DEARBORN, Mich., Nov. 1, 2020 – Ford claimed its first championship of the 2020 NASCAR season earlier today when it clinched the manufacturers’ title at Martinsville Speedway.
Ryan Blaney’s second-place finish enabled Ford to win the coveted crown for the second time in three years and give Mustang its first championship since debuting in the series last season.
“We’re in motorsports to win races and championships, so to clinch this year’s manufacturers’ championship before the end of the season with all of the challenges everyone in the sport has faced is a real source of pride.” said Mark Rushbrook, global director, Ford Performance Motorsports.
“An accomplishment like this wouldn’t be possible without the dedication from everyone who works in Ford Performance, our race teams, and Roush Yates Engines,” continued Rushbrook. “We all work together on a daily basis to put the best Mustangs we can on the track every week and being able to see that effort rewarded in this way is a point of pride for our customers and employees, and a true testament of the engineering strength inside Ford Motor Company.”
Ford leads all manufacturers with 18 wins in 2020 with Kevin Harvick leading the way with a series-best nine. Brad Keselowski (four), Joey Logano (three), Ryan Blaney (1) and Cole Custer (1) also registered at least one victory.
Ford will now turn its focus to Phoenix Raceway, where Team Penske drivers Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski will have a chance to win the NASCAR Cup Series championship on Sunday, Nov. 8. Chase Briscoe and Austin Cindric will compete for the NASCAR XFINITY Series title on Saturday, Nov. 7 while Grant Enfinger goes for the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series crown on Friday, Nov. 6.
About Ford Performance Ford’s racing program is part of the Ford Performance organization based in Dearborn, Mich. It is responsible for major racing operations globally, including NASCAR (Cup Series, Xfinity Series, Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series), IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge, FIA World Rally Championship, Virgin Australia Supercars, Formula Drift, and NHRA Funny Car and sportsman drag racing. In addition, the organization also oversees the development of Ford’s racing engines, as well as the outreach programs with all Ford Clubs and Ford enthusiasts. For more information regarding Ford racing’s activities, please visit www.fordperformance.com, www.facebook/FordPerformance, Ford Performance on Instagram and @FordPerformance on Twitter.
About Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company is a global company based in Dearborn, Michigan. The company designs, manufactures, markets and services a full line of Ford cars, trucks, SUVs, electrified vehicles and Lincoln luxury vehicles, provides financial services through Ford Motor Credit Company and is pursuing leadership positions in electrification, autonomous vehicles and mobility solutions. Ford employs approximately 202,000 people worldwide. For more information regarding Ford, its products and Ford Motor Credit Company, please visitwww.corporate.ford.com.
NASCAR CUP SERIES XFINITY 500 MARTINSVILLE SPEEDWAY TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT NOVEMBER 1, 2020
CHASE ELLIOTT, CHEVROLET CAMARO ZL1 1LE SCORES VICTORY AT MARTINSVILLE Team Chevy Heads to the Championship Four
RIDGEWAY, VA (November 1, 2020) – It was a weekend of ‘firsts’ for Chase Elliott when he powered his No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Camaro ZL1 1LE to victory lane in the Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway, the elimination race for the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs’ Round of Eight. Elliott not only scored his first-career victory at the .526-mile oval of Martinsville Speedway, but also punched his ticket to his first-career appearance in the Championship Four to battle for the title of the NASCAR Cup Series Champion. The win was his 10th victory in 185-starts in the NASCAR Cup Series.
With the stage two win and 236-laps led, Elliott’s victory during the 500-lap, 263-mile event marked his fourth points-paying win of the season, the most in one season during his career in NASCAR’s premier series. The triumph at the Martinsville, Virginia, circuit is Chevrolet’s eighth victory of the 2020 season and the manufacturer’s 794th all-time win in the NASCAR Cup Series. Elliott’s win gives the Bowtie brand its 57th victory at Martinsville Speedway, continuing Chevrolet’s lead in Martinsville victories of all manufacturers.
The win is the 262nd all-time NASCAR Cup Series triumph and 25th win at Martinsville Speedway for Hendrick Motorsports, leading all teams in the series at the track. Elliott’s Hendrick Motorsports teammate, Alex Bowman, concluded his first-career Playoffs’ Round of Eight run with a sixth-place finish in his No. 88 Planters Camaro ZL1 1LE, his ninth top-10 finish in the last 11 races. Fellow Chevrolet driver, Kurt Busch, brought his No. 1 Monster Energy Camaro ZL1 1LE across the line in the fifth position to give Team Chevy three of the top-10 spots in the final running order.
Ryan Blaney (Ford) was second, Joey Logano (Ford) was third, and Brad Keselowski (Ford) was fourth to round out the top-five finishers.
The NASCAR Cup Series season concludes next weekend at Phoenix Raceway with the Season Finale 500 on Sunday, November 8, at 3:00 p.m. ET, the first time in NASCAR history that the 1-mile Arizona venue will host the Championship event. Live coverage of the 312-lap, 312-mile race can be found on NBC, NBC Sports Gold, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1 1LE, PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT:
THE MODERATOR: Congratulations, Chase. Thank you for taking the time to join us. We will get right into questions for our race winner, Chase Elliott.
Q. With the Championship 4 set, is there one team you see as the biggest threat? If so, why?
CHASE ELLIOTT: I think the worst thing we can do is worry about everybody else all week. But for right now, I'm just enjoying the night. This is a big moment for us, having to perform in a tough spot. We had to, didn't have a choice. I think that's something we've been missing as a team, something we haven't been able to achieve over the last handful of years.
To be in the position tonight to have to perform, to go perform, to win the race, lock ourselves into Phoenix, have a shot for a championship, these are all moments that I've never experienced, moments we haven't done yet as a team.
I'm just enjoying that right now. I know the week is short. I'm going to enjoy that for sure for a little while. We'll go to work on Phoenix starting tomorrow.
Q. Is this the biggest win of your career?
CHASE ELLIOTT: Hands down, I think, absolutely.
Q. What do you think it means kind of getting over the hump of getting into the Final 4, doing it this way, doesn't just mean for the next six days but for years to come?
CHASE ELLIOTT: I think you hit it. I think it's huge. I think it's huge for me personally. I think it's huge for our team as a whole, each and every person that puts in time and effort to try to make our program work.
I think when you're able to be in a position that we were in, like we were tonight, have to go to perform, go and do that, I think everybody gains a lot of confidence from it.
We proved to ourselves that we can do it. I think we have always believed we can do it. But to go out there and achieve it certainly is something we haven't experienced yet as a group.
To win a championship in this series, you have to make the Final 4. We've seen the same crowd make the Final 4 since this deal has been implemented. We want to assert ourselves amongst the people who can make it consistently.
I feel like we're very capable of doing that. We just have to seize the moment, enjoy it. This is a huge week. I'm just excited to get out there and try to have the best race we can.
Q. In a massive moment like this that you've never been in before, is there any extra composure that you have to have in the final laps, when you're making the pass to lead, to calm yourself down? How do you stay focused, keep your lunch from not coming up, things like that?
CHASE ELLIOTT: Yeah, good question. I think for me and kind of the experiences that I've kind of had handed to me over the past number of years, since I've been in Cup, have taught me a lot of lessons that the race is not over. I think we've all kind of seen that, different positions we've been in, races we lost.
For me, I don't have to think back into my head very far to realize that the race isn't over till it's over. Just to be prepared for another caution, another restart, whatever it takes to try to get the job done.
I knew everybody had their last set of tires on. We were going to be riding that set to the end. If we had a caution there with just a couple laps to go, everybody was going to be restarting on old tires. Certainly challenging.
I was trying to think about that, tried to be prepared for what was going to come. I felt like the odds of a caution coming out were better than not to have one, to be honest. I was surprised to see it go green.
Q. Not only is this a big day for you, but it will be the first time Chevrolet has had a driver competing in the Championship 4 since 2016, who happened to also be the last Hendrick driver, which is Jimmie Johnson. It's probably a pretty big deal for manufacturers not to have a chance to win the championship. What are your thoughts on being able to do that?
CHASE ELLIOTT: Yeah, absolutely, man. It's a huge deal for everybody involved. Obviously me personally, it's a huge deal. Never been in this position before. That's exciting. But for everybody that is a part of our organization, obviously NAPA is a huge partner, super pumped to have them on the car tonight, a big moment. They've been a big piece of my career. Hendrick Motorsport, everyone that lays a hand on our cars. It's a big deal for everyone to have a chance to win a championship.
For Chevrolet to have a shot again this year I think is important for them, for sure. I'm excited for everybody. I'm excited for myself. I'm going to enjoy it, then we'll go to work tomorrow and get ready for the big day.
Q. Your thoughts on Phoenix being the decider? When you look at your competition, do you think you'll stack up pretty good?
CHASE ELLIOTT: Yeah, I mean, I think the worst thing we can do is to sit back and worry and watch everybody else. I just think we need to focus on ourselves this week and really think about what we struggled with there at the first race this year, what we might need to do to be better, put our best guess on that, go run the race.
I think if we sit back, start worrying about who is favorite, who is not, who is the underdog, getting everybody running their mouths deal, I'm just not about that. I think it's unproductive.
We're going to worry about ourselves, try to give it our best shot to win.
Q. Normally championship contenders have the whole weekend to run through and get themselves in championship mode. You got to take the green on Sunday with no practice. What do you think this week is going to be like in terms of anxious, being excited, especially moments before the green flag?
CHASE ELLIOTT: Yeah, I mean, I think just excited, looking forward to the opportunity. I think the more that you can enjoy that moment, enjoy being backed up against a wall, having to perform, the more you can enjoy that, the better off you're going to be.
That's something we put a lot of emphasis on, something I personally put emphasis on to try to get better in those moments. That's what we had to do today.
I think moments like tonight prepares you for moments like what we're going to see next week and I'm excited about it.
Q. Is Sunday going to be a backs‑against‑the‑wall moment for you again?
CHASE ELLIOTT: Well, you got to win to win the championship, so I would say so.
Q. Given that a driver like Kevin Harvick, who had nine wins this season, completely missed out on the Playoffs, he would have won the championship a few days ago at Texas if the points went the full season, what does it say about the integrity or legitimacy of the championship?
CHASE ELLIOTT: I mean, the rules are the rules. I don't get a vote in that. I don't want a vote in that. I know they're the same for everybody when you start the year. Whether you might agree or not agree with it, that's just what it is.
I'm focused on ourselves and enjoying tonight. Had to come out here and perform, and we did. I think worrying about other competitors is just not going to get us anywhere. I'm just excited for us, looking forward to a great opportunity next week.
Q. What was your message to the team once you got to greet them at the end of the race? You proved tonight that NASCAR is a team sport, good pit stops, appealing the penalty. What did you say to your team?
CHASE ELLIOTT: Yeah, just a lot of yelling and screaming and happy people. This is a moment that we haven't experienced together. I said that a few times tonight. You just don't know those emotions until you go through it, are able to experience it. We obviously all put a lot of effort in to try to do our jobs to the best of our ability.
T.J. made a mistake. He was heads up enough to go back and fix it, not to have to go to the back of the field. If he hadn't have done that, I don't think we'd have been able to win. There just wasn't enough time left. That's super heads up.
It absolutely is a team sport. We can't do it on our own. I can't do it by myself. No one on our team can do it alone. We recognize that. Feel like we have a great group, a group that's capable of winning. I thought we showed that and proved that tonight. I think we can have a great shot next week.
Q. Have you had any chance to check in with your father and get reaction? If not, what do you suppose the reaction is going to be back home?
CHASE ELLIOTT: Yeah, I'm excited. I don't have my phone on me. He's not here. My family isn't here. I wish they were. So hard, right, to come to these races by yourself some weeks, not have that support group around you.
But I certainly wish they were here, wish we could have shared this moment together. Looking forward to seeing them tonight. Yeah, be headed home here just in a little while.
THE MODERATOR: Chase, congratulations. Thank you so much for taking the time. We'll see you at Phoenix.
CHASE ELLIOTT: Thanks, guys.
ALAN GUSTAFSON, CREW CHIEF, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1 1LE, PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT:
THE MODERATOR: We are now joined by our race winning crew chief, Alan Gustafson. Congratulations on heading to the Championship 4. We’ll get right into questions.
Q. On the pit stop when your jackman came back to the wall, you were aware of that? Is that something you drilled into those guys?
ALAN GUSTAFSON: Yeah, I mean, we were certainly aware of it. I can't take the credit for coaching that into those guys. I think that credit goes to Chris, our pit department. They did a good job of instructing those guys, T.J., what to do.
It's a new rule. Man, I want to say it's new this year or last year. It's certainly an adjustment that NASCAR has made to give those guys a little bit of forgiveness if that was to happen.
Yeah, they did a great job. It was a huge moment in the race. Certainly we didn't need the mistake. For T.J. to have the wherewithal to go back to the wall and reset was great.
Q. How much stress was there tonight with the way it was going up and down?
ALAN GUSTAFSON: Yeah, I mean, it's an intense race. It's a lot of fun. This is a great track. It's a good place to do this.
For us, I had my mind made up we were going to have to win. I didn't really see any way to get in on points. Especially when the 2 and the 11 and some of those guys did a fairly decent the first stage, it was going to be all about winning the race.
We were able to do that fortunately. That was our focus. We didn't get too caught up in the back and forth of it.
Q. The rule said you have to reestablish yourself to the wall. Did you know you just need to touch the wall? Is that an interpretation that NASCAR described to you or your pit coaches?
ALAN GUSTAFSON: Basically, yeah, yes. I don't know the exact language they described it to us. Yeah, you just got to get back on the wall, your foot back on the wall.
I don't think it's a judgment call in my opinion. I think it's pretty straightforward. He did what he was supposed to do, took the time to reset. It's the way the rule is stated.
Q. What do you think this win means not for next week but for Chase and your team in the years going forward?
ALAN GUSTAFSON: We've been trying to take this step now for the last two or three years. I feel like we've been really ready to do it, able to do it. We just have not done it when it mattered. Today we were able to.
We were able to overcome some pretty tough circumstances at Texas, come here really in a must‑win situation. Being able to do it was great. It's great for the team. Super proud of those guys. Everybody at HMS essentially delivered. Brand‑new car, great car. Tons of speed obviously. Great engine. Pit crew did what we had to do. Yeah, it's a good day.
Q. I heard you get pretty hot about guys running in to you purposely to try to cut the tire using the fender. That's always been a practice in short‑track racing. Is there any way to police it?
ALAN GUSTAFSON: I think it's self‑policing, in my opinion. There's a couple guys that consistently do it, at least to us. You just get tired of getting raced that way.
Yeah, I was pretty upset about it. If that ultimately was a tire rub, would have cut our tire down, it was going to get ugly in a hurry.
It happens, right? I get it, you're racing. I think you see guys when you're racing them, things happen. You might get into each other. When it happens consistently from the same person, you're just over it.
Q. What do you believe sets the No. 9 team apart from the other three championship contenders?
ALAN GUSTAFSON: Well, our objective is to have the fastest car. That's going to be the key. That's certainly what we're going to try to do. I think the person with the fastest car has a significant advantage in the race. That's what we'll focus on trying to do. That's going to be our objective.
Q. Chase mentioned the importance of he called it to be able to perform when you have no choice. Would you agree with that assessment as an accomplishment tonight?
ALAN GUSTAFSON: Yeah, it's a tough thing to describe. I'm trying to think of the best way.
You have one shot. I mean, that's it, right? I never played in the Major Leagues or whatever, but you think about the World Series, you're up to bat, this is it, right? Bottom of the ninth, two outs. It's up to you to make it happen.
Those pressure situations in sport are great. I think that's what draws so many fans and gets everybody so excited. It's such a special moment. That's what you have to do. You have to be able to deliver. That's it, it's your last shot. It's time to go, time to do it. There's no tomorrow.
To be able to do it, like I said earlier, I felt confident we had to win. All week I didn't have any designs of anything but winning. We knew that was what it was going to take. The competition is too good to make up 25 points in a race. That's just not going to happen. We knew we had to win. Everybody did.
It's a huge effort. You see what goes on here at the track. What you don't see is everybody in the shop midnight Friday getting the car ready to go, making sure every single circumstance in the car is as good as it can be, putting their hearts and souls into it.
That's a huge thing for us to be able to pull it off.
THE MODERATOR: Alan, thank you so much for taking the time to join us today.
Team Chevy high-resolution racing photos are available for editorial use.
About Chevrolet Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is one of the world’s largest car brands, doing business in more than 100 countries and selling more than 4.0 million cars and trucks a year. Chevrolet provides customers with fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.
With a championship spot on the line and his back against the wall in the final laps and in a “must-win” scenario, Chase Elliott rose to the occasion and walked it off in style after dominating and pulling away late to win the Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway and race his way into the Championship 4 round at Phoenix Raceway, where he will contend for his first NASCAR Cup Series championship. The victory was Elliott’s first at Martinsville, fourth of the season and the 10th of his career in his 184th start in NASCAR’s premier series.
The starting lineup was based on four stats: current owner’s standings, driver’s and owner’s results from a previous Cup race and the fastest lap recorded from a previous Cup race. With that, Brad Keselowski started on pole position and was joined on the front row with Martin Truex Jr. Garrett Smithley was the lone competitor who started at the rear of the field due to a driver change.
Prior to the race, Playoff contender Denny Hamlin faced early adversity when a travel packer was left in the shock of his No. 11 FedEx Toyota Camry during pre-race inspection. Hamlin’s team, however, opted to not remove it to not fall to the rear of the field as he will start in fourth place.
When the green flag waved and the race started, Brad Keselowski jumped ahead with the lead as he led the first lap ahead of Martin Truex Jr. Behind, Alex Bowman settled in third place in front of Denny Hamlin while Kurt Busch and Joey Logano overtook Kevin Harvick for fifth and sixth. Not long after, Chase Elliott joined the party along with Kyle Busch.
On the fourth lap, Truex emerged with the lead and Hamlin made contact with Keselowski’s No. 2 Dent Wizard Ford Mustang entering Turn 4 to move into second place. Kurt Busch, facing a “must-win” situation, also made a move for third beneath Keselowski, who was able to settle in front of Bowman.
By Lap 10, Truex, racing in his No. 19 Auto-Owners Insurance Toyota Camry, continued to lead the race over teammate Hamlin with Kurt Busch, Keselowski and Bowman in the top five. By then, Elliott, Logano, Kyle Busch, Ryan Blaney and Harvick were in the top 10. Way behind the leaders, Michael McDowell was back in 28th place and he continued to fall below the leaderboard while dealing with a major left-rear tire rub on his No. 34 Ford Mustang.
A few laps later, the left-rear tire on McDowell’s car flattened, but he was able to nurse his car back to pit road as the race proceeded under green. The situation went from bad to worse for McDowell, who was hit with a commitment line violation and was hit with a speeding penalty while serving a pass-through penalty, thus pinning him multiple laps behind the leaders.
By Lap 20, Truex stabilized his advantage to more than a second over teammate Hamlin, who had Kurt Busch and Keselowski closing in on him for the runner-up spot. Elliott was in fifth followed by teammate Bowman, Logano, Blaney, Kyle Busch and Harvick. By then, Clint Bowyer was in 12th ahead of Matt DiBenedetto and William Byron while Aric Almirola, Erik Jones, Austin Dillon, Ryan Newman and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. were in the top 20. Tyler Reddick was in 21st ahead of Ryan Preece, Matt Kenseth and Jimmie Johnson were in 25th and 26th, Bubba Wallace and Daniel Suarez were in 28th and 29th and Chris Buescher was in 30th.
By Lap 30, Truex continued to lead by more than a second over teammate Hamlin while Kurt Busch, racing in his No. 1 Monster Energy Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, continued to pressure Hamlin for the runner-up spot. Elliott muscled his way into fourth place over Keselowski while Bowman, Logano, Blaney, Harvick and Kyle Busch continued to run in the top 10.
When 40 of 500 laps were complete, Truex stabilized his advantage to nearly two seconds over teammate Hamlin, who had Kurt Busch and Elliott closing in for the runner-up spot. Keselowski continued to run in fifth place followed by teammates Blaney and Logano. Bowman fell back to eighth in front of Harvick and Kyle Busch.
With 50 laps complete, Truex continued to lead while Elliott, who bumped Hamlin a lap earlier, made a move beneath Hamlin to move his No. 9 NAPA Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE into second place. Kurt Busch dropped back to fourth place as Keselowski closed in for more. Logano was in seventh behind teammate Blaney while Bowman and Harvick were in ninth and 10th behind Kyle Busch’s No. 18 M&M’s Toyota Camry.
With the leaders mired in lapped traffic, Elliott was able to narrow the deficit between himself and Truex to as close to two-tenths of a seconds. It was not enough, however, to overtake Truex, who retained the lead when the competition caution flew on Lap 60. By then, the remaining eight Playoff contenders remained in the top 10 on the track, with Harvick and Bowman mired back in ninth and 10th.
Under the competition caution, the leaders pitted and Truex retained the lead following a stellar four-tire pit stop and exiting pit road in first place ahead of Elliott, Logano, Keselowski, Bowman, Hamlin and Harvick. Kurt Busch, who entered pit road in the top five, fell all the way back to 12th place for the restart.
The race resumed under green on Lap 68 with Truex and Elliott on the front row followed by Logano, Keselowski, Bowman and Hamlin. At the start, Truex cleared the field and retained the lead while Elliott and Logano battled for second. Behind, Clint Bowyer suffered a left-rear tire rub, but he continued to run inside the top 15.
By Lap 70, Truex was at the front while Elliott, who lost second place to Logano, reassumed the spot following contact with Logano’s No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang while Keselowski and Hamlin were in the top five ahead of Bowman and Blaney.
Three laps later, the caution returned when contact from teammate Aric Almirola entering Turn 1 sent Bowyer spinning sideways and Austin Dillon had to slam on the brakes to avoid making contact into Bowyer’s No. 14 Ford Mustang.
The race restarted under green six laps later with Truex and Elliott on the front row. At the start, Truex retained the lead over Elliott while Hamlin retained third place on the outside lane over Logano. Keselowski was in fifth in front of Bowman and Blaney while Kurt Busch was in eighth ahead of Kyle Busch and Harvick.
By Lap 85, the front-runners settled into a single-file line of racing with Truex leading by a narrow margin over Elliott while Hamlin and Logano battled for third place. Keselowski continued to race in fifth while teammate Blaney overtook Bowman for sixth. Kurt Busch and Harvick continued to run in eighth and 10th with Kyle Busch mired in ninth.
On Lap 88, the No. 9 Chevrolet of Elliott blasted by Truex’s No. 19 Toyota for the lead in Turn 4 while Hamlin and Logano continued to battle for third place with teammates Keselowski and Blaney in fifth and sixth.
When the race reached its 100-lap mark, Elliott was leading by nearly three-tenths of a second over Truex with Hamlin in third. Behind, Team Penske’s Logano, Blaney and Keselowski battled for fourth place while Bowman and Kurt Busch continued to run in seventh and eighth. Harvick, meanwhile, was mired back in 11th in between William Byron and Almirola. Cole Custer was in 13th followed by Ryan Newman and Matt DiBenedetto.
The caution returned on Lap 104 when the No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE driven by Garrett Smithley stopped on the track in Turn 4. Under caution, most of the leaders led by Hamlin and Logano pitted while Elliott and Truex were among six competitors who remained on the track. Following the pit stops, however, Blaney was penalized for speeding on pit road. In addition, Bubba Wallace was penalized and sent to the rear of the field for removing equipment from his pit box.
When the race restarted under green on Lap 109, Elliott retained the lead over Truex. In Turn 2, Bowyer ran into the rear bumper of teammate Almirola and moved him out of the racing groove as a possible payback from their earlier on-track altercation and incident. Following the contact with his Stewart-Haas Racing teammate, Almirola made contact with Ricky Stenhouse Jr. entering Turn 4 while trying to fall back in line amid a tight pack of racing.
Back towards the front, Hamlin moved into third place over Bowyer while Bowman was in fifth. By then, Keselowski and Logano were in the top 10 while Kurt Busch and Harvick were running outside of the top 10 on the track.
On Lap 113, Hamlin, racing on four fresh tires compared to Elliott and Truex, emerged with the lead after passing Elliott. Not long after, the caution returned when Joey Gase spun in Turn 4 following contact with Quin Houff.
With 10 laps remaining in the first stage, the race resumed under green with Hamlin and Elliott on the front row. At the start, Hamlin retained the lead and Elliott retained the runner-up spot. Behind, Bowman, racing on fresh tires, muscled his way into third place over Truex with Keselowski in fifth.
With the laps in the first stage coming to a close, Bowman overtook teammate Elliott for second place while Keselowski made his way into fourth place over Truex with Logano joining the party. By then, Hamlin was gone as he led by more than a second over Bowman’s No. 88 Planters Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE.
With the on-track battles ensuing behind, Hamlin was able to cruise away from the field and claim the first stage on Lap 130 for his 11th stage victory of the season. Bowman crossed the line in second place followed by Keselowski while Elliott held off Logano for fourth. Truex fell back to sixth followed by Kyle Busch, Byron, Kurt Busch and Jimmie Johnson. Harvick settled in 14th in between Bowyer and Matt Kenseth.
Under the stage break, most of the leaders pitted and following the pit stops, Elliott exited in first place followed by Hamlin and Truex. Back on the track, Kyle Busch emerged with the lead after remaining on the track followed by brother Kurt Busch, Cole Custer, Ty Dillon, Almirola and Bubba Wallace. Following the pit stops, Kenseth was penalized for improper fueling.
The second stage started on Lap 139 with the Busch brothers on the front row. At the start, brothers Kyle and Kurt battled dead even for the lead. Following an intense battle for the next several laps, Kurt cleared his brother Kyle for the lead with Custer in third. Behind, Elliott and Hamlin, both on fresh tires, carved their way int the top five.
On Lap 145, just as Elliott and Hamlin were up in third and fourth behind Kyle Busch, the caution returned when Buescher’s No. 17 Fifth Third Bank Ford Mustang spewed fluid and smoke on the track following an earlier contact with Suarez, an issues that ended Buescher’s race up in smoke and in the garage. Buescher’s engine issues occurred in front of Harvick, who was mired back in 25th and currently scored outside of the top-four cutline for the Championship 4 finale.
When the race restarted under green on Lap 158, Kurt Busch retained the lead ahead of Elliott while Joe Gibbs Racing’s Kyle Busch and Hamlin were in third and fourth. Behind, Stewart-Haas Racing’s Custer and Almirola battled for fifth place in front of Truex. Logano was 10th behind Ty Dillon and Wallace while Bowman was in 12th. Keselowski was in 15th while Harvick was back in 26th.
On Lap 162, Elliott reassumed the lead following a pass on Kurt Busch in Turn 4. Shortly after, Hamlin made his way into second place while Kurt Busch remained in third place in front of brother Kyle. By then, Keselowski was mired back in 17th while Harvick could only work his way up to 24th place behind DiBenedetto.
By Lap 170, Elliott extended his advantage to more than a second over Hamlin while Kurt Busch continued to run in third place ahead of teammates Kyle Busch and Truex. Behind, Logano moved into sixth place over Almirola while Custer, Johnson and Byron were in the top 10 ahead of Bowman.
On Lap 180, Harvick made an unscheduled pit stop to address a flat left-rear tire on his No. 4 Mobil 1 Ford Mustang as a result of an earlier contact with Kenseth. The misfortune cost Harvick two laps from the leaders.
Back at the front, Elliott stabilized his advantage to nearly two seconds over Hamlin with Truex, Kurt Busch and Logano in the top five.
On Lap 185, the caution returned for Brennan Poole, who made contact into the outside wall due to a flat left-front tire. Under caution, the leaders pitted and Elliott exited the pits with the lead over Hamlin, Truex, Kyle Busch and Kurt Busch. Following the pit stop, Erik Jones made another pit stop due to removing equipment from his pit box.
When the race restarted on Lap 192, Elliott retained the lead over Truex with Hamlin settling behind his teammate for the spot. Kurt Busch retained fourth while Kyle Busch and Bowman battled for fifth. Logano moved up to seventh while Blaney, Byron and Custer were in the top 10.
With the race reaching its 200-lap mark, Elliott stretched his advantage to nearly a second over Hamlin with teammate Truex in third. The Busch brothers were in the top five followed by Logano, Bowman, Blaney, Custer and Bowyer were in the top 10. Keselowski was in 11th ahead of Byron while Harvick was in 31st, the first car a lap down to the leaders.
By Lap 210, Elliott continued to lead by nearly two seconds over Truex with teammate Hamlin trailing by more than two seconds. Kurt Busch and Logano were in the top five while Keselowski and Bowman were in eighth and ninth. Harvick was still mired back in 31st place.
Six laps later, the caution returned when Ryan Preece spun in Turn 3 following contact from John Hunter Nemechek. At the time of caution, Elliott lapped Timmy Hill and Hill received the free pass to return to the lead lap, leaving Harvick still trapped a lap behind the leaders. Under caution, some of the leaders led by Elliott and Truex pitted while the rest led by Hamlin remained on the track.
The race restarted on Lap 221 with Hamlin and Logano on the front row. At the start, Hamlin retained the lead while Blaney challenged and overtook teammate Logano for second place. Teammate Keselowski was in fourth followed by Bowman while Byron was in sixth. Behind, Elliott, racing on fresh tires, muscled his way into 10th place while Truex was stuck in 13th.
While Elliott continued to carve his way back to the front, Hamlin continued to lead Penske’s three-car lineup of Blaney, Keselowski and Logano with Bowman in fifth. Shortly after, Elliott overtook teammates Byron and Bowman to move back into the top five. Truex was in eighth place while Kurt Busch was in 14th behind Erik Jones.
Just as the field passed the Lap 230 mark, Elliott worked his way back to third place while Hamlin continued to lead by nearly half a second over Blaney. Keselowski and Logano dropped back to fourth and fifth while Truex overtook Bowman for sixth place. By then, Kurt Busch returned to the top 10. Harvick was still back in 31st place.
On Lap 239, Elliott carved his way back into the lead after passing Hamlin. Blaney settled in third behind Hamlin while Truex worked his way back to fourth place. Keselowski fell back to fifth ahead of Kyle Busch, Logano, Bowman, Kurt Busch and Byron.
By Lap 245, leader Elliott started to catch lapped traffic. He went on to lap J.J. Yeley and Timmy Hill, which placed Harvick in another deficit as he was no longer scored the first car a lap behind and currently scored outside of the cutline to the championship finale round. Behind Elliott, Hamlin continued to run in second place while Truex moved into third place. Blaney fell back to fourth while Kyle Busch was in fifth place ahead of brother Kurt.
With less than 10 laps remaining in the second stage and with the overall race surpassing its halfway mark, Truex passed teammate Hamlin for the runner-up spot while Elliott was ahead by more than three seconds. He soon started to catch teammate Jimmie Johnson to place him a lap behind while Blaney mounted a challenge on Hamlin for third place.
With no challengers closing in behind his No. 9 Chevrolet, Elliott coasted across the start/finish line to win the second stage on Lap 260 and for his 10th stage victory of the season. Truex settled in second while Hamlin held off Blaney and Kurt Busch, all of whom settled in the top five. Kyle Busch, Keselowski, Logano, Bowman and Newman settled in the top 10. Harvick was mired back in 31st place and scored the third car a lap down to the leaders.
Under the stage break, the leaders pitted and Elliott retained the lead following a stellar pit stop and exiting the pits ahead of Truex, Kurt Busch, Kyle Busch and Logano. During the pit stops, Hamlin suffered a slow pit stop due to issues getting the left-front tire on his No. 11 Toyota as he exited in eighth place. Afterwards, Hamlin made another pit stop to have the lug nuts on his car tightened as he dropped all the way towards the tail end of the field.
With 233 laps remaining, the final stage commenced with Elliott and Truex on the front row. At the start, Elliott retained the lead over Truex while Kurt Busch retained third place. Logano moved into fourth place over teammate Blaney and Kyle Busch while Bowman and Keselowski were in seventh and eighth.
With 220 laps remaining, Elliott stretched his advantage to nearly a second over Truex with Kurt Busch, Logano and Blaney in the top five. Kyle Busch was in sixth followed by Bowman, Keselowski, Bowyer and Almirola. Hamlin was mired back in 24th while Harvick was trapped in 30th, a lap behind the leaders and still scored outside of the championship finale cutline, with Elliott currently in by leading the race.
Ten laps later, with 210 laps remaining, Elliott stabilized his advantage to nearly a second over Truex with Logano, Blaney and Kurt Busch still in the top five. Kyle Busch retained sixth place while Keselowski closed in on Bowman for seventh. Bowyer and Byron rounded out the top 10 ahead of Almirola, Newman, Jones, Custer and Corey LaJoie. By then, Hamlin was in 21st behind Stenhouse.
Down to the final 200 laps of the race, Elliott continued to lead by less than a second over Truex with Blaney trailing by less than three seconds. Logano and Kurt Busch were in the top five followed by Kyle Busch, Keselowski, Bowman, Bowyer and Almirola. By then, 28 of 39 competitors on the track were on the lead lap, with John Hunter Nemechek scored the first car a lap behind in 29th and Harvick mired back in 30th place. Hamlin, meanwhile, was in 18th behind Christopher Bell, but he remained above the top-four cutline to the championship finale round.
Twenty laps later, with 180 laps remaining, Elliott’s No. 9 Chevrolet was still out in front of the pack as he approached lapped traffic. Truex, who nearly closed in on Elliott for the lead, dropped to nearly a second of a deficit behind Elliott. Blaney was back in third place followed by Logano and Kurt Busch while Keselowski overtook Kyle Busch for sixth. Bowman, Almirola and Bowyer continued to run in the top 10 while Hamlin was in 17th behind Ty Dillon. Harvick, meanwhile, was back in 28th.
As the laps progressed, Harvick was far from being the first car a lap down as Daniel Suarez, Nemechek, Ryan Preece, Bubba Wallace, Tyler Reddick and Austin Dillon were all lapped by Elliott.
Another 20 laps later, with 160 laps remaining, Elliott’s advantage grew to more than a second over Truex while Logano overtook teammate Blaney for third place. Kurt Busch and Keselowski were in fifth and sixth while Bowman was in eighth. Hamlin was in 16th behind Corey LaJoie while Harvick was still in 28th, a lap behind. By then, 20 cars were scored on the lead lap with 21st-place competitor Kenseth being lapped.
Down to the final 150 laps of the race, the No. 9 Chevrolet of Elliott was leading by nearly two seconds over Truex with Logano behind by more than two seconds. Moments after, the caution flew due to Timmy Hill cutting a right-rear tire in Turn 2. Prior to the caution, Jimmie Johnson made a pit stop due to a flat tire.
Under caution, the leaders pitted and Logano edged Truex to assume the lead upon exiting pit road followed by Blaney, Elliott and Kurt Busch. Following the pit stops, however, the situation went from bad to worse for Elliott, who was tagged with an over the wall penalty thanks to his Jackman upon his pit stop. For the moment, Elliott remained on the track as his team went to work in appealing the penalty. Moments before the restart, NASCAR rescinded the penalty due to his Jackman running back to the pit stall upon jumping over it too soon.
The race restarted under green with 142 laps remaining with teammates Logano and Blaney on the front row. At the start, Logano retained the lead over teammate Blaney with Kurt Busch in third ahead of Elliott and Keselowski. By then, with Logano leading, Harvick moved back into the top-four cutline by a narrow margin over Elliott.
With 132 laps remaining, Blaney passed teammate Logano for the lead. By then, Elliott moved into third place ahead of Keselowski and Kurt Busch, Truex was in sixth ahead of Bowman, Hamlin was in 12th and Harvick was in 23rd, the second car a lap behind with Bubba Wallace in front of him.
Twelve laps later, with 120 laps remaining, Blaney continued to lead by nearly a second over teammate Logano as Elliott continued to close in on Logano for the runner-up spot. Truex was in fifth behind Keselowski, Kurt Busch was in sixth ahead of Bowman, Hamlin was back in 14th and Harvick was in 22nd, the first car scored a lap behind.
With 110 laps remaining, Blaney stabilized his advantage to more than a second over teammate Logano with Elliott trailing by more than two seconds as he started to have Keselowski close in for position. Truex was back in fifth place and in front of Kurt Busch and Bowman while Byron, Bowyer and Almirola were in the top 10. Hamlin retained 14th while Harvick settled in 22nd, a lap behind.
With 100 laps remaining, the caution returned when James Davison stopped on the track in Turn 2. The caution served as a well-timing welcome for Harvick, who was able to return to the lead lap after being scored the first competitor a lap behind in 22nd.
Under caution, the leaders pitted and Logano reassumed the lead following another strong pit stop, with teammates Blaney and Keselowski, Truex and Bowman exiting in the top five. Elliott, who entered in third place, fell back to eighth place following a slow pit stop. Following the pit stops, disaster struck for Keselowski, who was busted with a speeding penalty and sent to the rear of the field. After returning to the lead lap, Harvick was scored back inside the top-four cutline by a decent margin.
With 92 laps remaining, the race restarted under green with Logano and Truex on the front row. At the start, Truex bolted ahead with the lead on the outside lane. Logano retained the runner-up spot and Blaney muscled his way into third place while Kyle Busch retained fourth place over Bowman. Behind, teammates Bowyer and Almirola battled for sixth in front of Elliott while Jones and Hamlin were in the top 10.
Down to the final 80 laps of the race, Truex, facing a “must-win” situation, was leading the field and over Penske teammates Blaney and Logano while Kyle Busch and Bowyer were in the top five. Elliott, Bowman and Hamlin were in sixth, seventh and eighth while Kurt Busch was in 11th. Keselowski, following his pit road speeding penalty, was in 16th and a few points below the cutline while Harvick was in 19th and currently inside the cutline by a narrow margin.
Five laps later, with 75 laps remaining, Truex stabilized his advantage by more than a second over Blaney with Logano trailing by more than two seconds. Elliott carved his way back into fourth place while Bowyer was in fifth ahead of Bowman. With Hamlin in eighth, Keselowski was in 15th behind Byron while Harvick was in 18th behind Ryan Newman.
Another five laps later, with 70 laps remaining, the deficit between Keselowski and Harvick to the cutline to the championship finale round was down to a single point with Harvick, running in 18th, retaining the spot for a moment as Keselowski was in 14th behind Byron.
As the run under the lights progressed, Elliott, who was now scored outside of the cutline, passed Logano for third place while Kurt Busch faded back to 10th place, two spots behind Hamlin. While Keselowski moved up to 12th, Harvick was still mired back in 18th behind Newman, who refused to surrender his spot.
With 59 laps remaining, the caution returned when William Byron spun due to a flat tire and made hard contact into the Turn 3 outside wall, thus demolishing the rear end of his No. 24 Liberty University Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE.
Under caution, the leaders pitted and Truex retained the lead after exiting pit road ahead of Logano, Elliott, Blaney, Bowman and Kyle Busch. Back on the track, Corey LaJoie remained on the track to assume the overall lead.
The race restarted under green with 51 laps remaining with LaJoie and Truex on the front row. At the start, Truex bolted ahead of LaJoie and the field for the lead while Logano and Elliott made a three-wide move on LaJoie in Turn 4 to move up with Elliott in second. While LaJoie was shuffled out of the picture, Elliott started to close in on Truex for the lead and a spot for the championship finale round. Logano was in third followed by Bowman and Kyle Busch while Kurt Bush was in sixth ahead of Blaney, Bowyer, Hamlin and DiBenedetto.
With 45 laps remaining, the battle for the lead intensified as Elliott shoved his nose beneath Truex for the lead, though Truex retained his spot. Behind, Bowman started to challenge Logano for third place.
Two laps later, the No. 9 Chevrolet of Elliott returned to the lead. By then, Elliott moved back into the cutline while Truex was shoved out. In addition, Harvick, who was back in 14th, was scored a single point ahead of Keselowski, who was in 10th, for another spot in the finale.
Down to 40 laps remaining, Elliott started to stretch his advantage to more than a second over Truex with Logano, Bowman and Blaney in the top five. The Busch brothers were in sixth and seventh while Hamlin, Bowyer and Keselowski were in the top 10. Harvick was in 14th behind Jones and following on-track contact with Jones’ No. 20 Toyota Camry.
With 30 laps remaining, Elliott continued to stretch his advantage to more than two seconds over Truex, who radioed concerns about a possible loose right-front tire on his No. 19 Toyota Camry. Logano, Blaney and Bowman continued to run in the top five while Kurt Busch and Hamlin were in sixth and 11th. Keselowski carved his way to eighth behind Kyle Busch while Harvick was in 13th behind DiBenedetto.
A few laps later, Truex surrendered his spot on the track to pit under green to address the loose wheel on his car. The pit stop all but evaporated Truex’s hopes of advancing to the Championship 4 round and contending for his second Cup title.
Back on the track, Harvick was in 12th behind Hamlin and scored below the cutline by a narrow margin while Keselowski, who was in fifth, moved back into the top-four cutline. Meanwhile, Elliott continued to flex his muscles as he led by more than four seconds over Blaney with Logano, Bowman and Keselowski in the top five.
Down to the final 20 leaps of the race, Elliott was still leading by more than four seconds over Blaney with Logano, Bowman and Keselowski in the top five. Kurt Busch was in sixth ahead of Kyle Busch, Almirola, Bowyer and DiBenedetto while Harvick passed Hamlin for 11th. By then, Hamlin’s hopes of advancing to the finale started to become dim as Hamlin, who was overtaken by Harvick for position, retained the final transfer spot to the finale by a narrow margin.
With 10 laps remaining, Elliott extended his advantage to more than five seconds over Blaney with Logano, Bowman and Keselowski in the top five. Kurt Busch was in sixth, Harvick was in 11th and Hamlin was in 12th while trying to fend off teammate Erik Jones for position.
Shortly after, Keselowski passed Bowman for fourth. By then, Keselowski and Hamlin were inside the cutline by a narrow margin while Harvick was outside by a narrow margin.
Down to the final five laps of the race, Elliott’s advantage grew to nearly six seconds as he was on his way to the finale. Keselowski continued to run in fourth, Harvick continued to battle DiBenedetto for 10th while Hamlin was still in 12th in front of Jones. By then, Harvick was scored out of the cutline by a single point behind Keselowski and Hamlin. In addition, Hamlin had teammate Jones and Custer close in for position.
When the white flag waved, Elliott was leading by more than six seconds. Keselowski was still in fourth behind teammates Blaney and Logano, Harvick was in 10th and Hamlin was in 12th.
With no challengers close behind his No. 9 Chevrolet, Elliott was able to smoothly navigate his way back to the finish line and claim his fourth checkered flag of the season.
By winning his first grandfather clock at Martinsville and earning his career-best fourth victory of the 2020 campaign, Elliott, who was in his fourth appearance in the Round of 8 in the Playoffs, earned a one-way ticket to the Championship 4 round at Phoenix Raceway, the site of the finale, for the first time in his career. Elliott’s victory was also the record-leading 25th at Martinsville Speedway for Hendrick Motorsports as this also marks the first time since 2016 where a HMS and Chevrolet competitor will be a part of the Championship 4 round for the season finale.
“Oh, my gosh,” Elliott said on the frontstretch. “This is the biggest win ever for us. I’m just so proud to be able to be backed into a corner like that and have to win tonight. I feel like that’s what we’ve been missing these past four or five years and perform when we don’t have a choice. And, to do that tonight; we couldn’t ask for a better night. This is unreal. Thanks to the fans for coming out. They’re here and I love to see it! I’ve just got to catch my breath. This is just unbelievable. We’re going to Phoenix with a shot to win a championship and have a beautiful blue NAPA Camaro headed out there with a shot to win a title. What more could you ask for?”
Moments after Elliott won, all eyes were focused on Harvick, who closed in on Kyle Busch’s No. 18 Toyota for ninth place. Needing Busch’s spot to have any hopes of making the finale, Harvick made contact with Kyle Busch entering Turn 4. Harvick’s plan to gain the spot, however, did not work as he also spun and came to rest on the inside wall and short of the finish line. His wreck allowed Keselowski and Hamlin to claim the final spots to the Championship 4 round while Harvick, who won a season-high nine races and was a potential title favorite, was left out of the title picture by eight points.
Blaney finished in second place followed by Logano, Keselowski and Kurt Busch. Bowman, Almirola and Bowyer finished sixth, seventh and eighth while Kyle Busch limped across the line in ninth. Hamlin finished 11th while Harvick salvaged a 17th-place result, the final car on the lead lap. Truex came home in 22nd.
Joey Logano, Chase Elliott, Denny Hamlin and Brad Keselowski will compete for the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series championship next weekend at Phoenix Raceway.
“Just lost the handling there as soon as it went night,” Hamlin, who made it into the finale by nine points, said. “We were not very good. A lot of that too, I got up into sixth or seventh and some guys teammates were kind of rubbing up against you and it’s like, ‘yeah, I don’t want to cut a tire,’ so I backed out of that. Then we just fell to a spot that was a little more open. Proud of this whole FedEx Shipathon Toyota team. I feel bad for Kevin [Harvick], they probably deserve better than that. It’s just the format, I guess. Everything you do for eight innings doesn’t matter if you don’t have a great ninth inning. It’s just tough to see. I really wish we were going to race those guys next week. It will be a tough battle with those other three that we’re going to have to race. We’re definitely going to have to step up our short track program…If you have a bad race or two in a three-race series, you’re out. We’re very fortunate with our FedEx team to be able to lean on all the work that we did in the regular season, to get Playoffs points, win the most stages throughout the season than anyone else. We’re optimistic. We’ll see.”
“There was nothing I could do other than just pass as many cars as I could, look forward,” Keselowski, who transferred by eight points, said. “The last two runs, I don’t know if we were the best car, but we were close to it. Credits to [crew chief] Jeremy Bullins and the team. They just kept adjusting on it at the end. It was just frustrating because that pit road speeding penalty, I just did not see that coming. The place where I got the penalty was right outside my box. I didn’t even think it was possible to speed right there, but I was wrong. I know we’ve got great cars on these short tracks and one-mile track. We bring this kind of effort at the end of the race at Phoenix, we got a great shot at [the title].”
Photo by Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images.
Kevin Harvick, Alex Bowman, Martin Truex Jr. and Kurt Busch have been eliminated from the Playoffs and will set their title hopes for next season.
“Everybody kept battling there,” Harvick said. “I tried to run into the door of [Kyle Busch] as a last-ditch effort there and spun him out. Sorry to put him in a middle of trying to gain a point. Not a great three weeks. Didn’t go our way. We fought for everything we had and just came up short. These championships aren’t like winning like Petty and Earnhardt use to win them. You have to put them together three weeks at a time. It comes down to one race and it came down to one race for us tonight, and came up short.”
Photo by Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images.
“We had a great car all day long and just kept making adjustments waiting for it to cool off and get dark,” Truex, who fell 52 points shy, said. “That last run there before the final pit stop, the thing was on rails and it was perfect and we were driving away. I felt really good about it. Then we pitted and had a pretty good pit stop. Came out with the lead and right away I knew something was wrong. I was really, really tight and had a vibration.[Elliott] passed us and we started dropping and had to pit for a loose wheel. Unfortunate. I think we should be the one in Victory Lane right now, but you have to do it all. Just a little mistake there.”
“I drive this place so wrong,” Bowman, who fell 28 points shy, said. “I try to roll the centers really fast. We get it turned in and I’m like, ‘Oh, now, I don’t have any drive off.’ I look at the data and know what I need to do differently. Still can’t seem to figure out how to do it. All in all, a good day for our Planters Camaro. Really proud of Chase to make the Final Four…Bummed we’re not a part of that, but I think we have a solid shot at getting fifth in points. The progress this team’s made over the last two months has been incredible and I think that’s something they really deserve. We’ll go do all we can to make that happen at Phoenix. Driving this No. 88 car’s been special. Being a part of the Round of 8 was great. I think we had one of the best, if not the best average finish over the past three races. Just didn’t have the Playoff points coming in. We gotta perform every week like we have the last 12 or 13 weeks. We gotta do that all season long to be in contention to go to Phoenix. We gotta do a better job of that next year, but looking forward to the challenge.”
“We gave it all we had,” Kurt Busch, who fell 86 points shy, said. “Real proud of my guys. Chip Ganassi Racing put up a really good fight this year to get this far. To win and post top fives throughout the Playoffs, we crossed over a threshold. Last week, we finished seventh at Texas, fifth tonight and we’re walking around kicking the ground. When I started here two years ago, we finished in the top five and we’re celebrating. We’ve come that far in this short amount of time and I’m really proud of everybody back at the shop. To come here with a shot at it, we knew we had to win. It takes a team all the way through…Our weakest area was pit road and we know we need to work on that, but all in all, I can’t thank everybody enough. It’s cool to see the evolution of where we’ve come in two years.”
For other notables on the field, Bowyer and Jimmie Johnson finished eighth and 30th in their penultimate runs at Martinsville while Kenseth finished 14th in his penultimate run of this season with his racing status for the future uncertain. Christopher Bell finished 15th in the penultimate Cup run for Leavine Family Racing while Ty Dillon finished 16th in the penultimate Cup run for Germain Racing.
With one race remaining to the 2020 Cup Series season, Ford wrapped up the manufacturers’ title for the 17th time, first since 2018 and the first with the Ford Mustang stock car in the Cup circuit.
There were 20 lead changes for 10 different leaders. The race featured 12 cautions for 83 laps.
Results.
1. Chase Elliott, 236 laps led, Stage 2 winner
2. Ryan Blaney, 36 laps led
3. Joey Logano, 19 laps led
4. Brad Keselowski, three laps led
5. Kurt Busch, 23 laps led
6. Alex Bowman, one lap led
7. Aric Almirola
8. Clint Bowyer
9. Kyle Busch, five laps led
10. Matt DiBenedetto
11. Denny Hamlin, 42 laps led, Stage 1
12. Erik Jones
13. Cole Custer
14. Matt Kenseth
15. Christopher Bell
16. Ty Dillon
17. Kevin Harvick
18. Ryan Newman, one lap down
19. Ryan Preece, one lap down
20. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. one lap down
21. Bubba Wallace, one lap down
22. Martin Truex Jr., one lap down, 129 laps led
23. Austin Dillon, two laps down
24. Tyler Reddick, two laps down
25. Corey LaJoie, two laps down, six laps led
26. John Hunter Nemechek, two laps down
27. Daniel Suarez, three laps down
28. Michael McDowell, three laps down
29. Timmy Hill, five laps down
30. Jimmie Johnson, five laps down
31. J.J. Yeley, six laps down
32. Josh Bilicki, 10 laps down
33. Quin Houff, 11 laps down
34. Joey Gase – OUT, Electrical
35. William Byron – OUT, Accident
36. James Davison – OUT, Electrical
37. Brennan Poole – OUT, Accident
38. Chris Buescher – OUT, Accident
39. Garrett Smithley – OUT, Electrical
Bold indicates Playoff contenders.
Playoff Standings
1. Joey Logano – Advanced
2. Chase Elliott – Advanced
3. Denny Hamlin – Advanced
4. Brad Keselowski – Advanced
5. Kevin Harvick – Eliminated
6. Alex Bowman – Eliminated
7. Martin Truex Jr. – Eliminated
8. Kurt Busch – Eliminated
The NASCAR Cup Series will travel to Phoenix Raceway for the season-finale 500-mile race and where the 2020 Cup champion will be crowned. The finale will occur on Sunday, November 8, at 3 p.m. ET on NBC.
Ford Performance Post-Race Recap
NASCAR Cup Series
Martinsville Speedway | SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2020
FORD FINISHING RESULTS:
2nd – Ryan Blaney
3rd – Joey Logano
4th – Brad Keselowski
7th – Aric Almirola
8th – Clint Bowyer
10th – Matt DiBenedetto
13th – Cole Custer
17th – Kevin Harvick
18th – Ryan Newman
25th – Corey LaJoie
26th – John Hunter Nemechek
28th – Michael McDowell
31st – JJ Yeley
34th – Joey Gase
36th – James Davison
38th – Chris Buescher
FORD PERFORMANCE QUOTES
KEVIN HARVICK, No. 4 Mobil 1 Ford Mustang — DID YOU BELIEVE COMING INTO TODAY THAT THIS WAS A POSSIBILITY? “For sure with the way that we’ve run here in the past. Everybody kept battling there. I tried to run into the door of the 18 as a last-ditch effort there and spun him out. Sorry to put him in the middle of trying to gain a point, but not a great three weeks. It didn’t go our way. We fought for everything we had and it just came up short.”
FOR ALL THE WINS THIS YEAR TO NOT MAKE IT TO THE CHAMPIONSHIP 4 WHAT ARE THE EMOTIONS? “Look, these championship aren’t like winning like Petty and Earnhardt used to win them. You have to put them together three weeks at a time and it comes down to one race and it came down to one race for us tonight and came up short.”
IT WAS A STRUGGLE TODAY. “Yeah, we just weren’t good and everybody on our Mobil 1 Ford just kept battling to make it better and gave ourselves a shot there at the end. I tried to drive into the door of the 18 to get that last point to make it and spun him out. I don’t usually drive like that, but you’re trying to make it to the Championship 4 and doing everything you can. Just came up short. Just not the night we needed.”
KEVIN HARVICK POST-RACE ZOOM
DID YOU FEEL LIKE THE MOVE ON KYLE WAS GOING TO WORK OR WAS IT ONE OF THOSE YOU WHERE YOU THOUGHT YOU WERE GOING TO CRASH AS WELL BUT YOU HAD TO TRY IT? “It was just a move I had to try knowing that I needed one point. I needed to hit him square in the door, but at that point I was too late and wound up hitting him in the back. It was just a Hail Mary that didn’t work out.”
ARE YOU STILL OKAY WITH THIS SYSTEM? YOU HAVE 9 WINS AND DON’T MAKE THE FINAL FOUR. “We had a great year. Like I said earlier, they aren’t won the same way that Earnhardt and Petty did. You have to put together a few weeks and we didn’t put together these last few weeks like we needed to and just came up short.”
IS THIS UP THERE AS ONE OF THE WORST GUT PUNCHES YOU’VE HAD TO TAKE? “No, I’ve been punched in the gut a lot harder. We won nine races, had a great year, and, like I said, the championship is kind of a bonus. It would be great to win it, obviously, but I’d rather go through the year and win races and do the things that we did and just came up short.”
HOW DO YOU JUSTIFY TO PEOPLE THAT YOU WON’T BE RACING FOR THE CHAMPIONSHIP WHEN YOU ARE CLEARLY ONE OF THE TOP FOUR TEAMS THIS YEAR? “That’s the system that we work in and it’s obviously skewed more towards entertainment than the whole year, so it’s exciting to watch and has that format that goes with it and you take them as they come and we race within the system that they give us and do our best. It just didn’t work out for us. The last three weeks didn’t go exactly how we needed them to and you’ve got to be right when you get to this Round of 8.”
WHAT IS IT WITH MARTINSVILLE THAT GIVES YOU AND RODNEY DIFFICULTY? “We just got to make our car handle better.”
WHAT WOULD IT MEAN TO WIN AT PHOENIX AND RAIN ON THE CHAMPIONS’ PARADE? “It’s been a great racetrack for us and obviously that’s what we want to do. I just want to get the season over with.”
YOU WERE NOT ON THE LEAD LAP FOR MORE THAN 200 LAPS. HOW DID THAT IMPACT THINGS FOR YOU OR WAS THAT MORE OF A SYMPTOM OF THE CAR WASN’T GOOD AND THAT WAS JUST AN EXAMPLE OF THE STRUGGLES ALL NIGHT FOR YOU? “No, we had a flat tire and had to pit under green. We got a couple laps down and every time we’d get close one of the other cars would get lapped and so it just wound up not working out for us quick enough to get back where we needed to be.”
BRAD KESELOWSKI, No. 2 Dent Wizard Ford Mustang — WHAT WAS IT LIKE IN THE CAR KNOWING YOUR PLAYOFF LIFE WAS ON THE LINE? “I thought I was part race car driver part mathematician. I can only imagine what my wife was feeling. She’s here in a suite watching, let alone my fans, but I’m really happy for Team Penske to have two cars in. Just a hard fought day. Got a speeding penalty there with like 70-80 to go and I’m not sure how. The box where i got the speeding penalty is where my car was pitted, so I don’t know. I’ll have to figure that one out later, but just really thankful to be going to the Championship 4.”
HOW AWARE WERE YOU IN THOSE FINAL LAPS THAT IT WAS CRUCIAL? “Not enough. There was nothing I could do other than just pass as many cars as I could and look forward. The last two runs, I don’t know if we were the best car, but we were close to it. Credit to Jeremy Bullins and the team. They just kept adjusting on it at the end and we got good when it counted. It was just frustrating because that pit road penalty I did not see it coming, to be honest with you.”
DID YOU DO ANYTHING DIFFERENT? “No. It’s the same thing I’d been doing and the place where I got the penalty was right outside my box, so I didn’t even think it was possible to speed right there, and I was wrong.”
WHAT DID YOU BUILD ON HERE FOR NEXT WEEK? YOU FOUGHT BACK HARD, DOES THAT HELP? “Oh, yes. I know we’ve got great cars on these short tracks and one-mile tracks. At the end of the race we might have had the best car. It was probably pretty close between Chase and I. If we bring this kind of an effort at the end of the race at Phoenix, we’ve got a great shot at it.”
RYAN BLANEY POST-RACE PRESS CONFERENCE
Q. How are you?
RYAN BLANEY: Could be better.
Q. Overall, go through your run. What was it like battling up front with your teammate for the lead?
RYAN BLANEY: Yeah, pretty decent all day. We got progressively better. I sped on pit road before that first stage. That really set us back. Good thing we had a lot of time to get back up through the field after that.
We got the lead there, which was good. We were riding around, biding our time. Caution came out, we lost a spot on pit road, lost the lead, lost control of the race. Started third or fourth on the restart. Got back to second.
Trying to run the 19 down. Caution came out. Lost a couple more spots on pit road. Could never get back up there. By the time we got second, the 9 was completely gone.
Overall not a bad night. It sucks to finish second here, though, both times this year.
Q. Was it the cautions that killed you?
RYAN BLANEY: Cautions maybe. If we just maintain on pit road, I thought we’d have a good shot at it. We just didn’t do that tonight.
Q. Your fourth consecutive top‑10 finish over this Playoff stretch. Do you think you and the No. 12 team are building strong momentum towards 2021?
RYAN BLANEY: Yeah, I mean, that’s what it’s all about, right? Our Playoffs ended pretty maturely there, being eliminated in the first round. Obviously bums out everybody.
We wanted to show that we can run up front, contend for wins. Main goal when we got knocked out was to run as well as we can, try to win races, get ready for next year. That’s the main thing.
Yeah, proud of this 12 group. The past 10 full weeks we’ve been strong. Had a chance to win a couple races. Just need to put it all together. Yeah, definitely hoping we can have a good day at Phoenix, we can have a really good off‑season headed into next year.
JOEY LOGANO POST-RACE PRESS CONFERENCE
Q. It’s got to be really exciting for you, given you kicked off the Round of 8 with a win at Kansas, now going to Phoenix, a good track for you. How excited are you to battle for your second championship?
JOEY LOGANO: Yeah, of course we’re excited. We’re ready to go. This is a great opportunity. We were able to lock ourselves in a couple weeks ago, be able to breathe for a minute, get through these last couple races. What a crazy race it was today for those guys trying to get their way in.
Glad we were able to Keep some momentum up, get a good starting spot. I don’t know where we’re going to be for next week yet. Hopefully it’s a good starting spot. We’ll fire away and try to get our second championship.
Q. You mentioned at Charlotte you have the competition right where you want them, that you wouldn’t be the most favorite title contender, but you’re in it. How would you say it’s been to have this finish for your team?
JOEY LOGANO: You guys told me we weren’t the favorites in 2018, so…
We’ll believe what we want to believe and we’ll believe in ourselves first. I’ll tell you again we’re the favorites to win this thing. That’s how it is in my mind. I said that a couple weeks ago, doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks.
Q. Obviously your win at Texas denied Harvick that win, then Harvick gets knocked out. How big a deal is it to have Harvick out of the Final 4?
JOEY LOGANO: That’s surprising, that’s for sure. Obviously we know what Kevin’s record is at Phoenix. We all thought he’s got as good a shot as everyone. He’s strong there. Finished second right behind us there when we were there in the spring.
Yeah, he’s going to be fast. I said this before. The top four cars, the Championship 4 cars, are all going to be racing for the win. That’s one thing I think we can be pretty certain of.
Q. Do you like the system? Obviously it helps you this year. Everybody has a chance.
JOEY LOGANO: Yeah, I love it actually. I mean, it brings these crazy moments. I mean, I couldn’t imagine what it was like watching the race tonight with every possible scenario getting thrown out there with the 9, the 19 in the lead, then you got guys racing for points behind them, trying to get every point they can. It’s all within a point. Racing all way to the checkered flag like that, that’s crazy. That’s absolutely amazing.
I believe the system is very fair. It’s just like any other sport, right? In the NFL you can have an amazing regular season, lose the first time and you’re out. That’s just what Playoffs are.
I’m glad we have it in our sport because it produces some amazing moments. There will be another amazing one next week when you have four cars going for it.
Q. Going into the last hundred laps or so, seemed like the Penske cars were the dominant group. What did you see from Chase over the last run that let him sneak up on you guys?
JOEY LOGANO: Saw his back bumper too much (laughter). Seemed like whatever they did to their car the last run, that thing took off. He definitely was able to find some speed there last run, get out ahead of me, ahead of the 19. He just kind of kept going from there.
They made some good adjustments, whatever they did.
Q. You were in a luxurious position with your win at Texas. What did you learn about your car and team over the next two events? What lessons can you take into the finale at Phoenix?
JOEY LOGANO: Really the past two weeks the advantage we earned was to be able to focus on our Phoenix car before everybody. That’s the advantage we had. We get to go to these races not having our tongues hanging out trying to get in. Our batteries are charged up and we’re ready to go. That part is nice.
I think we proved that our pit crew tonight is absolutely incredible. They kept us up front all day long. I don’t think there was one pit stop I didn’t gain at least one spot throughout it. Our pit crew is strong. They’ll be ready to go when we get out there.
I think we’ve proven our team is definitely the team to beat. We’re well‑rounded. I think that’s something that can help us next week.
BRAD KESELOWSKI POST-RACE PRESS CONFERENCE
Q. Earlier this season you called this silently one of your best seasons of your career. Going into the Championship 4, do you still feel that to be the case?
BRAD KESELOWSKI: Yeah, absolutely. Got four wins this year. Making the Championship 4 is a big deal. Credit to Team Penske for that, for having two cars in it, Joey and myself. The way Blaney ran the tonight, shows he’s one of the best drivers out there, too. Could easily have been in the Championship 4 if some things would have gone his way.
Wow, it was a long night, right (laughter)? I thought we were one of the best cars at the end of the race, if not the best car. Was just a little disappointed in the speeding penalty. I’m still not sure I understand it. I didn’t feel like I was speeding.
Either way, great finish for us. I’m really proud of everybody.
Q. How worried were you about Harvick making a charge there on the last lap?
BRAD KESELOWSKI: Oh, very worried.
Sorry, Roger is calling me (laughter).
Q. Bigger name on the other line.
BRAD KESELOWSKI: I’ll call him right back, if you’re watching, Mr. Penske (laughter).
Anyway, he did a great job (indiscernible) so hard to pass cars (indiscernible).
THE MODERATOR: Brad, I think we lost you. It was about half an answer. Would you mind going through that again because you were breaking up significantly.
Q. Just take me through what was going through your mind over the closing laps. You’re getting information, Harvick is getting information, closing in on you.
BRAD KESELOWSKI: Yeah, well, I passed him to gain the seven spots I needed. It was just a matter of I knew he had some teammates in front of him that helped him out a little bit. It was very close. There’s just only so much I can do about him. I was trying to focus on just myself. Of course, I wanted to know, right?
Q. We’ve been going through this Playoff system since 2014. Here we have the guy that has the most wins throughout the season not there fighting for the championship. Do you see anything wrong with that?
BRAD KESELOWSKI: Well, I’ve been there, too. I won six races in 2014, didn’t make the Championship 4. Most of anybody the entire year. I’ll tell you, it stings. I feel for Kevin because I’ve been there.
The format is what the format is. It’s our job to decide the format, it’s our job to race the format.
Q. With the Championship 4 set, is there one driver you see as the biggest threat? If so, why?
BRAD KESELOWSKI: I mean, no. I think all of us are pretty evenly matched going into Phoenix. Denny has had some good runs there, Chase has had some good runs there. Joey won last spring. We’ve been so good on that type of track this season. I think it’s about as even matched as it’s going to get.
Q. Was that nerve‑wracking? When you’re in the moment, are you just: I need to get this, if I don’t, I don’t?
BRAD KESELOWSKI: You’re just trying to control what you can control. I can’t control the 4 car. I can’t control those other guys. All I can do is really run my own race. That’s what I was trying to do, is run my own race, not get ourselves in any trouble by overthinking it.
I definitely can’t control the 4 car, the 11 car. I knew it was really close with all of us. But, whew, I hope you guys had fun. It was a hell of a race.
Q. You seemed a little bit surprised that you got a speeding penalty. Do you think your lights were off?
BRAD KESELOWSKI: No, I just think something didn’t add up there. Being in the first stall, I shouldn’t be able to speed the first or last segment on the racetrack. I wasn’t even up to speed.
It’s tough because on these rounded corner pit roads you don’t have to be at full speed to be speeding because of the way the math is figured out. It’s a time thing, not an actual speed. I’m going to have to take a look at it.
Q. When you guys incurred that speeding penalty, it would cause a lot of lesser teams to cringe, make excuses. You were back to a great finish and advancement. How proud are you of the resiliency that this No. 2 squad has displayed all season long?
BRAD KESELOWSKI: That was some resiliency. That was certainly some resiliency for sure to make it through a moment like that. I mean, talk about back up against the wall. Oh, my gosh. That’s as backed up against the wall as you can get.
I just drove the best race I could drive and the team did the best they could do with the remaining pit stops and we were back at it.
NASCAR CUP SERIES XFINITY 500 MARTINSVILLE SPEEDWAY TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE NOTES & QUOTES NOVEMBER 1, 2020
TOP TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL RACE RESULTS: POS. DRIVER 1st CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1 1LE 5th KURT BUSCH, NO. 1 MONSTER ENERGY CAMARO ZL1 1LE 6th ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 88 PLANTERS CAMARO ZL1 1LE 14th MATT KENSETH, NO. 42 CLOVER CAMARO ZL1 1LE 16th TY DILLON, NO. 13 GEICOWEEN CAMARO ZL1 1LE
TOP FIVE UNOFFICIAL RACE RESULTS: POS. DRIVER 1st Chase Elliott (Chevrolet) 2nd Ryan Blaney (Ford) 3rd Joey Logano (Ford) 4th Brad Keselowski (Ford) 5th Kurt Busch (Chevrolet)
UNOFFICIAL CURRENT PLAYOFF RANK (Following Race 9 of 10 / Entering into the Championship Four) POS. DRIVER (* = Chevy Contender) 1st Joey Logano (Ford) 2nd * Chase Elliott (Chevrolet) 3rd Brad Keselowski (Ford) 4th Denny Hamlin (Toyota)
The 2020 NASCAR Cup Series seasons concludes at Phoenix Raceway with the Season Finale 500 on Sunday, November 8,, at 3:00 p.m. ET. Live coverage can be found on NBC, the NBC Sports Gold app, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
TEAM CHEVY NOTES AND QUOTES: CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Race Winner AT THE MOST IMPORTANT TIME, YOU SEE YOUR FIRST VICTORY AT MARTINSVILLE SPEEDWAY. YOUR CREW IS A LITTLE EXCITED, AS YOU ARE TOO, RIGHT CHASE? “Oh, my gosh. This is the biggest win ever for us. I’m just so proud to be able to be backed into a corner like that and have to win tonight. I feel like that’s what we’ve been missing these past four or five years and perform when we don’t have a choice. And, to do that tonight; we couldn’t ask for a better night. This is unreal. Thanks to the fans for coming out. They’re here and I love to see it! I’ve just got to catch my breath. This is just unbelievable. We’re going to Phoenix with a shot to win a championship and have a beautiful blue NAPA Camaro headed out there with a shot to win a title. What more could you ask for?
WHEN YOU HAD YOUR CAR BACK IN THE PACK A LITTLE BIT AND A COUPLE OF MISCUES ON PIT ROAD, WHAT CONCERNS DID YOU HAVE? “Yeah, I didn’t think our car was driving as good there at the end as it was at the beginning of the race. But those last couple of pit stops made some really good changes and had a good pit stop on that last one and a good last restart. And that was the difference. Everybody makes this possible. This is unbelievable. I’m just at a bit of a loss for words. Like I said, this is the piece we’ve been missing. I feel like we’ve had the group to do this. We just have to go make it happen and we did tonight.”
KURT BUSCH, NO. 1 MONSTER ENERGY CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 5th KURT BUSCH FINISHES FIFTH, BUT THAT DOESN’T FULLY EXPLAIN THE DAY YOU HAD. YOU GUYS PUT A VALIANT EFFORT TO PUT YOURSELF IN POSITION TO WIN THIS RACE. WHAT MORE DID YOU NEED? “We gave it all we had. I’m really proud of my guys. Chip Ganassi Racing put up a really good fight this year to get this far, to win and to post top-five’s through the Playoffs. We crossed over our threshold. Last week, we finished seventh at Texas, fifth tonight and we’re walking around kind of kicking the ground – like that wasn’t our best effort or we could have done this or could of done that. When I started here two years ago, we finished in the top-five and were celebrating. We’ve come that far in this short amount of time and I’m really proud of everybody back at the shop, Chevrolet, thankful for Monster Energy, GEARWRENCH and all of our partners at Chip Ganassi Racing. To come here with a shot at it, we knew we had to win. It takes a team all the way through. The driver has to make good decision – spotter, pit crew, crew chief and adjustments. We just came up a little shy. Our weakest area was pit road and we know that we need to work on that. But all-in-all, I can’t thank everybody enough. It’s cool to see the evolution of where we’ve come in two years.”
YOU’VE HEARD A LOT OF PEOPLE SAY YOU GUYS ARE AN UNDERDOG COMING INTO THIS ROUND OF EIGHT. I KNOW YOU GUYS MAYBE HAD A LITTLE MORE CONFIDENCE THAN THAT. DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOU SHOWED THAT WITH THOSE TOP-FIVES AND THE SPEED YOU HAD HERE IN THE ROUND OF EIGHT? “You’re an underdog when you go in ranked eighth out of eight. We had an engine problem at Kansas and that just kicked us straight in the shin. From there, we had to win. Texas, we just didn’t get the job done – we got seventh. Today, we got fifth. Those are great quality finishes, but you can’t rely on those in the Playoffs against the best of the best. Right now, (Kevin) Harvick’s not in. That just shows you how tough this competition is.
ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 88 PLANTERS CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 6th “I drive this place so wrong. I try to roll the center really fast and then I am like oh we don’t have any drive off. You would think I would figure it out, but I kind of know what I need to do. All in all, a good day for our Planters Chevrolet. Mr. Peanut looked pretty cool. Really proud of Chase (Elliott) and making the final four there. Bummed we aren’t a part of it, but I think we have a solid shot at getting fifth in points. The progress this team has made over the past two months has been incredible. This is something they really deserve.”
TY DILLON, NO. 13 GEICOWEEN CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 16th “Today was a good day for our Germain Racing team. Our GEICOween Chevrolet Camaro would build tight over the run, but Matt (Borland) and the guys continued to make it better with every adjustment. Our team never gives up and I had a lot of fun behind the wheel today. To finish 16th is a great way to end our final Martinsville start together as a team. We are going to head to Phoenix next week and give it everything we have to make the last race for Germain Racing a memorable one.”
TYLER REDDICK, NO. 8 MOTORTREND CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 24th “This was only my second time at Martinsville Speedway in four years, and I definitely learned a lot today in the No. 8 MotorTrend Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. We fought pretty much the same problem all day, just too tight in the turns from about two-thirds of the way in through the exit. My team did everything they could today, and we tried every adjustment we could think of to loosen our car up but nothing seemed to stick. Our changes would help for a handful of laps on each restart, but then the track would rubber up and the tightness would return every time. Not our day, but I’m thankful for my team for sticking with it all race long and continuing to fight. We’ll look to finish out the season strong at Phoenix Raceway next weekend.”
Team Chevy high-resolution racing photos are available for editorial use.
About Chevrolet Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is one of the world’s largest car brands, doing business in more than 100 countries and selling more than 4.0 million cars and trucks a year. Chevrolet provides customers with fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.
HAMLIN SCORES TOYOTA A SPOT IN THE CHAMPIONSHIP 4
Denny Hamlin makes the Championship 4 with a 11th-place finish
MARTINSVILLE, Virginia (November 1, 2020) – Denny Hamlin qualified for the NASCAR Cup Series Championship 4 with two strong stage finishes and an 11th-place finish in the Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway on Sunday evening. Martin Truex Jr. led over 100 laps and was in position to win his way into the Championship 4 before a late-race pit stop for a loose right-front wheel ended his chance to score the victory.
Toyota Racing Post-Race Recap
NASCAR Cup Series (NCS)
Martinsville Speedway
Race 35 of 36 – 500 miles, 263 laps
TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS
1st, Chase Elliott*
2nd, Ryan Blaney*
3rd, Joey Logano*
4th, Brad Keselowski*
5th, Kurt Busch*
9th, KYLE BUSCH
11th, DENNY HAMLIN
12th, ERIK JONES
15th, CHRISTOPHER BELL
22nd, MARTIN TRUEX JR.
27th, DANIEL SUÁREZ
29th, TIMMY HILL
*non-Toyota driver
TOYOTA QUOTES
DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 FedEx Shipathon Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 11th
What was the closing laps of that race like?
“It was tough. Our car was fading a little bit. I was also getting into some spots where I was getting roughed up by some teammates, not really ours, just some of the guys that are in the battle. I didn’t even want to be a part of it, so I would just get out of it and then I put myself in an interesting spot where the 4 (Kevin Harvick) was going for it a little bit and we were very fortunate he didn’t go for it any further than he did. We did just enough. That’s what we needed to do – is do enough to make it to Phoenix and give ourselves a shot at the championship. This FedEx team definitely deserves to be in the top four and glad that we are able to give it a shot next week.”
Handicap your chances next week?
“I think we can win any given week for sure. The short tracks haven’t been great for us all year, but you just never know. Last year, we went there and nearly lapped the field, so who knows how it’s going to turn out. One race, winner take all, you never know.”
How stressful were the last 100 laps with the points getting so close?
“I think we were in most of the time. Just lost the handling there as soon as it went night. We were not very good. A lot of that too, I got up into sixth or seventh and some guys teammates were kind of rubbing up against you and it’s like, ‘yeah, I don’t want to cut a tire,’ so I backed out of that. Then we just fell to a spot that was a little more open. Proud of this whole FedEx Shipathon Toyota team. I feel bad for Kevin (Harvick), they probably deserve better than that. It’s just the format, I guess. Everything you do for eight innings doesn’t matter if you don’t have a great ninth inning. It’s just tough to see. I really wish we were going to race those guys next week. It will be a tough battle with those other three that we’re going to have to race. We’re definitely going to have to step up our short track program.”
Are you surprised the 4 team isn’t in the Championship 4 next week?
“I think they deserve to be in. They have nine wins. There’s not a person on this planet that would say they aren’t a top-four team. We wanted to create a Game 7 moment, so this is what you get. If you have a bad race or two in a three-race series, you’re out. We’re very fortunate with our FedEx team to be able to lean on all the work that we did in the regular season to get Playoff points and win the most stages throughout the season than anyone else. We’re optimistic, we’ll see.”
How do you feel about Phoenix?
“It’s an entirely different ballgame now. It really is. The aerodynamic package is a lot different. There’re no similarities that you can really draw to it. You just never know. Obviously, we’re going to be ready and we’re going to be prepared and hopefully we’ll go out there and show what we’ve got.”
MARTIN TRUEX JR., No. 19 Auto Owners Insurance Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 22nd
How disappointing is this finish knowing how strong your car was throughout the race?
“Yeah, for Martinsville. We had a great car all day long and just kept making adjustments waiting for it to cool off and get dark. That last run there before the final pit stop, the thing was on rails and it was perfect and we were driving away. I felt really good about it. Then we pitted and had a pretty good pit stop. Came out with the lead and right away I knew something was wrong. I was really, really tight and had a vibration. The 9 (Chase Elliott) car passed us and we started dropping and had to pit for a loose wheel. Unfortunate. I think we should be the one in victory lane right now, but you have to do it all. Just a little mistake there.”
# # #
About Toyota
Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in the U.S. and North America for more than 60 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands. During that time, Toyota has created a tremendous value chain as our teams have contributed to world-class design, engineering, and assembly of more than 40 million cars and trucks in North America, where we have 14 manufacturing plants, 15 including our joint venture in Alabama (10 in the U.S.), and directly employ more than 47,000 people (over 36,000 in the U.S.). Our 1,800 North American dealerships (nearly 1,500 in the U.S.) sold nearly 2.8 million cars and trucks (nearly 2.4 million in the U.S.) in 2019.
Through the Start Your Impossible campaign, Toyota highlights the way it partners with community, civic, academic and governmental organizations to address our society’s most pressing mobility challenges. We believe that when people are free to move, anything is possible. For more information about Toyota, visit www.toyotanewsroom.com.
John Hunter Nemechek
No. 38 Death Wish Coffee Ford Mustang
Started: 23rd
Finished: 26th
Stage One: 22nd
Stage Two: 25th
Stage Three: 26th
John Hunter Nemechek started Sunday’s race at Martinsville Speedway in the 23rd position. His No. 38 Death Wish Coffee Ford Mustang struggled at the beginning, losing a lap before the Competition Caution on Lap 60. He radioed to the team that he was “loose in, loose off, tight center… hard to get power down.” He would take 4 tires, fuel and a packer adjustment on pit road. By the time a caution came out on Lap 73, Nemechek was in the Lucky Dog spot and would regain his lap after pitting for a track bar adjustment. Finishing Stage 1 in the 22nd position, Nemechek noted, “drive off is decent, roll is okay, still snug center.” He would pit for 4 tires, fuel and a wedge adjustment.
Nemechek restarted the race in 23rd place. When another caution came on Lap 145, it appeared as though Nemechek had made contact with another car, but there were no issues with his No. 38 Death Wish Coffee machine. On Lap 186, he noted that he was still “tight center” and struggling to roll, and would pit for 4 tires, fuel and a track bar adjustment. By the time he took the green- and white-checkered flag to finish Stage 2 in 25th place, Nemechek felt that the balance was getting worse and the car bounced a lot, particularly in the turns. He pitted at the Stage 2 Caution for 4 tires, fuel, an air pressure adjustment, packer and track bar adjustments.
Nemechek would take the green flag to start the Final Stage of the day at Martinsville Speedway in 23rd place. He noted on Lap 294 that he needed “more drive” in his No. 38 Death Wish Coffee Ford Mustang. When the tenth caution of the day came on Lap 352, Nemechek radioed that he was “free off, tight center… no lateral or forward drive.” He pitted under caution for 4 tires, fuel and added spring rubber. By Lap 401, Nemechek said, “center was better, but super free.” His handling did not improve much throughout the remainder of the race, and Nemechek would cross the finish line in 26th place, two laps down.
Nemechek on Martinsville:
“Not exactly the day we were hoping for in our No. 38 Death Wish Coffee Ford Mustang. We struggled pretty much from the start. We were pretty tight and bouncing a lot on entry [into the turns]. We kept trying different adjustments throughout the race but couldn’t quite get it to where we needed the handling in order to make a strong push towards the front. I’m thankful for my team for always sticking with me. A huge thanks to Death Wish Coffee for coming on board this weekend. It was great to recognize our ‘Thank A Trucker’ contest winner, Jason Griffith, with them at Martinsville. Thank you to all the truck drivers out there who have worked tirelessly all year long to keep us going.”
Austin Dillon and the No. 3 Bass Pro Shops/TRACKER Off Road/E-Z-GO Chevrolet Team Hang On at Martinsville Speedway For 23rd-Place Finish
Finish: 23rd
Start: 14th
“That’s not the finish we wanted in the No. 3 Bass Pro Shops/TRACKER Off Road/E-Z-GO Chevrolet at Martinsville Speedway tonight, but we hung on all race and tried our hardest. We just missed the balance. For most of the race, we were too tight and the car just wouldn’t turn. Even though our team worked on our Chevy all race, we never got it. It’s not what we wanted, but I’m proud of this team for never giving up. We’ll go to Phoenix Raceway and finish this season off.”-Austin Dillon
Tyler Reddick and No. 8 MotorTrend Team Show Perseverance During Martinsville Speedway Run
Finish: 24th
Start: 17th
“This was only my second time at Martinsville Speedway in four years, and I definitely learned a lot today in the No. 8 MotorTrend Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. We fought pretty much the same problem all day, just too tight in the turns from about two-thirds of the way in through the exit. My team did everything they could today, and we tried every adjustment we could think of to loosen our car up but nothing seemed to stick. Our changes would help for a handful of laps on each restart, but then the track would rubber up and the tightness would return every time. Not our day, but I’m thankful for my team for sticking with it all race long and continuing to fight. We’ll look to finish out the season strong at Phoenix Raceway next weekend.” -Tyler Reddick
MARTINSVILLE, Va. (Nov. 1, 2020) – In a chaotic elimination race at Martinsville Speedway Sunday afternoon, Ryan Newman showed speed early on with a 10th-place finish in the second stage before ultimately placing his Guaranteed Rate Ford 18th in the 500-lap event.
Newman fired off for the race 21st, but quickly moved his way forward. With the competition caution at lap 60, Newman – a 2012 winner at ‘The Paperclip – ran 15th, and reported he was mostly happy with the balance in the opening run.
With a pair of cautions falling just past lap 100, Newman restarted 13th with 10 laps remaining in the opening stage and drove to an 11th-place result. After rolling off 15th for stage two, Newman maintained the spot for much of the run, reporting he was a little free in the corners in the Guaranteed Rate machine.
Restarting outside the top-15 later in the stage, Newman again powered his way back up through the field, ultimately driving to a 10th-place run in stage two. He would fire off from the same spot to begin the third stage, before tires came into play late in the going. With a caution coming at 100 laps to go, Newman pitted and the team put on scuff tires, leaving one last set in the pit stall.
When the final caution was displayed at lap 441, Newman again pitted – this time for fresh tires – to restart 18th in what resulted in a green-flag run to the end of 51 laps before Newman finished 18th.
The 2020 NASCAR season comes to a close next weekend out West, where Phoenix Raceway hosts the season finale on Sunday. Race coverage begins at 3 p.m. ET on NBC. Coverage can also be heard on MRN and SiriusXM Channel 90.
MARTINSVILLE, Va. (Nov. 1, 2020) – After driving up to the 17th position early in Sunday’s 500-lap event at Martinsville Speedway, Chris Buescher’s No. 17 Fifth Third Bank Ford was collected in a multi-car accident during the race’s second stage – ending his day prematurely. At lap 145, Buescher was caught up in a chain reaction that caused heavy damage to the No. 17 Ford. The team took to pit road to see what could be done to the busted radiator. Unfortunately, the damage proved too severe for the team to return to the track, with Buescher ultimately finishing the race 38th.
Buescher rolled off the grid in 28th, and quickly got shuffled to the back of the field with reports of left rear tire issues. When the competition caution flag waved at lap 60, the driver was right back up to where he started. The team visited pit road with the caution with reports of a tight No. 17 Ford. Buescher restarted 23rd after a quick stop for wedge adjustment, air pressure change, fuel and four tires. A few laps later, another caution flag waved and the team stayed out for track position to gain two more spots on the next restart. Another caution came at lap 103, just 27 laps before the stage break. The team pitted for tires, fuel and another air pressure adjustment and restarted 20th. True to short-track racing, another caution flag waved at Lap 114. The team stayed on track and restarted 17th, but got shuffled back at the green flag. Buescher took the green-white checkered flag for stage one in 25th.
The Prosper, Texas native traveled to pit road during the stage break for four tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment. After restarting 24th, the team got to work looking to move through the field, before getting caught up in the accident.
The No. 17 team returns to track for the final race of the season next Sunday, November 8 at Phoenix Raceway at 3 p.m. EST on NBC, MRN and SIRIUSXM Channel 90.
