The final race of the Round of 8 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs concluded Sunday afternoon at Martinsville Speedway in the Xfinity 500. The “Choose Cone Rule” returned for this race. Heading into this race, Chase Elliott, Alex Bowman, Martin Truex Jr., and Kurt Busch were all in a must-win situation to get into the championship four at Phoenix. Brad Keselowski was on the pole after winning it by a metric qualifying system while Martin Truex Jr. was starting second. Garrett Smithley was the only driver to sent to the rear for a driver change.
It's time to decide the #Championship4. The green is out, and we're racing in the #Xfinity500 at @MartinsvilleSwy! pic.twitter.com/jO2FNQhMs3 — NASCAR (@NASCAR) November 1, 2020
Three laps into the race, Truex moved Keselowski out of the way to take the lead. It took Truex sixteen laps before he began putting cars a lap down. Meanwhile, Keselowski loss three more positions to Chase Elliott, Kurt Busch, and Denny Hamlin. Elliott passed Hamlin to take second place on lap 51. Truex led 57 laps when the competition caution came out on lap 61.
Annnnnd @keselowski gets moved again … 👀 This time by @chaseelliott! pic.twitter.com/mWivXW6s6w — NASCAR (@NASCAR) November 1, 2020
Everyone pitted during the caution, with Truex and Elliott the first two cars off of pit road. Truex chose the inside lane with Elliott outside on the restart at lap 69. Aric Almirola made contact with his teammate Clint Bowyer at turn one, causing him to spin while Austin Dillon nearly hit Bowyer but managed to get his car stopped just in time to prevent any damage to his car. This brought out the second caution of the afternoon.
that's gonna be an awkward Monday meeting at @StewartHaasRcng 📺: NBC | 📲: https://t.co/BHXvTwrLoC pic.twitter.com/oC7AM1sJMl — NASCAR (@NASCAR) November 1, 2020
No one went to pit road during the caution. Truex chose the inside lane with Elliott outside for the restart on lap 80. It took Elliott nine laps before passing Truex for the lead. Garrett Smithley’s car stalled at turn four to bring out the third caution at lap 104. Elliott, Truex, and four others stayed out while the rest went to pit road. Ryan Blaney was caught speeding and had to restart in the back.
Elliott chose the inside lane with Truex outside for the restart on lap 110. Bowyer returned the favor to Almirola, moving him out of third and went high up the track. Shortly after that, Hamlin passed Bowyer for third. He then passed Truex, then Elliott for the lead all within three laps.
Payback from @ClintBowyer to his @StewartHaasRcng teammate!? 😱@Aric_Almirola gets the boot as the field stacks up behind! pic.twitter.com/A0USBY5Y68 — NASCAR (@NASCAR) November 1, 2020
Joey Gase spun at turn four after making contact with Quin Houff to bring out the fourth caution. The leaders stayed out with those toward the back went to pit road. Hamlin chose the inside lane with Elliott outside for the restart on lap 121. Two laps into the restart, Alex Bowman, who restarted fourth, passed Elliott for second place. Hamlin led the last ten laps to win stage one, his eleventh stage win of the season.
Kyle Busch, Kurt Busch, and four others stayed out after pitting at the last caution while everyone else pitted. Kyle Busch chose the inside lane with his brother Kurt outside to start stage two on lap 140. Six laps into stage two, Chris Buescher’s car was smoking and leaking fluid on the track that brought out the sixth caution. It turns out the car had a busted radiator and was done for the day, finishing in 38th place. No one went to pit road during the caution. Kurt Busch chose the inside lane with Elliott outside for the restart on lap 159.
Four laps later, Chase Elliott got the lead from Kurt Busch. On lap 180, Kevin Harvick cut a left rear tire after making contact with Matt Kenseth on the front stretch.
Take a look at the contact that cut down @KevinHarvick's tire. Can the Regular Season Champion bounce back at @MartinsvilleSwy? pic.twitter.com/9p0umAzhpC — NASCAR (@NASCAR) November 1, 2020
On lap 185, Brennan Poole cut a left front tire and hit the wall at turn two to bring out the caution for the seventh time. Poole’s day was done and would finish in 37th place. Everyone went to pit road during the caution with Elliott and Truex the first two cars off of pit road. Elliott chose the inside lane with Truex outside for the restart on lap 193.
The race went caution-free for 23 laps before Ryan Preece spun out after making contact with John Hunter Nemechek at turn three, bringing out the eighth caution. Timmy Hill got the free pass while Kevin Harvick remained a lap down. Chase Elliott, Truex, Kyle Busch, and seven others went to pit road while everyone else stayed out. Denny Hamlin was the new leader and chose the inside lane with Logano outside for the restart on lap 222.
Chase Elliott, who restarted 14th, made his back to the front within fifteen laps to take second away from Blaney. Three laps later, he got the lead from Hamlin and led the last nineteen laps to win stage two.
STAGE WINNER: @chaseelliott drives up through the field to win Stage Two of the #Xfinity500! Catch the final stage on NBC and streaming at https://t.co/BHXvTwrLoC! pic.twitter.com/agDnlHdWOh — NASCAR (@NASCAR) November 1, 2020
Everyone went to pit road during the caution with Elliott and Truex the first two cars off of pit road. Hamlin had to come back in after his crew chief told him he had loose lug nuts and needed to be tightened. Elliott chose the inside lane with Truex outside to start the final stage on lap 268. The race went caution-free for 84 laps before Timmy Hill brought out the caution for a flat right rear tire. Matt Kenseth got the free pass while Harvick was still a lap down. Harvick had handling problems with his car all race and struggled to get it to be competitive.
The #NASCARPlayoffs drama hits another top contender!@dennyhamlin will have to come back down pit road to retighten the lug nuts on his No. 11. pic.twitter.com/lOZhdK7B15 — NASCAR (@NASCAR) November 1, 2020
Everyone went to pit road during the caution with Joey Logano and Truex the first two cars off of pit road. Logano chose the inside lane with Truex outside for the restart on lap 359. Ten laps in the restart, Ryan Blaney, who restarted third, passed Logano for the lead. On lap 376, Bubba Wallace and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. made contact, allowing Harvick to get by Wallace and be in a position to get the free pass should a caution come out.
Kevin Harvick got his wish with 100 laps to go when James Davison’s car stalled at turn two to bring out the eleventh caution of the day, giving Harvick the free pass. Everyone went to pit road during the caution with Logano and Truex the first two cars off of pit road. Logano chose the inside lane with Truex outside for the restart on lap 409. Truex got a great jump on the restart to take the lead heading into turn one.
"What a restart!"@MartinTruex_Jr grabs the #Xfinity500 lead from the high line at @MartinsvilleSwy! 📺: NBC | 📲: https://t.co/BHXvTwrLoC pic.twitter.com/P4id6ZdEqp — NASCAR (@NASCAR) November 1, 2020
The race went caution-free for 32 laps before William Byron crashed at turn four to bring out the twelfth caution. Cory LaJoie was the lone car to not pit during the caution while everyone else did, with Truex and Logano the first two cars off of pit road. LaJoie chose the inside lane with Truex outside for the restart with 50 laps to go. LaJoie led six laps before being black flagged for a restart violation that resulted in a drive-through penalty, making Truex the leader. He led six laps before Elliott passed him on the inside of turn four for the lead and didn’t look back.
The 9️⃣ back to the point! Needing a win to advance to the #Championship4, @chaseelliott goes by @MartinTruex_Jr! pic.twitter.com/5iUVp7aLVH — NASCAR (@NASCAR) November 1, 2020
Elliott led the last 44 laps to win the race by 6.577 seconds over Ryan Blaney to advance to the championship four at Phoenix next Sunday. Kevin Harvick, Martin Truex Jr., Alex Bowman, and Kurt Busch were eliminated from the playoffs.
Walking off that win all the way to @phoenixraceway. 😎 Retweet to congratulate @chaseelliott on winning at @MartinsvilleSwy and securing a spot in the #Championship4! pic.twitter.com/OpoEGU8l4S — NASCAR (@NASCAR) November 1, 2020
The rest of the top ten finishers were Joey Logano third, Brad Keselowski fourth, Kurt Busch fifth, Alex Bowman sixth, Aric Almirola seventh, Clint Bowyer eighth, Kyle Busch ninth, and Matt DiBenedetto tenth. There were twelve cautions for 83 laps and twenty lead changes.
Chase Elliott, Joey Logano, Brad Keselowski, and Denny Hamlin will compete for the championship next Sunday, November 8th, from Phoenix Raceway in the Season Finale 500 at 3 pm on NBC.
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