Kevin Harvick receives the Hardware in a dominating fashion holding off a late charging Alex Bowman to “Tame The Lady in Black”.
DARLINGTON, S.C. – May 17, 2020 – ANTHONY HOLBROOK
NASCAR Cup Series 5th race of the 2020 season located to Darlington Raceway, May 5, 2019 for The Real Heroes 400. The event will be the first post Covid-19 race of the season. Safety procedures were utilized for the limited allowed participants. This race as well as future NASCAR Cup Series races, will exempt fan spectators participation until Covid-19 restrictions lifted. Practice and Qualifying was additionally canceled, creating the least exposure possible for all involved participants in the event.
Stage 1
Brad Keselowski was presented the Pole Position from a random draw and led the filed to green.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. brought out the first caution on Lap 1, sending the No.47 JTG Daughtery Camaro for intensive attention behind the wall. Brad would lead the first 30 Laps until the Completion Caution and surrenders the lead to Kevin Harvick after an expedite pit stop.
Starting in position 18th, Hendrick Driver No. 24 William Byron took advantage of a No. 48 Jimmy Johnson alteration with the No. 17 Roush Fenway Driver – Chris Buescher on the final Stage 1 lap to capture his first win of the 2020 NASCAR Cup season.
Denny Hamlin’s No. 11 Gibbs Ford finished second while No. 88 Alex Bowman took third.
Ryan Newman finished ninth in his first competition race back following a death defying last-lap wreck at Daytona earlier this year.
Stage 1 Results
- William Byron
- Denny Hamlin
- Alex Bowman
- Kevin Harvick
- Brad Keselowski
- Aric Almirola
- Clint Bowyer
- Tyler Reddick
- Ryan Newman
- Chase Elliott
Stage 2
Stage 1 Winner – William Byron suffered a tire infraction on Lap 111 eliminating chances for “Back 2 Back “ Stage wins. With only 10 laps to finish, Penske Driver Brad Keselowski takes the lead on a late caution brought out by Rookie Christopher Bell’s incident at Turn 4 on Lap 174 . Brad Keselowski protected his position, holding off No. 88 Alex Bowman and No. 19 Martin Truex Jr. for his second Stage win of the season.
Stage 2 Results
- Brad Keselowski
- Alex Bowman
- Martin Truex Jr.
- Kevin Harvick
- Clint Bowyer
- Kurt Busch
- Ryan Preece
- Joey Logano
- Denny Hamlin
- Erik Jones
The Real Heroes 400 Final Stage
Kevin Harvick – Driver of the No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford dominated a race-high 159 of 293 laps to secure his win at Darlington.
Hendrick Driver No. 88 –Alex Bowman and No. 4 Harvick displayed aggressive side-by-side racing for the lead in the closing laps. AlexBowman would eventually finish bridesmaid, followed by Stewart-Haas Driver No. 1 Kurt Busch and Hendrick No. 9 – Chase Elliott respectfully. Gibbs Racing Driver No. 11 Denny Hamlin rounded out the top five.
Brad Keselowski settled for 13th after winning Stage 2.
Stage 1 winner’ William Byron was 35th after a flat tire on Lap 110.
Happy prevailed with the win and claimed his 50th NASCAR Cup Series victory. With the win, Kevin Harvick passes Team Owner Tony Stewart at 49 wins.
Matt Kenseth making his first Cup ride since retiring in 2018, accepted the replacement of Kyle Larson’s vacant Chip Ganassi Racing No. 42 Chevrolet. Kenseth finished 10th position at Sunday’s race.
The Real Heroes 400 Final Stage results
1.KEVIN HARVICK
2. Alex Bowman
3. Kurt Busch
4. Chase Elliott
5. Denny Hamlin
6. Martin Truex Jr
7. Tyler Reddick
8. Erik Jones
9. John Hunter Nemechek
10. Matt Kenseth
11. Austin Dillon
12. Aric Almirola
13. Brad Keselowski
14. Matt DiBenedetto
15. Ryan Newman
16. Ryan Blaney
17. Clint Bowyer
18. Joey Logano
19. Ty Dillon
20. Ryan Preece
21. Bubba Wallace
22. Cole Custer
23. Michael McDowell
24. Christopher Bell
25. Daniel Suarez
26. Kyle Busch
27. Brennan Poole
28. JJ Yeley
29. Reed Sorenson
30. Joey Gase
31. Corey laJoie
32. Chris Buescher
33. Timmy Hill
34. Josh Bilicki
35. William Byron
36. Quin Houff
37. Garrett Smithley
38. Jimmie Johnson
39. BJ McLeod
40. Ricky Stenhouse Jr
The NASCAR Cup Series race No. 6 return back to Darlington Raceway Wednesday May 20th for the Toyota 500 7:30 p.m. ET FS1 / Sirus Radio
