It has been nearly two months since we last had some big sporting events. This was for the teams, drivers, and all fans of sports. Thus having NASCAR return as one of the sports that was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic. There would be no fans allowed but people were still able to catch the action at home.
Kevin Harvick has won NASCAR’S return in The Real Heroes 400 at Darlington Raceway. The Busch Light #YOURFACEHERE Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing led 159 out of the 293 laps and got the teams first win of 2020. Harvick also became the 14th driver to win at least 50 races in the Cup Series.
For his teammates meanwhile, it was a mediocre return. Aric Almirola finished 12th in the 10 Smithfield Ford. Clint Bowyer in the 14 Rush Trucking/Mobil 1 Ford had some debris on his splitter while finishing 17th and rookie Cole Custer finished 22nd in the 41 Haas Tooling.com Mustang.
Hendrick Motorsports had dominant cars all day. Unfortunately, only two were able to finish in the top five. Alex Bowman led 41 laps in the 88 ChevyGoods.com NOCO Chevrolet Camaro finishing second. Chase Elliott was silent throughout the day running in the top 15 area. The 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevy finished fourth. William Byron won stage one early on the leading three laps. However, the 24 Axalta Chevrolet blew a tire causing him to spin out. Byron finished in 35th. Jimmie Johnson was about to win stage one, that is until the 48 Ally Camaro made contact with the soon to be lapped car of Chris Buescher. Johnson spun and hit the inside wall. Jimmie would lead nine laps, but finished 38th.
Joe Gibbs Racing went from being absent to the first half of the race to having three cars finish in the top ten. Denny Hamlin finished fifth in the 11 FedEx Toyota Camry and Martin Truex Jr bounced back from a possible loose wheel to finish sixth in the 19 Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats/ATVs Toyota. Last fall’s winner Erik Jones finished eighth in the 20 DeWalt/Atomic Compact Series Camry. Defending series champion Kyle Busch failed pre race inspection twice and had to start in the back. Later on he moved into the top 10, but unfortunately, the 18 Patriotic M&M’s Toyota had a loose wheel. Busch finished 26th.
As we know Chip Ganassi Racing hired Matt Kenseth to drive the 42. In his first start since Homestead in 2018, the 42 Credit One Bank Camaro finished 10th. Teammate Kurt Busch finished third in the 1 Monster Energy Chevy.
Ryan Newman was another big story, making a comeback after a horrific crash at the end of the Daytona 500. Newman was in the top 15 and even the top 10 for some of the day. The 6 Oscar Mayer #FrontYardCookout Ford finished 15th. His Roush Fenway teammate Chris Buescher finished 32nd in the 17 Fastenal Ford.
Brad Keselowski won the pole via a blind draw and led 80 laps in the 2 Discount Tire Ford for Team Penske and won stage two. However, he finished outside of the top ten in 13th. Ryan Blaney finished 16th in the 12 Duracell Optimum/Menards Mustang and Joey Logano finished 18th in the 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford.
The next race is the Toyota 500 at Darlington Raceway with the start time being at 7:30 on FS1.
THE REAL HEROES 400 RESULTS:
- Kevin Harvick 4 Busch Light #YOURFACEHERE Ford Mustang Stewart-Haas Racing
- Alex Bowman 88 NOCO/ChevyGoods.com Chevrolet Camaro Hendrick Motorsports
- Kurt Busch 1 Monster Energy Chevrolet Camaro Chip Ganassi Racing
- Chase Elliott 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet Camaro Hendrick Motorsports
- Denny Hamlin 11 FedEx Toyota Camry Joe Gibbs Racing
- Martin Truex Jr. 19 Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats/ATVs Toyota Camry Joe Gibbs Racing
- Tyler Reddick (R) 8 Caterpillar Chevrolet Camaro Richard Childress Racing
- Erik Jones 20 DeWalt/Atomic Compact Series Toyota Camry Joe Gibbs Racing
- John Hunter Nemechek (R) 38 SCAG Power Equipment Ford Mustang Front Row Motorsports
- Matt Kenseth 42 Credit One Bank Chevrolet Camaro Chip Ganassi Racing
- Austin Dillon 3 Symbicort Chevrolet Camaro Richard Childress Racing
- Aric Almirola 10 Smithfield/Feeding America #GoodFoodChallenge Ford Mustang Stewart-Haas Racing
- Brad Keselowski 2 Discount Tire Ford Mustang Team Penske
- Matt DiBenedetto 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center Ford Mustang Wood Brothers Racing
- Ryan Newman 6 Oscar Mayer #FrontYardCookout Ford Mustang Roush-Fenway Racing
- Ryan Blaney 12 Duracell Optimum/Menards Ford Mustang Team Penske
- Clint Bowyer 14 Rush Truck Centers/Mobil 1 Ford Mustang Stewart-Haas Racing
- Joey Logano 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang Team Penske
- Ty Dillon 13 GEICO Chevrolet Camaro Germain Racing
- Ryan Preece 37 Cottonelle/Kroger Chevrolet Camaro JTG-Daugherty Racing
- Bubba Wallace 43 World Wide Technology Chevrolet Camaro Richard Petty Motorsports
- Cole Custer (R) 41 HaasTooling.com Ford Mustang Stewart-Haas Racing
- Michael McDowell 34 carparts.com Ford Mustang Front Row Motorsports
- Christopher Bell (R) 95 Rheem/Procore Toyota Camry Leavine Family Racing
- Daniel Suárez 96 Toyota Dealers Toyota Camry Gaunt Brothers Racing
- Kyle Busch 18 Patriotic M&M’s Toyota Camry Joe Gibbs Racing
- Brennan Poole (R) 15 Spartan Mosquito Pro Tech Chevrolet Camaro Premium Motorsports
- J.J. Yeley 27 Jacob Construction Ford Mustang Rick Ware Racing
- Reed Sorenson 77 Swamp Rabbits Chevrolet Camaro Spire Motorsports
- Joey Gase 51 ASC Agri Supply/Carolina Cooker Ford Mustang Rick Ware Racing
- Corey LaJoie 32 Drydene Ford Mustang Go Fas Racing
- Chris Buscher 17 Fastenal Ford Mustang Roush-Fenway Racing
- Timmy Hill 66 RoofClaim.com Toyota Camry MBM Motorsports
- Josh Bilicki (R) 7 Gravely Chevrolet Camaro Tommy Baldwin Racing
- William Byron 24 Axalta Chevrolet Camaro Hendrick Motorsports
- Quin Houff (R) 00 Units Moving and Portable Storage Chevrolet Camaro StarCom Racing
- Garrett Smithley (R) 53 Trophy Tractor Chevrolet Camaro Rick Ware Racing
- Jimmie Johnson 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro Hendrick Motorsports
- B.J. McLeod 78 Christensen Arms Chevrolet Camaro B.J. McLeod Motorsports
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 47 Kroger Chevrolet Camaro JTG-Daugherty Racing