The 2020 Quaker State 400 presented by Walmart was a NASCAR Cup Series race held on July 12, 2020 at Kentucky Speedway in Sparta, Kentucky. Contested over 267 laps on the 1.5-mile (2.4 km) speedway, it was the 17th race of the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season. Cole Custer became the 1st rookie in series history to claim his 1st career win at the track as well as the 33rd different driver to have won a race in all three NASCAR national touring series.
| Race details[1][2][3][4][5][6] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 17 of 36 in the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series | |||
 2020 Quaker State 400 program cover featuring Brothers Kyle and Kurt Busch and the 2019 Quaker State 400 finish | |||
| Date | July 12, 2020 | ||
| Location | Kentucky Speedway in Sparta, Kentucky | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 1.5 mi (2.4 km) | ||
| Distance | 267 laps, 400.5 mi (640.8 km) | ||
| Average speed | 133.636 miles per hour (215.066 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Joe Gibbs Racing | ||
| Grid positions set by ballot | |||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Aric Almirola | Stewart-Haas Racing | |
| Laps | 128 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 41 | Cole Custer | Stewart-Haas Racing | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | FS1 | ||
| Announcers | Mike Joy and Jeff Gordon | ||
| Nielsen Ratings | 2.575 million[7] | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | PRN | ||
| Booth Announcers | Doug Rice and Mark Garrow | ||
| Turn Announcers | Doug Turnbull (1 & 2) and Pat Patterson (3 & 4) | ||
Report
editBackground
edit
The tenth running of the Quaker State 400 was held in Sparta, Kentucky at Kentucky Speedway on July 9, 2016. The track is a 1.5-mile (2.4 km) tri-oval speedway owned by Speedway Motorsports, Inc. Kentucky Speedway, which has also hosted the ARCA Menards Series, NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series, NASCAR Xfinity Series, and the Indy Racing League, has a grandstand seating capacity of 107,000.
Entry list
edit- (R) denotes rookie driver.
- (i) denotes driver who are ineligible for series driver points.
Qualifying
editKyle Busch was awarded the pole for the race as determined by a random draw.
Starting Lineup
editRace
edit
Stage Results
editStage One Laps: 80
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 10 |
| 2 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 9 |
| 3 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 8 |
| 4 | 21 | Matt DiBenedetto | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 7 |
| 5 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 6 |
| 6 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 5 |
| 7 | 88 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 4 |
| 8 | 1 | Kurt Busch | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 3 |
| 9 | 14 | Clint Bowyer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 2 |
| 10 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 1 |
| Official stage one results | |||||
Stage Two Laps: 80
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 10 |
| 2 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 9 |
| 3 | 41 | Cole Custer (R) | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 8 |
| 4 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 7 |
| 5 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 6 |
| 6 | 88 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 5 |
| 7 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 4 |
| 8 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 3 |
| 9 | 21 | Matt DiBenedetto | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 2 |
| 10 | 20 | Erik Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 1 |
| Official stage two results | |||||
Final Lap
editWith 7 laps to go, Kevin Harvick was leading the race but a caution came out when Matt Kenseth spun in turn 4. As a result, the field would be bunched up and the race would go into overtime. Harvick was the leader and chose the outside for the restart with Martin Truex Jr. in 2nd, Ryan Blaney in 3rd, Brad Keselowski in 4th, Kurt Busch in 5th, and Cole Custer in 6th. On the restart, Custer made a move on the outside of Keselowski and took the 4th spot from Keselowski. Off of 2, Kevin Harvick took the lead from Martin Truex Jr. but Truex came up into Harvick causing Harvick to get loose. In turn 3, Truex made a move to the outside to take the lead from Harvick but the two left the inside open and Ryan Blaney went to the inside to make it 3 wide heading to the white flag. As the white flag flew, Custer made a move to the outside and made it 4 wide for the lead. Custer took the lead in turn 1 and never gave it up scoring his first Cup Series victory in his 20th Cup Series start and becoming the first rookie to score a win at Kentucky.
Final Stage Results
editStage Three Laps: 107
| Pos | Grid | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Laps | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 29 | 41 | Cole Custer (R) | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 267 | 48 |
| 2 | 9 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 267 | 42 |
| 3 | 10 | 21 | Matt DiBenedetto | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 267 | 43 |
| 4 | 3 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 267 | 38 |
| 5 | 7 | 1 | Kurt Busch | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 267 | 35 |
| 6 | 11 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 267 | 46 |
| 7 | 34 | 95 | Christopher Bell (R) | Leavine Family Racing | Toyota | 267 | 30 |
| 8 | 4 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 267 | 39 |
| 9 | 6 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 267 | 38 |
| 10 | 24 | 8 | Tyler Reddick (R) | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 267 | 27 |
| 11 | 21 | 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 267 | 26 |
| 12 | 12 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 267 | 25 |
| 13 | 19 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 267 | 28 |
| 14 | 15 | 14 | Clint Bowyer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 267 | 25 |
| 15 | 2 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 267 | 37 |
| 16 | 33 | 13 | Ty Dillon | Germain Racing | Chevrolet | 267 | 21 |
| 17 | 23 | 6 | Ryan Newman | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 267 | 20 |
| 18 | 20 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 267 | 22 |
| 19 | 5 | 88 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 267 | 27 |
| 20 | 13 | 17 | Chris Buescher | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 267 | 17 |
| 21 | 1 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 267 | 16 |
| 22 | 16 | 20 | Erik Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 267 | 16 |
| 23 | 8 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 267 | 23 |
| 24 | 30 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 267 | 13 |
| 25 | 17 | 42 | Matt Kenseth | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 267 | 12 |
| 26 | 37 | 96 | Daniel Suárez | Gaunt Brothers Racing | Toyota | 267 | 11 |
| 27 | 18 | 43 | Bubba Wallace | Richard Petty Motorsports | Chevrolet | 265 | 10 |
| 28 | 27 | 32 | Corey LaJoie | Go Fas Racing | Ford | 264 | 9 |
| 29 | 14 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 264 | 8 |
| 30 | 36 | 27 | J. J. Yeley (i) | Rick Ware Racing | Ford | 260 | 0 |
| 31 | 31 | 15 | Brennan Poole (R) | Premium Motorsports | Chevrolet | 259 | 6 |
| 32 | 26 | 77 | Josh Bilicki (i) | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 257 | 0 |
| 33 | 25 | 53 | Garrett Smithley (i) | Rick Ware Racing | Chevrolet | 257 | 0 |
| 34 | 35 | 51 | Joey Gase (i) | Petty Ware Racing | Ford | 257 | 0 |
| 35 | 28 | 00 | Quin Houff (R) | StarCom Racing | Chevrolet | 255 | 2 |
| 36 | 22 | 38 | John Hunter Nemechek (R) | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 248 | 1 |
| 37 | 38 | 66 | Timmy Hill (i) | MBM Motorsports | Toyota | 170 | 0 |
| 38 | 32 | 37 | Ryan Preece | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 159 | 1 |
| Official race results | |||||||
Race statistics
edit- Lead changes: 13 among 9 different drivers
- Cautions/Laps: 8 for 42
- Red flags: 0
- Time of race: 2 hours, 59 minutes and 49 seconds
- Average speed: 133.636 miles per hour (215.066 km/h)
Media
editTelevision
editFox Sports televised the race in the United States on FS1. Mike Joy and Jeff Gordon covered the race from the Fox Sports studio in Charlotte. Jamie Little handled the pit road duties. Larry McReynolds provided insight from the Fox Sports studio in Charlotte.
| FS1 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Booth announcers | Pit reporter | In-race analyst |
| Lap-by-lap: Mike Joy Color-commentator: Jeff Gordon |
Jamie Little | Larry McReynolds |
Radio
editPRN had the radio call for the race, which was simulcast on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio. Doug Rice and Mark Garrow called the action from the booth when the field raced down the front straightaway. Doug Turnbull called the action from turns 1 & 2 and Pat Patterson called the action from turns 3 & 4. Brad Gillie, Brett McMillan and Wendy Venturini called the duties on pit lane.
| PRN | ||
|---|---|---|
| Booth announcers | Turn announcers | Pit reporters |
| Lead announcer: Doug Rice Announcer: Mark Garrow |
Turns 1 & 2: Doug Turnbull Turns 3 & 4: Pat Patterson |
Brad Gillie Brett McMillan Wendy Venturini |
Standings after the race
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References
edit- ^ "2020 schedule". Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. January 17, 2020. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
- ^ "Kentucky Speedway". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. January 3, 2013. Archived from the original on April 28, 2017. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
- ^ "Entry List" (PDF). Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. July 3, 2020. Retrieved July 3, 2020.
- ^ "Starting Lineup". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. July 8, 2020. Retrieved July 8, 2020.
- ^ "Quaker State 400 Results". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. July 12, 2020. Retrieved July 12, 2020.
- ^ "Points standings" (PDF). Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. July 12, 2020. Retrieved July 12, 2020.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Quaker State 400 ratings". ShowBuzzDaily. Mitch Metcalf. Archived from the original on July 15, 2020. Retrieved July 14, 2020.