The NASCAR Cup Series was at Daytona International Speedway on Saturday night to close out the regular season with the Coke Zero Sugar 400. Kevin Harvick won the pole by a metric qualifying system along with Martin Truex Jr. starting in second to complete the front row. Austin Dillon (inspection failure) and Clint Bowyer (unapproved adjustment), were starting the race at the rear of the field.
Tonight we set the #NASCARPlayoffs field. The #CokeZeroSugar400 at @disupdates is GREEN on NBC! pic.twitter.com/wAM5ChAhVQ — NASCAR (@NASCAR) August 29, 2020
Everyone expected this to be a bang and crash festival, and it lived up to that. The first couple of laps saw Kevin Harvick and Martin Truex Jr. traded the lead back and forth. Two laps later, William Byron would take the lead from Harvick. Kevin Harvick had debris on the front of his car, causing his water temperatures to rise, so he got out of line and dropped to the back of the field. He then pulled up close to Ryan Newman’s car and was able to remove the trash that was blocking his airflow. Byron was still leading when the competition caution came out on lap 21.
During the caution, William Byron stayed out while the other leaders came to pit road. Alex Bowman won the race off of pit road, taking fuel only. Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano, Matt Kenseth, Kurt Busch, along with seven others, took four tires while Christopher Bell, Ryan Blaney, and Cole Custer took two tires.
Three-wide racing at nearly 200 MPH. Just a Saturday stroll through @DISupdates. 📺: NBC 📱: https://t.co/BHXvTwrLoC pic.twitter.com/TXHr5r8YG6 — NASCAR (@NASCAR) August 29, 2020
Byron would lead the field back to green on lap 25. Four laps later, Joe Gibbs teammates Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch pushed Erik Jones to the front for the lead. Byron would drop to the bottom lane where Alex Bowman was able to retake the lead from Jones on lap 34. Two laps later, Ryan Blaney helped Joey Logano get the lead. Joey Logano would go on to win stage one.
The intensity was off the charts … and it was ONLY Stage 1 😱. 📺: NBC 📱: https://t.co/BHXvTwrLoC pic.twitter.com/vla5Rpaluz — NASCAR (@NASCAR) August 30, 2020
During the caution, Brad Keselowski and others stayed out while some of the leaders came to pit road. More cars pitted two laps later to top off for fuel. Christopher Bell would lead the field back to green on lap 56 to start stage two. Right away, Erik Jones would take the lead. Green flag pit stops would begin on lap 66, with many drivers taking fuel only. Joey Logano would once again take the lead from Daniel Suarez. Denny Hamlin would run out of fuel but made it back to pit road as Joey Logano won stage two. Brennan Poole would get the free pass. Meanwhile, Clint Bowyer would clinch a playoff spot.
No help on the bottom for @mattdracing. Somehow, he only loses one spot 🥵. pic.twitter.com/x0qeCZhYxb — NASCAR (@NASCAR) August 30, 2020
During the caution, most of the lead lap cars came to pit road for four tires while Kyle Busch only took two tires. The final stage was underway on lap 106. Martin Truex Jr. would take the lead away from Logano. Logano would take it back when all of the Toyota drivers would come to pit road on lap 126. Logano would come in at lap 131 with all of the Ford drivers. James Davison spun at turn three to bring out the fourth caution of the night.
Caution. Buckle up. Madness is coming. pic.twitter.com/FtnNQIf1iV — NASCAR (@NASCAR) August 30, 2020
During the caution, Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, Kurt Busch, Austin Dillon, Joey Logano, along with seven others stayed out while William Byron, Kevin Harvick, and three others pitted. Kyle Busch was the leader as the race resumed on lap 148. Four laps later, Tyler Reddick got aggressive and had surged his way to the front of block Kyle Busch. However, he made a blocking move on him when Kyle tried to take the lead, which put him into the wall. This ended up causing a multi-car wreck. Among those involved in the wreck were Kurt Busch, Ryan Newman, Martin Truex Jr., Erik Jones, Austin Dillon, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ryan Preece, and Michael McDowell. The red flag was displayed for ten minutes while cleanup was being done.
It takes a fraction of a second then … mayhem. pic.twitter.com/qEtVHUFZol — NASCAR (@NASCAR) August 30, 2020
Denny Hamlin was now the leader when the race resumed with four laps to go. They were racing three and four wide, trying to make a move to get into the playoffs. Tyler Reddick got a great push from Chris Buescher to take the lead once again, but Denny Hamlin would get it back. Logano would make his way back up the field before making contact with Denny Hamlin, sending him into Bubba Wallace, causing another multi-car wreck so out came the caution for the sixth time. The red flag would once again be displayed for five minutes. Among those in the latest wreck were Matt Kenseth, Christopher Bell, Tyler Reddick, Cole Custer, Jimmie Johnson, Matt DiBenedetto, Alex Bowman, Daniel Suarez, John Hunter Nemechek were also involved. This ended the run for Jimmy Johnson to try and make it to the playoffs one more time before he retired from NASCAR at the end of the season.
Wrecking in Turn 2! pic.twitter.com/2q3NNpHiY4 — NASCAR (@NASCAR) August 30, 2020
The race was now headed into overtime, Denny Hamlin led the field back to green on lap 163. Kevin Harvick gave William Byron a push for the lead. On the last lap, Martin Truex Jr. and William Byron were banging and clashing for the lead. While this was going on, two separate accidents occurred on the backstretch. In the end, William Byron would edge Chase Elliott for his first career Cup Series win by .119 seconds.
The biggest 2.5 miles of @WilliamByron's career.@TeamHendrick | @DISupdates pic.twitter.com/LzSgxWRxjy — NASCAR (@NASCAR) August 30, 2020
The rest of the top ten finishers were Denny Hamlin third, Martin Truex Jr. fourth, Bubba Wallace fifth, Ryan Blaney sixth, Alex Bowman seventh, Brendan Gaughan eighth, Chris Buescher ninth, and Brad Keselowski tenth. There were 34 lead changes and six cautions for 21 laps.
The drivers competing in the playoffs are 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. The round of sixteen begins next Sunday at Darlington Raceway for the Cook Out Southern 500 at 6 pm on NBCSN.
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