2020 Daytona 500

2020 Daytona 500
Race details[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12]
Race 1 of 36 in the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series
Date February 16–17, 2020
Location Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida
Course Permanent racing facility
2.5 mi (4 km)
Distance 209 laps, 522.5 mi (836 km)
Scheduled Distance 200 laps, 500 mi (800 km)
Average speed 141.11 miles per hour (227.09 km/h)
Pole position
Driver
JTG Daugherty Racing
Time 46.253
Qualifying race winners
Duel 1 Winner Joey Logano Team Penske
Duel 2 Winner William Byron Hendrick Motorsports
Most laps led
Driver Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing
Laps 79
Winner
No. 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing
Television in the United States
Network Fox
Announcers Mike Joy and Jeff Gordon
Nielsen Ratings 7.330 million[13]
Radio in the United States
Radio MRN
Booth Announcers Alex Hayden, Jeff Striegle and Rusty Wallace
Turn Announcers Dave Moody (1 & 2), Mike Bagley (Backstretch) and Kyle Rickey (3 & 4)

The 2020 Daytona 500, the 62nd running of the event, was a NASCAR Cup Series race held on February 16–17, 2020. It was contested over 209 laps—extended from 200 laps due to an overtime finish, on the 2.5-mile (4.0 km) asphalt superspeedway. It was the first race of the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season.

The race was started by President of the United States Donald Trump, who served as Grand Marshal, and the opening lap was paced by the official Presidential state car.[14] WWE professional wrestler Sheamus drove the pace car for the opening laps, and Dale Earnhardt Jr., two-time winner of the Daytona 500, waved the green flag to officially start the race.

The race was scheduled for February 16, but persistent rain showers caused the race to be suspended on lap 20 and postponed until 4 p.m. the following day, the second time the race has had to be postponed due to rain. The first time was in 2012.[15] This was the final Daytona 500 starts for Clint Bowyer, Reed Sorenson, Brendan Gaughan, Leavine Family Racing, Premium Motorsports, and Germain Racing.

The program cover for the 2020 Daytona 500.

Most of the race was cleanly run until lap 185, when The Big One struck, triggering a massive crash involving at least 20 cars on the backstretch. The race was red-flagged as a result. Denny Hamlin won the race by 0.014 seconds over Ryan Blaney on the second restart in overtime after Blaney accidentally spun Ryan Newman into the outside wall coming to the finish line. Chris Buescher, David Ragan, and Kevin Harvick rounded out the top five. Newman was immediately rushed to a local hospital after the crash. Two hours later, it was announced he was seriously injured in the crash, but his injuries were not believed to be life-threatening. Newman was released from the hospital on Wednesday, February 19, and would return to racing at the 2020 The Real Heroes 400.[16] In the days that followed, many news outlets credit Newman's miraculous survival of his crash to the safety features implemented by NASCAR following the death of Dale Earnhardt at the end of the 2001 Daytona 500.

  1. ^ "2020 schedule". Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. Retrieved January 17, 2020.
  2. ^ "Daytona International Speedway". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. Archived from the original on July 4, 2015. Retrieved January 17, 2020.
  3. ^ "Entry List". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. February 6, 2020. Retrieved February 6, 2020.
  4. ^ "First Practice Results". NASCAR.com. NASCAR. February 8, 2020. Retrieved February 8, 2020.
  5. ^ "Second Practice Results". NASCAR.com. NASCAR. February 8, 2020. Retrieved February 8, 2020.
  6. ^ "Qualifying Results". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. February 9, 2020. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
  7. ^ "Bluegreen Vacations Duels Results". Motor Racing Network. February 13, 2020. Retrieved February 13, 2020.[permanent dead link]
  8. ^ "Starting Lineup". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. February 14, 2020. Retrieved February 14, 2020.
  9. ^ "Third Practice Results". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. February 14, 2020. Retrieved February 14, 2020.
  10. ^ "Final Practice Results". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. February 15, 2020. Retrieved February 15, 2020.
  11. ^ "Daytona 500 Results". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. February 17, 2020. Retrieved February 17, 2020.
  12. ^ "Points standings" (PDF). Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. February 17, 2020. Retrieved February 17, 2020.
  13. ^ "Two-day, rain-delayed, crash-marred Daytona 500 hits low". 18 February 2020.
  14. ^ Bromberg, Nick. "President Donald Trump leads field on a pace lap after giving command ahead of Daytona 500". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
  15. ^ Busbee, Jay (February 16, 2020). "Daytona 500 postponed to Monday due to rain". Yahoo Sports.
  16. ^ Ryan Newman transported to hospital after crash at end of Daytona 500, Sporting News, February 18, 2020