NASCAR: Talladega results, standings – Denny Hamlin prevails
By Asher Fair
Denny Hamlin won the second race of the round of 12 of the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs, the YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway.
In a round of 12 playoff race at Talladega Superspeedway that saw three overtime periods extend it from 188 to 200 laps, Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin emerged with his seventh victory of the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season.
Hamlin’s YellaWood 500 win was under review based on the fact that he went below the double yellow line on the final lap to pass multiple cars, but NASCAR determined that he was forced to make the move.
The driver of the #21 Ford won the 200-lap race around the four-turn, 2.66-mile (4.281-kilometer) high-banked oval in Lincoln, Alabama by 0.023 seconds over Wood Brothers Racing’s Matt DiBenedetto behind the wheel of the #21 Ford.
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But the controversy didn’t stop with NASCAR’s no-call on Hamlin. DiBenedetto, who led much of the final lap, was dropped to 21st place from second as a result of the fact that he forced the #24 Chevrolet Hendrick Motorsports’ William Byron below the yellow line in turn four.
As a result, Joe Gibbs Racing ended up with a 1-2 finish despite not running up front for much of the race, as Erik Jones finished in second place behind the wheel of the #20 Toyota, 0.086 seconds behind Hamlin. Germain Racing’s Ty Dillon finished in a career-high third behind the wheel of the #13 Chevrolet ahead of Byron in fourth.
Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott was originally scored in sixth place, but he was penalized for driving his #9 Chevrolet below the double yellow line on the final lap and was dropped to 22nd.
Roush Fenway Racing teammates Ryan Newman and Chris Buescher finished in fifth and sixth place behind the wheels of their #6 Ford and #17 Ford, respectively. Richard Childress Racing rookie Tyler Reddick finished in seventh behind the wheel of his #8 Chevrolet.
Front Row Motorsports rookie John Hunter Nemechek and Premium Motorsports’ Brennan Poole recorded career-high finishes of eighth and ninth place behind the wheels of their #38 Ford and #15 Chevrolet, respectively. JTG Daugherty Racing’s Ryan Preece finished in 10th behind the wheel of his #37 Chevrolet.
The top 22 drivers finished on the lead lap, and only four of the other 17 drivers who competed in the race finished it.
The race featured 58 lead changes, the most at Talladega Superspeedway since the race in October of 2011 featured 72, among 18 drivers, and there were a Talladega Superspeedway record of 13 caution flag periods, topping the previous record of 11 from April of 2004 and October of 2017.
Hamlin was the only one of the remaining 12 playoff drivers who finished in the top 11.
Here are the full race results of the 2020 YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway.
Race Results
1st – Denny Hamlin
2nd – Erik Jones
3rd – Ty Dillon
4th – William Byron
5th – Ryan Newman
6th – Chris Buescher
7th – Tyler Reddick
8th – John Hunter Nemechek
9th – Brennan Poole
10th – Ryan Preece
11th – Justin Haley
12th – Austin Dillon
13th – Quin Houff
14th – Alex Bowman
15th – Timmy Hill
16th – Matt Kenseth
17th – Joey Gase
18th – Brad Keselowski
19th – Cody Ware
20th – Kevin Harvick
21st – Matt DiBenedetto
22nd – Chase Elliott
23rd – Martin Truex Jr.
24th – Bubba Wallace
25th – Ryan Blaney
26th – Joey Logano
27th – Kyle Busch
28th – Corey LaJoie
29th – Jimmie Johnson
30th – James Davison
31st – Cole Custer
32nd – Kurt Busch
33rd – Clint Bowyer
34th – Daniel Suarez
35th – Brendan Gaughan
36th – Michael McDowell
37th – Aric Almirola
38th – Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
39th – Christopher Bell
Here are the updated playoff standings following Hamlin’s win.
Rank – Driver: Points (Behind), (Wins/Playoff Points), (+/- cut line)
1st – Denny Hamlin: 3141 (0), (7 WINS/54 PP), (1 WIN)
2nd – Kurt Busch: 3048 (-93), (1 WIN/6 PP), (1 WIN)
3rd – Kevin Harvick: 3121 (-20), (9 WINS/67 PP), (+68)
4th – Brad Keselowski: 3094 (-47), (4 WINS/35 PP), (+41)
5th – Martin Truex Jr.: 3085 (-56), (1 WIN/17 PP), (+32)
6th – Chase Elliott: 3080 (-61), (2 WINS/22 PP), (+27)
7th – Alex Bowman: 3075 (-66), (1 WIN/9 PP), (+22)
8th – Joey Logano: 3074 (-67), (2 WINS/22 PP), (+21)
————ROUND OF 8 CUT LINE————
9th – Kyle Busch: 3053 (-88), (0 WINS/4 PP), (-21)
9th – Austin Dillon: 3053 (-88), (1 WIN/5 PP), (-21)
11th – Clint Bowyer: 3036 (-105), (0 WINS/4 PP), (-38)
12th – Aric Almirola: 3026 (-115), (0 WINS/5 PP), (-48)
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The next race on the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the third and final race of the round of 12 of the playoffs. This race, the Bank of America Roval 400, is set to be broadcast live from the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval on NBC beginning at 2:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, October 11.