2020 NASCAR Cup Series Season Recap

Originally published on Nov. 8, 2020

By Zane Miller

On Sunday, November 8th, 2020, the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season concluded with Chase Elliott defeating Brad Keselowski by 1 point to win the 72nd championship in Cup Series history. It was the first (and, as of this writing, only) Cup Series championship for Elliott. Kevin Harvick claimed the regular season championship.

The 2020 Daytona 500 was won by Denny Hamlin, who also led the most laps with 79. Hamlin took back-to-back 500 victories, for a total of three.

2020 playoff results

Out in Round 1

#12 Ryan Blaney

#24 William Byron

#41 Cole Custer

#21 Matt DiBenedetto

Out in Round 2

#3 Austin Dillon

#10 Aric Almirola

#18 Kyle Busch

#14 Clint Bowyer

Out in Round 3

#4 Kevin Harvick

#19 Martin Truex Jr.

#88 Alex Bowman

#1 Kurt Busch

Final Four

4. #11 Denny Hamlin (-3 points, Finished 4th in final race)

Hamlin finished fourth in points with seven wins, 18 top-fives and 21 top-10s with an average finish of 9.3, as well as leading the most laps in seven starts.

3. #22 Joey Logano (-2, Finished 3rd in final race)

Logano claimed the third spot as he had three wins, 12 top-fives and 21 top-10s for an average finish of 11.9. Logano also led the most laps in three starts.

2. #2 Brad Keselowski (-1, Finished 2nd in final race)

Keselowski took the runner-up spot on the strength of four wins, 13 top-fives and 24 top-10s to take an average finish of 10.1, leading the most laps in two races along the way.

1. #9 Chase Elliott (Won final race)

Elliott claimed the championship as he had five victories, 15 top-fives and 22 top-10s, getting an average finish of 11.7. Elliott led the most laps in five races as well.

Race Winners (left) & Lap Leaders (right)

 

Link to stats database: https://www.racing-reference.info/yeardet/2020/W