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NASCAR Cup Series

The Closer Conquers the Coliseum

NBC Sports

Kevin Harvick battled Kyle Busch on the final lap to collect his ninth win of the 2020 season at Bristol Motor Speedway.

BRISTOL – September 19, 2020 – ANTHONY HOLBROOK

The NASCAR Cup Series playoffs 3rd race located to Thunder Valley for the Bass Pro Shops / NRA Night Race hosted by Bristol Motor Speedway.  Track officials sold all 30,000 tickets allowed — making Bristol one of the largest sporting events since the pandemic.  Bristol is 500 laps (266.5 miles) and the 7:30 start time made mid-race adjustments key for race teams, even at a short track like Bristol. The track as always was hot and slick at the beginning of the race and then get cooler and faster as the night progressed.

Bass Pro Shops / NRA Night Race – Stage 1 recap:

Kyle Busch started from the rear of the field after he and Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Denny Hamlin and Erik Jones failed pre-race inspection twice. Kyle Busch moved up quickly, rising to second by the end of the first stage, won by Chase Elliott. 

Bass Pro Shops / NRA Night Race – Stage 1 Results

  1. Chase Elliott
  2. Kyle Busch
  3. Brad Keselowski
  4. Alex bowman
  5. Christopher Bell
  6. Kurt Busch
  7. Brad Keselowski
  8. William Byron
  9. Joey Logano
  10. Bubba Wallace

Bass Pro Shops / NRA Night Race – Stage 2 recap:

Kyle Busch won the race off pit-road and led Kevin Harvick at the green flag restart of Stage Two.

Brad Keselowski looked set for a strong result early in Stage 2.  Unfortunately, Keselowski couldn’t keep up with the race leaders in stage two and descended down the order with a power steering issue.

Despite multiple caution periods throughout the stage, Kyle held onto the position and was leading when a Ryan Newman accident brought out the caution just before the end of the Stage 2.

Kyle Busch collects Stage 2 win and valuable Stage points under caution.

Bass Pro Shops / NRA Night Race – Stage 2 Results

  1. Kyle Busch
  2. Kevin Harvick
  3. Chase Elliott
  4. Joey Logano
  5. Kurt Bush
  6. Alex Bowman
  7. Aric Almirola
  8. Clint Bowyer
  9. Erik Jones
  10. Austin Dillion

Bass Pro Shops / NRA Night Race – Race recap:

Kyle Busch led 159 laps on the night and was out front with 37 laps when confronted by the resistance of a Lucky Dog qualifier Joey Logano.  An epic Thunder Valley finish awaited.

Joey Logano fought hard to stay on the lead lap, slowing Kyle Busch’s momentum just enough for Kevin Harvick to reclaim the race lead. Lack of cautions played a role in the final outcome.

Kyle Busch pushed Kevin Harvick Penske’s Ford to the limits but the fastest car of the night drove a flawless race, eliminating Kyle Busch another opportunity to make the pass for the checkers. The winless 2019 Cup Champion settled for second.

Just six drivers finished on the lead lap, resulting in a higher number of lap cars for the leaders to navigate.

Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick combined to lead the field 381 laps at the last Great Collisium in which the caution flag flew three times for on-track incidents.

Kevin Harvick checked off his ninth win of the season and second win in three races after also winning the Southern 500 at Darlington.

Erik Jones, who is not qualified for the playoffs, finished third for Joe Gibbs Racing and was followed by rookie Tyler Reddick and playoff contenders Aric Almirola and Clint Bowyer. They were the only drivers on the lead lap.

On the flip side of the coin, Ryan Blaney, Cole Custer, William Byron and Matt Dibenedetto were eliminated from the Round of 12 Contenders.

Bass Pro Shops / NRA Night Race–Finishing Order (starting position in parentheses):

1. (4) Kevin Harvick, Ford, 500 laps, 57 points.

2. (9) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 500, 54.

3. (20) Erik Jones, Toyota, 500, 36.

4. (17) Tyler Reddick, Chevrolet, 500, 33.

5. (10) Aric Almirola, Ford, 500, 36.

6. (11) Clint Bowyer, Ford, 500, 34.

7. (6) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 499, 48.

8. (23) Chris Buescher, Ford, 499, 29.

9. (22) Ryan Preece, Chevrolet, 499, 28.

10. (26) Michael McDowell, Ford, 498, 27.

11. (2) Joey Logano, Ford, 498, 35.

12. (5) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 498, 26.

13. (14) Ryan Blaney, Ford, 498, 24.

14. (19) Matt Kenseth, Chevrolet, 498, 23.

15. (13) Kurt Busch, Chevrolet, 498, 33.

16. (8) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, 498, 33.

17. (24) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 498, 20.

18. (28) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 497, 19.

19. (16) Matt DiBenedetto, Ford, 497, 18.

20. (31) John H. Nemechek, Ford, 497, 17.

21. (7) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 497, 16.

22. (27) Bubba Wallace, Chevrolet, 497, 16.

23. (12) Cole Custer, Ford, 497, 14.

24. (3) Martin Truex Jr, Toyota, 496, 13.

25. (25) Ryan Newman, Ford, 496, 12.

26. (29) Daniel Suarez, Toyota, 495, 11.

27. (37) Gray Gaulding, Chevrolet, 488, 0.

28. (18) Christopher Bell, Toyota, 487, 15.

29. (33) Quin Houff, Chevrolet, 483, 8.

30. (32) JJ Yeley, Chevrolet, 479, 0.

31. (36) Joey Gase, Ford, 463, 0.

32. (40) Garrett Smithley, Chevrolet, 436, 0.

33. (30) Corey Lajoie, Ford, garage, 419, 4.

34. (1) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 412, 7.

35. (35) James Davison, Ford, accident, 401, 2.

36. (34) Reed Sorenson, Chevrolet, electrical, 317, 1.

37. (38) Timmy Hill, Toyota, garage, 313, 0.

38. (15) William Byron, Chevrolet, accident, 232, 4.

39. (39) Josh Bilicki, Chevrolet, fuelpump, 53, 0.

40. (21) Ricky Stenhouse Jr, Chevrolet, accident, 28, 1

NASCAR Cup Playoff Drivers Points Standing (After Bristol)

  1. Kevin Harvick (3,067)
  1. Denny Hamlin (3,048)
  2. Brad Keselowski (3,035)
  3. Joey Logano (3,022)
  4. Chase Elliott (3,021)
  5. Martin Truex Jr. (3,016)
  6. Alex Bowman (3,009)
  7. Austin Dillon (3,005)
  8. Aric Almirola (3,005)
  9. Kyle Busch (3,004)
  10. Clint Bowyer (3,004)
  11. Kurt Busch (3,001)

The NASCAR Cup Series returns on Sept. 27 in the South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway at 7 p.m. on NBCSN / SiriusXM 90 NASCAR Radio

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