2020 Daytona 500
The 2020 Daytona 500, the 62nd running of the event, was a NASCAR Cup Series race held on February 16-17, 2020. It was contested over 209 laps -- extended from 200 laps due to an overtime finish, on the  asphalt superspeedway. It was the first race of the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season.

The race was started by President of the United States Donald Trump, who served as Grand Marshal, and the opening lap was paced by the official Presidential state car. WWE superstar Sheamus drove the pace car for the opening laps, and Dale Earnhardt Jr., two-time winner of the Daytona 500, waved the green flag to officially start the race.

The race was scheduled for February 16, but persistent rain showers caused the race to be suspended on lap 20 and postponed until  4 p.m. the following day, the second time the race has had to be postponed due to rain. The first time was in 2012.

Most of the race was cleanly run until lap 185, when The Big One struck, triggering a massive crash involving at least 20 cars on the backstretch. The race was red-flagged as a result. Denny Hamlin won the race by 0.014 seconds over Ryan Blaney on the second restart in overtime. Chris Buescher, David Ragan, and Kevin Harvick rounded out the top five. On the final lap, Ryan Newman was involved in a serious crash and was immediately rushed to a local hospital. Two hours after the crash, it was announced he was seriously injured in the crash, but the injuries were not believed to be life-threatening. Newman was released from the hospital on Wednesday, February 19. In the days that followed, many news outlets credit Newman's miraculous survival of his crash to the safety features implemented by NASCAR following the death of Dale Earnhardt at the end of the 2001 Daytona 500.

Report
Daytona International Speedway is a race track in Daytona Beach, Florida that is one of six superspeedways, the others being Auto Club Speedway, Pocono Raceway, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Michigan International Speedway, and Talladega Superspeedway.

Background

Daytona International Speedway is one of three superspeedways to hold NASCAR races, the other two being Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway. The standard track at Daytona International Speedway is a four-turn superspeedway that is  long. The track's turns are banked at 31 degrees, while the front stretch, the location of the finish line, is banked at 18 degrees.

Entry list
 (W) denotes past 500 winner.
 (R) denotes rookie driver.
 (i) denotes driver who are ineligible for series driver points.

Practice

First practice (February 8)
Ty Dillon was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 44.206 seconds and a speed of .

Second practice (February 8)
Bubba Wallace was the fastest in the second practice session with a time of 45.878 seconds and a speed of .

Qualifying
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. scored the pole for the race with a time of 46.253 and a speed of .

Qualifying results

Bluegreen Vacations Duel

The Bluegreen Vacations Duels are a pair of NASCAR Cup Series races held in conjunction with the Daytona 500 annually in February at Daytona International Speedway. They consist of two races 60 laps and 150 miles (240 km) in length, which serve as heat races that set the lineup for the Daytona 500. Both races sets the lineup for positions 3–32. The first race sets the lineup for cars that qualified in odd–numbered positions on pole qualifying day. The second race sets the lineup for cars that qualified in even–numbered positions. Positions 33–36 are filled by the four drivers that posted the fastest lap in pole qualifying that didn't lock in a position in the Duel's. Positions 37–40 are set by the four cars highest in the 2019 owner's points that didn't lock in a position in the Duels and weren't among the cars that posted the four fastest timed laps in pole qualifying.

For championship purposes, each Duel is a full Championship Stage, except there is no playoff point awarded. The top ten drivers receive championship points.

Duel 1

Duel 1 results

Duel 2

Duel 2 results

Starting lineup

Practice (post–Duels)

Third practice (February 14)
William Byron was the fastest in the third practice session with a time of 43.991 seconds and a speed of .

Final practice (February 15)
Joey Logano was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 44.884 seconds and a speed of .

Race

Post-race
In the immediate post-race, Hamlin and his crew, unaware of the severity of Newman's crash, began celebrating his win, and was subsequently booed heavily by the crowd upon exiting his car, both on the infield grass and again in victory lane. Joe Gibbs issued an apology for the team's celebration, with Hamlin saying he was first aware of the accident's severity when NASCAR canceled the recent tradition of interviewing the winner on the front-stretch prior to the car being driven to victory lane.

Stage Results
Stage One
Laps: 65

Stage Two
Laps: 65

Final Stage Results

Stage Three
Laps: 70

Race statistics
 Lead changes: 23 among 13 different drivers
 Cautions/Laps: 9 for 39
 Red flags: 3 (1 for weather, 2 for accidents)
 Time of race: 3 hours, 42 minutes and 10 seconds
 Margin of Victory: 0.014 seconds
 Average speed:

Media

Television

Since 2001—with the exception of 2002, 2004 and 2006—the Daytona 500 has been carried by Fox in the United States. The booth crew consists of longtime NASCAR lap-by-lap announcer Mike Joy and three–time Daytona 500 champion Jeff Gordon. Pit road is manned by Jamie Little, Regan Smith, Vince Welch, and Matt Yocum. 1992 and 1998 Daytona 500 winning crew chief Larry McReynolds and 2010 Daytona 500 winning driver Jamie McMurray provided insight from the Fox Sports studio in Charlotte.

Radio
The race was broadcast on radio by the Motor Racing Network—who has covered the Daytona 500 since 1970—and simulcast on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio. The booth crew consists of Alex Hayden, Jeff Striegle, and 1989 Cup Series champion Rusty Wallace. Longtime turn announcer Dave Moody is the lead turn announcer, calling the race from atop the Sunoco tower outside the exit of turn 2 when the field races through turns 1 and 2. Mike Bagley works the backstretch for the race from a spotter's stand on the inside of the track & Kyle Rickey calls the race when the field races through turns 3 and 4 from the Sunoco tower outside the exit of turn 4. On pit road, MRN is manned by lead pit reporter and NASCAR Hall of Fame Executive Director Winston Kelley. He will be joined on pit road by Steve Post, Kim Coon, and Dillon Welch.

Standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings

Manufacturers' Championship standings

Note: Only the first 16 positions are included for the driver standings.