Things are heating up as we are approaching the last few races of the regular 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season. With 16 races behind us, we have a clue on the drivers expected to fight for the Championship come November. The playoffs R16 is scheduled for September 6th, while the grand season finale will be held on November 8th at Phoenix Raceway. We decided to recall everything this somehow weird yet lively season offered so far.
Denny Hamlin got off to the best possible start at Daytona 500
Denny Hamlin managed to clinch his second consecutive win at the “Great American Race”. He found the way past Ryan Blaney in the second-closest finish in the history of the most popular NASCAR race in the world back in February. By passing Blaney and winning the event, Denny became only the fourth man to win back-to-back Daytona 500 races. Sterling Marlin was the last one who did so in 1994-95 as reported by bettingtips4you.
Joey Logano defended his Las Vegas crown
Las Vegas Motor Speedway hosted the next Nascar Cup Series event six days after Daytona 500. Joes Logano did exactly what Hamlin has done at Daytona, clinching his second straight win at Pennzoil 400. Although Kevin Harvick and Chase Elliott led the race for more laps than Logano, one of the sports legends managed to come on top when it mattered the most to claim hid well-deserved 52 points on the evening.
Alex Bowman clinched his second career win in California
Alex Bowman stunned the main favorites in the calendar’s maiden race in May. He stood at the highest place of the podium among the Busch brothers as Kyle and Hurt could have only looked at the back of the No 88. Motorsport Chevrolet on the occasion. Busch brothers generally drove their best race of the campaign (by that time). As for the rest of the field, Hamlin and Kevin Harvick clinched new top-ten finishes.
Joey Logano took the second win of the year at Phoenix Raceway
Logano found the way to survive the overtime challenge at Fanshield 500, landing his second win of the campaign on the occasion. He crossed the finish line just ahead of Harvick, beating the in-form opponent by a margin of .276 seconds. It is worth noting that Kyle and Kurt Busch were both inside the top ten drivers once again. Kyle came third after the second-place finish at Auto Club 400 the week before.
Kevin Harvick clinched the maiden win of 2020 as NASCAR returned to action in May
Harvick followed up a strong display from the Match race in Phoenix as the competition resumed after a long two-month break. It was the landmark 50th victory of the career for the veteran who dominated the track from the first to the very last lap. Harvick led the course for as many as 159 laps, finishing ahead of the Alex Bowman, Kurt Busch, Chase Elliott, and Denny Hamlin.
Hamlin beats the rain for his second win of the season
Darlington Raceway housed the second 2020 NASCAR Cup Series event in just three days. This one, held on Wednesday night, had to be shortened because of the adverse weather conditions (heavy rain). The Daytona 500 winner took advantage of the incident that happened just behind him, including the likes of Chase Elliott and Kyle Busch. The defending NASCAR Cup champion (Busch) managed to come second at the end, while Harvick, Brad Keselowski, and Erik Jones completed the list of top five drivers on the night.
Brad Keselowski got his inaugural win of the year in Charlotte
The competition’s longest race offered a true drama. Just four days after the mentioned crash with the reigning champion Busch, Chase Elliott had to settle for a second consecutive disappointment after a spun with a flat tire of his Motorsports teammate William Byron. One of the most popular drivers finished in second place, just behind Brad Keselowski who took advantage of the happenings to win the Coca-Cola 600 event in overtime.
Elliott finally got his maiden win of the season four days later
Elliott soothed back-to-back heartbreaks with a stellar, incident-free performance at ALSCO UNIFORMS 500. It was his initial win of the season, the one that has opened up a range of opportunities in terms of the final standings.
A wild finish secured the second win of the year for Keselowski
Brad Keselowski won the second of the previous three NASCAR Cup Series races by taking advantage of hard racing in the closing stages of the event at Bristol Motor Speedway. Clint Bowyer and Jimmie Johnson enjoyed their best showings of the campaign, completing the podium spots.
Harvick joined the two-win club in 2020 in the first race in June
The 2014 NASCAR Cup Series winner loves Atlanta Motor Speedway and the relationship could have best been noticed in early-June when Kevin stormed past the rest of the field to claim his second win of the campaign. Kyle Busch, Martin Truex Jr, Ryan Blaney, and Denny Hamlin were all inside the top-five on the occasion.
Martin Truex Jr backed up a solid display from Atlanta to get his first win of the season in Martinsville
If Harvick loves Atlanta, what should we say for the relationship between Truex Jr. and Martinsville? The Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Camry driver muscled his way to pick up the back-to-back win at Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 500.
Hamlin and Harvick clinched two wins each in four of the following five races
There is a high chance the season-ending race will be all about Denny Hamlin and Kevin Harvick. They have been by far the most consistent drivers so far this year. They confirmed the excellent spell of form by winning four of five races combined in late-June and early-July. Hamlin was the best at Dixie Vodka 400 and Pocono 350, while Harvick got to the checkered flag first at Poco Raceway (too) and Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Ryan Blaney was the only one who intertwined between their wins, clinching his maiden trophy of 2020 on June 22nd at Talladega Superspeedway.
The rest of the season will no doubts bring us thrilling events as we can’t wait for the playoffs in September and the Championship Race in November.
