NASCAR: Texas results, standings

Nov 05, 2023

Kyle Busch, Joe Gibbs Racing, NASCAR (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)

Joe Gibbs Racing's Kyle Busch was eliminated from the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs after the round of 12, marking the first time he has failed to qualify for the Championship 4 since 2014 and marking the earliest elimination for a reigning champion.

But he took a win away from the eight remaining championship contenders, namely teammate Martin Truex Jr., at Texas Motor Speedway by winning the Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 500.

This win was his first of the season, and 34 races into a season is the latest the driver of the #18 Toyota has ever gone into a season without a win. Busch has now won at least one race in each of his 16 seasons of full-time Cup Series competition.

Busch saved fuel to win this 334-lap race around the four-turn, 1.5-mile (2.414-kilometer) oval in Fort Worth, Texas, which was postponed by three days due to rain after just 52 laps were run on Sunday, by just 0.468 seconds over Truex, the highest finishing round of 8 driver, in second place behind the wheel of his #19 Toyota.

Leavine Family Racing rookie Christopher Bell finished a career-high third place behind the wheel of his #95 Toyota to sweep the top three for Toyota. Team Penske's Ryan Blaney led all the Ford drivers in fourth behind the wheel of his #12 Ford while Hendrick Motorsports’ Alex Bowman led all the Chevrolet drivers in fifth behind the wheel of his #88 Chevrolet as the second highest finishing round of 8 driver.

Round of 8 drivers Brad Keselowski of Team Penske, Kurt Busch of Chip Ganassi Racing, Denny Hamlin of Joe Gibbs Racing and Joey Logano of Team Penske finished in sixth, seventh, ninth and 10th place behind the wheels of their #2 Ford, #1 Chevrolet, #11 Toyota and #22 Ford.

Logano is still the only driver who has clinched a spot in the Championship 4 via his win at Kansas Speedway.

Two round of 8 drivers, Stewart-Haas Racing's Kevin Harvick and Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott, had issues and could not recover.

Harvick hit the wall on Sunday and was never truly competitive on Wednesday en route to a 16th place finish behind the wheel of his #4 Ford.

Elliott had a tire going down immediately after a pit stop and fell one lap off the lead lap. He was in the free pass position for the entire following stint, but the race did not feature any more caution flag periods. He finished in 20th place behind the wheel of his #9 Chevrolet.

The race featured 23 lead changes among 11 leaders. Busch led more laps than anybody in the field with 90 laps led, and he also won stage two. Stewart-Haas Racing's Clint Bowyer, who led 89 laps but had to pit late for fuel, won stage one.

Here are the full race results of the 2020 Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 500 at Texas Motor Speedway.

Race Results1st – Kyle Busch2nd – Martin Truex Jr.3rd – Christopher Bell4th – Ryan Blaney5th – Alex Bowman6th – Brad Keselowski7th – Kurt Busch8th – Matt DiBenedetto9th – Denny Hamlin10th – Joey Logano11th – Austin Dillon12th – Ricky Stenhouse Jr.13th – William Byron14th – Cole Custer15th – Tyler Reddick16th – Kevin Harvick17th – Clint Bowyer18th – Ryan Preece19th – Ryan Newman20th – Chase Elliott21st – Erik Jones22nd – John Hunter Nemechek23rd – Aric Almirola24th – Ty Dillon25th – Corey LaJoie26th – Michael McDowell27th – Daniel Suarez28th – Brennan Poole29th – Josh Bilicki30th – Timmy Hill31st – Garrett Smithley32nd – Reed Sorenson33rd – Quin Houff34th – Chris Buescher35th – Chad Finchum36th – Jimmie Johnson37th – Joey Gase38th – Bubba Wallace39th – Matt Kenseth40th – J.J. Yeley

Here are the updated playoff standings following Busch's win.

Rank – Driver: Points (Behind), (Wins/Playoff Points), (+/- cut line)1st – Joey Logano: 4094 (-43), (3 WINS/27 PP), (CLINCHED)2nd – Kevin Harvick: 4137 (0), (9 WINS/67 PP), (+42)3rd – Denny Hamlin: 4122 (-15), (7 WINS/55 PP), (+27)4th – Brad Keselowski: 4120 (-17), (4 WINS/35 PP), (+25)————CHAMPIONSHIP 4 CUT LINE————5th – Alex Bowman: 4095 (-42), (1 WIN/9 PP), (-25)5th – Chase Elliott: 4095 (-42), (3 WINS/28 PP), (-25)7th – Martin Truex Jr.: 4084 (-53), (1 WIN/17 PP), (-36)8th – Kurt Busch: 4039 (-98), (1 WIN/6 PP), (-81)

The round of 8 of the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs is scheduled to conclude this Sunday, November 1 at Martinsville Speedway with the Xfinity 500, which is set to be broadcast live on NBC beginning at 2:00 p.m. ET.