2020 Go Bowling 235

Race details[1][2][3][4][5][6]
Race 23 of 36 in the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series
2020 Go Bowling 235 program cover
Date	August 16, 2020 (2020-08-16)
Location	Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida
Course	Permanent racing facility 3.61 mi (5.81 km)
Distance	65 laps, 234.65 mi (377.633 km)
Average speed	89.39 miles per hour (143.86 km/h)
Pole position
Driver	Kevin Harvick	Stewart-Haas Racing
Grid positions set by competition-based formula
Most laps led
Driver	Chase Elliott	Hendrick Motorsports
Laps	34
Winner
No. 9	Chase Elliott	Hendrick Motorsports
Television in the United States
Network	NBC
Announcers	Rick Allen, Jeff Burton, Steve Letarte and Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Nielsen Ratings	3.237 million[7]
Radio in the United States
Radio	MRN
Booth Announcers	Alex Hayden, Jeff Striegle and Rusty Wallace
Turn Announcers	Dave Moody (Infield Section: Turns 2–6) Mike Bagley (Turns 7–10) Kyle Rickey (Turns 11–14)

The 2020 Go Bowling 235 was a NASCAR Cup Series raced on August 16, 2020, at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. Contested over 65 laps on the 3.61-mile (5.81 km) road course, it was the 23rd race of the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season, which was a replacement race for the Watkins Glen round because of government restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The race had three stages: the first two stages at 15 laps each, and 35 for the final.

On July 30, it was revealed after simulation testing revealed concerns of high speeds entering turn 1 (a turn already considered to be difficult among road racers), a temporary chicane was added in between the 4th turn of the oval and the entrance to pit road (similar to the Charlotte ROVAL). NASCAR further announced that it would use the high-downforce aero package used for the road course races in 2019 (in 2020, road courses were scheduled to use a low-downforce package similar to what was used in 2018 and what is used on ovals 1-mile or shorter in 2020). The addition of the chicane increased the length of the course from 3.56 to 3.61 miles and added a 13th and 14th turn to the original 12-turn layout.

Entry list

• (R) denotes rookie driver.
• (i) denotes driver who are ineligible for series driver points.

Qualifying

Kevin Harvick was awarded the pole for the race as determined by a new formula that NASCAR officials announced on August 6.^[8] The formula will use three performance metrics, which will be weighted and averaged to determine the lineup and pit selection order. The metrics are Finishing position from the previous race (weighted 50%), Ranking in team owner points standings (35%), and Fastest lap from the previous race (15%). The success of this system led to NASCAR replacing the traditional rules for determining starting positions of owner points, then race winners, and then most qualifying attempts (with owner points as the tiebreaker) in the 2021 season if qualifying cannot be held because of inclement weather in the eight races where practice and qualifying cannot be conducted, and expanded in the 2022 season to determining practice and qualifying groups for all races.

Kaz Grala replaced Austin Dillon, who was medically disqualified by NASCAR after a positive virus test.^[9] NASCAR further restricted drivers from participation in more than one race during the weekend, which meant typical Xfinity drivers who would substitute would not be permitted to participate in the Cup race. NASCAR did allow an Xfinity Series driver who was still on premises to relieve for a Cup driver in Sunday's event who fell ill.

Starting Lineup

Race

Stage Results

Stage One Laps: 15

Stage Two Laps: 15

Final Stage Results

Stage Three Laps: 35

Notes

Race statistics

• Lead changes: 13 among 6 different drivers
• Cautions/Laps: 4 for 7
• Red flags: 1 for 31 minutes and 14 seconds
• Time of race: 2 hours, 37 minutes and 30 seconds
• Average speed: 89.39 miles per hour (143.86 km/h)

Media

Television

NBC Sports covered the race on the television side. Rick Allen, Jeff Burton, Steve Letarte and four-time Daytona 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, and Rutledge Wood handled the features from his home during the race.

Radio

MRN had the radio call for the race, which was also simulcast on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio.

Standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 Kevin Harvick 939 1 2 Denny Hamlin 821 (–118) 1 3 Brad Keselowski 803 (–136) 1 4 Chase Elliott 775 (–164) 1 5 Ryan Blaney 755 (–184) 6 Joey Logano 754 (–185) 7 Martin Truex Jr. 753 (–186) 8 Aric Almirola 682 (–257) 1 9 Kurt Busch 673 (–266) 1 10 Kyle Busch 652 (–287) 1 11 Clint Bowyer 618 (–321) 1 12 Alex Bowman 610 (–329) 13 Matt DiBenedetto 596 (–343) 14 William Byron 577 (–362) 1 15 Jimmie Johnson 552 (–387) 1 16 Erik Jones 542 (–397) Official driver's standings

Manufacturers' Championship standings Pos Manufacturer Points 1 Ford 860 2 Toyota 805 (–55) 3 Chevrolet 765 (–95) Note: Only the first 16 positions are included for the driver standings. . – Driver has clinched a position in the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs.