2020 YellaWood 500

The 2020 YellaWood 500 was an NASCAR Cup Series race held on October 4, 2020 at Talladega Superspeedway in Lincoln, Alabama. Contested over 200 laps -- extended from 188 laps due to an overtime finish, on the 2.66 mile (4.2 km) superspeedway, it was the 31st race of the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season, the fifth race of the Playoffs, and the second race of the Round of 12.

Background
Talladega Superspeedway, originally known as Alabama International Motor Superspeedway (AIMS), is a motorsports complex located north of Talladega, Alabama. It is located on the former Anniston Air Force Base in the small city of Lincoln. The track is a tri-oval and was constructed in the 1960s by the International Speedway Corporation, a business controlled by the France family. Talladega is most known for its steep banking and the unique location of the start/finish line that's located just past the exit to pit road. The track currently hosts the NASCAR series such as the NASCAR Cup Series, Xfinity Series and the Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series. Talladega is the longest NASCAR oval with a length of 2.66 mi tri-oval like the Daytona International Speedway, which also is a 2.5 mi tri-oval.

Entry list

 * (R) denotes rookie driver.
 * (i) denotes driver who are ineligible for series driver points.

Qualifying
Denny Hamlin was awarded the pole for the race as determined by competition-based formula.

Stage 1
Trouble began before the 1st lap was complete as Christopher Bell spun in Turn 3 and collected Tyler Reddick. Bell’s car was forced to the garage with damage to the rear axle, Reddick’s crew was able to tape up the nose of his car so he could return to the race.

Eight laps later Ricky Stenhouse Jr. spun off the bumper of John Hunter Nemechek(38) destroying the car when it hit the wall just past the end of the pit road. On the restart, Corey LaJoie lost fuel pressure and coasted to a stop entering Turn 1. The yellow displayed again to push LaJoie’s car back to the pits.

The race restarted again with just a few laps to go before NASCAR’s competition caution after Lap 25 will bring the field under caution again. Hamlin had led the race from the start by switching lanes to lead the fastest line top and bottom. Aggressive driving split the field into 3-wide lines and Joey Logano was able to make a run to the front.

Hamlin regained the lead until the competition came out on Lap 26 and everyone came to pit road. Aric Almirola came off pit road with the lead, followed Logano, Clint Bowyer, and Matt DiBenedetto. Ryan Blaney joined the battle as the lead swapped several times among the Ford Mustang drivers.

Michigan’s Erik Jones took the lead briefly, a past winner at Daytona Erik knows how to navigate the superspeedways, a win by Jones would go a long way to enticing an owner to offer him a spot for 2021. Interestingly, as the competition for the top spot got intense early, points leaders Kevin Harvick and Denny Hamlin chose to go to the rear of the field and ride out some laps. Content to let the pack race three-wide vying for stage points, Harvick and Hamlin just want to be there at the finish.

With 9 laps to go, Chase Elliott got a push from Bubba Wallace and drove to the top spot. Racing four-wide, Almirola went to the lead as the Fords worked together to move forward. Then, what everyone expected, happened. The first of what is likely too many big wrecks occurred.

Joey Logano, pushing Alex Bowman, right behind Almirola, looked like they were going to make a run to the outside. Bowman got loose and tapped Almirola sending him sideways and airborne at the front of the pack. Kyle Busch did the same thing, fortunately, both cars landed on all four tires. Unfortunately, the carnage was on.

Also included in the incident were Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney, Austin Dillon, and others with minor damage. Aric Almirola’s car suffered the most damage hitting the outside wall and was sent to the garage. The rest of the damage to contenders was mostly cosmetic and crews performed repairs to keep the others involved in the race. Almirola faces a must-win at The Roval for his playoff aspirations continue into Round 3.

Tyler Reddick recovered from his 1st lap incident to finish 8th, Austin Dillon, needing points badly, was able to finish 3rd and gain 8 Stage points.

Stage 2
Chris Buescher continued to lead after the restart. Kyle Busch reported his steering wheel was knocked off-center and on Lap 67 his left front tire exploded ripping off the fender. His crew serviced the car and kept him on the lead lap, but was it something in the suspension the crew could not see that caused the tire to fail. If Busch cannot work through the issues he will be forced into a must-win situation next week at The Roval if the defending Cup Champion is going to continue into the next round of the playoffs.

DiBenedetto led briefly and then Jones resumed the lead as positions began to swap at the front of the pack. Green flag pit stops began with 35 laps to go in Stage 2. Just after the first bunch of cars hit pit road, Blaney cut a right front tire, plowed into the outside wall in Turn 3, and the yellow flag was shown to the field.

Chase Elliott was the leader when the race resumed and three-wide racing was again the norm. When the rest of the fast cars caught up to Elliott, Jimmie Johnson was pushed to the lead by Logano. Joey promptly dropped Johnson to try and take the lead back himself. As the leaders shuffled for position, Bowyer pushing on Johnson got the 48 car loose and the 2nd big wreck was on. Johnson collided with Kurt Busch who hit the wall and got airborne coming down on top of Cole Custer, and Bowyer. Also involved were Brad Keselowski, Austin Dillon, Brennan Poole, Kyle Busch, Ryan Preece, Daniel Suárez, and Brendan Gaughan. NASCAR was forced to put out the red flag for over 10 minutes to clean up the cars and debris on the track.

Kurt Busch, Clint Bowyer, Cole Custer, Daniel Suárez, and Brendan Gaughan were unable to continue. Kyle Busch was already into the next round with last weeks win, Clint Bowyer will join the must-win group heading to Charlotte.

The race restarted with seven laps to go in Stage 2 and Chase Elliott in the lead. Joey Logano picked up a push from Matt DiBenedetto and Clint Buescher and the three Fords surged to the front. Four to go and Martin Truex Jr. goes to the lead with Tyler Reddick on his bumper. In the battle for positions, Joey Logano forced DiBenetto below the double yellow line and was penalized by being disqualified for Stage points.

Martin Truex Jr. held on for the Stage win followed by Brad Keselowski and another solid Stage performance by Chris Buescher. Joey Logano’s mistake likely cost him nine bonus points as he was dropped from the 2nd position at the time of the penalty.

The Final Stage
All that aggression for Stage points and now the race for the win takes place. Expect the intensity to ratchet up another notch. Truex and Keselowski led the field back to green, Brad eased out from and then the three-wide racing began to mix things up.

Tyler Reddick, involved in the 1st lap incident, took the lead. Then it was back to Brad Keselowski. Bubba Wallace drafted to the front with Alex Bowman pushing without the left front fender on his #88 car.

Buescher was pushed to the lead by Keselowski who then took back the lead easily with Ryan Blaney and DiBenedetto in line behind. Logano was back in front with help from William Byron, Ty Dillon, and Erik Jones drafting bumper to bumper. The race turned into a single file train with 50 laps to go as everyone appeared ready to sit and ride it out for a while.

Jimmie Johnson, riding with heavy damage to the rear of his car, was caught by the long draft and as the field passed the turbulence of the cars tore the tape job on his bumper to shreds. Dropping debris on the track and the potential for green flag pit stops disappeared as the caution waved for 11th time.

The race restarted with 36 laps to go with Joey Logano in the lead, followed by Kevin Harvick, Erik Jones, William Byron, and Matt Kenseth. The aggression of the leaders put Byron out front briefly, until Joey Logano resumed the lead and everyone dropped into line.

That did not last long, as Chase Elliott dropped to the bottom of the track and an inside line formed. Bubba Wallace went high and it was back to three-wide racing and he took the top spot. Martin Truex Jr., Joey Logano, and Bubba Wallace ran three abreast for the lead.

Brad Keselowski found the bumper of Joey Logano and the Team Penske drivers moved to the front with 25 laps to go. The 3rd line merged in and Chase Elliott led the cars on the bottom back to the front followed by Byron. Logano and Keselowski pulled dead even with 19 laps to go and edged out front at the flag stand. Six cars moved away from the pack as three lines began to form again with 16 laps to go.

After dropping to 11th, Chase Elliott again led the formation of the bottom line and started inching their way back to the front. Wallace dropped to the bottom of the track in front of Elliott and drove up beside Logano. Keselowski, driving up under the rear bumper of Logano, pushed the pair out several car lengths. Then Brad got shuffled out of line and dropped low breaking the momentum of the lower line, Wallace moved to the top and slipped up in front of Logano.

Joey took advantage of the move and dropped down to pass Bubba Wallace for the lead. Ryan Preece, with a tattered front bumper, pulled up to give Bubba Wallace a shove and ended up pushing him into the outside wall. Everyone avoided the #43 car and Logano pulled out to a big lead as the Preece car had so much damage to be able to contend for the lead.

With 6 laps to go, James Davison running 81 laps down lost control, crashed, and brought out the caution sending the race to overtime. The Ford Mustangs of Logano, DiBenedetto, Brad Keselowski, and Harvick comprise the front two rows when the green flag waves.

The Finish
Logano jumps to a big lead with the help of Keselowski. Chase Elliott gets a big run down the backstretch and pulls several cars to the front. Coming to the white flag Logano again forces Elliott below the double yellow line, but cannot stop the #9 car from taking the lead. As Logano drops back he gets tapped by Kyle Busch spinning off the bumper of Tyler Reddick and the “Big One” number 3 occurs just before the white flag makes the race official.

Overtime Number 2
Joey Logano is informed he will be penalized a 2nd time for forcing a driver below the double yellow line. That may not be an issue as it’s not certain Joey Logano will be able to continue. The red flag has everyone parked while the track crews clean up the mess.

Back under the yellow flag, and gasoline now becomes the concern with everyone running close to their fuel window. Keselowski pits for fear of running out of gas. Logano is pushed to the garage, Harvick, Ryan Newman, Tyler Reddick, Kyle Busch, and Martin Truex Jr. were involved in the mess.

Chase Elliott, Matt DiBenedetto, John Hunter Nemechek, Ryan Preece, and Chris Buescher lead the field into the 2nd overtime. Chase Elliott builds the lead into Turn 1 but DiBenedetto closes down the backstretch. Wallace gets a big run into Turn 3 but spins when pushed by Preece and takes out Blaney eliminating both cars from the race. It’s on to Overtime #3.

Overtime Number 3
Matt DiBenedetto is the new leader. Followed by Denny Hamlin, Chris Buescher, Ty Dillon, and William Byron. Chris Buescher pushes Matt DiBenedetto to the white flag and then it seems 2nd place changes every few hundred yards. Matt DiBenedetto blocks runs by Erik Jones and William Byron. Jones pushes Matt DiBenedetto down the backstretch until Chris Buescher tries to pass, Erik Jones and Buescher hit the wall and their chance at the win goes away. Matt DiBenedetto, William Byron, and Denny Hamlin race three-wide through the triangle with Hamlin eeking out the photo-finish win at the line.

DiBenedetto was originally credited with the 2nd place finish, NASCAR penalized Matt DiBenedetto and Chris Buescher for forcing racers below the double yellow line on the hectic last lap. They were scored in 21st and 22nd place respectively. The penalty elevated Erik Jones into 2nd place.

Playoff Standings
The playoff picture cleared considerably with Denny Hamlin, Kurt Busch, and Kevin Harvick on to the next round. Chase Elliott and Brad Keselowski are likely safe and barring a disaster Martin Truex Jr. should also advance. Alex Bowman and Joey Logano will battle Austin Dillon and Kyle Busch for the final two spots. While the bubble is 21 points to the good, it’s The Roval and who knows how things will shake out on the road course at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Stage Results
Stage One Laps: 60

Stage Two Laps: 60

Final Stage Results
Stage Three Laps: 80 (was originally 68, but got extended due to Overtime)

Race statistics

 * Lead changes: 58 among 18 different drivers
 * Cautions/Laps: 13 for 54
 * Red flags: 2 for 21 minutes and 19 seconds
 * Time of race: 4 hours, 5 minutes and 58 seconds
 * Average speed: 129.774 mph

Television
NBC Sports covered the race on the television side. Rick Allen, Jeff Burton and six-time Talladega winner Dale Earnhardt Jr. called the action from the booth at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Steve Letarte called the action on site. Dave Burns, Marty Snider and Kelli Stavast handled the pit road duties on site.

Radio
MRN had the radio call for the race, which was also simulcasted on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio. Alex Hayden and Jeff Striegle called the race for MRN when the field races thru the tri-oval. Dave Moody called the action from turn 1, Mike Bagley called the action for MRN when the field races down the backstraightaway, and Dan Hubbard called the race from the Sunoco tower just outside of turn 4. Winston Kelley and Steve Post called the action for MRN from pit lane.

Standings after the race

 * Drivers' Championship standings


 * Manufacturers' Championship standings


 * Note: Only the first 16 positions are included for the driver standings.

Finish
A series of officiating decisions by the sanctioning body involving the finish of the race generated considerable controversy afterword. Initially, second-place finisher Matt DiBenedetto and sixth-place finisher Chase Elliott were penalized and moved to 21st and 22nd positions, respectively. NASCAR penalized DiBenedetto for forcing William Byron under the "out-of-bounds" double yellow line at the bottom of the track, and the sanctioning body penalized Elliott for voluntarily moving under the line. NASCAR later redistributed its penalty originally given to Elliott, awarding it to Chris Buescher for forcing Elliott under the out-of-bounds line. Race winner Denny Hamlin also maneuvered under the out-of-bounds line on the final corner, but race officials ruled that he was avoiding a potential accident. Despite myriad negative reactions to the decision at Talladega and online, a NASCAR official later said that the rulings were "clear-cut". Former drivers Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Dale Jarrett called for NASCAR to remove the out-of-bounds line, but the sanctioning body, citing safety concerns, said the rule would stay in place.