2020 NASCAR Cup Series Season: Elliott's Title in a Pandemic Year

Chase Elliott won the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series championship for Hendrick Motorsports, closing the season with a win at Phoenix. The year was shaped by the pandemic, which paused racing in March, and by a restart without fans that changed how teams prepared. It also brought a new tiered sponsorship model, a rule package that reduced downforce, and the last full-time seasons of several veterans.

Who won the 2020 Cup Series championship?

Chase Elliott won the 2020 title in the Season Finale 500 at Phoenix, the first finale held at the track. He took the Cup championship for Hendrick Motorsports, and Ford won the manufacturers' championship after the Xfinity 500 at Martinsville.

The season also brought the first Cup wins for William Byron and Cole Custer. Custer won Rookie of the Year by making the playoffs, and Byron's win came in the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona in August.

Chase Elliott's first title came after a year shaped by empty grandstands, a one-day restart and a finale at Phoenix.

Why did the pandemic change the season so much?

The pandemic postponed all NASCAR racing in March, and the season restarted at Darlington on May 17 as a one-day show with no fans in attendance. The race had no practice or qualifying, so teams arrived with their cars inspected and simply raced.

The Atlanta and Homestead races were postponed in March, and the schedule was rebuilt around the restart. Races after the restart ran without practice or qualifying, apart from the Coca-Cola 600, which had same-day qualifying but no practice.

How did sponsorship and the rulebook change in 2020?

NASCAR had moved to a tiered sponsorship structure for 2020, turning down Monster Energy's proposal to keep the title. It named Busch Beer, Coca-Cola, GEICO and Xfinity as its Premier Partners instead.

A reduced downforce package was introduced for short tracks and road courses, with the rear spoiler cut from 8 inches to 2.75 inches and the front splitter overhang reduced from 2 inches to a quarter-inch. After Ryan Newman's crash at Daytona, aeroducts were removed for Daytona and Talladega, and horsepower was reduced from 550 to 520.

The road crew was also cut from 12 members to 10. The charter system was extended through 2024, and the Next Gen car debut was pushed back to 2022.

Jimmie Johnson tested positive for COVID-19 and missed the Brickyard 400, with Justin Allgaier taking his place. Johnson was cleared to race after testing negative twice that week, and Austin Dillon missed a Daytona race in August for the same reason.

Who left full-time racing in 2020?

2020 was the final full-time season for seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson and for Clint Bowyer. Brendan Gaughan's last part-time season also came in 2020, and it was the final season for former champion Matt Kenseth.

Leavine Family Racing closed after financial problems during the pandemic, and GEICO left Germain Racing at the end of the year. David Ragan returned for the Daytona 500 with Rick Ware Racing, a partnership with his former team, Front Row Motorsports.

Kyle Larson was suspended and then released by Chip Ganassi Racing in April after a racial slur during an iRacing event, and the FanShield 500 at Phoenix was his last race for the team.

Tommy Baldwin Racing returned at the first May race at Darlington with Josh Bilicki driving, and B. J. McLeod debuted his own team in the Cup Series in the same month. Spire Motorsports ran a car numbered 74 at Michigan in a paint scheme tied to the Netflix sitcom The Crew.

How did the early season begin?

The season began with the Busch Clash, where Erik Jones made a last-lap pass on Ryan Newman. In the Daytona 500, the race was red-flagged by rain after 20 laps and finished the next day, and Denny Hamlin edged Ryan Blaney at the line to win back-to-back 500s.

Newman flipped on the last lap and was hospitalised with serious but non-life-threatening injuries. Ross Chastain substituted for him at Las Vegas, Fontana and Phoenix, and Newman was cleared to return in late April.

At Las Vegas Logano won his second straight race there, and at Fontana Alex Bowman won his second career race. Joey Logano also won the FanShield 500 at Phoenix, the race that was Kyle Larson's last for Chip Ganassi Racing.

What happened at Darlington and the Coca-Cola 600?

At the Real Heroes 400 at Darlington on May 17, Kevin Harvick won his 50th career race. Brad Keselowski had been given the pole by random draw, and the race was run without fans.

Denny Hamlin won the Toyota 500 at Darlington after a rain red flag. In the Coca-Cola 600 Brad Keselowski took the lead and won in overtime, while Jimmie Johnson finished last after failing post-race inspection.

Chase Elliott won the Alsco Uniforms 500, holding off Denny Hamlin for his seventh career win.

Which summer races stood out?

Ryan Blaney won the GEICO 500 at Talladega by 0.007 seconds over Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Spectators were allowed into the race for the first time, with a cap of 5,000 in the stands.

Hamlin won the Dixie Vodka 400 at Homestead, his third win of the season. Martin Truex Jr. won the Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 500 at Martinsville, beating Blaney by 4.232 seconds.

Kevin Harvick won the Pocono Organics 325, his first win at Pocono, and Denny Hamlin won the Pocono 350 for his sixth win there, tying Jeff Gordon. Harvick held off Matt Kenseth in overtime to win the Big Machine Hand Sanitizer 400.

Cole Custer won the Quaker State 400, his first career win, and it was the first Cup win by a Cup rookie since Chris Buescher's 2016 Pocono victory. Custer became the 33rd driver to win in all three of NASCAR's top divisions.

Chase Elliott won the All-Star Race for $1 million, completing the second father-son combination to win it, after his father Bill had won in 1986. Austin Dillon won the O'Reilly Auto Parts 500, his first win since the 2018 Daytona 500.

Hamlin won the Super Start Batteries 400 for his fifth win of the season, and Brad Keselowski won the Foxwoods Resort Casino 301, his third win, which led to a contract extension with Team Penske. Harvick won the FireKeepers Casino 400 and then swept the Consumers Energy 400 weekend, tying Rusty Wallace's 55 wins.

Chase Elliott won the Go Bowling 235 on the Daytona road course, his second win of the year. Hamlin and Harvick each won at Dover, with Hamlin taking Saturday's race and Harvick Sunday's.

Who won the playoff races?

The playoffs began at Darlington with the Cook Out Southern 500, where Harvick won his third Darlington race and his eighth of the season. Keselowski won the Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond, his fourth win of the year.

Harvick won the Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race at Bristol, his ninth win. Kurt Busch won the South Point 400 at Las Vegas, his first hometown win. Elliott won the YellaWood 500 at Talladega, his fifth win of the season.

Elliott then won the Bank of America Roval 400, his third win, and Joey Logano won the Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas. Kyle Busch broke his winless streak at Texas, and Elliott won the Xfinity 500 at Martinsville, where Harvick missed the Championship 4 after a last-lap wreck with Kyle Busch.

William Byron won the Coke Zero Sugar 400 for his first career win, and Elliott then won the Season Finale 500 at Phoenix after starting from the back of the field following a pre-race inspection failure. Jimmie Johnson finished fifth in his final full-time race.

Selected 2020 race winners