2020 YellaWood 500 explained

Type:	CUST
Description:	Race 31 of 36 in the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series
Race Name:	YellaWood 500
Details Ref:	^[1] ^[2] ^[3] ^[4] ^[5] ^[6]
Year:	2020
Location:	Talladega Superspeedway in Lincoln, Alabama
Course Mi:	2.66
Course Km:	4.28
Distance Laps:	200
Distance Mi:	532
Distance Km:	856
Scheduled Laps:	188
Scheduled Mi:	500.08
Scheduled Km:	804.64
Avg:	129.774mph
Pole Driver:	Denny Hamlin
Pole Team:	Joe Gibbs Racing
Grid From Prev Perf:	yes
Most Driver:	Joey Logano
Most Team:	Team Penske
Most Laps:	45
Car:	11
First Driver:	Denny Hamlin
First Team:	Joe Gibbs Racing
Network:	NBC
Announcers:	Rick Allen, Jeff Burton, Dale Earnhardt Jr. (Charlotte) and Steve Letarte (Talladega)
Ratings:	1.9 (3.10 million)
Radio:	MRN
Booth Ann:	Alex Hayden and Jeff Striegle
Turn Ann:	Dave Moody (1 & 2), Mike Bagley (Backstretch) and Dan Hubbard (3 & 4)

The 2020 YellaWood 500 was a 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.

Report

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 2.66adj=midNaNadj=mid tri-oval like the Daytona International Speedway, which also is a 2.5miles tri-oval.

Entry list

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

	Driver	Team	Manufacturer
00	Quin Houff (R)		Chevrolet
1			Chevrolet
2			Ford
3			Chevrolet
4			Ford
6			Ford
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			Chevrolet
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
62			Chevrolet
66	Timmy Hill (i)		Ford
77	Justin Haley (i)		Chevrolet
88			Chevrolet
95	Christopher Bell (R)		Toyota
96			Toyota
Official entry list

Qualifying

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

Starting Lineup

Pos		Driver	Team	Manufacturer
1	11			Toyota
2	1			Chevrolet
3	19			Toyota
4	88			Chevrolet
5	4			Ford
6	18			Toyota
7	2			Ford
8	22			Ford
9	14			Ford
10	9			Chevrolet
11	10			Ford
12	3			Chevrolet
13	21			Ford
14	12			Ford
15	17			Ford
16	20			Toyota
17	48			Chevrolet
18	41	Cole Custer (R)		Ford
19	6			Ford
20	42			Chevrolet
21	24			Chevrolet
22	95	Christopher Bell (R)		Toyota
23	38	John Hunter Nemechek (R)		Ford
24	34			Ford
25	37			Chevrolet
26	47			Chevrolet
27	43			Chevrolet
28	13			Chevrolet
29	32			Ford
30	8	Tyler Reddick (R)		Chevrolet
31	96			Toyota
32	15	Brennan Poole (R)		Chevrolet
33	00	Quin Houff (R)		Chevrolet
34	27			Chevrolet
35	77	Justin Haley (i)		Chevrolet
36	51	Joey Gase (i)		Ford
37	66	Timmy Hill (i)		Ford
38	53			Chevrolet
39	62			Chevrolet
Official starting lineup

Race

Stage Results

Stage OneLaps: 60

Pos		Driver	Team	Manufacturer	Points
1	17	Chris Buescher	Roush Fenway Racing	Ford	10
2	22	Joey Logano	Team Penske	Ford	9
3	3	Austin Dillon	Richard Childress Racing	Chevrolet	8
4	2	Brad Keselowski	Team Penske	Ford	7
5	20	Erik Jones	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	6
6	9	Chase Elliott	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	5
7	8	Tyler Reddick (R)	Richard Childress Racing	Chevrolet	4
8	19	Martin Truex Jr.	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	3
9	1	Kurt Busch	Chip Ganassi Racing	Chevrolet	2
10	41	Cole Custer (R)	Stewart-Haas Racing	Ford	1
Official stage one results

Stage TwoLaps: 60

Pos		Driver	Team	Manufacturer	Points
1	19	Martin Truex Jr.	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	10
2	2	Brad Keselowski	Team Penske	Ford	9
3	17	Chris Buescher	Roush Fenway Racing	Ford	8
4	9	Chase Elliott	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	7
5	38	John Hunter Nemechek (R)	Front Row Motorsports	Ford	6
6	24	William Byron	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	5
7	12	Ryan Blaney	Team Penske	Ford	4
8	37	Ryan Preece	JTG Daugherty Racing	Chevrolet	3
9	13	Ty Dillon	Germain Racing	Chevrolet	2
10	43	Bubba Wallace	Richard Petty Motorsports	Chevrolet	1
Official stage two results

Final Stage Results

Stage ThreeLaps: 80 (was originally 68, but got extended due to Overtime)

Pos	Grid		Driver	Team	Manufacturer	Laps	Points
1	1	11	Denny Hamlin	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	200	40
2	16	20	Erik Jones	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	200	41
3	28	13	Ty Dillon	Germain Racing	Chevrolet	200	36
4	21	24	William Byron	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	200	38
5	10	9	Chase Elliott	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	200	44
6	19	6	Ryan Newman	Roush Fenway Racing	Ford	200	31
7	30	8	Tyler Reddick (R)	Richard Childress Racing	Chevrolet	200	34
8	23	38	John Hunter Nemechek (R)	Front Row Motorsports	Ford	200	35
9	32	15	Brennan Poole (R)	Premium Motorsports	Chevrolet	200	28
10	25	37	Ryan Preece	JTG Daugherty Racing	Chevrolet	200	30
11	35	77	Justin Haley (i)	Spire Motorsports	Chevrolet	200	0
12	12	3	Austin Dillon	Richard Childress Racing	Chevrolet	200	33
13	33	00	Quin Houff (R)	StarCom Racing	Chevrolet	200	24
14	4	88	Alex Bowman	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	200	23
15	37	66	Timmy Hill (i)	MBM Motorsports	Ford	200	0
16	20	42	Matt Kenseth	Chip Ganassi Racing	Chevrolet	200	21
17	36	51	Joey Gase (i)	Petty Ware Racing	Ford	200	0
18	7	2	Brad Keselowski	Team Penske	Ford	200	35
19	34	27	Cody Ware	Rick Ware Racing	Chevrolet	200	18
20	5	4	Kevin Harvick	Stewart-Haas Racing	Ford	200	17
21	13	21	Matt DiBenedetto	Wood Brothers Racing	Ford	200	16
22	15	17	Chris Buescher	Roush Fenway Racing	Ford	200	33
23	3	19	Martin Truex Jr.	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	198	27
24	27	43	Bubba Wallace	Richard Petty Motorsports	Chevrolet	192	15
25	14	12	Ryan Blaney	Team Penske	Ford	192	16
26	8	22	Joey Logano	Team Penske	Ford	188	20
27	6	18	Kyle Busch	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	188	10
28	29	32	Corey LaJoie	Go Fas Racing	Ford	188	9
29	17	48	Jimmie Johnson	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	133	8
30	38	53	James Davison	Rick Ware Racing	Chevrolet	118	7
31	18	41	Cole Custer (R)	Stewart-Haas Racing	Ford	108	7
32	2	1	Kurt Busch	Chip Ganassi Racing	Chevrolet	108	7
33	9	14	Clint Bowyer	Stewart-Haas Racing	Ford	108	4
34	31	96	Daniel Suárez	Gaunt Brothers Racing	Toyota	108	3
35	39	62	Brendan Gaughan	Beard Motorsports	Chevrolet	108	2
36	24	34	Michael McDowell	Front Row Motorsports	Ford	79	1
37	11	10	Aric Almirola	Stewart-Haas Racing	Ford	57	1
38	26	47	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	JTG Daugherty Racing	Chevrolet	8	1
39	22	95	Christopher Bell (R)	Leavine Family Racing	Toyota	1	1
Official race results

Race statistics

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

Track limits controversy

Track limits are used at Daytona, Talladega, and the road courses. Officiating by NASCAR officials involving the finish of the race generated in regards to track limits drew considerable controversy afterwards. 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 beyond track limits, marked with a double yellow line at the bottom of the track, and the sanctioning body penalized Elliott for voluntarily moving under the line.^[7] NASCAR later redistributed its penalty originally given to Elliott, assessing it to Chris Buescher for forcing Elliott beyond track limits.^[8] Race winner Denny Hamlin also maneuvered under the track limits boundaries on the final corner, but race officials ruled that he was avoiding a potential accident from DiBenedetto and Byron.^[9] Despite myriad negative reactions to the decision at Talladega and online, a NASCAR official later said that the rulings were "clear-cut".^{[10] [11]} NBC commentators Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Dale Jarrett called for NASCAR to remove track limits, but the sanctioning body, citing safety concerns, said the rule would stay in place.^[12]

Media

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, which was the last time this setup would be used, as starting with the next race booth commentators started calling races on site. 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

	Pos	Driver	Points
1	1	Denny Hamlin	3,141
1	2	Kevin Harvick	3,121 (–20)
3	3	Chase Elliott	3,097 (–44)
1	4	Brad Keselowski	3,094 (–47)
1	5	Martin Truex Jr.	3,085 (–56)
1	6	Alex Bowman	3,075 (–66)
2	7	Joey Logano	3,074 (–67)
	8	Kyle Busch	3,053 (–88)
3	9	Austin Dillon	3,053 (–88)
1	10	Kurt Busch	3,048 (–93)
1	11	Clint Bowyer	3,036 (–105)
1	12	Aric Almirola	3,026 (–115)
	13	Ryan Blaney	2,114 (–1,027)
2	14	William Byron	2,113 (–1,028)
1	15	Matt DiBenedetto	2,108 (–1,033)
1	16	Cole Custer	2,095 (–1,046)
Official driver's standings

Manufacturers' Championship standings

	Pos	Manufacturer	Points
	1	Ford	1,151
	2	Toyota	1,091 (–60)
	3	Chevrolet	1,046 (–105)

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

Notes and References

1. Web site: 2020 schedule . Jayski.com. . August 18, 2020. January 17, 2020.
2. Web site: Talladega Superspeedway. NASCAR Media Group, LLC.. January 3, 2013. NASCAR.com. August 18, 2020. April 28, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170428035211/http://www.nascar.com/en_us/nascar-tracks/talladega-superspeedway.html. dead.
3. Web site: Entry List. Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. September 26, 2020. September 26, 2020.
4. Web site: Starting Lineup. NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC.. September 30, 2020. September 30, 2020.
5. Web site: YellaWood 500 Results. NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC.. October 4, 2020. October 4, 2020.
6. Web site: Points standings. Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. October 4, 2020. October 4, 2020.
7. Web site: Long . Dustin . Should NASCAR eliminate yellow line rule at Talladega? . NASCAR on NBC . NBC Sports . October 5, 2020 . October 4, 2020.
8. Web site: Gastelu . Gary . NASCAR: Penalty strips Matt DiBenedetto's Talladega second-place finish . FOX News . October 5, 2020 . October 5, 2020.
9. Web site: Crandall . Kelly . Hamlin calls yellow line move "a non-story" . Racer . October 5, 2020 . October 4, 2020.
10. Web site: Taranto . Steven . Yellow line controversy mars Denny Hamlin's win at Talladega . 247Sports . October 5, 2020 . October 4, 2020.
11. Web site: DeGroot . Nick . NASCAR explains Talladega penalties, defends yellow line rule . Yahoo! Sports . Autosport . October 5, 2020 . October 5, 2020.
12. Web site: Albert . Zack . NASCAR official: Out-of-bounds rulings ‘clear-cut’ in turbulent Talladega finish . NASCAR.com . NASCAR Digital Media, LLC . October 5, 2020 . October 4, 2020.