2020 Drydene 311 (Saturday)
The 2020 Drydene 311 was a NASCAR Cup Series race that was originally scheduled to be held on May 3, 2020 but expected to be scheduled on August 22, 2020, at Dover International Speedway in Dover, Delaware. Scheduled to be contested over 400 laps but shortened to 311 laps because of the 500 kilometer doubleheader format used on the 1-mile (1.6 km) concrete speedway, it was the 24th race of the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season. It was the first 300-mile Cup Series race since 1970 at Dover.
| Race details[1][2][3][4][5][6] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 24 of 36 in the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series | |||
| Date | August 22, 2020 | ||
| Location | Dover International Speedway in Dover, Delaware | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 1 mi (1.6 km) | ||
| Distance | 311 laps, 311 mi (500.399 km) | ||
| Average speed | 124.359 miles per hour (200.136 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Hendrick Motorsports | ||
| Grid positions set by competition-based formula | |||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | |
| Laps | 115 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | NBCSN | ||
| Announcers | Rick Allen, Jeff Burton, Steve Letarte and Dale Earnhardt Jr. | ||
| Nielsen Ratings | 1.771 million[7] | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | MRN | ||
| Booth Announcers | Alex Hayden and Jeff Striegle | ||
| Turn Announcers | Mike Bagley (Backstretch) | ||
There were three stages, each ending at 70, 115 & 126.
Report
Background
Dover International Speedway is an oval race track in Dover, Delaware, United States that has held at least two NASCAR races since it opened in 1969. In addition to NASCAR, the track also hosted USAC and the NTT IndyCar Series. The track features one layout, a 1 mile (1.6 km) concrete oval, with 24° banking in the turns and 9° banking on the straights. The speedway is owned and operated by Dover Motorsports.
The track, nicknamed "The Monster Mile", was built in 1969 by Melvin Joseph of Melvin L. Joseph Construction Company, Inc., with an asphalt surface, but was replaced with concrete in 1995. Six years later in 2001, the track's capacity moved to 135,000 seats, making the track have the largest capacity of sports venue in the mid-Atlantic. In 2002, the name changed to Dover International Speedway from Dover Downs International Speedway after Dover Downs Gaming and Entertainment split, making Dover Motorsports. From 2007 to 2009, the speedway worked on an improvement project called "The Monster Makeover", which expanded facilities at the track and beautified the track. After the 2014 season, the track's capacity was reduced to 95,500 seats.
Entry list
- (R) denotes rookie driver.
- (i) denotes driver who are ineligible for series driver points.
Qualifying
Chase Elliott was awarded the pole for the race as determined by competition-based formula.
Starting Lineup
Race
Stage Results
Stage One Laps: 70
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 10 |
| 2 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 9 |
| 3 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 8 |
| 4 | 14 | Clint Bowyer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 7 |
| 5 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 6 |
| 6 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 5 |
| 7 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 4 |
| 8 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 3 |
| 9 | 17 | Chris Buescher | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 2 |
| 10 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 1 |
| Official stage one results | |||||
Stage Two Laps: 115
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 10 |
| 2 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 9 |
| 3 | 14 | Clint Bowyer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 8 |
| 4 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 7 |
| 5 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 6 |
| 6 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 5 |
| 7 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 4 |
| 8 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 3 |
| 9 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 2 |
| 10 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 1 |
| Official stage two results | |||||
Final Stage Results
Stage Three Laps: 126
| Pos | Grid | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Laps | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 311 | 60 |
| 2 | 3 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 311 | 50 |
| 3 | 22 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 311 | 41 |
| 4 | 10 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 311 | 42 |
| 5 | 1 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 311 | 33 |
| 6 | 4 | 14 | Clint Bowyer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 311 | 46 |
| 7 | 6 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 311 | 37 |
| 8 | 5 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 311 | 37 |
| 9 | 7 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 311 | 42 |
| 10 | 19 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 311 | 29 |
| 11 | 21 | 41 | Cole Custer (R) | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 311 | 26 |
| 12 | 13 | 20 | Erik Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 311 | 25 |
| 13 | 16 | 8 | Tyler Reddick (R) | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 310 | 24 |
| 14 | 20 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 310 | 23 |
| 15 | 32 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 310 | 31 |
| 16 | 12 | 17 | Chris Buescher | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 310 | 23 |
| 17 | 17 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 309 | 21 |
| 18 | 25 | 13 | Ty Dillon | Germain Racing | Chevrolet | 309 | 19 |
| 19 | 23 | 6 | Ryan Newman | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 309 | 18 |
| 20 | 14 | 21 | Matt DiBenedetto | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 309 | 17 |
| 21 | 11 | 88 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 309 | 16 |
| 22 | 18 | 95 | Christopher Bell (R) | Leavine Family Racing | Toyota | 309 | 15 |
| 23 | 26 | 42 | Matt Kenseth | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 309 | 14 |
| 24 | 31 | 38 | John Hunter Nemechek (R) | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 309 | 13 |
| 25 | 27 | 37 | Ryan Preece | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 309 | 12 |
| 26 | 15 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 308 | 11 |
| 27 | 24 | 43 | Bubba Wallace | Richard Petty Motorsports | Chevrolet | 308 | 10 |
| 28 | 8 | 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 308 | 9 |
| 29 | 29 | 32 | Corey LaJoie | Go Fas Racing | Ford | 308 | 8 |
| 30 | 28 | 96 | Daniel Suárez | Gaunt Brothers Racing | Toyota | 306 | 7 |
| 31 | 34 | 27 | J. J. Yeley (i) | Rick Ware Racing | Ford | 302 | 0 |
| 32 | 37 | 53 | Josh Bilicki (i) | Rick Ware Racing | Chevrolet | 299 | 0 |
| 33 | 35 | 00 | Quin Houff (R) | StarCom Racing | Chevrolet | 298 | 4 |
| 34 | 33 | 66 | Timmy Hill (i) | MBM Motorsports | Toyota | 298 | 0 |
| 35 | 38 | 51 | Joey Gase (i) | Petty Ware Racing | Ford | 293 | 0 |
| 36 | 30 | 15 | Brennan Poole (R) | Premium Motorsports | Chevrolet | 286 | 1 |
| 37 | 39 | 7 | Garrett Smithley (i) | Tommy Baldwin Racing | Chevrolet | 241 | 0 |
| 38 | 40 | 78 | B. J. McLeod (i) | B. J. McLeod Motorsports | Chevrolet | 166 | 0 |
| 39 | 36 | 77 | Reed Sorenson | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 83 | 1 |
| 40 | 9 | 1 | Kurt Busch | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 6 | 1 |
| Official race results | |||||||
Race statistics
- Lead changes: 15 among 10 different drivers
- Cautions/Laps: 4 for 21
- Red flags: 0
- Time of race: 2 hours, 30 minutes and 3 seconds
- Average speed: 124.359 miles per hour (200.136 km/h)
Media
Television
NBC Sports covered the race on the television side. Rick Allen, 2006 race winner Jeff Burton, Steve Letarte and 2001 race winner Dale Earnhardt Jr. covered the race from the booth at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Dave Burns, Parker Kligerman and Dillon Welch handled the pit road duties on site.
| NBCSN | |
|---|---|
| Booth announcers | Pit reporters |
| Lap-by-lap: Rick Allen Color-commentator: Jeff Burton Color-commentator: Steve Letarte Color-commentator: Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Dave Burns Parker Kligerman Dillon Welch |
Radio
MRN had the radio call for the race, which was also simulcast on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio.
| MRN Radio | ||
|---|---|---|
| Booth announcers | Turn announcers | Pit reporters |
| Lead announcer: Alex Hayden Announcer: Jeff Striegle | Backstretch: Mike Bagley | Steve Post Kim Coon |
Standings after the race
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References
- "2020 schedule". Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. January 17, 2020. Retrieved March 14, 2020.
- "Dover International Speedway". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. January 3, 2013. Retrieved March 14, 2020.
- "Entry List" (PDF). Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. August 17, 2020. Retrieved August 17, 2020.
- "Starting Lineup". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. August 19, 2020. Retrieved August 19, 2020.
- "Drydene 311 (Saturday) Results". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. August 22, 2020. Retrieved August 22, 2020.
- "Points standings" (PDF). Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. August 22, 2020. Retrieved August 22, 2020.
- "2020 Drydene 311 (Saturday) ratings". ShowBuzzDaily. Mitch Metcalf. Retrieved August 25, 2020.
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