The 2020 Xfinity 500 was a NASCAR Cup Series race held on November 1, 2020 at Martinsville Speedway in Ridgeway, Virginia. Contested over 500 laps on the .526 mile (.847 km) short track, it was the 35th race of the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season, the ninth race of the Playoffs, and final race of the Round of 8.
Report
Background
Martinsville Speedway is an International Speedway Corporation-owned NASCAR stock car racing track located in Henry County, in Ridgeway, Virginia, just to the south of Martinsville. At in length, it is the shortest track in the NASCAR Cup Series. The track is also one of the first paved oval tracks in NASCAR, being built in 1947 by H. Clay Earles. It is also the only race track that has been on the NASCAR circuit from its beginning in 1948. Along with this, Martinsville is the only NASCAR oval track on the entire NASCAR track circuit to have asphalt surfaces on the straightaways, then concrete to cover the turns.
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 7 Josh Bilicki (i) Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 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 J. J. Yeley (i) 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 James Davison Rick Ware Racing Ford 66 Timmy Hill (i) MBM Motorsports Toyota 77 Garrett Smithley (i) Spire 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 Brad Keselowski was awarded the pole for the race as determined by competition-based formula.
Starting Lineup Pos Driver Team Manufacturer 1 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 2 19 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 3 88 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 4 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 5 1 Kurt Busch Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 6 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 7 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 8 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 9 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 10 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 11 95 Christopher Bell (R) Leavine Family Racing Toyota 12 21 Matt DiBenedetto Wood Brothers Racing Ford 13 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 14 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 15 41 Cole Custer (R) Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 16 14 Clint Bowyer Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 17 8 Tyler Reddick (R) Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 18 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 19 20 Erik Jones Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 20 10 Aric Almirola Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 21 6 Ryan Newman Roush Fenway Racing Ford 22 37 Ryan Preece JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 23 38 John Hunter Nemechek (R) Front Row Motorsports Ford 24 34 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 25 13 Ty Dillon Germain Racing Chevrolet 26 32 Corey LaJoie Go Fas Racing Ford 27 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 28 17 Chris Buescher Roush Fenway Racing Ford 29 96 Daniel Suárez Gaunt Brothers Racing Toyota 30 15 Brennan Poole (R) Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 31 42 Matt Kenseth Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 32 43 Bubba Wallace Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet 33 7 Josh Bilicki (i) Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 34 66 Timmy Hill (i) MBM Motorsports Toyota 35 00 Quin Houff (R) StarCom Racing Chevrolet 36 77 Garrett Smithley (i) Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 37 53 James Davison Rick Ware Racing Ford 38 27 J. J. Yeley (i) Rick Ware Racing Ford 39 51 Joey Gase (i) Petty Ware Racing FordOfficial starting lineup
Race
Stage Results
Stage One Laps: 130
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Points1 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 102 88 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 93 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 84 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 75 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 66 19 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 57 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 48 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 39 1 Kurt Busch Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 210 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 1Official stage one results
Stage Two Laps: 130
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Points1 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 102 19 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 93 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 84 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 75 1 Kurt Busch Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 66 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 57 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 48 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 39 88 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 210 6 Ryan Newman Roush Fenway Racing Ford 1Official stage two results
Final Stage Results
Stage Three Laps: 240
Pos Grid Driver Team Manufacturer Laps Points1 8 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 500 572 10 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 500 423 7 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 500 434 1 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 500 455 5 1 Kurt Busch Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 500 396 3 88 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 500 427 20 10 Aric Almirola Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 500 308 16 14 Clint Bowyer Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 500 299 9 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 500 3710 12 21 Matt DiBenedetto Wood Brothers Racing Ford 500 2711 4 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 500 4412 19 20 Erik Jones Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 500 2513 15 41 Cole Custer (R) Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 500 2414 31 42 Matt Kenseth Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 500 2315 11 95 Christopher Bell (R) Leavine Family Racing Toyota 500 2216 25 13 Ty Dillon Germain Racing Chevrolet 500 2117 6 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 500 2018 21 6 Ryan Newman Roush Fenway Racing Ford 499 2019 22 37 Ryan Preece JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 499 1820 18 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 499 1721 32 43 Bubba Wallace Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet 499 1622 2 19 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 499 2923 14 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 498 1424 17 8 Tyler Reddick (R) Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 498 1325 26 32 Corey LaJoie Go Fas Racing Ford 498 1226 23 38 John Hunter Nemechek (R) Front Row Motorsports Ford 498 1127 29 96 Daniel Suárez Gaunt Brothers Racing Toyota 497 1028 24 34 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 497 929 34 66 Timmy Hill (i) MBM Motorsports Toyota 495 030 27 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 495 831 38 27 J. J. Yeley (i) Rick Ware Racing Ford 494 032 33 7 Josh Bilicki (i) Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 490 033 35 00 Quin Houff (R) StarCom Racing Chevrolet 489 434 39 51 Joey Gase (i) Petty Ware Racing Ford 447 035 13 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 439 536 37 53 James Davison Rick Ware Racing Ford 422 137 30 15 Brennan Poole (R) Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 184 138 28 17 Chris Buescher Roush Fenway Racing Ford 146 139 36 77 Garrett Smithley (i) Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 100 0Official race results
Race statistics Lead changes: 20 among 10 different drivers Cautions/Laps: 12 for 83 Red flags: 0 Time of race: 3 hours, 40 minutes and 27 seconds Average speed:
Post-race investigation
At the start of the race, three transfer spots were still available as only Joey Logano had clinched from his win at Kansas (he had 4,094 points). Kevin Harvick (4,137 points) led Denny Hamlin (4,122) and Brad Keselowski (4,120) for the three positions. Chase Elliott and Alex Bowman were tied at 4,095 points, Martin Truex, Jr. (4,084), and Kurt Busch (4,039) were the positions. Kurt Busch had to win. If Elliott, Bowman, Truex, or Kurt Busch won, the winning driver would move to the second position and only two positions would be available from points. That meant Harvick's lead over fourth was 17 points.
As Truex or Elliott led for the majority of the second half, it would mean only two of the three could advance should either win. Harvick struggled all day and had been numerous laps down because of a green flag pit stop from a cut tire, returning to the lead lap on a Lap 401 safety car caused by James Davison stalling. On that safety car, Keselowski committed a speeding infraction. Hamlin's car was struggling once lights were turned on as the sun was setting. With 25 laps remaining, Keselowski was 6th, Hamlin was 11th, and Harvick was 12th. At that time, Hamlin's teammate Erik Jones, who did not make the playoff and was leaving the team at the end of the season, was behind Hamlin. The points were Hamlin up four, Keselowski one ahead, and Harvick one behind the cut line. With two laps remaining, it was Keselowski (4th) and Hamlin (12th) at the cut line, with Harvick (10th) one behind and Hamlin ahead of Jones. In order to cause a three-way tie that would eliminate Keselowski on tiebreaker (the driver whose best finish in the three race round was the worst of three would be eliminated), Harvick made a desperation pass on Kyle Busch. The two made contact and Busch finished 9th, while Harvick finished 17th, being eliminated.
On Monday morning, less than 15 hours after the race concluded, NASCAR senior vice president of competition Scott Miller informed SiriusXM NASCAR Radio that the sanctioning body will be investigating both Harvick's deliberate crash into Kyle Busch, and team orders on the radio by Joe Gibbs Racing to ask Jones not to pass Hamlin in order to help Hamlin advance to the final. NBC Sports posted conversations among the No. 20 Gibbs team's driver (Jones), crew chief Chris Gayle, and spotter Rick Carelli, where Gayle told Jones that Hamlin is "going to race you hard because he needs to, because it’s within like three points for those guys. He’s going to race you hard because it’s three points on those guys. Just so you’re aware.” Jones responded to Gayle, “I’ve got a huge gap behind me.” Four laps later, Carelli responded on the radio, "Don’t pass (Hamlin), Jones. Stay with him and drive what you can."
NASCAR ultimately did not issue penalties for Jones' or Harvick's team.
Media
Television NBC Sports covered the race on the television side. Rick Allen, 1997 race winner Jeff Burton, Steve Letarte and 2014 race winner Dale Earnhardt Jr. called the action from the booth. Dave Burns, Parker Kligerman and Marty Snider handled the pit road duties.
NBCBooth announcersPit reporters Lap-by-lap: Rick AllenColor-commentator: Jeff BurtonColor-commentator: Steve LetarteColor-commentator: Dale Earnhardt Jr. Dave BurnsParker KligermanMarty Snider
Radio