2020 Race Winners
| RACE | TRACK | WINNER (# wins) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Daytona International Speedway | #11-Denny Hamlin (1) |
| 2 | Las Vegas Motor Speedway | #22-Joey Logano (1) |
| 3 | Auto Club Speedway | #88-Alex Bowman (1) |
| 4 | Phoenix Raceway | #22-Joey Logano (2) |
| 5 | Darlington Raceway | #4-Kevin Harvick (1) |
| 6 | Darlington Raceway | #11-Denny Hamlin (2) |
| 7 | Charlotte Motor Speedway | #2-Brad Keselowski (1) |
| 8 | Charlotte Motor Speedway | #9-Chase Elliott (1) |
| 9 | Bristol Motor Speedway | #2-Brad Keselowski (2) |
| 10 | Atlanta Motor Speedway | #4-Kevin Harvick (2) |
| 11 | Martinsville Speedway | #19-Martin Truex, Jr. (1) |
| 12 | Homestead-Miami Speedway | #11-Denny Hamlin (3) |
| 13 | Talladega Superspeedway | #12-Ryan Blaney (1) |
| 14 | Pocono Raceway | #4-Kevin Harvick (3) |
| 15 | Pocono Raceway | #11-Denny Hamlin (4) |
| 16 | Indianapolis Motor Speedway | #4-Kevin Harvick (4) |
| 17 | Kentucky Speedway | #41-Cole Custer (1) |
| 18 | Texas Motor Speedway | #3-Austin Dillon (1) |
| 19 | Kansas Speedway | #11-Denny Hamlin (5) |
| 20 | New Hampshire Motor Speedway | #2-Brad Keselowski (3) |
| 21 | Michigan International Speedway | #4-Kevin Harvick (5) |
| 22 | Michigan International Speedway | #4-Kevin Harvick (6) |
| 23 | Daytona International Speedway | #9-Chase Elliott (2) |
| 24 | Dover International Speedway | #11-Denny Hamlin (6) |
| 25 | Dover International Speedway | #4-Kevin Harvick (7) |
| 26 | Daytona International Speedway | #24-William Byron (1) |
| Regular Season Champion – #4-Kevin Harvick | ||
| 2020 Playoff Drivers: #4-Kevin Harvick, #11-Denny Hamlin, #2-Brad Keselowski, #22-Joey Logano, #9-Chase Elliott, #19-Martin Truex, Jr., #12-Ryan Blaney, #88-Alex Bowman, #24-William Byron, #3-Austin Dillon, #41-Cole Custer, #10-Aric Almirola, #14-Clint Bowyer, #18-Kyle Busch, #1-Kurt Busch, #14-Bowyer, and #21-Matt DiBenedetto. |
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PLAYOFFS BEGIN – Round of 16
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| 27 | Darlington Raceway | #4-Kevin Harvick (8) |
| 28 | Richmond Raceway | #2-Brad Keselowski (4) |
| 29 | Bristol Motor Speedway | #4-Kevin Harvick (9) |
| Advancing to the Round of 12: #4-Kevin Harvick, #22-Joey Logano, #11-Denny Hamlin, #9-Chase Elliott, #18-Kyle Busch, #3-Austin Dillon, #2-Brad Keselowski, #88-Alex Bowman, #19-Martin Truex, Jr., #10-Aric Almirola, #1-Kurt Busch, and #14-Clint Bowyer. | ||
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Round of 12
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| 30 | Las Vegas Motor Speedway | #1-Kurt Busch(1) |
| 31 | Talladega Superspeedway | #11-Denny Hamlin (7) |
| 32 | Charlotte Motor Speedway | #9-Chase Elliott (3) |
| Advancing to the Round of 8: #11-Denny Hamlin, #4-Kevin Harvick, #9-Chase Elliott, #19-Martin Truex, Jr., #22-Joey Logano, #2-Brad Keselowski, #88-Alex Bowman, and #1-Kurt Busch. | ||
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Round of 8
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| 33 | Kansas Speedway | #22-Joey Logano (3) |
| 34 | Texas Motor Speedway | #18-Kyle Busch (1) |
| 35 | Martinsville Speedway | #9-Chase Elliott (4) |
| Advancing to the Championship Race: #22-Joey Logano, #9-Chase Elliott, #11-Denny Hamlin, #2-Brad Keselowski | ||
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Championship Race
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| 36 | Phoenix Raceway | #9-Chase Elliott 2020 Champion |
Playoffs Explanation
- The NASCAR Cup Series playoffs consist of 16 drivers.
- Drivers automatically qualify for the playoffs with a win (as long as there are no more than 16 winners) in the first 26 races.
- Any playoff positions not filled with a race winner are filled based on point standings.
- There are 4 rounds of playoffs:
- Round of 16: Darlington, Richmond, Bristol
- Round of 12: Las Vegas, Talladega, Charlotte
- Round of 8: Kansas, Texas, Martinsville
- The Championship race at Phoenix
- A win during a playoff race automatically advances the driver to the next round.
- The bottom 4 drivers at the end of each round are eliminated.
- The highest finishing driver at Homestead is the Champion. Playoff drivers do not earn any stage points at Homestead.
Playoff Structure
- After the third playoff race, there will be 12 drivers. After the sixth playoff race, the field will drop to eight drivers, and following the ninth playoff race, only four drivers will remain in championship contention.
- Round of 16: The first round (races 27-29) is the Round of 16. If a playoff driver wins a race in this round, the driver automatically advances to the next round (Round of 12). The remaining available positions 1-12 that have not been filled based upon wins will be based on points. Each will then have their points reset to 3,000, with any awarded playoff points added.
- Round of 12: The second round (races 30-32) is the Round of 12. Likewise, if a driver in the top 12 in points wins a race in this round, the driver automatically advances to the next round (Round of 8). The remaining available positions 1-8 that have not been filled based upon wins will be based on points. Each will then have their points reset to 4,000, with any awarded playoff points added.
- Round of 8: The third round (races 33-35) is the Round of 8. If a driver in the top eight in points wins a race in this round, the driver automatically advances to the next round (Championship 4). The remaining available positions 1-4 that have not been filled based upon wins will be based on points. Each will then have their points reset to 5,000.
- Additionally, drivers who are eliminated in the Round of 12 and Round of 8 will have their points readjusted. Each eliminated driver will return to the playoff-start base of 2,000 with any awarded playoff points and any accumulated points starting with race No. 27 added. This will allow all drivers not in contention for the title to continue to race for the best possible season-long standing, with final positions fifth-through-16th still up for grabs
Playoff Eligibility
- The top 15 drivers with the most wins over the first 26 races will earn a spot in the playoffs – provided they have finished in the top 30 in points and attempted to qualify for every race (except in rare instances). The 16th playoff position will go to the points leader after race No. 26, if he/she does not have a victory. In the event that there are 16 or more different winners over 26 races, the only winless driver who can earn a playoff spot would be the points leader after 26 races.
- If there are fewer than 16 different winners in the first 26 races, the remaining playoff positions will go to those winless drivers highest in points. If there are 16 or more winners in the first 26 races, the ties will first be broken by number of wins, followed by points.
- Prior to the start of the playoffs, all playoff drivers will have their points adjusted to 2,000, with all playoff points added to their total.
Playoff Points
- In addition to points awarded to drivers based on their finish at the end of stages and the race itself, the winner of a race stage is awarded one playoff point, and the race winner receives 5 playoff points.
- At the end of the regular season, the points leader is awarded 15 playoff points. Second place receives 10 playoff points, 3rd place 8, 4th place 7, 6th place 5, 7th place 4; 8th place 3, 9th place 2, and 10th place 1 playoff point.
- As the start of the playoffs, each eligible driver’s point total is reset to 2000 points, plus the total number of playoff points they earned during the regular season.
- Playoff points are also awarded during each round of the playoffs.
- At the start of each following round of the playoffs, the points are again reset (3000, 4000, and 5000) among eligible drivers and playoff points are added to that amount, with the exception of the Championship race at Homestead-Miami. For the championship race, the final four drivers start with 5000 points, earn no bonus points, and the highest finisher is the Champion.