2020 Daytona 500

Daytona International Speedway is a race track in Daytona Beach, Florida that is one of six superspeedways, the others being Auto Club Speedway, Pocono Raceway, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Michigan International Speedway, and Talladega Superspeedway.

 

Daytona International Speedway is one of three superspeedways to hold NASCAR races, the other two being Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway.^[17] The standard track at Daytona International Speedway is a four-turn superspeedway that is 2.5 miles (4.0 km) long.^[18] The track's turns are banked at 31 degrees, while the front stretch, the location of the finish line, is banked at 18 degrees.^[18]

• (W) denotes past 500 winner.
• (R) denotes rookie driver.
• (i) denotes driver who are ineligible for series driver points.

Ty Dillon was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 44.206 seconds and a speed of 203.592 mph (327.650 km/h).^[19]

Bubba Wallace was the fastest in the second practice session with a time of 45.878 seconds and a speed of 196.172 mph (315.708 km/h).^[20]

 

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. scored the pole for the race with a time of 46.253 seconds and a speed of 194.582 mph (313.149 km/h).^[21]

The Bluegreen Vacations Duels are a pair of NASCAR Cup Series races held in conjunction with the Daytona 500 annually in February at Daytona International Speedway. They consist of two races 60 laps and 150 miles (240 km) in length, which serve as heat races that set the lineup for the Daytona 500. The first race sets the lineup for cars that qualified in odd-numbered positions on pole qualifying day, while the second race sets the lineup for cars that qualified in even-numbered positions. The Duels set the lineup for positions 3–38, while positions 39 and 40 are filled by the two "Open" (teams without a charter) cars that set the fastest times in qualifying, but did not lock in a spot in the Duels.

For championship purposes, each Duel is a full Championship Stage, except there is no playoff point awarded. The top ten drivers receive championship points.

William Byron was the fastest in the third practice session with a time of 43.991 seconds and a speed of 204.587 mph (329.251 km/h).^[22]

Joey Logano was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 44.884 seconds and a speed of 200.517 mph (322.701 km/h).^[23]

 

On the second attempt at a green-white-checker finish, Chase Elliott spun just after the lead pack received the white flag, but the green flag stayed out and Denny Hamlin led Ryan Newman and Ryan Blaney through Turn One. Newman and Blaney teamed up to bump-draft past Hamlin down the backstretch but Hamlin managed to tuck in behind Blaney and bump-draft with him through Turns Three and Four. As the three leaders headed for the Tri-Oval and the checkered flag, a push from Hamlin got Blaney's car loose. Fighting for control, Blaney veered to the inside and Newman dove inside to block him. The two cars touched and Newman lost control. His car veered to the right and hit the outside wall head-on, then rolled upside-down and back into the middle of the track. Corey LaJoie's car slammed squarely into Newman's driver's-side window, launching the car into the air and over the start-finish line to finally come to rest near the exit of the pitlane upside-down, on fire and leaking fluid from its destroyed rear end. Meanwhile, the contact with Newman had slowed Blaney just enough to allow Hamlin to catch him at the line and win the race by 0.014 seconds.

 

In the immediate post-race, Hamlin and his crew, unaware of the severity of Newman's crash, began celebrating his win and was subsequently booed heavily by the crowd upon exiting his car, both on the infield grass and again in victory lane. Joe Gibbs issued an apology for the team's celebration, with Hamlin saying he was first aware of the accident's severity when NASCAR canceled the recent tradition of interviewing the winner on the front-stretch prior to the car being driven to victory lane.^[24]

Stage One Laps: 65

Stage Two Laps: 65

Stage Three Laps: 70

 

• Lead changes: 23 among 13 different drivers
• Cautions/Laps: 9 for 39
• Red flags: 3 (1 for weather, 2 for accidents)
• Time of race: 3 hours, 42 minutes and 10 seconds
• Margin of Victory: 0.014 seconds
• Average speed: 141.11 miles per hour (227.09 km/h)

Since 2001—with the exception of 2002, 2004 and 2006—the Daytona 500 has been carried by Fox in the United States. The booth crew consists of longtime NASCAR lap-by-lap announcer Mike Joy and three–time Daytona 500 champion Jeff Gordon. Pit road is manned by Jamie Little, Regan Smith, Vince Welch, and Matt Yocum. 1992 and 1998 Daytona 500 winning crew chief Larry McReynolds and 2010 Daytona 500 winning driver Jamie McMurray provided insight from the Fox Sports studio in Charlotte.

The race was broadcast on radio by the Motor Racing Network—who has covered the Daytona 500 since 1970—and simulcast on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio. The booth crew consists of Alex Hayden, Jeff Striegle, and 1989 Cup Series champion Rusty Wallace. Longtime turn announcer Dave Moody is the lead turn announcer, calling the race from atop the Sunoco tower outside the exit of turn 2 when the field races through turns 1 and 2. Mike Bagley works the backstretch for the race from a spotter's stand on the inside of the track & Kyle Rickey calls the race when the field races through turns 3 and 4 from the Sunoco tower outside the exit of turn 4. On pit road, MRN is manned by lead pit reporter and NASCAR Hall of Fame Executive Director Winston Kelley. He will be joined on pit road by Steve Post, Kim Coon, and Dillon Welch.