2020 FanShield 500
| Race details[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 4 of 36 in the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series | |||
 The 2020 FanShield 500 program cover, featuring Kyle Busch. "Speed Fest!" | |||
| Date | March 8, 2020 | ||
| Location | Phoenix Raceway in Avondale, Arizona | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 1.022 mi (1.645 km) | ||
| Distance | 316 laps, 322.952 mi (519.742 km) | ||
| Scheduled Distance | 312 laps, 318.864 mi (513.162 km) | ||
| Average speed | 94.407 miles per hour (151.933 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Hendrick Motorsports | ||
| Time | 26.065 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | |
| Laps | 94 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | Fox | ||
| Announcers | Mike Joy and Jeff Gordon | ||
| Nielsen Ratings | 4.575 million[9] | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | MRN | ||
| Booth Announcers | Alex Hayden, Jeff Striegle, and Rusty Wallace | ||
| Turn Announcers | Kurt Becker (1 & 2) and Dan Hubbard (3 & 4) | ||
The 2020 FanShield 500 was a NASCAR Cup Series race held on March 8, 2020, at Phoenix Raceway in Avondale, Arizona. Contested over 316 laps—extended from 312 laps due to an overtime finish, on the 1.022 mi (1.645 km) oval, it was the fourth race of the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season. This was the last race to run before the season was put on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Report
[edit]Background
[edit]
Phoenix Raceway, is a 1.022 mi (1.645 km), low-banked tri-oval race track located in Avondale, Arizona. The motorsport track opened in 1964 and currently hosts two NASCAR race weekends annually. PIR has also hosted the IndyCar Series, CART, USAC and the Rolex Sports Car Series. The raceway is currently owned and operated by International Speedway Corporation.
The race would be Kyle Larson's last race with Chip Ganassi Racing.
Entry list
[edit]- (R) denotes rookie driver.
- (i) denotes driver who are ineligible for series driver points.
Practice
[edit]Ryan Newman made a return to the race track as a visitor for the first time after his crash at the Daytona 500, where he was injured, three weeks earlier.[10]
First practice
[edit]William Byron was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 26.747 seconds and a speed of 134.595 mph (216.610 km/h).[11]
| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 26.747 | 134.595 |
| 2 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 26.896 | 133.849 |
| 3 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 27.005 | 133.309 |
| Official first practice results | ||||||
Final practice
[edit]Chase Elliott was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 26.823 seconds and a speed of 134.213 mph (215.995 km/h).[12]
| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 26.823 | 134.213 |
| 2 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 26.825 | 134.203 |
| 3 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 26.935 | 133.655 |
| Official final practice results | ||||||
Qualifying
[edit]
Chase Elliott scored the pole for the race with a time of 26.065 and a speed of 138.116 mph (222.276 km/h).[13]
Qualifying results
[edit]Race recap
[edit]
Before the race, for the O'Reilly Pre-Race Party, the Arizonian band Harry Luge Band would play a concert in the InField two hours before the race. Wrestler Anthony Robles would try and break the Guinness record for most pull ups with an 80 pound bag, which he succeeded. Country music star Blake Shelton and Pitbull would perform Get Ready and introduce drivers. Skylar Astin, star from "Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist", would sing the national anthem. Four F-35s from Luke Air Force Base would perform the fly over at the end of the national anthem. Hudson Derbyshire, son of the CEO of FanShield, Bryan (who accompanied him, along with his mom) would give out the starting command.[14]
Stage One
[edit]The start of the race showed pole sitter Chase Elliott pull out to the lead with Kevin Harvick following behind. Kyle Larson, in what would be his last race with Chip Ganassi Racing passed Harvick on lap 2. While the leaders were pulling away from each other, there were lots of battles for position in the midfield, including Martin Truex Jr. fighting his way up to the front after having to start at the rear. The traction compound poured on the track, PJ1, was a big factor throughout the race as it provided different grooves to run on. With around 40 laps to go in the stage, Denny Hamlin and Matt DiBenedetto were fighting for position. Also, Harvick had caught up to Elliott, and was battling him for the lead, and would keep fighting until lap 57, when Ricky Stenhouse Jr., trying to pass the lapped car of Joey Gase hit Gase's left quarter panel and spun into the wall, damaging the back end of his car.
During pit stops, all the lead lap cars decided to pit. Stenhouse was the leader coming off of pit road, but took no tires. Harvick would finally be able to grab the lead off of Elliott, with his crew having a faster time. Elliott would come up 2nd, then Hamlin in 3rd, DiBenedetto in fourth, and Logano rounding out the top 5.
During the lap 64 restart, Harvick would pull out to the lead; however, this would be short lived, as while Hamlin was battling for position, Hamlin's car got loose and went up the racetrack, collecting the nearby cars of Brad Keselowski and Ryan Blaney and sending all three into the outside wall. Keselowski would not suffer much damage, contrary to his teammate, Blaney who had to retire from the race. Hamlin would also be plagued with damage.
With a 4 lap dash to the end of the stage, Harvick and Elliott would duke it out, with Logano following closely behind. However, Harvick would pull out the lead and win the stage. Meanwhile, Erik Jones would win the final stage points in a tough battle with Clint Bowyer.
Race
[edit]Stage Results
[edit]Stage One Laps: 75
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | 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 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 6 |
| 6 | 88 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 5 |
| 7 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 4 |
| 8 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 3 |
| 9 | 8 | Tyler Reddick (R) | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 2 |
| 10 | 20 | Erik Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 1 |
| Official stage one results | |||||
Stage Two Laps: 115
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 10 |
| 2 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 9 |
| 3 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 8 |
| 4 | 8 | Tyler Reddick (R) | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 7 |
| 5 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 6 |
| 6 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 5 |
| 7 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 4 |
| 8 | 14 | Clint Bowyer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 3 |
| 9 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 2 |
| 10 | 41 | Cole Custer (R) | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 1 |
| Official stage two results | |||||
Final Stage Results
[edit]Stage Three Laps: 122
| Pos | Grid | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Laps | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 13 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 316 | 52 |
| 2 | 2 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 316 | 54 |
| 3 | 10 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 316 | 46 |
| 4 | 4 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 316 | 35 |
| 5 | 18 | 14 | Clint Bowyer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 316 | 35 |
| 6 | 7 | 1 | Kurt Busch | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 316 | 31 |
| 7 | 1 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 316 | 39 |
| 8 | 6 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 316 | 37 |
| 9 | 16 | 41 | Cole Custer (R) | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 316 | 29 |
| 10 | 17 | 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 316 | 27 |
| 11 | 14 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 316 | 36 |
| 12 | 21 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 316 | 25 |
| 13 | 9 | 21 | Matt DiBenedetto | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 316 | 31 |
| 14 | 8 | 88 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 316 | 28 |
| 15 | 25 | 13 | Ty Dillon | Germain Racing | Chevrolet | 316 | 22 |
| 16 | 22 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 316 | 21 |
| 17 | 23 | 17 | Chris Buescher | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 316 | 20 |
| 18 | 20 | 37 | Ryan Preece | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 316 | 19 |
| 19 | 27 | 43 | Bubba Wallace | Richard Petty Motorsports | Chevrolet | 316 | 18 |
| 20 | 3 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 316 | 17 |
| 21 | 31 | 96 | Daniel Suárez | Gaunt Brothers Racing | Toyota | 316 | 16 |
| 22 | 19 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 316 | 15 |
| 23 | 24 | 6 | Ross Chastain (i) | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 316 | 0 |
| 24 | 15 | 95 | Christopher Bell (R) | Leavine Family Racing | Toyota | 316 | 13 |
| 25 | 26 | 38 | John Hunter Nemechek (R) | Front Row Motorsports | Chevrolet | 316 | 12 |
| 26 | 33 | 52 | J. J. Yeley (i) | Rick Ware Racing | Ford | 316 | 0 |
| 27 | 28 | 32 | Corey LaJoie | Go Fas Racing | Ford | 316 | 11 |
| 28 | 11 | 20 | Erik Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 313 | 10 |
| 29 | 37 | 53 | Joey Gase (i) | Rick Ware Racing | Chevrolet | 313 | 0 |
| 30 | 35 | 77 | Reed Sorenson | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 312 | 7 |
| 31 | 32 | 15 | Brennan Poole (R) | Premium Motorsports | Chevrolet | 292 | 6 |
| 32 | 12 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 282 | 17 |
| 33 | 29 | 8 | Tyler Reddick (R) | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 264 | 13 |
| 34 | 34 | 00 | Quin Houff (R) | StarCom Racing | Chevrolet | 208 | 3 |
| 35 | 36 | 51 | Garrett Smithley | Petty Ware Racing | Chevrolet | 181 | 2 |
| 36 | 30 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 129 | 1 |
| 37 | 5 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 65 | 1 |
| 38 | 38 | 66 | Timmy Hill (i) | MBM Motorsports | Toyota | 51 | 0 |
| Official race results | |||||||
Race statistics
[edit]- Lead changes: 20 among 7 different drivers
- Cautions/Laps: 12 for 73
- Red flags: 0
- Time of race: 3 hours, 20 minutes and 50 seconds
- Average speed: 94.407 miles per hour (151.933 km/h)
Media
[edit]Television
[edit]Fox Sports covered their 16th race at the Phoenix Raceway. Mike Joy and two-time Phoenix winner Jeff Gordon called the race from the broadcast booth, the last time Fox would have commentators in the booth at the track for the season, and the last for either of NASCAR's television partners until the Charlotte road course race. Jamie Little, Regan Smith, Vince Welch and Matt Yocum handled the pit road duties. Larry McReynolds and Jamie McMurray provided insight from the Fox Sports studio in Charlotte.
| Fox | ||
|---|---|---|
| Booth announcers | Pit reporters | In-race analysts |
| Lap-by-lap: Mike Joy Color-commentator: Jeff Gordon |
Jamie Little Regan Smith Vince Welch Matt Yocum |
Larry McReynolds Jamie McMurray |
Radio
[edit]MRN covered the radio action for the race which was also simulcasted on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio. Alex Hayden, Jeff Striegle, and 1989 NASCAR Winston Cup Champion Rusty Wallace called the race when the field raced past the start/finish line. Kurt Becker called the action from turns 1 & 2 and Dan Hubbard called the action from turns 3 & 4. Pit lane was manned by Kim Coon, Steve Post, and Dillon Welch.
| MRN | ||
|---|---|---|
| Booth announcers | Turn announcers | Pit reporters |
| Lead announcer: Alex Hayden Announcer: Jeff Striegle Announcer: Rusty Wallace |
Turns 1 & 2: Kurt Becker Turns 3 & 4: Dan Hubbard |
Kim Coon Steve Post Dillon Welch |
Standings after the race
[edit]
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References
[edit]- ^ "2020 schedule". Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. January 17, 2020. Retrieved February 18, 2020.
- ^ "Phoenix International Raceway". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. January 3, 2013. Archived from the original on March 10, 2017. Retrieved February 18, 2020.
- ^ "Entry List". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. March 2, 2020. Retrieved March 2, 2020.
- ^ "First Practice Results". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. March 6, 2020. Retrieved March 6, 2020.
- ^ "Final Practice Results". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. March 6, 2020. Retrieved March 6, 2020.
- ^ "Starting Lineup". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. March 7, 2020. Retrieved March 7, 2020.
- ^ "FanShield 400 Results". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. March 8, 2020. Retrieved March 8, 2020.
- ^ "Points standings" (PDF). Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. March 8, 2020. Retrieved March 8, 2020.
- ^ "FanShield 500 ratings". ShowBuzzDaily. Mitch Metcalf. Archived from the original on 11 March 2020. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
- ^ Utter, Jim (6 March 2020). "Ryan Newman visits Phoenix: "It's great to be alive"". Motorsport.com. Retrieved 7 March 2020.
- ^ Utter, Jim (March 6, 2020). "Hendrick teammates Byron and Elliott lead first Cup practice". Motorsport.com. Avondale, Arizona: Motorsport Network. Retrieved March 6, 2020.
- ^ Utter, Jim (March 6, 2020). "Chase Elliott tops Kyle Busch in final Cup practice". Motorsport.com. Avondale, Arizona: Motorsport Network. Retrieved March 6, 2020.
- ^ Utter, Jim (March 7, 2020). "Chase Elliott tops Kevin Harvick for Cup pole at Phoenix". Motorsport.com. Avondale, Arizona: Motorsport Network. Retrieved March 7, 2020.
- ^ "FanShield 500: 'Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist' Star Skylar Astin to Perform National Anthem Ahead of NASCAR Race". Sports. Retrieved 2021-07-01.
