After 500 laps around the short half-mile of Martinsville Speedway, Chase Elliott took home his fourth win of the 2020 season. The win transfers Elliott to the Round of 4 at Phoenix to compete for the championship title. This is Elliott’s first final four playoff appearance. Certainly, Martinsville has been a solid track for Elliott with three top-fives there throughout his Cup career, but this marks his first Cup Series win at the half-mile.
“Oh my gosh. I’m so proud. We were backed into a corner and had to win. We performed when we didn’t have a choice. I couldn’t ask for a better night. It is unreal,” exclaimed Elliott.
Prior to the drop of the checkered flag, there was 263 miles ahead of the drivers, and it was Brad Keselowski who led them to the green flag on lap one. However, it was Martin Truex Jr. that was leading at the time of the competition caution on lap 60. The first accident-related caution appeared on lap 73 when Aric Almirola turned Clint Bowyer; Austin Dillon was also caught up in the incident. The yellow flag made another appearance after 104 laps of competition for Garrett Smithley. Shortly after, Lap 115 brought another caution for Joey Gase who spun with help from Quin Houff. On lap 130, the first portion of the race came to a close with Denny Hamlin taking the stage one win.
The first caution of the second stage emerged on lap 147 for Chris Buescher, who suffered from a radiator issue. Another incident put a halt to the racing action on lap 185; Brennan Poole was the cause. Ryan Preece spun after receiving contact from John Hunter Nemechek on lap 214, which allowed another caution to materialize. After 260 laps of competition, Chase Elliott claimed the stage two win.
During the course of the final stage, a caution for Timmy Hill appeared on lap 352. The eleventh caution of the day took shape for James Davison on lap 400. Just 41 laps later, another break in the race emerged; William Byron was the cause of the caution. On the final lap of the race, Kevin Harvick made contact with Kyle Busch, but there was no caution for the incident.
As Elliott went on to win the race, Blaney trailed behind him to grab the runner-up position. Meanwhile, Logano, Keselowski, and K. Busch made up the remainder of the top-five.
The conclusion of all the action at “The Paperclip” brought an end to the Round of 8 and set the four drivers that will compete for a championship next week at Phoenix. Going into the race Logano, Harvick, Hamlin, and Keselowski were above the cutline. This left Bowman, Elliott, Truex, and Ku. Busch lingering below the cutoff. However, it was ultimately Elliott, Logano, Keselowski, and Hamlin that advanced into the Round of 4.
Find out who wins the championship title in Phoenix by tuning into NBC on Sunday, November 8, at 3 PM ET. You won’t want to miss the conclusion of the 2020 NASCAR Season!
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