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  • Hamlin wins a wild, controversial race at Talladega; advances to Playoff’s Round of 8

    Hamlin wins a wild, controversial race at Talladega; advances to Playoff’s Round of 8

    In a controversial finish for the ages, Denny Hamlin concluded a conservative afternoon of running towards the rear of the field to emerge victorious on the final lap in the YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday, October 4.

    Entering the final turn, Hamlin was in fifth place. He then made a controversial move on the apron and below the double yellow line zone to avoid contact between teammate Erik Jones and Chris Buescher before he outraced Matt DiBenedetto and William Byron across the tri-oval to emerge out in front at the finish line and grab the win. The victory at Talladega all but advanced Hamlin into the Round of 8 in the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs.

    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, Denny Hamlin started on pole position and was joined on the front row with Kurt Busch, winner of last weekend’s Playoff race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

    Prior to the race, Cody Ware started at the rear of the field due to a driver change along with Brennan Poole and Timmy Hill, both due to failing pre-race technical inspection twice.

    When the green flag waved and the race started, Hamlin received a push from teammate Martin Truex Jr. to jump to an early lead through the backstretch. Just as the field was entering Turn 3, the first caution of the race flew when Christopher Bell spun in the middle of the turn after cutting a left-rear tire and was hit on the left side by Tyler Reddick, who sustained front-nose damage to the front of his No. 8 Caterpillar Next Gen Dozers Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE. In addition, Bubba Wallace made contact with Ricky Stenhouse Jr. while avoiding the wreck while Ty Dillon received little damage from the wreck. Following the wreck, all but Bell continued.

    The race restarted under green on Lap 4 with Hamlin and Kurt Busch on the front row. At the start, Hamlin jumped ahead with the lead and moved in front of teammates Truex and Kyle Busch on the outside lane while also blocking both lanes with Kurt Busch leading the inside lane.

    By the sixth lap, the three Joe Gibbs Racing Playoff contenders led by Hamlin and followed by Truex and Kyle Busch were leading the field followed by Kurt Busch and Brad Keselowski. Kevin Harvick, Clint Bowyer, Joey Logano, Aric Almirola and Alex Bowman were running in the top 10 with Chase Elliott running in 11th place.

    The caution returned a few laps later when contact from John Hunter Nemechek sent Stenhouse sliding in Turn 4 before he backed his No. 47 Hungry Jack Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE hard into the inside wall with significant rear-end damage. The wreck was enough to end Stenhouse’s day in the garage.

    Following two early cautions of the race, the race restarted under green on Lap 13 with teammates Hamlin and Truex on the front row. At the start, Hamlin moved his No. 11 FedEx Toyota Camry in front of teammate Truex’s No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry on the inside lane to retain the lead while Harvick made a move beneath Kyle Busch’s No. 18 M&M’s Toyota Camry to move into third place, thus moving Busch in the middle lane. With the field entering the backstretch, a third lane started forming with Brad Keselowski peaking to the outside lane followed by Bowyer. Shortly after, the caution flew due to Corey LaJoie stalling his car just past the start/finish line. 

    The race restarted on Lap 15 with teammates Hamlin and Truex on the front row. At the start, Hamlin retained the lead and was able to block all runs from the top lane led by Harvick and the bottom lane with Truex trailing behind while continuing to lead the race when the field cycled back to the start/finish line. 

    On Lap 17, Joey Logano, racing in his No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang, emerged with the lead following a run on the outside lane of Hamlin and receiving a push from Harvick. The following lap, the field expanded to three lanes with Hamlin leading the middle lane and Truex leading the inside lane while Logano continued to lead the race on the outside lane. 

    Not long after, Hamlin was able to move in front of Logano’s front nose on the outside lane in Turn 3 to reassume the lead. With that, Hamlin emerged out in front of Logano and Harvick while Keselowski and Bowyer were in the top five. 

    By Lap 22, names like Cole Custer, Ryan Preece, Bubba Wallace, Chris Buescher, Daniel Suarez and Matt DiBenedetto were running in the top 10 while Hamlin continued to lead Logano, Harvick and Bowyer. In addition, the field settled into racing on two lanes with a majority racing on the outside lane led by Hamlin and some racing on the inside lane led by DiBenedetto.

    The following lap, the inside lane led by DiBenedetto gained a run for the lead through the tri-oval and entering Turn 4, but Hamlin moved in front of DiBenedetto to block the run. Through the following lap, Hamlin was able to block both lanes with a number of competitors charging with runs and retain the lead when the competition caution flew on Lap 25. By then, six of the remaining 12 Playoff contenders led by Hamlin were running in the top 10 while Truex and Austin Dillon were in 11th and 12th. Elliott was in 14th while Kurt Busch, Alex Bowman and Keselowski were in 21st, 22nd and 23rd.

    Under the competition caution, the leaders pitted and Aric Almirola, racing in his No. 10 Smithfield Power Bites Ford Mustang, emerged with the lead after only taking fuel to his car. Logano, Bowyer, DiBenedetto, Hamlin and Blaney, all of whom also went with fuel only on their stops, followed suit. During the pit stops, Bowyer nearly made contact with Matt Kenseth while exiting his pit stall while Kenseth was trying to enter his. In addition, Kyle Busch overshot his pit stall and dropped all the way back to 15th place. Also, Chase Elliott was sent to the rear of the field due to speeding on pit road.

    The race restarted under green on Lap 30 and Almirola jumped ahead with the lead while receiving a push from DiBenedetto. The following lap, four Fords were running first through fourth with Almirola leading followed by Ryan Blaney, DiBenedetto and Joey Logano. 

    Entering the backstretch, Hamlin dropped below the double yellow line and surrendered his track position towards the front to fall to the rear of the field and avoid the early pack racing. The following lap, Harvick dropped his No. 4 Jimmy John’s Ford Mustang below the double yellow line and surrendered his track position towards the front to fall to the rear of the field and avoid the early pack racing.

    At the front, two lanes formed with Blaney and his No. 12 Menards/Pennzoil Ford Mustang leading the outside lane and going for the lead while Almirola continued to lead from the inside lane. By then, Erik Jones moved up to third place behind Blaney while Truex, Logano, Bowyer and Kyle Busch were running inside the top 10. In addition, Jimmie Johnson started to make his move towards the top 10 while Elliott was in 12th place following his pit road speeding penalty. 

    On Lap 35, Jones emerged with the lead while Blaney fought back on the inside lane followed by Almirola. The following lap, Blaney returned to the lead with Almirola running behind him on the inside lane. Jones, meanwhile, continued to run on the outside lane and in front of teammates Truex and Kyle Busch while Suarez joined the party.

    By Lap 40, Jones was back out front while three lanes started to form behind him. Teammates Truex and Kyle Busch were in second and third followed by Blaney and Almirola while Suarez led the middle lane in sixth place while receiving a push from Keselowski.

    Two laps later, the field settled into racing by two lanes with Blaney leading a bevy of cars on the outside lane and Jones leading a bevy of cars on the inside lane. Shortly after, Blaney moved in front of teammates Keselowski and Logano to retain the lead and clear of the pack while Chris Buescher joined the party.

    By Lap 50, Logano emerged with the lead as the field returned to racing between two lanes in a pack. Jones was in second followed by Blaney, Kyle Busch and Keselowski while Elliott was in sixth place. Shortly after, Jones led a lap before Elliott aggressively made his move to the front of the pack. With Elliott leading, Bubba Wallace moved into second place followed by Kyle Busch, Cole Custer and Kurt Busch while Logano fell back to sixth place. Austin Dillon moved into eighth place while Blaney and Jones fell back to ninth and 10th. 

    Meanwhile, Hamlin and Harvick were in 26th and 27th while Truex was in 17th, Bowman was in 15th and Keselowski was in 13th. Austin Dillon and Almirola were in 10th and 11th as the laps in the first stage were dwindling. 

    After leading three laps, Kurt Busch made his move for the lead before Almirola peaked below Busch’s No. 1 Gearwrench Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE and reassumed the lead. 

    With the laps in the first stage winding down, the pack running at the front started to fan out into three lanes with a multitude of Playoff competitors making moves towards the front. With three laps remaining in the first stage, however, the caution flew when contact from Bowman, who was being pushed by Logano, and Almirola turned Almirola sideways across the outside wall in the backstretch with both competitors pinned against one another and the outside wall. Behind, Kyle Busch was turned and his No. 18 M&M’s Toyota briefly came off the ground before he spun and made contact with Blaney. He was able to limp back to pit road and receive repairs to remain on the lead lap along with Bowman.

    Returning to pit road, Almirola expressed his displeasure to Bowman on pit road before he retired from the race. The wreck and retirement from the race placed Almirola in a “must-win” scenario for next weekend’s Playoff elimination race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval. 

    “I’m okay,” Almirola said at the infield care center on NBC. “I honestly haven’t seen the replay, so it’s hard to say, but I got hit from behind and turned in the outside fence. It’s such a shame. We had such a fast Smithfield Power Bites Ford Mustang. I’m just disappointed. We were doing everything we needed to do. We were closing in to the end of stage one and it looked like we were gonna score a lot of points there, which is exactly what we needed to do. It looks like [Bowman] got to my outside and my car started to turn to the right, so it’s unfortunate. I don’t know if he got in the back of me and hooked me or how that played out, but my car just made a hard right into the fence. It’s unfortunate.”

    With the first stage concluding under caution on Lap 60, Chris Buescher emerged out in front as he claimed his first career stage victory. Logano settled in second place followed by Austin Dillon, Keselowski and Jones while Elliott, Reddick, Truex Kurt Busch and Custer settled in the top 10. Moments after, Austin Dillon, who sustained damage from the late multi-car wreck, limped to pit road with a flat left-rear tire.

    Under the stage break, the leaders pitted and Elliott emerged out in front following a stellar four-tire pit stop from the No. 9 NAPA crew. Keselowski exited in second place followed by Buescher, Jones and Truex. Following the pit stops, a handful of competitors, including Harvick, were penalized due to an uncontrolled tire violation.

    The second stage started under green on Lap 65 and with Elliott and Keselowski on the front row. At the start, Keselowski was able to emerge out in front for the first time and lead Lap 66 with Jones and Custer tucked behind Keselowski’s No. 2 Discount Tire Ford Mustang. 

    A few laps later, the caution flew due to debris in Turn 2 that came off of the damaged No. 18 M&M’s Toyota Camry of Kyle Busch, who blew a left-front tire and was running at the rear of the field along with Logano, Harvick and Hamlin. Following repairs, Busch was able to remain on the lead lap.

    Under caution, a handful of competitors, including Elliott, Truex, William Byron, Jimmie Johnson, Matt Kenseth, Suarez, Ty Dillon, Kurt Busch, Wallace, Nemechek, Austin Dillon, Ryan Newman, Harvick and Hamlin pitted while the rest led by Buescher and Keselowski remained on the track. Following the pit stops, however, Hamlin was nabbed with a pit road speeding penalty.

    When the race restarted on Lap 73, Buescher jumped ahead and moved in front of Keselowski to retain the lead. Returning to the tri-oval and the start/finish line, the field at the front expanded to two lanes with Jones leading the outside lane while Buescher continued to lead on the inside lane. 

    Shortly after, Jones received a push from Michael McDowell to move back into the lead with Hendrick Motorsports’ teammates Elliott, Byron and Jimmie Johnson lined up on the outside lane. By then, Keselowski was the only Playoff contender running in the top 10. Austin Dillon, Kurt Busch and Bowyer were in 16th, 17th and 18th while Bowman, Logano, Hamlin, Truex, Harvick were running in 26th through 30th. Kyle Busch was back in 32nd place behind veteran Brendan Gaughan.

    By Lap 80, Buescher continued to lead on the inside lane with the pack fanning out to two lanes. Keselowski was in second place followed by Reddick, Custer and Ryan Preece while Nemechek, DiBenedetto, Kenseth, Jones and Elliott. In addition, the first-place car of Buescher and the 19th-place car of Austin Dillon were separated by less than two seconds. 

    Two laps later, Jones returned to the lead by a nose over DiBenedetto while Elliott made his move into third place. Buescher fell back to fifth place in front of Keselowski and next to Jimmie Johnson’s No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE.

    By Lap 85, Jones continued to lead Elliott on the inside lane and a pack of cars fanning out to two lanes while William Byron was the first car running on the outside lane in fifth place. 

    A lap later, a bevy of Chevrolet competitors led by Elliott made a pit stop under green. The next lap, the caution flew due to Blaney making contact with the Turn 3 outside wall after cutting a tire. By then, DiBenedetto was out in front followed by Buescher, Keselowski, Logano and Bowyer, all of whom had yet to make a pit stop. Also, Kyle Busch was spared from falling a lap behind the leaders. 

    Under caution, a majority of lead lap competitors pitted and Harvick exited in first place after pitting for only fuel. Reddick exited in second place followed by Kenseth, Nemechek, Suarez and Truex.

    The race restarted on Lap 92 with teammates Elliott and Byron occupying the front row. At the start, Elliott moved in front of Byron to retain the lead. By then, Elliott was at the front of a six-car Chevrolet group on the inside lane while Chevrolet competitor Ryan Preece was the first competitor racing on the outside lane followed by Ty Dillon and Reddick.

    By Lap 95 and with the race passing its halfway mark, Elliott continued to lead followed by teammate Byron, Kurt Busch, teammate Johnson and Bubba Wallace while Kenseth, Suarez, Ty Dillon, Reddick and Bowyer were in the top 10. Meanwhile, Logano was in 13th, Austin Dillon was in 15th and Keselowski and Truex were in 19th and 20th. Bowman, Hamlin and Harvick were in 29th, 30th and 31st while Kyle Busch was in 26th.

    Five laps later, on Lap 100, Elliott continued to lead followed by teammate Byron, Kurt Busch, teammate Johnson and Wallace. Kenseth, Suarez, Bowyer and Austin Dillon settled in sixth through ninth while Jones made a move beneath Ty Dillon to move into 10th place. Prior to this, Custer got loose following contact from Logano while racing in the middle of the pack, but he was able to prevent his car from spinning in the middle of the pack, though he lost his momentum and the draft towards the front.

    Another five laps later, on Lap 105, Elliott retained the lead followed by teammate Byron, Kurt Busch, Wallace and Kenseth while Johnson moved up the outside lane while being pushed by Logano in a two-lane pack racing for the lead. By then, Elliott, Kurt Busch, Logano and Austin Dillon were the only Playoff contenders running in the top 10 while Bowyer, who was running near the front a few laps earlier, fell back to 17th place.

    Another two laps later, Johnson, racing with a piece of tape on the front nose of his No. 48 Chevrolet, led a lap before he was shuffled back. The following lap and with the field fanning out to three-wide racing, a multi-car wreck erupted on the frontstretch that started when contact from Bowyer turned Johnson sideways as he clipped Kurt Busch, who made head-on contact into the outside wall and went airborne on top of Custer’s No. 41 HaasTooling.com Ford Mustang before he came to rest on all four wheels without being turned over, but with significant damage to the No. 1 Gearwrench Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE. The wreck collected a total of 13 competitors, including Bowyer, Keselowski, Preece, Austin Dillon, Suarez, Joey Gase, Brennan Poole, Kyle Busch and Brendan Gaughan, who concluded his final NASCAR career start with a wrecked car. The wreck eliminated Bowyer for the remainder of the race as he also faces a “must-win” situation next weekend at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval to retain his title hopes. Following the wreck, Johnson voiced his frustrations at Bowyer over the contact.

    “You’ve got to go,” Bowyer said in the infield care center on NBC. “You’ve got to push [Johnson]…As soon as I got to him, I push him in the front and the whole rear of the car went down and I was like, ‘Oh my God,’ and before I know it he was tank swapping all over the place. I don’t know if that was how they had their cars built or whatever, but as soon as you got close to him he was all over the place. Obviously didn’t mean to wreck him, but you’re going hard and three-wide and people are behind you pushing. I was hoping he would save it, but he didn’t and we all wrecked.”

    “Yeah, it was a wild ride,” Kurt Busch said. “That’s the nature of this sport. You’re on top one week with a win and everything’s fantastic. And then this week here at Talladega, we were hoping for a nice, smooth run and to gain some points. I was just doing my job as a Chevy helper running top-five and next thing you know, I’m going for one of the wildest rides I’ve ever been in.”

    Following the wreck, the race was red-flagged for 10 minutes and 27 seconds. When the red flag lifted and the competitors resumed under cautious pace, some that included Hamlin, Harvick, Truex, Bowman and Blaney pitted while the rest led by Elliott and Byron remained on the track. By then, Kyle Busch, Johnson, Austin Dillon and Keselowski continued following the multi-car wreck on the frontstretch.

    With seven laps remaining in the second stage, the race restarted under green as Elliott retained the lead over teammate Byron and Logano. Shortly after, Logano received a draft from DiBenedetto to return to the lead the following lap. 

    With five laps remaining in the second stage, Logano and his No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang was still leading followed by DiBenedetto, Buescher and Truex while Elliott and Reddick battled dead even in two lanes for fifth place. 

    Two laps later, Truex gained a run on the outside lane to lead a lap over Logano. Entering the backstretch, DiBenedetto got forced below the double yellow line zone following contact with Logano, but he was able to blend back on the track inside the top 10 without being assessed a penalty. Shortly after, Reddick led a lap before Truex moved back into the lead followed by Elliott. 

    At the start of the final lap of the second stage, Truex emerged with the lead followed by Keselowski, Buescher and Elliott while Logano dropped back after being told that he was being assessed a penalty for forcing DiBenedetto below the double yellow line zone. Entering the tri-oval, Truex and Keselowski managed to pull away from the pack and then, Truex was able to roll to the second stage win on Lap 120 and claim his fifth stage victory of the season. Keselowski settled in second place followed by Buescher, Elliott and Nemechek while Byron, Blaney, Preece, Ty Dillon and Wallace settled in the top 10. 

    Under the stage break, the leaders pitted and Truex retained the lead after exiting pit road in first place. Keselowski exited in second place followed by Jones, Reddick, Quin Houff, Bowman and Elliott. By then, Austin Dillon took his No. 3 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE to the garage for repairs. Once he returned, he was two laps behind the leaders.

    With 63 laps remaining, the final stage commenced under green with Truex and Keselowski occupying the front row. At the start, Truex jumped ahead until Keselowski gained a huge run on the backstretch to move back into the lead. With Keselowski in the lead, Truex settled behind him in second place and in front of teammate Jones while Reddick started to form a line on the outside lane and a run towards the front followed by Bowman, Kenseth and Wallace.

    Three laps later, with 60 laps remaining, Keselowski was still ahead of Reddick as the pack towards the front fanned out to three-wide racing. On the backstretch, Wallace started to challenge Keselowski for the lead while Elliott bailed out of the lead pack.

    With 55 laps remaining and most of the competitors at the front settling into single-file racing, Wallace continued to lead followed by Bowman, who was continuing to run strong despite a patched-up front nose and following 11 pit stops. Kenseth was in third place followed by Buescher, Preece, Keselowski, Nemechek, Reddick, Jones and Blaney. By then, Blaney formed a pack running on the outside lane before Keselowski and Buescher moved in front of him to gain a draft and run for the lead over Wallace.

    Another five laps later, with 50 laps remaining, Logano was back at the front followed by Byron and Ty Dillon while Keselowski was dead even with Jones for fourth place. By then, Wallace was back in 10th, Bowman was in 13th and Truex was in 20th while Blaney and Harvick moved up to seventh and eighth. In addition, Kyle Busch was in 22nd, Hamlin was in 25th and Austin Dillon was in 27th, two laps behind. Johnson was in 28th, 10 laps behind the leaders.

    Down to the final 45 laps of the race and the entire pack running in a single-file line on the outside lane, Logano continued to lead followed by Byron, Ty Dillon, Jones and Preece while Harvick, Keselowski, Wallace, Kenseth and Blaney were scored in the top 10. By then, Logano, Harvick and Keselowski were the only Playoff contenders running inside the top 10. Teammates Elliott and Bowman were in 12th and 13th, Truex was in 18th and Kyle Busch was in 21st. Hamlin was still in 25th while Austin Dillon was still mired in 27th. 

    With 40 laps remaining, the caution flew due to debris coming off of Jimmie Johnson’s damaged No. 48 Chevrolet. Under caution, the leaders pitted and Logano retained the lead over Harvick, Jones, Byron and Kenseth upon exiting pit road. Prior to the restart, some like Elliott, Hamlin, DiBenedetto, Newman, Reddick, Bowman, Kyle Busch and Wallace pitted again for fuel.

    The race restarted under green with 36 laps remaining. At the start, Logano cleared and moved in front of Harvick to retain the lead while Byron was the first competitor racing on the outside lane followed by Preece and Keselowski. Behind, Hamlin bailed out of the heavy pack racing for the lead once again. 

    At the front, Byron assumed the lead followed by Preece while Logano and Keselowski were back in third and fourth. The following lap, with 35 laps remaining, Logano moved back into the lead followed by Preece and Keselowski. Behind, Brennan Poole moved into fourth place followed by Buescher and DiBenedetto. Shortly after, Poole was shuffled out of the lead pack along with Byron while Logano, who was racing on fumes and who was uncertain about having enough fuel to make it to the finish, led a bevy of competitors racing in a single-file lane on the outside lane.

    With 30 laps remaining, Logano continued to lead followed by Preece, Keselowski, Buescher and DiBenedetto while Elliott started to gain a run as the first car to lead the inside lane. By then, Cody Ware made an appearance in the top 10 while Wallace was in 12th in front of Newman, Blaney and Nemechek. Five laps later, with 25 laps remaining, the field fanned out into two-wide racing as Logano and Wallace battled for the lead. 

    Down to the final 20 laps of the race, Elliott emerged back out in front while Logano started to fight back for the lead on the outside lane. Byron was in third place followed by Keselowski and Harvick while Preece, Wallace, Kenseth, Ty Dillon and Buescher were scored in the top 10 ahead of Truex.

    With 15 laps remaining, Logano was leading followed by teammate Keselowski, Preece, Wallace and Buescher. Meanwhile, Truex, Elliott and Bowman were in the top 10 while Kyle Busch was in 15th. Harvick was in 17th while Hamlin was in 23rd.

    With 10 laps remaining, Logano received a push from Keselowski to retain the lead over Wallace with Preece and Buescher in the top five. Logano continued to lead the outside pack while Wallace was the first car on the inside lane in front of Elliott and Byron. A lap later, Keselowski got shuffled out as Wallace made another bid for the lead over Logano.

    Down to the final seven laps of the race, Wallace, racing in his No. 43 World Wide Technology Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, continued to lead on the outside lane in front of Logano while DiBenedetto made a bid on the inside lane, thus shoving Elliott out of the draft. A lap later, a bump from Preece sent Wallace scraping the backstretch outside wall as he fell out of contention for the lead with damage on the right side of the No. 43 Chevrolet. 

    Shortly after and just as Wallace was coming to pit road for service, the caution flew due to a spin involving James Davison in Turn 4. Under caution, some like Truex, Hamlin and Jones pitted while the rest led by Logano, DiBenedetto and Keselowski remained on the track.

    The race was sent into overtime and with Logano and DiBenedetto on the front row. At the start, Logano retrained the lead over teammate Keselowski and DiBenedetto. Entering Turns 3 and 4, however, Elliott gained a huge run and made a bold crossover move beneath Logano to retain the lead despite Logano making contact and barely forcing Elliott below the double yellow line. In addition, Byron made a move on the outside lane while Logano was shuffled back in the middle lane. 

    Just as Elliott and Byron were approaching the start/finish line to start the final lap, the caution flew for a multi-car wreck on the tri-oval that started when Reddick turned Kyle Busch into Logano as the carnage involved Harvick, Truex, Bowman and Newman. The wreck ended the long afternoon for Kyle Busch, who emerged uninjured out of his battered No. 18 M&M’s Toyota and made the trip to the infield care center.

    “The car was just real slow due to all of the damage, obviously, so I’m just holding up the line,” Kyle Busch said on NBC. “I was trying to draft off the guys in front of me and I’m pushing too much backwards on the guys that are trying to push me forwards and it creates a wreck. Oh, well. The M&M’s Camry guys did a great job and just wish there was more for it.”

    The race was red flagged for nearly 11 minutes following the second multi-car wreck that collected a number of Playoff contenders. When the red flag lifted and the field resumed under cautious pace, some like Byron, Keselowski, Newman, Blaney, Jones, Bowman, Truex and Harvick pitted while the rest led by Elliott and DiBenedetto remained on the track. Following his involvement in the wreck, Logano was penalized a second time for forcing Elliott below the double yellow line zone. He, however, was unable to re-fire from the red flag period and was pushed by a wrecker back to the garage, where his race concluded.

    With the race restarting under green on a second overtime attempt, Elliott, who reported fuel concerns, jumped out with the lead, but was placed in a three-wide situation on the backstretch in between Preece and DiBenedetto. Entering Turns 3 and 4, Wallace gained a run on the outside lane, but he turned across the front nose of Preece’s No. 37 Kroger Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE. The contact sent Wallace into the outside wall with heavy front nose damage, where Blaney was also collected along with Kenseth, Bowman and Austin Dillon, who had just worked his way back on the lead lap, as the caution flew and sent the race into a third overtime attempt. The wreck was enough to end Wallace’s run following a strong late charge towards the front and after leading a career-high 10 laps. 

    Under caution, Elliott pitted along with Nemechek, Timmy Hill, Keselowski, Preece and Austin Dillon while the rest led by DiBenedetto and Denny Hamlin remained on the track. By then, Buescher, Ty Dillon and Byron were in the top five followed by Newman, Cody Ware, Quin Houff, Erik Jones and Reddick.

    In the third overtime attempt, DiBenedetto, in pursuit of his first Cup career win, peaked ahead over Hamlin and cleared the field entering the backstretch and with Buescher pushing him. DiBenedetto retained the lead for a full cycle around the track with Buescher and Byron behind. 

    When he started the final lap, however, DiBenedetto was being pressured by Byron, Buescher and Jones for the lead. In Turns 1 and 2 and through the backstretch, Jones pushed DiBenedetto out with the lead as Buescher and Byron were gaining a run on the front two for the lead. 

    With Cody Ware wrecking behind, Buescher and Jones made contact entering Turns 3 and 4 on the outside lane. Their contact allowed Byron to gain a run at DiBenedetto for the lead on the inside lane. Then, DiBenedetto drove all the way down to the bottom and made contact with Byron, forcing Byron below the double yellow line. 

    Out of the blue, Hamlin, who was in fifth entering the turns and drove on the apron and below the double yellow line zone to avoid the contact ensuing between Jones and Buescher, stormed to the front and challenged for the lead in a three-wide battle with Byron and DiBenedetto as Keselowski spun behind following contact with Reddick. Through the tri-oval and coming back to the finish line, Hamlin was able to emerge out in front of DiBenedetto to win in a photo finish while Byron was shuffled back to a top-five result. 

    Though the finish went under review following the race’s conclusion, NASCAR declared Hamlin as the official winner and his move beneath the double yellow line legal since he was trying to avoid contact and a potential wreck ensuing in front of him.

    With his unprecedented seventh victory of the season, second at Talladega and the 44th of his NASCAR Cup Series career, which moved him into a tie with childhood hero and Hall of Famer Bill Elliott for 18th place on the all-time Cup wins list, Hamlin locked himself into the Round of 8 in the Playoffs as he continues his pursuit for his first Cup championship. Following his celebratory burnout and salute to the fans, Hamlin dedicated the win to J.J. Damato, an executive and VP/Marketing Services at Joe Gibbs Racing who died a day ago at age 48.

    “Just a lot of attrition,” Hamlin said on NBC. “We just played the strategy and the numbers game to run in the back until we were locked in. Just things worked out. We finally got one back. This one was unexpected to say the least, but proud of this whole FedEx team, Toyota and everyone at JGR for bringing great race cars…Really excited about this win. This was unexpected for sure. They were crashing in front of us. Obviously, I got forced down there just like [DiBenedetto] and others did. There were a bunch of us that all crashed down there…Just an amazing day.”

    DiBenedetto, who initially settled in second place for the third time this season, was left with tears of disappointment in coming up short in delivering his first victory and the historic 100th win for the Wood Brothers Racing team as he has yet to announce his racing plans for next season.

    “It’s just a crazy finish,” DiBenedetto said on NBC. “I haven’t been able to really process it. I just really want to get this thing in Victory Lane. This Tuscany Faucets team. I feel like this is the same story a lot of times, just heartbreak. My wife and I have had a stressful week again just with the uncertainty — always fighting for my life — but I’m so appreciative of this team. The Wood Brothers, I want this 100th win for the Woods so bad. Our alliance with Team Penske, Ford — I appreciate them putting me in this car. It’s so much fun to drive and have a shot to win. Denny did a great job. Deja vu. Holy cow. Denny deserves all the support in the world. He’s an incredible racer. He was my biggest threat. I tried to block all I could. My spotter, Doug, did a great job. This is tough…My windshield was filthy from all the speedy dry. I was having trouble seeing to block. I was blocking everyone’s lane. I mean, that was pure desperation, but that’s how I drive every race. Every time I step foot in a race car. I’m appreciative for the challenges I’ve faced. That’s what it teaches you when you have those shots…Wild finish. That’s Talladega. I’m glad the fans got a great show. I just hope to win races. I know we can do it.”

    Following the race, however, DiBenedetto was penalized for forcing Byron below the double yellow line that involved contact. With that, DiBenedetto was credited with a 21st-place result.

    Chase Elliott was also penalized for going below the double yellow line through the tri-oval and was originally scored back to 22nd place. Following the race, however, NASCAR rescinded the penalty on Elliott after it was discovered that Elliott was forced beneath the yellow line by Buescher. With that, Buescher was penalized all the way back to 22nd place while Elliott retained fifth place on the track.

    Following DiBenedetto’s penalty, Erik Jones was scored in second place followed by Ty Dillon, who notched a career-best result. Byron settled in fourth place in front of teammate Elliott. Newman, Reddick, Nemechek, Poole and Preece rounded out the top 10 on the track.

    Austin Dillon limped home in 12th place, two spots ahead of Bowman, while Keselowski fell all the way back in 18th place. Harvick settled in 20th place while Truex ended his run in 23rd place. Jimmie Johnson finished in 29th place in his 38th and final run at Talladega.

    There were 58 lead changes for 18 different leaders. The race featured a record 13 cautions for 54 laps.

    Results.

    1. Denny Hamlin, 26 laps led

    2. Erik Jones, 13 laps led

    3. Ty Dillon

    4. William Byron, one lap led

    5. Chase Elliott, 41 laps led

    6. Ryan Newman

    7. Tyler Reddick, two laps led

    8. John Hunter Nemechek

    9. Brennan Poole

    10. Ryan Preece

    11. Justin Haley

    12. Austin Dillon

    13. Quin Houff

    14. Alex Bowman

    15. Timmy Hill, one lap led

    16. Matt Kenseth

    17. Joey Gase

    18. Brad Keselowski, six laps led

    19. Cody Ware, one lap led

    20. Kevin Harvick, two laps led

    21. Matt DiBenedetto, 10 laps led

    22. Chris Buescher, 15 laps led, Stage 1 winner

    23. Martin Truex Jr., two laps down, six laps led, Stage 2 winner

    24. Bubba Wallace – OUT, Accident, 10 laps led

    25. Ryan Blaney – OUT, Accident, 10 laps led

    26. Joey Logano – OUT, Accident, 45 laps led

    27. Kyle Busch – OUT, Accident

    28. Corey LaJoie, 12 laps down

    29. Jimmie Johnson – OUT, Accident, one lap led

    30. James Davison, 82 laps down

    31. Cole Custer – OUT, Accident

    32. Kurt Busch – OUT, Accident

    33. Clint Bowyer – OUT, Accident

    34. Daniel Suarez – OUT, Accident

    35. Brendan Gaughan – OUT, Accident

    36. Michael McDowell – OUT, one lap led

    37. Aric Almirola – OUT, Accident, nine laps led

    38. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – OUT, Accident

    39. Christopher Bell – OUT, Accident

    Playoff standings.

    1. Denny Hamlin – Advanced

    2. Kurt Busch – Advanced

    3. Kevin Harvick +68

    4. Chase Elliott +44

    5. Brad Keselowski +41

    6. Martin Truex Jr. +32

    7. Alex Bowman +22

    8. Joey Logano +21

    9. Kyle Busch -21

    10. Austin Dillon -21

    11. Clint Bowyer -38

    12. Aric Almirola -48

    With the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs reaching its halfway point, the series will travel to the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course for the Bank of America ROVAL 400 and the final Playoff event in the Round of 12. The race will occur on Sunday, October 11, at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBC.

  • Blaney, Custer and DiBenedetto fail to transfer in the 2020 Cup Playoffs

    Blaney, Custer and DiBenedetto fail to transfer in the 2020 Cup Playoffs

    While the Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway on Saturday, September 19, was a good race for some, it was a disappointing night for others, particularly those vying for a transfer spot to the Round of 12 in the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs and came into Bristol on the outside of the top-12 cutline in the standings. When the checkered flag flew, the championship runs for Ryan Blaney, Cole Custer and Matt DiBenedetto came to an end as they joined William Byron in failing to transfer to the Round of 12 in the Playoffs.

    For Custer, he was coming off 12th- and 14th-place results during the first two Playoff races of this season. Despite the top-15 results, he was eight points below the top-12 cutline to advance to the Round of 12 in the Playoffs.

    Starting back in 12th place while battling with early loose landing conditions to his No. 41 HaasTooling.com/Autodesk Ford Mustang, the Ladera Ranch, California, native was in 14th place by Lap 30 under the competition caution. On the ensuing restart, Custer jumped to 11th place and he continued to run in that position through Lap 50. Twenty-five laps later, he was back in 21st place. By Lap 100, Custer had fallen back to 24th place. By the time first stage concluded on Lap 125, he settled in 24th place.

    Throughout the second stage, Custer continued to struggle with the handling of his No. 41 Ford as he was mired outside the top 20 on the track. Falling a lap behind the leaders, he could only move up to 21st place when the second stage concluded on Lap 250, the halfway point of the race.

    Battling tight conditions to his car and still pinned a lap behind the leaders while also struggling to keep pace with his Stewart-Haas Racing teammates, Custer was on the verge of being eliminated while running below the top 20. With 100 laps remaining, he fought his way up to 16th place. Though he was scored in 13th place under the final 100 laps of the race, he made multiple pit stops to have the front nose of his car repaired as a result of making contact prior to a restart. The loss of track positions and the laps behind the leaders ended his run towards the front as he crossed the finish line in 23rd place, three laps behind the leaders.

    With his result, Custer was eliminated from title contention, having missed the cutline by 28 points, while teammates Kevin Harvick, Aric Almirola and Clint Bowyer advanced to the Round of 12. Being eliminated from title contention was a disappointing outcome for the Californian in a season where he achieved his first Cup career win at Kentucky Speedway in July and wrapped up the 2020 Cup Rookie-of-the-Year title in being the lone rookie candidate to make this year’s Playoffs.

    “We just struggled here,” Custer said. “I don’t know why. I’ve always liked Bristol, it just hasn’t come together this year here. We’ve just really struggled. I just can’t thank everybody enough at SHR, everybody at HaasTooling.com, Autodesk. I just wish we had a better night. We were just a little bit off. I think we can hang our heads high on what we’ve done this year, but we still have a lot of races to win the rest of this year, so we just have to keep building.”

    If there was an underdog that was a part of this year’s Playoffs, it was DiBenedetto in the No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford Mustang. For DiBenedetto, he was coming off 21st- and 17th-place results during the first two races of the Playoffs. With his pair of results, the Grass Valley, California, native was 25 points below the top-12 cutline and needed a strong run at Bristol Motor Speedway to keep his title hopes alive.

    Starting in 16th place in the No. 21 Menards/Dutch Boy Ford Mustang, DiBenedetto had a decent opening run on Saturday night as he settled inside the top 15 on the track. Nearing the Lap 30 mark and when the first caution flag of the race flew, DiBenedetto and the No. 21 crew made an early gamble and came out of pit road with the lead following a two-tire pit stop. Restarting in first place on Lap 40, he led a total of seven laps, including under caution, before he was overtaken by Brad Keselowski on Lap 43. Despite only have two fresh tires compared to the majority of the field, DiBenedetto continued to run in second place. For nearly the next 50 laps, he continued to run in second place until he was overtaken by Chase Elliott. From there, DiBenedetto continued to slide backwards throughout the long run under green as he dropped out of the top five. When the first stage concluded on Lap 125, he was out of the top 10 and was scored in 12th place as he failed to record a stage point.

    In the early laps of the second stage, DiBenedetto was in 15th place. By then, he was scored outside of the top-12 cutline in the Playoff standings. As the race progressed, he dropped back to the top 20. Near the Lap 190 mark, things started to fall apart for DiBenedetto when he was forced to pit under green due to a loose right-rear wheel as a result of running over debris on the track. By the time he returned to the track, he was three laps behind the leaders and was unable to regain the lost laps for the remainder of the second stage.

    For the final half of the 500-lap race, DiBenedetto was en route to regain the lost laps from the second stage. Running in 11th place at one point in the race, he, ultimately, crossed the finish line in 19th place, three laps behind the leaders. As a result, he fell 41 points shy of transferring to the second round in the Playoffs.

    The end result served as a disappointing outcome for DiBenedetto, who started this season as the newest driver of the iconic No. 21 Ford Mustang for Wood Brothers Racing and achieved two top-five results and seven top-10 results throughout the 26-race regular-season stretch, including a 12th-place run in the regular-season finale at Daytona International Speedway in August, to make this year’s Playoffs.

    “If we didn’t have bad luck, we wouldn’t have any luck at all,” DiBenedetto said on NBCSN. “I don’t know. It’s just frustrating. I wanted to get Menards, Dutch Boy, this team a good run like they deserve because we’ve had a rough couple of weeks. Had a loose wheel, overcome it, drive through the entire field and a lot of green flag [run]. We get seventh hoping for a caution, but either way, we drove in the top 10, good run. And I was screaming debris in [Turn] 1 three damn times and we found it. We ran it over multiple times and that cuts the right rear [tire], and it just ruins our day.”

    Though he was disappointed in being eliminated from title contention, DiBenedetto remained positive and was pleased with the opportunity in making his first Playoff appearance as a title contender and experiencing the competitiveness with the Wood Brothers Racing team this entire season. Though he does not have his racing plans for next season set, he sets his primary focus towards the final seven races of this season in earning as many strong results before the season concludes.

    “I can’t possibly explain to people the emotional roller coaster of doing this for a living,” DiBenedetto added. “I am very appreciative to do it, love it and I hope I’m driving for this team next year and hope to keep on doing it. We have a lot to build off of. We’re just barely getting started. It is tough. I’m glad we made the Playoffs, I’m proud of my team. Tonight shows the fight we have as a team, rebounding like that. I just hate we missed the next round and had some not good races, bad luck, you name it. We got a lot of season left. We still have a lot of position in position to fight for. We have fast race cars like you see tonight. So, we still have a lot of stuff left and hopefully, lot of good things to come.”

    A few days prior to the Bristol Night Race, Blaney issued a stern warning to his fellow competitors and the competition that he would do whatever it took, especially with a fast race car, to move others out of his path to win by any means and keep his title hopes alive. After coming off finishes of 19th and 13th in the first two races of this year’s Playoffs, Blaney was 27 points below the top-12 cutline in the Playoff standings and in jeopardy of not transferring to the second round in the postseason.

    Starting in 14th place, Blaney wasted no time making his way to the front in the No. 12 Advance Auto Parts Ford Mustang. By Lap 60 and after methodically fighting his way towards the front, he was scored in fifth place while his two Penske teammates, Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano, were also running at the front. Initially primed for a strong result in the first stage, things slowly backfired as the race went into a long run under green. During the run, he dropped out of the top five and out of the top 10 as he continued to lose more spots while battling tight conditions. By the time the first stage concluded on Lap 125, Blaney was mired back in 23rd place.

    Throughout the second stage, Blaney was mired back in and out of the top 20 on the track and was struggling to fight his way back to the front. During an eight-lap dash to the conclusion of the stage, however, he was able to march his way back inside the top 15 and conclude the stage in 11th place, missing an opportunity claim a stage point by one position.

    Needing to win and give it his all in the final stage, Blaney started the final stage on a strong note as he made his way back into the top 10 and not long after, in the top five. Less than 150 laps remaining, however, Blaney pitted under green due to a right front issue on his No. 12 Ford. Falling back, Blaney managed to work his way back to 13th place, two laps down, when the checkered flag flew and he finished.

    The top-15 result, however, was not enough for Blaney to keep his championship hopes alive as he missed the top-12 cutline by 37 points. The end result at Bristol served as a disappointing outcome for Blaney and his No. 12 Ford team following an up-and-down 26-race regular-season stretch, where he won at Talladega Superspeedway in June, achieved eight top-five results, 11 top-10 results and started the season with veteran crew chief Todd Gordon. Blaney’s team was also hit with a 10-point penalty prior to the Playoff opener at Darlington Raceway early in September due to an improperly mounted ballast that was discovered on his car, a penalty that had Todd Gordon suspended for one race.

    “We started off tight and then that second run, we got really tight after the competition caution,” Blaney said on NBCSN. “[We] Lost a lot of track position. After that, we kind of was able to drive up through there. I think we got to fifth or sixth at one time. We got super tight again and it went really long. That just kind of made it worse. We just got behind there. The track just swung really tight. I was tight all night, but it swung really tight on us. That was just the wrong direction that the track needed to be at. That stinks. I thought we got our car pretty close there in the second half of the race, second stage and then, we were on the cycle of pitting and getting laps down and was on old stuff. Unfortunate end for this No. 12 group, but I’m really proud of the effort this year. We’re not done, for sure. We can still go try to win races and try to get fifth in points. Thanks to Advance Auto Parts, Menards and Ford for what they do. We got seven more races.”

    Blaney, Custer and DiBenedetto, along with their fellow competitors, will return for the next scheduled NASCAR Cup Series Playoff race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday, September 27, at 7 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

  • Harvick scores ninth Cup victory of 2020 at Bristol

    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.

  • NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Darlington

    NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Darlington

    Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

    1. Kevin Harvick: Harvick took the win at Darlington after inheriting the lead when Chase Elliott and Martin Truex, Jr. hit the wall battling for the lead late.

    “If this were the Olympics,” Harvick said, “I would have won the gold, while Eliott and Truex would have shared the silver, for handing me that win on a platter of such.”

    2. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin finished 13th at Darlington.

    “I missed getting into the pits late in the race,” Hamlin said, “and that cost me. I missed the left into the pits. Several other drivers made mistakes at Darlington. So I guess as far as making mistakes goes, it was ‘my turn.’”

    3. Chase Elliott: Elliott finished 20th in the Cook Out Southern 500.

    “Martin Truex Jr. tried to pass me for the lead and wasn’t clear,” Elliott said. “The result? We both hit the wall and lost our chances to win. So, in our tangle, there were no winners.”

    4. Joey Logano: Logano finished third at Darlington, posting his seventh top-5 of the season

    “It was ‘throwback’ weekend at Darlington,” Logano said. “Mine honored Bobby Allison. His brother Donnie will be honored whenever NASCAR has a ‘throw punch‘ weekend.”

    5. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski hit the wall in Stage 1 and fell a lap down before recovering to post an 11th at Darlington.

    “When you make a mistake at Darlington,” Keselowski said, “the wall makes you pay for it. Now, if Corey LaJoie hits the wall with his ‘Trump 2020’ car, the wall makes Mexico pay for it.”

    6. Martin Truex Jr.: Truex swept Stages 1 and 2, but fell from contention after initiating contact while trying to pass Chase Elliott with 15 laps to go. Truex finished 22nd.

    “I take full responsibility,” Truex said. “I said as much on Twitter, where my new Twitter handle is ‘@fault.’”

    7. Ryan Blaney: Blaney suffered a flat rear tire early in Stage 2, and the ensuing pit stop left him a lap down. Unable to recover, he finished 24th.

    “Even before that,” Blaney said, “I was docked 10 points and sent to the back of the field for improperly mounted ballast. That’s a pretty stiff punishment, and is also known as being ‘heavily penalized.’”

    8. William Byron: Byron finished fifth at Darlington, just ahead of Handrick Motorsports teammate Alex Bowman.

    “I just signed a two-year contract extension with Hendrick Motorsports,” Byron said. “I signed on the dotted line, while also making sure I didn’t sign below the yellow line.”

    9. Kyle Busch: Busch finished seventh at Darlington and is 10th in the points standings.

    “I’m the guy most people might be overlooking to win the championship,” Busch said. “My odds in Vegas to win the title are pretty slim. So, as far as oddsmakers go, ‘no one likes me to win.’ Remove the ‘to win’ part of that phrase, and you have another true statement.”

    10. Aric Almirola: Almirola finished ninth in the Cook Out Southern 500 and is now 12th in the point standings.

    “I’m sitting right on the playoff bubble,” Almirola said. “My Stewart-Haas Racing teammate Kevin Harvick doesn’t have to worry about that. In fact, he’s thinking not about the ‘playoff bubble,’ but the ‘playoff bubbly.’”

  • Harvick wins the 2020 Cup Playoff opener at Darlington Raceway

    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.

  • Elliott to start on pole position for Playoff opener at Darlington

    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.

  • NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Daytona

    NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Daytona

    Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

    1. Kevin Harvick: Harvick finished 20th at Daytona.

    “I had an early overheating issue,” Harvick said. “It seems some trash collected on my front grill. As one would expect in this sport, it was ‘white trash.’”

    2. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin led at the final restart at Daytona, but was shuffled out of the draft and finished third.

    “I’d like to be a team owner once my driver days are over,” Hamlin said. “And speaking of ‘taking ownership,’ Tyler Reddick apologized for causing the lap 152 ‘Big One.’”

    3. Chase Elliott: Elliott survived on a wild night at Daytona to take the runner-up position in the Coke Zero Sugar 400.

    “The race was called the ‘Coke Zero Sugar 400,’” Elliott said. “I don’t know a lot about Coke Zero, but I do know something about ‘Zero Coke.’ That’s the drug consumption in the Daytona infield with no fans.”

    4. Martin Truex Jr.: Truex finished fourth at Daytona and is sixth in the points standings.

    “The last eight laps at Daytona were pure chaos,” Truex said. “Incidentally, ‘Pure Chaos’ might be Tyler Reddick’s new nickname or the newest Mountain Dew flavor.”

    5. Joey Logano: Logano won Stages 1 and 2 at Daytona, but his strong Stage 3 run ended when he was collected in a big crash with one lap to go. He finished 27th.

    “I got bounced around pretty hard when I was knocked out of the race,” Logano said. “So, I’m upset I got knocked out of the race, and I’m a little sore from the wreck. So, in other words, ‘Sliced Bread’ feels ‘crumby.’”

    6. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski finished 10th at Daytona, posting his 19th top 10 of the year.

    “I purposely hung back for much of the race,” Keselowski said, “to avoid becoming a victim in an inevitable crash. I thought it wise to stay out of harm’s way. If I really want to find myself in harm’s way, I’ll ask Kevin Harvick to push me there.”

    7. Ryan Blaney: Blaney finished sixth at Daytona.

    “You saw the ‘Big One’ happen with eight laps to go,” Blaney said. “I think everyone can agree that Tyler Reddick was totally responsible for causing that. I’m sure Tyler will have a lot of drivers he needs to apologize to. He’ll have a lot of stops to make, so he should drive. That’s called a ‘guilt trip.’”

    8. Aric Almirola: Almirola finished 18th at Daytona and enters the playoffs in 12th place, 52 behind Kevin Harvick.

    “I’m going to the playoffs with the mindset to win it all,” Almirola said. “I’m so confident, I guarantee my name will be atop the standings after we race in Phoenix on November 8. Of course, I’m counting on drivers to be ranked alphabetically.”

    9. Clint Bowyer: Bowyer finished 19th in the Coke Zero Sugar 400.

    “I clinched a spot in the playoffs after Stage 1 ended,” Bowyer said. “I considered doing a burnout to celebrate. But I ultimately decided against it, because the last time I ‘intentionally spun’ before a race was over, it wasn’t a good look for me.”

    10. (tie) William Byron: Byron survived a hectic finish at Daytona to take the win in the Coke Zero Sugar 400.

    “There were two huge crashes in the final eight laps,” Byron said. “My car is sponsored by Liberty University, so I’m guessing Jerry Fallwell Jr. loved watching this race because he likes watching people ‘smash.’”

    10. (tie): Kyle Busch: Busch was leading at Daytona on Lap 152 when Tyler Reddick went for an ill-advised block, forcing Busch into the wall and triggering the ‘Big One.’ Busch was knocked out of the race and finished 33rd.

    “I’m not sure what Reddick was thinking,’” Busch said. “As they often say in NASCAR, it appears he ‘ran out of talent.’ That’s true, but when your wreck the defending NASCAR champion who’s also leading the race, you’ve ‘ran into talent.’”

  • Byron scores first Cup career win at Daytona; 2020 Cup Playoff field is set

    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.

  • Harvick records milestone win for Ford at Dover, clinches regular-season championship

    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.

  • Harvick sweeps Michigan in one weekend

    Harvick sweeps Michigan in one weekend

    Like his run from a day earlier at Michigan International Speedway, Kevin Harvick had a fast car and had to fight off all comers to earn a victory. That was the case on Sunday, August 9, when Harvick held off a late challenge from Denny Hamlin in the final laps to win the Consumers Energy 400 at Michigan and to sweep both Cup races at the Irish Hills on the same weekend. The victory was Harvick’s sixth of this season, fifth at Michigan and the 55th of his Cup Series career. 

    The starting lineup was based on the results from Saturday’s Cup race at Michigan, where the top-20 finishers were inverted while the latter 20 competitors started as finished on Saturday. Chris Buescher, who finished 20th, was scheduled to start on pole position, but he started at the rear of the field in a backup car. As a result, William Byron and Clint Bowyer, both of whom finished 14th and 19th on Saturday, started on the front row and led the field to the start on Sunday.

    In addition to Buescher, the following competitors, including Austin Dillon, Ryan Newman, rookie Tyler Reddick, Aric Almirola, Michael McDowell, Ryan Preece, rookie John Hunter Nemechek and rookie Cole Custer, started at the rear of the field in backup cars. Rookie Brennan Poole also started at the rear of the field for an engine change, Daniel Suarez and Reed Sorenson both dropped to the rear of the field due to failing pre-race inspection twice and Josh Bilicki started at the rear of the field due to a driver change. 

    When the green flag waved and the race commenced, Byron and Bowyer battled dead even for the lead with Bowyer squeaking ahead to lead the first lap. Behind, Austin Dillon was assessed a pass-through penalty for unapproved adjustments made on the grid prior to the race.

    The following lap, Jimmie Johnson and Matt DiBenedetto overtook Byron for position with rookie Christopher Bell, Bubba Wallace, Erik Jones and Kurt Busch trailing behind. By then, Bowyer was ahead with the lead by nearly half a second.

    By the fifth lap, Kyle Busch muscled his way up to seventh after overtaking brother Kurt and Wallace in Turn 2 a lap earlier. Behind, Ryan Blaney was in ninth, Chase Elliott was in 11th ahead of Joey Logano, Kevin Harvick and Brad Keselowski. Denny Hamlin was in 17th, teammate Martin Truex Jr. was in 19th and Tyler Reddick was in 20th ahead of Alex Bowman. Rookie Cole Custer was in 25th ahead of Ryan Newman, Aric Almirola and Daniel Suarez.

    Five laps later and 10 laps into the race, Bowyer stabilized his early advantage by more than a second over Johnson followed by Bell, DiBenedetto, Byron and Jones. Two laps later, Bell, the fastest competitor on the track, moved into the runner-up spot after passing Johnson. Another lap later, Johnson lost momentum entering Turn 3 and fell back to sixth place while being overtaken by DiBenedetto, Byron and Jones. 

    By Lap 15, Harvick, winner of Saturday’s Cup Michigan race, cracked the top 10 after passing Wallace. Ahead of him, Kyle Busch was in eighth ahead of Blaney while Logano, Elliott, Keselowski and Hamlin were running in 12th through 15th.

    Five laps later and 20 laps into the race, Bowyer was still leading by more than two seconds over Bell, who continued to chop off Bowyer’s advantage. DiBenedetto was still in third place while Byron and Jones battled for fourth. The Busch brothers followed suit while Blaney and Harvick were in eighth and ninth. Johnson, meanwhile, had fallen back to 10th with Logano lingering behind him. By then, Wallace was in 15th ahead of Reddick, Truex was in 24th behind Almirola and Austin Dillon was back in 33rd place following his opening lap pass-through penalty.

    With the laps in the first stage dwindling, Bowyer and his No. 14 DEKALB Ford Mustang were still ahead and cruising by three seconds over Bell and his No. 95 Procore Toyota Camry. Meanwhile, Kyle Busch and his No. 18 M&M’s Fudge Brownie Toyota Camry continued to work towards the front as he moved into third place followed by Jones, Byron and DiBenedetto. Blaney was in seventh followed by Harvick, one of the fastest competitors on the track. Kurt Busch was in ninth while Logano was in 10th ahead of Johnson, Elliott, Hamlin and Keselowski. Reddick was in 17th behind Wallace while Truex was stuck back in 22nd.

    With no competition trailing behind him for the lead, Bowyer was able to navigate his way through lapped traffic and cruise to the first stage win on Lap 40 while claiming his third stage win of the season and crucial stage points towards making the Playoffs. Bell settled in second place followed by Kyle Busch, DiBenedetto and Jones. Byron, Blaney, Harvick, Kurt Busch and Logano settled in the top 10. 

    Under the stage break, the leaders pitted and Kyle Busch emerged with the lead after exiting pit road first following a stellar stop by the No. 18 M&M’s crew. Harvick moved up to second place followed by teammate Bowyer, Byron and Jones. Following the first round of pit stops, Blaney, who was in the top 10, made another pit stop to fill up the fuel tank of his No. 12 Menards Ford Mustang. 

    Prior to the restart and with the choose rule implemented, Byron moved up from fourth to second place and restarted beneath Kyle Busch on the front row, Johnson moved up from seventh to restart in third place alongside Harvick in the second row and Bowyer dropped back to sixth to restart on the outside lane in the third row alongside Logano.

    The second stage started on Lap 47 and Kyle Busch jumped to an early advantage with drafting help from Harvick. Not long after, Harvick made a three-wide move on Kyle Busch and Byron entering Turn 2 to take the lead and pull away. Busch settled in second followed by Bowyer, Byron and Jones. A lap later, Keselowski made his way into the top five after moving up to fourth. Behind, Bell was back in eighth following a slow stop under the first stage break. 

    By Lap 60 and with less than 100 laps remaining of the overall race, Harvick was leading by more than a second over Keselowski and Kyle Busch. Bowyer was in fourth followed by Bell, Jones, Logano, DiBenedetto, Elliott and Hamlin. Kurt Busch was in 11th followed by Almirola and Byron, Johnson and Bowman. Blaney was in 18th behind Reddick and ahead of Truex and Wallace. Matt Kenseth and Newman were in 16th and 23rd.

    Ten laps later, Harvick, who started to approach lapped traffic, was still ahead of the field by two seconds over Keselowski and more than three seconds over Kyle Busch. Bell was still in fourth place followed by Bowyer, Jones, Hamlin, Logano, Elliott and Almirola. Johnson and Byron were back in 14th and 15th behind Blaney while Truex was in 17th. 

    At the halfway mark on Lap 78, Harvick extended his advantage to more than three seconds over Keselowski with Kyle Busch trailing by more than four seconds, Bell by nearly six seconds and Bowyer by nearly seven seconds. Like his race-winning performance from Saturday and with the same car he drove to yesterday’s win, Harvick was able to drive away from the field and easily claim the second stage on Lap 85 for his fifth stage victory of the season. Keselowski settled in second place followed by Kyle Busch, Bell and Bowyer. Hamlin, Jones, Almirola, Logano and Blaney were scored in the top 10.

    Under the stage break, the leaders pitted and Harvick retained the lead after exiting pit road first ahead of Kyle Busch. Keselowski, Bowyer and Hamlin exited in the top five followed by Bell. Prior to the restart, Hamlin moved up to the front row to restart beneath Harvick, Kyle Busch fell back to fourth to restart on the outside lane alongside Blaney. Elliott and Keselowski restarted behind on the third row followed by DiBenedetto and Bowyer.

    Under 65 laps remaining, the final stage started under green. During the restart, Hamlin and Blaney boosted ahead with the lead and both competitors battled dead even before Blaney squeaked ahead with the top spot. Behind, Harvick and Hamlin battled for the runner-up spot followed by Elliott, Kyle Busch and Keselowski. Meanwhile, Bowman and Truex, both of whom struggled, were in 10th and 11th while Bowyer was in 12th ahead of Jones, Reddick and Bell. Byron was in 17th ahead of Kenseth while Johnson was in 20th behind Wallace.

    With around 60 laps remaining, Keselowski, who muscled his way up to the runner-up spot, made a move beneath Blaney in Turn 1 and challenged for the lead when he got loose and slipped up into Blaney as both Penske teammates wrecked across the Turn 2 outside wall. With the caution returning, the wreck eliminated Blaney and Keselowski from race-winning contention and the overall race.

    “I just lost it,” Keselowski said following his release from the infield care center on NBCSN. “It’s my fault. I feel really bad for my teammate, Ryan Blaney. He didn’t deserve that. I just came off of Turn 4 and [Harvick] was behind me. He gave me a push and I swear, I went into the corner like 20 mph faster than I had been all day. [I] Got pass [Hamlin] and went to get underneath [Blaney]. It just slipped, lost the back a little bit. I went to correct it and he was there, and I wiped him out and myself out.”

    “It’s unfortunate for the whole Penske organization,” Blaney added. “We had two fast cars, battling for the lead. It stinks that happened. He had a run like he said. He didn’t think he had a big of a run as he had and just got loose and unfortunately, got us both. That’s a shame to end our day like that with the Knauf/Menards Ford Mustang. We were so fast…Got the lead…It’s unfortunate, but it’s not going to carry over. Mistakes happen.”

    Under caution, Bowman made a pit stop after sustaining damage during the incident. Bowyer, who also sustained minimal damage to his car, remained on track inside the top 10. Prior to the restart, Kyle Busch moved up to restart beneath teammate Hamlin on the front row. Kurt Busch and Harvick restarted on the second row in front of Bell and Elliott.

    The race restarted under green with 55 laps remaining and Harvick made his way back to the lead over Hamlin. Elliott moved into third followed by Kyle Busch and Almirola. Kurt Busch charged his way up to sixth followed by DiBenedetto, Truex, Johnson and Bell. Meanwhile, Bowyer, who sustained a tire rub during the restart, made an unscheduled pit stop and was trapped a lap behind the leaders.

    Shortly after, the caution returned when Bell spun in Turn 2 after sustaining a flat tire. The caution was as a saving grace for Bowyer, who received the free pass and returned on the lead lap. 

    Under caution, nearly the entire field pitted and Hamlin exited pit road first after only taking fuel to his No. 11 FedEx Toyota, the first of many who elected to pit for only fuel. DiBenedetto exited in second after he also took only fuel to his car followed by Harvick, who opted for a two-tire stop. At the front, Almirola remained on track to inherit the lead, though he miscommunicated with his crew over code words and had meant to pit with the leaders.

    When the race restarted with 47 laps remaining, teammates Almirola and Harvick battled for the lead with Harvick leading the following lap before Almirola cleared his teammate for the lead the next lap. Behind, DiBenedetto moved up to third place followed by Truex, who made a three-wide move on Kurt Busch and Hamlin to move into the top five for the first time. Logano was in seventh followed by Jones, Kyle Busch and Newman. 

    With 40 laps remaining, Harvick made his way back to the lead after passing Almirola, though Almirola and his No. 10 Smithfield Ford Mustang remained competitive on old tires and low fuel. Truex was up in third place followed by DiBenedetto and Hamlin. Meanwhile, Kyle Busch was in ninth ahead of Johnson and Jones, Austin Dillon was up to 13th, Byron was in 15th and Bowyer was in 18th.

    Ten laps later and with 30 laps remaining, Harvick was still leading by two-tenths of a second over his Stewart-Haas Racing teammate Almirola while Joe Gibbs Racing’s Truex and Hamlin battled for third place. Kurt Busch trailed by more than four seconds with brother Kyle up to sixth.

    Seven laps later, with the leaders approaching lapped traffic, teammates Truex and Hamlin passed Almirola to move up to second and third with Truex trailing race leader Harvick by less than a second. 

    With less than 20 laps remaining, the caution returned due to debris from Bowman’s No. 88 Adam’s Polishes/ChevyGoods.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, who had sustained a flat tire entering Turn 4 and near the pit road entrance. The caution was as a saving grace for Almirola, who was on the brink of having to make an unscheduled pit stop under green.

    Under caution, Almirola along with some that included DiBenedetto, Wallace, Kenseth, Michael McDowell, rookie John Hunter Nemechek, Ryan Preece and Daniel Suarez pitted while most of the leaders led by Harvick remained on track.

    With 15 laps remaining, the race restarted under green with Harvick and Hamlin on the front row in front of Truex and Logano. At the restart, Harvick retained the lead while teammates Truex and Hamlin battled for the runner-up spot. Teammate Kyle Busch made his way to fourth after passing brother Kurt and with DiBenedetto behind. 

    Two laps later, Hamlin settled in the runner-up spot in front of teammates Truex and Kyle Busch. By then, Harvick was ahead by nearly a second. Meanwhile, Almirola, following his pit stop, was up to eighth on fresh tires behind Elliott. 

    With less than 10 laps remaining, Harvick was leading by six-tenths of a second over Hamlin, who was slowly closing in towards Harvick, while teammates Truex and Kyle Busch battled for third place. During this time, Bowman made another unscheduled pit stop after making contact with the wall and sustaining another flat tire.

    With the laps dwindling, Hamlin continued to chop off Harvick’s advantage as he drew himself to being three-tenths of a second behind Harvick. While Hamlin remained within sight of Harvick’s rear bumper and made a few attempts to pass for the lead through the turns, Harvick was able to retain his advantage entering the straightaways.

    With two laps remaining, Hamlin gained a run in Turn 1 when Harvick lifted, but he also lifted entering Turn 2 as Harvick stabilized his advantage to nearly three car lengths. On the final lap, Harvick was still ahead with Hamlin still lurking behind. In Turn 3, Harvick remained on the inside lane while Hamlin went on the outside lane. Entering Turn 4, Hamlin gained a huge run on Harvick and got to his rear bumper. With the checkered flag waving and the leaders coming across the finish line through the frontstretch, Harvick was able to beat Hamlin by 0.093 seconds to grab a thrilling win.

    The victory was the 13th of the season for Ford, the manufacturer’s 42nd Cup victory since 2018 and the seventh of the season for Stewart-Haas Racing. With his two victories this weekend, Harvick tallied his top-five results of this season to 15 and top-10 results to 19. A day after tying the late Lee Petty for 11th place on the NASCAR Cup all-time wins list, Harvick has tied NASCAR Hall of Famer Rusty Wallace for 10th place on the all-time wins list. 

    “It was a big challenge [on the battle with Hamlin],” Harvick said in Victory Lane on NBCSN. “Our Busch Light Apple Ford Mustang got really tight there in [Turns] 3 and 4. I could run really good through [Turns] 1 and 2 still, but I was just tight on that other end all day. I just got to thank all of my guys. They did a great job all weekend on pit road. Great pit calls. It’s been a long time since I’ve raced back-to-back days, let alone in the Cup car. I’ve never accomplished that, obviously, but we’ve done that a couple times this year. For us, it’s worked out pretty good. When you look at my team, we’ve been together for seven years now, and you look at the confidence that everybody has in each other, the details of the racecars and the thought of everything that goes into everything we do is untouchable.”

    Hamlin settled in the runner-up spot for his 12th top-five result of this season as this also marks the ninth time where he has finished first or second this season. Teammates Truex and Kyle Busch finished third and fourth while Logano held off Almirola to finish fifth.

    “Once we finally got to second, I knew we had something for [Harvick],” Hamlin said. “We got stalled there. He was tight, I was tight. We were better, that’s for sure. He just had the track position and could control the lanes there. [I] Wished I had Turns 1 and 2 to go do over again when we both lifted off of [Turn] 2 there. I should’ve faked low and went high, but I thought I could maybe get to the quarter panel and shoved him even higher. Just couldn’t quite do it, but proud of this whole FedEx Ground Toyota team. Obviously, a very strong run. We just needed a little bit more. Overall, I thought we just had a good-handling car and that’s what allowed us to keep pace there. I thought our whole team did a great job of adjusting overnight. We’re just plugging along here. [I] Really hate giving up wins to [Harvick]. I got tremendous respect for everyone on [the No. 4] team and Kevin. As we’ve gotten older, we’ve gotten wiser, learned to really appreciate what each other does on the race track and obviously, they’re have a great season as well.”

    “We battled back,” Truex said. “The car was pretty far off to start the race. We’re all pretty disappointed in that, obviously. Really proud of the effort to get the Auto-Owners [Insurance] Camry back upfront. Just really proud of our race team. We keep bringing top-three cars to the race track and the Playoffs are coming. So, we need to keep doing that. Just off at the start and had to rebound. Definitely, a different story than yesterday but pretty much, the same result. I was doing all I could to get up there. I got too tight there at the end. Just fought the balance too much all day. Wicked loose to start and wicked tight at the end. We’ll keep digging.”

    Almirola, DiBenedetto, Austin Dillon, Elliott and Kurt Busch rounded out the top 10. Jimmie Johnson finished 11th in his final run at Michigan while Bowyer ended his run in 14th place.

    There were 10 lead changes for six different leaders. The race featured five cautions for 24 laps.

    With two victories this weekend and with four regular-season races remaining until the start of the 2020 Cup Playoffs, Harvick continues to lead the regular-season series standings by 137 over Keselowski and 140 over Hamlin.

    Results.

    1. Kevin Harvick, 90 laps led, Stage 2 winner

    2. Denny Hamlin, six laps led

    3. Martin Truex Jr.

    4. Kyle Busch, four laps led

    5. Joey Logano

    6. Aric Almirola, nine laps led

    7. Matt DiBenedetto

    8. Austin Dillon

    9. Chase Elliott

    10. Kurt Busch

    11. Jimmie Johnson

    12. William Byron

    13. Ryan Newman

    14. Clint Bowyer, 43 laps led, Stage 1 winner

    15. Matt Kenseth

    16. Ryan Preece

    17. Christopher Bell

    18. Ty Dillon

    19. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

    20. Chris Buescher

    21. Bubba Wallace

    22. Corey LaJoie

    23. John Hunter Nemechek

    24. Tyler Reddick

    25. Cole Custer

    26. Daniel Suarez

    27. Erik Jones

    28. Michael McDowell

    29. J.J. Yeley, two laps down

    30. Brennan Poole, three laps down

    31. Reed Sorenson, three laps down

    32. Quin Houff, three laps down

    33. Josh Bilicki, four laps down

    34. Garrett Smithley, four laps down

    35. Timmy Hill, six laps down

    36. Alex Bowman – OUT, Tire

    37. James Davison, nine laps down

    38. Ryan Blaney – OUT, four laps led

    39. Brad Keselowski – OUT

    Next weekend, the NASCAR Cup Series will race for the first time on the Daytona International Speedway Road Course layout as the 2020 Playoffs approaches its starting point. The race at Daytona will occur on August 16 at 3 p.m. ET on NBC.