The 2020 Toyota 500 was a NASCAR Cup Series race held on May 20, 2020, at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina, replacing Richmond Raceway's Toyota Owners 400. Contested over 208 laps—shortened from 228 laps due to rain, on the egg-shaped oval, it was the sixth race of the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season and the 57th edition of the event.
There were three stages: first two were 75 laps each & the final was originally scheduled 78 laps, but reduced to 58 laps by weather.
Report
Background
The event was the second NASCAR Cup Series race held following a hiatus brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, after the formal resumption of the season with The Real Heroes 400 three days earlier, also at Darlington. The race marked the first Cup Series event to be held on a Wednesday since the 1984 Firecracker 400 at Daytona (until 1987, the Firecracker 400 was always held on July 4, regardless of day) — a race also noted for hosting Richard Petty's 200th and final Cup Series victory. It was the 57th edition of the event, dating to the 1950 Southern 500 (races billed as the Southern 500 from 2005 to 2020 ware lineally related the 1957 Rebel 300; for the 2021 season, with two race meetings scheduled, Darlington swapped the lineage of both races). It was the first scheduled Cup Series Darlington race with scheduled 300 mile (or 500 km distance, which is similar) distance since 1963, when the Rebel 300 was run in two 150-mile heat races.
Entry list (R) denotes rookie driver. (i) denotes driver who are ineligible for series driver points.
Driver Team Manufacturer 00 Quin Houff (R) StarCom Racing Chevrolet 1 Kurt Busch Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 6 Ryan Newman Roush Fenway Racing Ford 8 Tyler Reddick (R) Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 10 Aric Almirola Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 13 Ty Dillon Germain Racing Chevrolet 14 Clint Bowyer Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 15 Brennan Poole (R) Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 17 Chris Buescher Roush Fenway Racing Ford 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 19 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 20 Erik Jones Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 21 Matt DiBenedetto Wood Brothers Racing Ford 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 27 Gray Gaulding Rick Ware Racing Ford 32 Corey LaJoie Go Fas Racing Ford 34 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 37 Ryan Preece JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 38 John Hunter Nemechek (R) Front Row Motorsports Ford 41 Cole Custer (R) Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 42 Matt Kenseth Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 43 Bubba Wallace Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 51 Joey Gase (i) Petty Ware Racing Ford 53 Garrett Smithley Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet 66 Timmy Hill (i) MBM Motorsports Toyota 77 J. J. Yeley (i) Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 78 B. J. McLeod (i) B. J. McLeod Motorsports Chevrolet 88 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 95 Christopher Bell (R) Leavine Family Racing Toyota 96 Daniel Suárez Gaunt Brothers Racing ToyotaOfficial entry list
Qualifying Under modified operational procedures, no qualifying sessions were held for this race. The starting order was determined by the results of The Real Heroes 400, but with the order of the top 20 inverted.
Starting Lineup Pos Driver Team Manufacturer 1 37 Ryan Preece JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 2 13 Ty Dillon Germain Racing Chevrolet 3 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 4 14 Clint Bowyer Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 5 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 6 6 Ryan Newman Roush Fenway Racing Ford 7 21 Matt DiBenedetto Wood Brothers Racing Ford 8 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 9 10 Aric Almirola Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 10 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 11 42 Matt Kenseth Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 12 38 John Hunter Nemechek (R) Front Row Motorsports Ford 13 20 Erik Jones Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 14 8 Tyler Reddick (R) Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 15 19 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 16 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 17 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 18 1 Kurt Busch Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 19 88 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 20 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 21 43 Bubba Wallace Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet 22 41 Cole Custer (R) Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 23 34 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 24 95 Christopher Bell (R) Leavine Family Racing Toyota 25 96 Daniel Suárez Gaunt Brothers Racing Toyota 26 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 27 15 Brennan Poole (R) Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 28 27 Gray Gaulding Rick Ware Racing Ford 29 77 J. J. Yeley (i) Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 30 51 Joey Gase (i) Petty Ware Racing Ford 31 32 Corey LaJoie Go Fas Racing Ford 32 17 Chris Buescher Roush Fenway Racing Ford 33 66 Timmy Hill (i) MBM Motorsports Toyota 34 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 35 00 Quin Houff (R) StarCom Racing Chevrolet 36 53 Garrett Smithley Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet 37 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 38 78 B. J. McLeod (i) B. J. McLeod Motorsports Chevrolet 39 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. JTG Daugherty Racing ChevroletOfficial starting lineup
Race
Stage Results
Stage One Laps: 60
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Points1 14 Clint Bowyer Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 102 19 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 93 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 84 88 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 75 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 66 10 Aric Almirola Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 57 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 48 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 39 42 Matt Kenseth Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 210 37 Ryan Preece JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 1Official stage one results
Stage Two Laps: 65
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Points1 14 Clint Bowyer Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 102 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 93 19 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 84 20 Erik Jones Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 75 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 66 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 57 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 48 88 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 39 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 210 21 Matt DiBenedetto Wood Brothers Racing Ford 1Official stage two results
Final Stage Results
Final Stage Laps: 83
Pos Grid Driver Team Manufacturer Laps Points1 16 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 208 472 26 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 208 353 20 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 208 404 8 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 208 335 13 20 Erik Jones Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 208 396 3 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 208 397 9 10 Aric Almirola Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 208 358 37 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 208 299 7 21 Matt DiBenedetto Wood Brothers Racing Ford 208 2910 15 19 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 208 4411 24 95 Christopher Bell (R) Leavine Family Racing Toyota 208 2612 34 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 208 3013 14 8 Tyler Reddick (R) Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 208 2414 6 6 Ryan Newman Roush Fenway Racing Ford 208 2315 18 1 Kurt Busch Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 208 2216 21 43 Bubba Wallace Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet 208 2117 23 34 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 208 2018 19 88 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 208 2919 2 13 Ty Dillon Germain Racing Chevrolet 208 1820 10 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 208 1721 5 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 208 2422 4 14 Clint Bowyer Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 208 3523 32 17 Chris Buescher Roush Fenway Racing Ford 208 1424 31 32 Corey LaJoie Go Fas Racing Ford 207 1325 39 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 207 1226 35 00 Quin Houff (R) StarCom Racing Chevrolet 207 1127 25 96 Daniel Suárez Gaunt Brothers Racing Toyota 207 1028 29 77 J. J. Yeley (i) Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 207 029 30 51 Joey Gase (i) Petty Ware Racing Ford 207 030 11 42 Matt Kenseth Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 206 931 22 41 Cole Custer (R) Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 206 632 28 27 Gray Gaulding Rick Ware Racing Ford 206 533 33 66 Timmy Hill (i) MBM Motorsports Toyota 204 034 36 53 Garrett Smithley Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet 204 335 12 38 John Hunter Nemechek (R) Front Row Motorsports Ford 202 236 38 78 B. J. McLeod (i) B. J. McLeod Motorsports Chevrolet 202 037 27 15 Brennan Poole (R) Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 201 138 17 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 200 1439 1 37 Ryan Preece JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 69 2Official race results
Race statistics Lead changes: 17 among 13 different drivers Cautions/Laps: 11 for 54 Red flags: 1 Time of race: 2 hours, 42 minutes and 23 seconds Average speed: It was the slowest hardtop race since the 1958 Southern 500.
Media
Television The Toyota 500 was carried by FS1 in the United States. Mike Joy and five-time Darlington winner Jeff Gordon covered the race from the Fox Sports studio in Charlotte. Matt Yocum handled the pit road duties. Larry McReynolds provided insight from the Fox Sports studio in Charlotte.
FS1Booth announcersPit reporterIn-race analyst Lap-by-lap: Mike JoyColor-commentator: Jeff Gordon Matt Yocum Larry McReynolds
Radio The Motor Racing Network (MRN) called the race for radio, which was simulcast on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio. Alex Hayden and Dave Moody called the action for MRN when the field raced down the front stretch. Dillon Welch called the race from a Billboard outside of turn 1 when the field raced through turns 1 and 2, and Steve Post called the race atop of the Darlington Raceway Club outside of turn 3 when the field raced through turns 3 and 4. Kim Coon and Hannah Newhouse called the action on pit road for MRN.
MRNBooth announcersTurn announcersPit reporters Lead announcer: Alex HaydenAnnouncer: Dave Moody Turns 1 & 2: Dillon WelchTurns 3 & 4: Steve Post Kim CoonHannah Newhouse
Standings after the race
Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 Kevin Harvick 258 1 2 Joey Logano 224 (–34) 1 3 Alex Bowman 219 (–39) 2 4 Denny Hamlin 201 (–57) 1 5 Chase Elliott 192 (–66) 1 6 Brad Keselowski 191 (–67) 7 Aric Almirola 186 (–72) 3 8 Martin Truex Jr. 179 (–79) 9 Matt DiBenedetto 170 (–88) 10 Clint Bowyer 170 (–88) 3 11 Ryan Blaney 168 (–90) 12 Jimmie Johnson 161 (–97) 1 13 Kyle Busch 157 (–101) 1 14 Kurt Busch 151 (–107) 2 15 Erik Jones 146 (–112) 16 William Byron 129 (–129)Official driver's standings
Manufacturers' Championship standings Pos Manufacturer Points 1 Ford 221 1 2 Toyota 203 (–18) 1 3 Chevrolet 201 (–21)
Note: Only the first 16 positions are included for the driver standings.
References