Chase for the Cup Series championship begins for field of 16
The 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season truly has been like no other campaign in the history of motorsports.
And no, that is not necessarily a good thing. NASCAR, like all other sports in North America, was shut down for a time during the COVID-19 pandemic. But we had a few virtual races. An ugly racial incident during one of them resulted in Kyle Larson being fired. That left the door open for former Cup champion Matt Kenseth to return. He shined early but would have liked to have a better go at things.
But the sport at least made an attempt to keep its fans interested in something, and NASCAR became the first American sport to return. It was also the first to welcome fans back into the stands.
The regular season wrapped up Saturday, Aug. 29, in Daytona. William Byron brought home the checkered flag for his first-ever Cup victory, and he also secured a spot in the 2020 Chase for the Cup.
He now is one of 16 drivers competing in the Cup Series championship, which resumed on Sunday, Sept. 6 with the Southern 500 in Darlington. Byron entered the playoff fray in ninth place with 2,007 points.
Bakersfield, California, native Kevin Harvick entered the Chase as the No. 1 seed, as he has seven victories and 2,057 points. Harvick and No. 2 seed Denny Hamlin (six wins) have been the two dominant drivers all season, and both have at least twice the number of wins as third-placed Brad Keselowski, who has won three races in 2020.
Joey Logano, with two victories, entered in fourth place. Chase Elliott had a pair of wins in addition to winning the all-star race in Bristol. Martin Truex Jr., Ryan Blaney, Alex Bowman, Byron, Austin Dillon, Cole Custer and Aric Almirola all made the field by virtue of each earning a victory. The four wild cards, who qualified on points, include Clint Bowyer, Kyle Busch, Kurt Busch and Matt DiBenedetto.
Kyle Busch has won more races than anyone in the Cup, Xfinity and Truck Series over the last several years, and he entered the Chase as the defending champion. But he’s had a bad year by his standards, not having won a Cup race this season. He’ll be hungry, and that should make him a force to be reckoned with as long as he stays around in the postseason.
It’s important to point out that each driver in the Series (40 cars per race) will continue to compete on the track until the end of the season, and that will surely throw a monkey wrench into someone’s championship plans, as it always seems to do.
Most drivers in the playoff field can’t be considered surprises; the big-name teams such as Team Penske, Stewart-Haas Racing, Joe Gibbs Racing, Hendrick Motorsports and Richard Childress Racing all have drivers competing for the title.
But DiBenedetto drives a traditional car (No. 21) for one of the sport’s most venerable organizations, Wood Brothers Racing. We wouldn’t have NASCAR as we know it if not for that team. But it has fallen on hard times in this era of big-money racing. Many drivers, including Michael Waltrip, got started there and went on to have great careers.
The Wood Brothers always have been at the track, but DiBenedetto’s playoff appearance is the biggest thing to happen for the team since Knoxville’s Trevor Bayne won the Daytona 500 in 2011. He may not win the championship, but for those looking for an underdog for which to root, he’s your man.
