2020 The Real Heroes 400 Explained

Type:CUST
Description:Race 5 of 36 in the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series
Race Name:The Real Heroes 400
Details Ref:[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]
Year:2020
Location:Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina
Course Mi:1.366
Course Km:2.198
Distance Laps:293
Distance Mi:400.238
Distance Km:644.12
Avg:115.815mph
Attendance:0 (behind closed doors)
Pole Driver:Brad Keselowski
Pole Team:Team Penske
Grid From Ballot:yes
Most Driver:Kevin Harvick
Most Team:Stewart-Haas Racing
Most Laps:159
Car:4
First Driver:Kevin Harvick
First Team:Stewart-Haas Racing
Network:Fox
Announcers:Mike Joy and Jeff Gordon
Ratings:6.323 million[7]
Radio:MRN
Booth Ann:Alex Hayden and Dave Moody
Turn Ann:Dillon Welch (1 & 2) and Steve Post (3 & 4)

The 2020 The Real Heroes 400 was a NASCAR Cup Series race held on May 17, 2020, at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina, replacing Chicagoland Speedway event.[8] Contested over 293 laps on the 1.366miles egg-shaped oval, it was the fifth race of the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season. It was the first Darlington event held in the spring since 2014, and the first major sporting event in the United States since COVID-19 was declared a pandemic.

Report

Background

The 56th edition of this race, last held in 2004, was the first of the NASCAR Cup Series season following a hiatus brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, beginning with the postponement of the Atlanta Motor Speedway race weekend on March 13, 2020, and subsequent postponement of all races through at least early-May.[9] [10] [11] On April 30, 2020, NASCAR announced the resumption of races with twin races at Darlington, including a 400-mile race on May 17, 2020 and a 310-mile (500 kilometer) race the following Wednesday, May 20, 2020. All races will be held behind closed doors with only essential staff present, guidelines for social distancing and use of protective equipment by team staff, and logging to help with contact tracing efforts.[12]

On May 14, 2020, NASCAR announced that the May 17 race would be branded as The Real Heroes 400, the naming was in support of The Real Heroes Project—a collaboration of major U.S. sports leagues to honor health care professionals working during the pandemic. As part of the initiative, the names of drivers printed above the cars' driver-side windows were replaced with the names of health care professionals (determined in collaboration with local Fox affiliates). The selected workers collectively served as Grand Marshals of the race via a video "mosaic".[13] [14]

Ryan Newman returned to racing, having recovered from injuries sustained after the final lap crash of the 2020 Daytona 500. Matt Kenseth made his return to the series, having been named the new driver of the Chip Ganassi Racing No. 42 Chevrolet, after the suspension and firing of Kyle Larson.

Entry list

DriverTeamManufacturer
00 Quin Houff (R) Chevrolet
1 Chevrolet
2 Ford
3 Chevrolet
4 Ford
6 Ford
7 Josh Bilicki (i) Chevrolet
8 Tyler Reddick (R) Chevrolet
9 Chevrolet
10 Ford
11 Toyota
12 Ford
13 Chevrolet
14 Ford
15 Brennan Poole (R) Chevrolet
17 Ford
18 Toyota
19 Toyota
20 Toyota
21 Ford
22 Ford
24 Chevrolet
27 J. J. Yeley (i) Ford
32 Ford
34 Ford
37 Chevrolet
38 John Hunter Nemechek (R) Ford
41 Cole Custer (R) Ford
42 Chevrolet
43 Chevrolet
47 Chevrolet
48 Chevrolet
51 Joey Gase (i) Ford
53 Chevrolet
66 Timmy Hill (i) Toyota
77 Chevrolet
78 B. J. McLeod (i) Chevrolet
88 Chevrolet
95 Christopher Bell (R) Toyota
96 Toyota
Official entry list

Qualifying

Under modified operational procedures, no qualifying sessions were held for this race. The starting order was determined by a random draw, with drivers grouped into pots of positions based on segments of the owners' points standings going into the race.[15]

Starting Lineup

PosDriverTeamManufacturer
12 Ford
2 88 Chevrolet
321 Ford
418 Toyota
510 Ford
64 Ford
712 Ford
848 Chevrolet
922 Ford
1011 Toyota
119 Chevrolet
1242 Chevrolet
1314 Ford
1441 Cole Custer (R) Ford
1519 Toyota
163 Chevrolet
1743 Chevrolet
1824 Chevrolet
1932 Ford
2020 Toyota
216 Ford
221 Chevrolet
2347 Chevrolet
2417 Ford
2537 Chevrolet
2653 Chevrolet
2700 Quin Houff (R) Chevrolet
2895 Christopher Bell (R) Toyota
298 Tyler Reddick (R) Chevrolet
3027 J. J. Yeley (i) Ford
3134 Ford
3251 Joey Gase (i) Ford
3313 Chevrolet
3438 John Hunter Nemechek (R) Ford
3515 Brennan Poole (R) Chevrolet
3677 Chevrolet
3796 Toyota
3866 Timmy Hill (i) Toyota
3978 B. J. McLeod (i) Chevrolet
407 Josh Bilicki (i) Chevrolet
Official starting lineup

Race

Stage Results

Stage OneLaps: 90

PosDriverTeamManufacturerPoints
1 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 10
2 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 9
3 88 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 8
4 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 7
5 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 6
6 10 Aric Almirola Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 5
7 14 Clint Bowyer Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 4
8 8 Tyler Reddick (R) Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 3
9 6 Ryan Newman Roush Fenway Racing Ford 2
10 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 1
Official stage one results

Stage TwoLaps: 95

PosDriverTeamManufacturerPoints
1 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 10
2 88 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 9
3 19 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 8
4 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 7
5 14 Clint Bowyer Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 6
6 1 Kurt Busch Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 5
7 37 Ryan Preece JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 4
8 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 3
9 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 2
10 20 Erik Jones Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 1
Official stage two results

Final Stage Results

Stage ThreeLaps: 108

PosGridDriverTeamManufacturerLapsPoints
1 6 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 293 54
2 2 88 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 293 52
3 22 1 Kurt Busch Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 293 39
4 11 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 293 34
5 10 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 293 43
6 15 19 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 293 39
7 29 8 Tyler Reddick (R) Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 293 33
8 20 20 Erik Jones Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 293 30
9 34 38 John Hunter Nemechek (R) Front Row Motorsports Ford 293 28
10 12 42 Matt Kenseth Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 293 27
11 16 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 293 26
12 5 10 Aric Almirola Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 293 30
13 1 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 293 40
14 3 21 Matt DiBenedetto Wood Brothers Racing Ford 293 23
15 21 6 Ryan Newman Roush Fenway Racing Ford 293 24
16 7 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 293 21
17 13 14 Clint Bowyer Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 293 30
18 9 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 293 22
19 33 13 Ty Dillon Germain Racing Chevrolet 293 18
20 25 37 Ryan Preece JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 293 21
21 17 43 Bubba Wallace Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet 293 16
22 14 41 Cole Custer (R) Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 293 15
23 31 34 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 293 14
24 28 95 Christopher Bell (R) Leavine Family Racing Toyota 293 13
25 37 96 Daniel Suárez Gaunt Brothers Racing Toyota 292 12
26 4 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 292 11
27 35 15 Brennan Poole (R) Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 292 10
28 30 27 J. J. Yeley (i) Rick Ware Racing Ford 291 0
29 36 77 Reed Sorenson Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 291 8
30 32 51 Joey Gase (i) Petty Ware Racing Ford 289 0
31 19 32 Corey LaJoie Go Fas Racing Ford 289 6
32 24 17 Chris Buescher Roush Fenway Racing Ford 287 5
33 38 66 Timmy Hill (i) MBM Motorsports Toyota 286 0
34 40 7 Josh Bilicki (i) Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 286 0
35 18 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 279 12
36 27 00 Quin Houff (R) StarCom Racing Chevrolet 137 1
37 26 53 Garrett Smithley Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet 127 1
38 8 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 89 1
39 39 78 B. J. McLeod (i) B. J. McLeod Motorsports Chevrolet 13 0
40 23 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 0 1
Official race results

Race statistics

Media

Television

The Real Heroes 400 was carried by Fox in the United States. Mike Joy and seven-time Darlington winner Jeff Gordon called the race from the Fox Sports Studio in Charlotte. Regan Smith handled pit road duties. Larry McReynolds provided insight from the Fox Sports studio in Charlotte.

Radio

The Motor Racing Network (MRN) called the race for radio, which was simulcast on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio. Alex Hayden and Dave Moody called the action for MRN when the field raced down the front stretch. Dillon Welch called the race from a Billboard outside of turn 1 when the field raced through turns 1 and 2, and Steve Post called the race atop of the Darlington Raceway Club outside of turn 3 when the field raced through turns 3 and 4. Kim Coon and Hannah Newhouse called the action on pit road for MRN.

Standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings
PosDriverPoints
1Kevin Harvick218
22Alex Bowman190 (−28)
13Joey Logano185 (−33)
14Chase Elliott178 (−40)
55Brad Keselowski158 (−60)
56Denny Hamlin154 (−64)
17Aric Almirola151 (−67)
28Ryan Blaney144 (−74)
9Matt DiBenedetto141 (−77)
410Clint Bowyer135 (−83)
411Martin Truex Jr.135 (−83)
712Jimmie Johnson132 (−86)
313Kurt Busch129 (−89)
214Kyle Busch122 (−96)
815Kyle Larson121 (−97)
216Chris Buescher107 (−111)
Official driver's standings
Manufacturers' Championship standings
PosManufacturerPoints
1Ford187
2Chevrolet172 (−15)
3Toyota163 (−24)

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 2020 schedule . Jayski.com. . May 1, 2020. January 17, 2020.
  2. Web site: Darlington Raceway. NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC.. May 1, 2020. January 3, 2013. April 30, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170430210206/http://www.nascar.com/en_us/nascar-tracks/darlington-raceway.html. dead.
  3. Web site: Entry List. MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. May 11, 2020. May 11, 2020.
  4. Web site: Starting Lineup. MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. May 14, 2020. May 14, 2020.
  5. Web site: The Real Heroes 400 Results. MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. May 17, 2020. May 17, 2020.
  6. Web site: Points standings. Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. May 17, 2020. May 17, 2020.
  7. Web site: The Real Heroes 400 ratings. https://web.archive.org/web/20200520184115/http://www.showbuzzdaily.com/articles/skedball-weekly-sports-tv-ratings-5-11-5-17-2020.html. dead. 20 May 2020. ShowBuzzDaily. Mitch Metcalf. 19 May 2020.
  8. Web site: Norris . Brad . NASCAR realigns 2020 schedule, shifts events from Chicagoland, Richmond, Sonoma . NASCAR.com . May 18, 2020.
  9. Web site: NASCAR statement on Atlanta and Homestead . 12 March 2020. NASCAR.com. en-US. 12 March 2020.
  10. Web site: NASCAR statement: All race events through May 3 postponed NASCAR. 16 March 2020. NASCAR.com. en-US. 17 March 2020.
  11. Web site: NASCAR postpones Martinsville Speedway race – NBC Sports. 2020-04-17. NASCAR Talk. en-US. 2020-05-02.
  12. Web site: NASCAR goes green in May; 7 races in 11 days. 2020-04-30. ESPN.com. en. 2020-05-02.
  13. Web site: NASCAR honors healthcare workers in race at Darlington. 2020-05-14. NASCAR.com. en-US. 2020-05-15.
  14. Web site: Goodyear Plans Sweepstakes For NASCAR Return. www.mediapost.com. en. 2020-05-15.
  15. Web site: DeGroot. Nick. Brad Keselowski takes Darlington pole, per random draw. Motorsport.com. Motorsport Network. May 14, 2020. Darlington, South Carolina. May 14, 2020.

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