FORT WORTH, TEXAS - OCTOBER 25: Kevin Harvick, driver of the #4 Hunt Brothers Pizza Ford, Joey Logano, driver of the #22 AAA Insurance Ford, and Alex Bowman, driver of the #88 Acronis Chevrolet, lead the field during the NASCAR Cup Series Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 500 at Texas Motor Speedway on October 25, 2020 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
NASCAR Playoff Points after Texas Motor Speedway: October 2020
Shane Walters
The second race in the Round of 8 is complete; Only two races remain in the 2020 season
On Sunday, the NASCAR Cup Series race began at Texas Motor Speedway. Mist, fog and rain then postponed conclusion of the race until Wednesday.
View 2020 NASCAR Playoff points below.
Kyle Busch drove to victory lane. He claimed his first win in 2020 and prevented a playoff driver from reaching victory lane.
The NASCAR Playoffs are currently in the Round of 8. Only 4 drivers will advance out of this round into the championship finale at Phoenix in two weeks.
After Texas, there’s only one race left. Next week’s race at Martinsville Speedway will set the four drivers that advance.
Texas race
Multiple drivers ran into issues this week. Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick and Chase Elliott to name a few.
Kevin Harvick was leading the race on Sunday when he smashed the wall, all on his own, off turn two. Luckily for him the three day postponement due to weather allowed the team to form a plan for repairs.
The team rebounded. After Texas, Kevin Harvick is now essentially locked into the championship finale at Phoenix Raceway.
Denny Hamlin also saw issues on Sunday. He got loose and chased it up the banking. As he did that, he dropped to almost last in the field. The race was then red flagged before he could recover.
Three days later, Hamlin was storming through the field. His progress was stalled as Matt Kenseth got loose and Hamlin found his rear bumper. The end result was moderate nose damage for Hamlin.
Chase Elliott pitted for fuel only late in a stage. However, the plan backfired in a hurry as his old tires corded and he was forced to pit for a second time with just a handful of laps remaining.
The issues for Elliott were soon magnified. He stayed out on the track at the end of the stage, with the hopes of getting his lap back. However, several cars didn’t pit, Elliott was unable to take the wave around and it impacted his race results.
Martin Truex Jr needed a win. He finished 2nd.
Now, heading to Martinsville, Truex remains in a must win situation along with Kurt Busch. Chase Elliott and Alex Bowman aren’t in a must win situation but it’s close to one.