2020 Daytona 500 (Coolfastjack)

The 2020 Daytona 500 was held on February 16, 2020 at Daytona International Speedway. It was the 62nd running of the Great American Race

Teams and Drivers
Landon Cassill, Tommy Joe Martins, Daniel Suarez, Parker Kligerman, Joe Nemechek and Brendan Gaughan all had to qualify to get into the 500. After qualifying, Gaughan and Suarez were officially safe.

Advance Auto Parts Clash
The Clash was held on February 9. The race is 75 laps in length, and is divided into two segments; the first is 25 laps and the second is 50 laps. The race is open to those drivers who won a pole in the 2019 season or had won "The Clash" previously.

The 2020 Clash at Daytona will not be a predetermined number of cars; rather, the field is limited to drivers who meet more exclusive criteria. Only drivers who were 2019 Pole Award winners, former Clash race winners, former Daytona 500 champions, former Daytona 500 pole winners who competed full–time in 2019 and drivers who qualified for the 2019 Playoffs are eligible. This meant Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick, Martin Truex Jr, Chase Elliott, Joey Logano, Brad Keselowski, Kurt Busch, Kyle Larson, Alex Bowman, Ryan Blaney, William Byron, Clint Bowyer, Ryan Newman, Erik Jones, Aric Almirola, Austin Dillon, Jimmie Johnson and Daniel Suarez.

Duel 1 Results
Cautions

# 1:Tyler Reddick Crash (Lap 19-22)

# 2:Ty Dillon Crash (Lap 50-53)

Duel 2 Results
Cautions

# 1:Joe Nemechek Blows an Engine (Lap 4-7)

# 2:Ryan Blaney, Alex Bowman, Bubba Wallace Crash (Lap 8-11)

-Tommy Joe Martins and Joe Nemechek failed to qualify for the 500.

Stage Results
Stage One Laps: 60 Stage Two Laps:60

Stage 1
The race began with Jimmie Johnson and William Byron leading the field to the green flag. Johnson led the opening 3 laps until Denny Hamlin took the lead on Lap 4. Brad Keselowski took the lead on the bottom with help from his Penske teammates on Lap 7 to steal the lead. On Lap 20, Corey LaJoie blew a tire and spun across the track, avoiding the rest of the pack and bringing out the first caution of the day. The entire field hit pit road, and Chase Elliott won the race off. Matt DiBenedetto quickly assumed the lead on the restart. On Lap 32 Chase Elliott passed DiBenedetto on the outside to assume the lead. Alex Bowman did likewise to pass Elliott a few laps later. With a few laps left, Joey Logano passed new leader Kurt Busch for the lead and brought a group of Fords. Logano ended up winning the stage as Fords made up the entire Top 5. Kyle Busch won the race off pit road. Kyle Larson and Ricky Stenhouse Jr were sent to the rear for speeding.

Stage 2
Kyle Busch led on the restart until Chase Elliott took the lead on Lap 68. The lead swapped multiple times until Ryan Blaney took the lead on Lap 74. He led a train of cars on to pit road on Lap 91 as multiple cars collided coming into their pit stalls. Ryan Preece ran into teammate Ricky Stenhouse Jr, and Bubba Wallace dragged a fuel can after pitting. Everyone continued on racing as the race stayed green. Kyle Larson hit the wall on Lap 94 but the race continued green. Debris from Cody Ware's car brought out a caution on Lap 102. On the restart Kyle Busch took the lead on Lap 113 away from Chris Buescher, who benefitted on the fuel cycle. Busch led until the end of Stage 2, but on the final lap rounding Turn 1, Aric Almirola got into the left rear quarter panel of Jimmie Johnson, sending the 48 sideways. Johnson continued on after spinning it, but it caused a chain reaction as Matt DiBenedetto got into Austin Dillon, creating a big one involving Martin Truex Jr, Christopher Bell, Ty Dillon, Kevin Harvick, Daniel Suarez, Michael McDowell, Justin Haley and Brendan Gaughan. Most cars involved were forced out of the race.

Stage 3
The race restarted on Lap 126. Aric Almirola got jump on pit road and the jump on the inside lane, keeping the lead from Kyle Busch. After the lead swapped multiple times, Almirola assumed the lead and held it until Lap 156, as exiting Turn 4 Almirola was turned by Ryan Newman, who spun down the track into multiple cars. The chain reaction caused John Hunter Nemechek to careen into Parker Kligerman, who slammed the inside wall. Multiple others were involved including Ryan Preece, Landon Cassill and Clint Bowyer. A restart followed on Lap 161. As Ryan Blaney held the lead, Justin Haley blew a tire running 24th, and getting into the outside wall. Trying to slow down for the caution, Ryan Preece ran into the back of Ross Chastain, spinning him at the exit of Turn 4. The race resumed again on Lap 168. On the backstretch on Lap 171, Ricky Stenhouse Jr was turned by Tyler Reddick, and spun across the track. Not too long after, Ryan Newman's tire let go and sent him across the track, involving Joey Logano, Denny Hamlin, Tyler Reddick and causing damage to Garrett Smithley. Another restart followed on Lap 176. Exiting Turn 4 on the same lap, Chris Buescher was turned by Michael McDowell. Buescher got into the side of Landon Cassill before spinning across the track and into the outside wall. This collected Jimmie Johnson and effectively ended his night. Cassill also spun across the track collecting Quin Houff and Brendan Gaughan. Cody Ware also spun trying to avoid the incident. This prompted a Red Flag that lasted for 20 minutes. On the restart on Lap 180, Chase Elliott took the lead from Ryan Blaney, and Kyle Busch drew alongside Elliott. Busch led the next lap, and Blaney the lap after. Elliott made a 3 wide pass on the outside with help from teammate Alex Bowman. The next few laps were mainly single file, and Kyle Busch got back up through the field after falling outside the Top 10. On the final lap, Blaney got to the outside of Elliott as Bowman made a move inside. Elliott blocked both lines as others drew closer to the #9. Elliott would hold off the field to win his 7th career race, and behind came Blaney, Keselowski, Bowman and Kyle Busch. Kyle Larson was spun by Bubba Wallace in the tri-oval, causing a multi car crash involving Clint Bowyer, Erik Jones and Cole Custer.

Final Stage Results
Laps: 80

Cautions
# 1:Corey LaJoie Spins (Lap 20-24)

# 2:Stage 1 Completion (Lap 61-64)

# 3:Debris (Lap 102-105)

# 4:Stage 2 Completion + The Big One (Lap 120-124)

# 5:John Hunter Nemechek and Parker Kligerman Crash with others (Lap 156-160)

# 6:Justin Haley Blows a Tire, Ryan Preece Spins Ross Chastain ahead (Lap 164-167)

# 7:Cole Custer Spins on the Backstretch, Newman Blows a Tire in Front of Field (Lap 171-175)

# 8:Chris Buescher Crashes Heavily, involves Jimmie Johnson and others (Lap 176-180) (Red Flag)

Lead Changes
33 among 15 different drivers