with the lead followed by teammates Jones and Hamlin. With Elliott moving up to fourth place and reeling in on Hamlin for more on fresh tires, Jones moved into the lead with 19 laps remaining through Turns 5 and 6. Elliott quickly made his way into second place over Kyle Busch. 

A lap later, Elliott reassumed the lead following a crossover move on Jones through Turns 7 and 8 and started to pull away. Meanwhile, Kyle Busch was still in third place, but he had brother Kurt along with teammate Hamlin and Logano reeling in behind him. Shortly after, John Hunter Nemechek spun on the frontstretch, but he continued and the race remained under green. 

With the laps winding down, Elliott continued to stabilize and extend his advantage over Jones, who had Kurt Busch closing in for the spot. Meanwhile, Kyle Busch was in fourth place ahead of Logano, Hamlin and Blaney. 

Under 12 laps remaining, the caution flag returned due to the stalled car of Brennan Poole. By then, Elliott was leading by more than two seconds over Jones while Kurt Busch, Logano and Kyle Busch were in the top five. Blaney was in sixth followed by Hamlin, Bowman, Truex and Byron.

Under caution, some pitted while others remained on the track. Following the pit stops, Buescher was sent to the rear of the field for speeding on pit road.

The race restarted under green with 10 laps remaining and with Elliott and Jones on the front row. At the start, Elliott retained the lead while Logano moved up to second place over Jones. Kurt Busch and Blaney moved into the top five over teammates Truex and Kyle Busch.

With seven laps remaining, Elliott stabilized his advantage by less than two seconds over Logano while Jones, Kurt Busch and Blaney continued to run in the top five. Truex was still in sixth place ahead of Kyle Busch. Bowman was in eighth place ahead of teammate Byron and Reddick while Almirola was in 12th in between teammates Custer and Bowyer. Johnson was in 14th ahead of Keselowski, Harvick and Austin Dillon. By then, McDowell spun twice on the track’s two chicane areas, but he continued with the race remaining under green. 

With five laps remaining, Elliott continued to lead by more than two seconds over Logano with Kurt Busch, Jones and Blaney trailing by four seconds or more. 

Down to the final three laps of the race, Elliott stabilized his advantage by more than two seconds over Logano. Kurt Busch and Jones continued to run in third and fourth while Truex moved into fifth place. Meanwhile, Kyle Busch ran out of fuel and pitted as his hopes to advance to the Round of 8 and defend his titles hopes evaporated.

A lap later, Newman spun in Turn 1, but he was able to straighten his car and proceed with the race continuing under green. Across the backstretch chicane on the same lap, Kurt Busch and Truex spun, but both continued while Jones moved up to third place. Despite the spins, Elliott was able to come back around the frontstretch and start the final lap of the race. 

With no mistakes made and no challengers closing in, Elliott was able to cycle back around and cross the finish line to win as he continued to flex his dominance and winning streak on road course events.

With his win, Elliott joined Jeff Gordon as the only competitors to achieve four consecutive wins on a road course, a streak that spans back to Watkins Glen International in August 2019 for the Dawsonville, Georgia, native. In addition, he recorded the 20th road course victory for Hendrick Motorsports. By advancing to the Round of 8 in the Playoffs for the fourth consecutive time, Elliott will attempt to secure a spot in the Championship Round at Phoenix Raceway in November and battle for his first Cup title.

“Well, [I] just had another really fast NAPA Camaro and really appreciate the effort,” Elliott said on NBC. “I feel like road courses have been fortunate to us the last few trips, but I feel like we just try to get a little better every time, tweak on the small things. [I] Felt like I tweaked on some small things and got a little better than what I was last year, which was good. Just really proud of the effort. It’s always special to win here at Charlotte with the [Hendrick Motorsports] shop being right across the street. Appreciate all the effort there. Best way to get to the next round is to win. Hopefully, we can do something with it.”

Logano finished in second place followed by Jones, Kurt Busch and Blaney. Byron finished in sixth place while Truex, Bowman, Custer and Bowyer, who had no power steering for the remainder of the race, rounded out the top 10. Jimmie Johnson finished 13th in his 40th and final run at Charlotte.

Chase Elliott, Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick, Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano, Martin Truex Jr., Alex Bowman and Kurt Busch advanced to the Round of 8 and all will continue to pursue this year’s championship next weekend at Kansas Speedway. Kyle Busch, Austin Dillon, Aric Almirola and Clint Bowyer have been eliminated from title contention.

Of the four competitors who failed to advance beyond the Round of 12 following their runs at Charlotte, no one was more disappointed than Kyle Busch. By finishing in 30th place, the reigning two-time Cup champion will not advance to the Round of 8 for the first time since 2014 as his hopes to defend his title came to an end. Through 32 of 36 races this season, Busch has yet to record his first Cup victory of the season

“It’s just been unfortunate circumstances, a lot of bad luck,” Kyle Busch said on NBC. “These guys on this M&M’s team, they never give up and they fight all year long. Every race and every lap and every pit stop as we can see. Man, one of them off-years. Terrible year for me but as other great sports would say, there’s many other drivers that would love to have the year that we’re having but man, it’s just frustrating to know how good we are, what we’re capable of and being champions from last year, to not come out here and to be able to succeed and be able to win. The fact of the matter, we win and we’d be a hell of a lot better better off, but I knew this round was gonna be trouble with the year that we had. Yeah, I was right…We still got a lot of work to do to try to get better. I’m not sure what it is but man, we lack a lot of drive, drive off the corners with laps.”

“We were looking pretty good at the end of Stage 1,” Austin Dillon, who finished 19th, said on NBC. “We had took tires again and got to fifth in the stage, and that unlucky caution happened in that cycle. We knew we were dead meat at that point because we didn’t have drys [tires] on. So, we pitted at the end of Stage 1 just trying to jump some people, then we had to go to the tail [end of the field] because pit road wasn’t open. Just a lot of stuff and again, that caution fell late in Stage 2 when we’re running 12th. No help from cautions. The race just didn’t play our way. I’m actually pretty happy with that as far as my road course racing has been. I raced hard all day. We finished 19th. That shows some progress. I think if we would’ve been up there track-position wise, we would’ve maintained just fine.”

“It was tough,” Almirola, who finished 16th, said on NBC. “I struggle here in particular. I’m not the greatest road-course racer, but specifically here, it’s always been a challenge. Just struggled all day. Really struggled on the rain tires. I spun out over there in that water that was draining across the race track in Turn 4 and then, we had an issue with a pit gun or something on pit road and got a lap down. We fought hard, it was definitely a fight. Just not the day we needed to move on. We still got a few races left to go perform at the highest level we can and try to get the most points we can. Still really proud of our season and proud of the effort of this team. We’ve got some racing left to do and hopefully, get this Smithfield Ford Mustang in Victory Lane in one of these last few [races].”

Following his run, Bowyer made a trip to the infield care center, where he was evaluated and released, though his hopes of winning his first Cup title came to an end in his final full-time season of racing.

There were 17 lead changes for 11 different leaders. The race featured nine cautions for 16 laps.

Results.

1. Chase Elliott, 27 laps led

2. Joey Logano

3. Erik Jones, one lap led

4. Kurt Busch

5. Ryan Blaney, 14 laps led, Stage 2 winner

6. William Byron, 27 laps led

7. Martin Truex Jr.

8. Alex Bowman, two laps led

9. Cole Custer

10. Clint Bowyer, nine laps led

11. Kevin Harvick

12. Tyler Reddick

13. Jimmie Johnson

14. Ryan Preece, eight laps led

15. Denny Hamlin

16. Aric Almirola

17. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

18. Brad Keselowski, seven laps led

19. Austin Dillon

20. Chris Buescher

21. Bubba Wallace

22. Matt DiBenedetto

23. Ty Dillon, five laps led, Stage 1 winner

24. Christopher Bell, six laps led

25. Daniel Suarez

26. Gray Gaulding

27. Corey LaJoie

28. Quin Houff

29. James Davison

30. Kyle Busch, three laps led

31. Ryan Newman

32. Michael McDowell

33. Josh Bilicki, one lap down

34. Matt Kenseth, one lap down

35. J.J. Yeley, one lap down

36. John Hunter Nemechek, four laps down

37. Brennan Poole – Suspension

38. Timmy Hill – OUT, Engine

Bold indicates Playoff contenders

Playoff standings.

1. Kevin Harvick – Advanced

2. Denny Hamlin – Advanced

3. Brad Keselowski – Advanced

4. Chase Elliott – Advanced

5. Joey Logano- Advanced

6. Martin Truex Jr. – Advanced

7. Alex Bowman – Advanced

8. Kurt Busch – Advanced

9. Kyle Busch – Eliminated

10. Clint Bowyer – Eliminated

11. Austin Dillon – Eliminated

12. Aric Almirola – Eliminated

The Round of 8 in the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs will commence next Sunday, October 18, at Kansas Speedway for the Hollywood Casino 400. The race will occur at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBC.