NASCAR: Denny Hamlin secures series-high fifth win of 2020 at Kansas

Denny Hamlin retook the lead atop the NASCAR Cup Series wins category for the 2020 season with his fifth win of the year at Kansas Speedway.

The last time the NASCAR Cup Series visited Kansas Speedway, it was in the 32nd race of the 2019 season. In that race, Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin secured his fifth victory of the season.

This time around, in a Thursday night race that was postponed from Sunday, May 31 due to the schedule overhaul caused by the coronavirus pandemic, Hamlin secured his series-high fifth victory of the 2020 season in the first race of the 36-race season’s second half.

Hamlin started this 267-lap Super Start Batteries 400 around the four-turn, 1.5-mile (2.414-kilometer) oval in Kansas City, Kansas in 10th place in his #11 Toyota, and he won it by 0.510 seconds over Team Penske’s Brad Keselowski in second in his #2 Ford.

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Hamlin, Keselowski and Joe Gibbs Racing’s Martin Truex Jr., who finished in third place in his #19 Toyota, all passed Stewart-Haas Racing’s Kevin Harvick in the race’s final 22 laps.

Harvick, who started the race from the pole position, had taken the lead from Hendrick Motorsports’ Alex Bowman on a restart on four tires compared to Bowman’s two. Bowman and teammate William Byron both took two tires on the final pit stop and lined up on the front row on two consecutive restarts. They settled for eighth and 10th place in their #88 Chevrolet and #24 Chevrolet, respectively. Harvick ended up in fourth in his #4 Ford.

Joe Gibbs Racing’s Erik Jones finished in fifth place in his #20 Toyota ahead of Stewart-Haas Racing’s Aric Almirola, who has now recorded a series-best eight straight top 10 finishes, in sixth in his #10 Ford. Stewart-Haas Racing rookie Cole Custer finished in seven in his #41 Ford for the third best finish of his career.

Chip Ganassi Racing’s Kurt Busch finished in ninth place in his #1 Chevrolet as the second of three Chevrolet drivers to finish in the top 10.

This race featured 22 lead changes among nine drivers. No driver truly dominated the race; Hamlin won with only 57 laps led, and nobody led more laps than he did. Six drivers led at least 27 laps. Those drivers were Keselowski, Truex, Byron, Joe Gibbs Racing’s Kyle Busch and Team Penske’s Joey Logano. The other three leaders were Harvick, Bowman and Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney.

Kyle Busch earned his first stage win of the season in the race’s first stage before Keselowski won the second stage.

This race also featured 11 caution flag periods, including six for incidents in the third and final stage of the race.

A total of 10 of the 40 drivers who competed in the race failed to finish it, most notably Logano, Wood Brothers Racing’s Matt DiBenedetto and Hendrick Motorsports’ Jimmie Johnson, who were involved in a heavy crash on lap 177. The top 18 drivers finished on the lead lap.

Here are the full race results of the 2020 Super Start Batteries 400 at Kansas Speedway.

Race Results
1st – Denny Hamlin
2nd – Brad Keselowski
3rd – Martin Truex Jr.
4th – Kevin Harvick
5th – Erik Jones
6th – Aric Almirola
7th – Cole Custer
8th – Alex Bowman
9th – Kurt Busch
10th – William Byron
11th – Kyle Busch
12th – Chase Elliott
13th – Tyler Reddick
14th – Clint Bowyer
15th – Ty Dillon
16th – Michael McDowell
17th – Matt Kenseth
18th – Daniel Suarez
19th – John Hunter Nemechek
20th – Ryan Blaney
21st – Corey LaJoie
22nd – J.J Yeley
23rd – Christopher Bell
24th – Quin Houff
25th – Josh Bilicki
26th – Garrett Smithley
27th – Austin Dillon
28th – Ryan Newman
29th – Joey Gase
30th – Brennan Poole
31st – Reed Sorenson
32nd – Jimmie Johnson
33rd – Chris Buescher
34th – Ryan Preece
35th – Joey Logano
36th – Matt DiBenedetto
37th – Bubba Wallace
38th – Timmy Hill
39th – B.J. McLeod
40th – Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

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The NASCAR Cup Series is set for a rare off weekend this weekend and is scheduled to get back in action on Sunday, August 2 with the Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. This race is set to be broadcast live on NBC Sports Network beginning at 3:00 p.m. ET.

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