Reigning Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin held control of the lead for much of Stage 2 en route to securing his first stage win of the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season at the Daytona 500. Hamlin was one of three Joe Gibbs Racing cars in the top five (Kyle Busch in second and Martin Truex Jr. in fourth were the others) after the JGR fleet got shut out on stage points in the opening 65-lap run.
Hamlin, a two-time Daytona 500 winner, started at the rear of the field at the beginning of the race after his No. 11 Toyota failed pre-race inspection twice.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. came home third while Ross Chastain finished fifth in the stage. Kevin Harvick took on some damage from an incident involving Quin Houff and BJ McLeod on Lap 89.
Finish
Driver
Team
Points
1
Denny Hamlin
Joe Gibbs Racing
10
2
Kyle Busch
Joe Gibbs Racing
9
3
Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
JTG Daugherty Racing
8
4
Martin Truex Jr.
Joe Gibbs Racing
7
5
Ross Chastain
Spire Motorsports
--
6
Jimmie Johnson
Hendrick Motorsports
5
7
Chase Elliott
Hendrick Motorsports
4
8
Ryan Blaney
Team Penske
3
9
Joey Logano
Team Penske
2
10
Chris Buescher
Roush Fenway Racing
1
Elliott scores Stage 1 win
Chase Elliott scored the Stage 1 win in two-lap shootout at the 2020 Daytona 500. The reigning NMPA Most Popular Driver led the last 22 laps of the stage as Hendrick Motorsports claimed three top-five spots in the stage.
Alex Bowman, who started second in the race, finished second in Stage 1 followed by Aric Almirola, Joey Logano and Jimmie Johnson to complete the top five. Johnson overcame a pit-road penalty during a stop under caution for too many men over the wall.
William Byron went for a wild ride on the backstretch to bring out a Lap 58 caution that saw his day come to an early end with a lot of damage on his No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. The incident came after what appeared to be slight contact on the left rear from Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Byron had won the Bluegreen Vacations Duel No. 2 on Thursday night and started the race in the fourth starting spot.
Stenhouse Jr., the Busch Pole Award winner, led the first 23 laps of the race and finished the stage seventh.
Stage 1 started on Sunday but got only 20 laps in before rain caused delays that ultimately moved the race to Monday.