Fill in the blank: Write your own 2020 recap

The 2020 NASCAR season is officially in the books, Chase Elliott is the champion, it’s Thanksgiving week, and, well, we’ve decided to sort of phone it in for now. Won’t you help us write an end-of-year recap? Simply fill in the blanks and let your imagination run wild. Just, please, don’t do too good of a job so our editors won’t replace us. Let me tell you what the 2020 NASCAR season was like as a fan of --Aric AlmirolaChristopher BellRyan BlaneyAlex BowmanClint BowyerChris BuescherKurt BuschKyle BuschWilliam ByronCole CusterMatt DiBenedettoAustin DillonTy DillonChase ElliottDenny HamlinKevin HarvickJimmie JohnsonErik JonesMatt KensethBrad KeselowskiJoey LoganoRyan NewmanTyler ReddickDaniel SuarezRicky Stenhouse Jr.Martin Truex Jr.Bubba Wallace. Man, what a --strugglechallengethrillseasonyeartime2020disastersuccesstrip it was! The season started out with a Daytona 500 that could be described as nothing short of --dramaticchaoticbreathtakingeventfulthrillingfranticelectrifyingoverwhelminghair-raisingunpredictablewild — and that was just a sign of things to come. --NobodyNot even the smartest among usOnly people who are really good at fantasy sportsFew could have predicted how the pandemic would --affectdisruptshake upspice updiscombobulaterattle the cage of the NASCAR season in the spring — but, of course, being the fan of the driver I am, switching to iRacing for a few months made me feel totally --jazzedpumpedpreoccupieddismayedin a tizzydisgusteddisappointedconfusedhopefullostthrilled. The eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series was --a fine substitutefun as heckan enjoyable showgood to pass the timea little too computer-y for meprobably the first esports event I watchedfinally William Byron’s time to shinean excuse for me to finally buy iRacing, but there’s nothing quite as --excitinggoodrivetingvisceralloudreal as the real thing! When NASCAR returned to the track in May, I felt more --pumpedexcitedrelievedthrilledhopefuldelightedhot and botheredoptimisticnervouspee, from excitement, in my pantspee, to mimic NASCAR drivers, in my pants than ever. NASCAR’s return to the track was --no walk in the parknot easyeasy peasyexactly what I was hopingnot what I was hopingquite eventfuluneventfulfilled with dramanerve-wrackingsomething else for my driver, especially when --Chase Elliott performed Kyle Busch’s trademark bowthe road to the playoffs meant lots of dramathe playoffs happenedwell, you knowuh, I would rather not saysilly season news started to dropDenny Hamlin showed up with that face maskhe scored that big winhe did the thing. The best part of the season, though, was when --Denny Hamlin won the Daytona 500Kevin Harvick won nine racesChase Elliott kicked some butt on the road coursesWilliam Byron won his first raceCole Custer scored a wina photo finish at TalladegaAustin Dillon returned to Victory LaneNASCAR went to Darlington three timesthe All-Star Race had underglow on the carsChase Elliott’s jackman saved his seasonKurt Busch won at Las VegasBubba Wallace made headlinesJimmie Johnson led a fan salute — though, --Clint Bowyer’s pocket tweetwhen Kevin Harvick missed the Championship 4Timmy Hill iRacing with his catJeff Gordon racing iRacingChase Elliott’s middle-finger salutewatching drivers try to drink while wearing face masksTyler Reddick thinking the race was over too soonfans returning to the track had me --cryinglaughingdying insidesmilinghopeful for the futurehooting and hollering, too. The 2020 season meant we said goodbye to Jimmie Johnson, a driver I’ve always --admiredcheered forthought was very handsomeenviedworshippedpraisedlaudedregarded highlydislikedfelt strongly aboutdetesteddespisedignoredcosplayed as, especially for --all those championships83 race winshis charity workhis beard, which contains the right amount of grayhis lovely familyhis never-give-up attitudethat off-road racing background of hishis extensive grandfather clock collectionthe simple fact that he’s Jimmie Johnsonthe fact that 48 is my favorite number. I wish I could --run the Boston Marathonhave unmatched successgrow a beardbecome a sports iconiRacebefriend famous peopleretire like Jimmie! We also said goodbye to Clint Bowyer, who’s probably going to --entertain us allprovide plenty of laughsadd some funkill itbe a consummate professionalgive Jeff Gordon dozens of nicknamesfart in a jar in the FOX broadcast booth next year. And, of course, we can’t talk about the 2020 season without talking about --Cole Custer winning Rookie of the YearMatt Kenseth’s return to the driver’s seatJimmie Johnson’s awful luckthe announcement Alex Bowman would go to the No. 48 car in 2021Kyle Busch and Adam Stevens splitting upKyle Busch’s early elimination. That’s something that made me feel so --oldamped upworriedhopefuloptimisticpessimisticembarrassed! There’s certainly a --brightmerrysunnyvictory-filledcrash-filledrelaxingdepressingbitter future ahead. I just hope my driver can --measure upstep it upoutperformoverperformget it togetherkeep the momentum rollingfollow me on Twitterdisappoint me again! Lastly, --I can’t believeI totally called thatplease stop reminding meit is not getting old rememberingI am so hyped thatit’s pretty much the best thing everit’s pretty much the worst thing ever we’re crowning a new NASCAR champion in Chase Elliott. Even though people give him a hard time for --misquoting Billy Joel lyricsnot going by his real name, William Clydebeing a little on the quiet sidehis run-ins with Kyle Buschhis run-ins with Denny Hamlinbeing so darn popular, you have to admit he’s --a heck of a driverfun to follow on social mediathe championpopular for a reasonBill Elliott’s son and --isn’t afraid to show ithas the hardware to back it upyou cannot tell me otherwiseI stand behind what I saidI could change my mind at any moment. Maybe that’s why he’s --the Most Popular Drivernamed Chase Elliottdriving the No. 9 carChase Elliottthe champso darn popular! Whenever that si-reen sounds in the Dawsonville Pool Room, I’m filled with --prideexcitementrageindifferenceempathy for the neighbors who don’t like noise. Anyway, I can’t wait for --23XI RacingTrackhouse RacingLive Fast Motorsportsmore racinga new seasonNashville Superspeedwaythe Daytona 500a brand new fantasy teamKyle Larson in the No. 5Chase Briscoe in the No. 14Christopher Bell in the No. 20Bubba Wallace in the No. 23Erik Jones in the No. 43Daniel Suarez in the No. 99new merchanother season of excitementanother season of disappointment next year! Even as a --Aric AlmirolaChristopher BellRyan BlaneyAlex BowmanClint BowyerChris BuescherKurt BuschKyle BuschWilliam ByronCole CusterMatt DiBenedettoAustin DillonTy DillonChase ElliottDenny HamlinKevin HarvickJimmie JohnsonErik JonesMatt KensethBrad KeselowskiJoey LoganoRyan NewmanTyler ReddickDaniel SuarezRicky Stenhouse Jr.Martin Truex Jr.Bubba Wallace fan, I think --Aric AlmirolaChristopher BellRyan BlaneyAlex BowmanClint BowyerChase BriscoeChris BuescherKurt BuschKyle BuschWilliam ByronCole CusterMatt DiBenedettoAustin DillonTy DillonChase ElliottDenny HamlinKevin HarvickJimmie JohnsonErik JonesMatt KensethBrad KeselowskiKyle LarsonJoey LoganoRyan NewmanTyler ReddickDaniel SuarezRicky Stenhouse Jr.Martin Truex Jr.Bubba Wallace is the driver to beat next year — as long as --Aric AlmirolaChristopher BellRyan BlaneyAlex BowmanClint BowyerChase BriscoeChris BuescherKurt BuschKyle BuschWilliam ByronCole CusterMatt DiBenedettoAustin DillonTy DillonChase ElliottDenny HamlinKevin HarvickJimmie JohnsonErik JonesMatt KensethBrad KeselowskiJoey LoganoRyan NewmanTyler ReddickDaniel SuarezRicky Stenhouse Jr.Martin Truex Jr.Bubba Wallace doesn’t get in the way. At the end of the day, though, I think everybody can agree --Chase Elliott is the champJimmie Johnson will be missedit’s amazing the 2020 season happenedit’s turkey time2020 was one heck of a year2021 will finally be the yearat least nobody showed up with their face on the hood of a car this yearthe Applebee’s commercial that played during the races was super catchy.