The Headline(s): Brad Keselowski was right to ask if Las Vegas has re-opened yet, because Sunday proved it’s sometimes better to be lucky than good. Capitalizing on a spat between Joey Logano and Chase Elliott for the race lead sending both leaders into the wall on lap 498, the No. 2 drove past the wreck and onto victory. The win was Keselowski’s second of 2020, 32nd career Cup win and 72nd victory in NASCAR’s national touring series.
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Why do a burnout with one American flag, when there's two?@keselowski | #SupermarketHeroes500 pic.twitter.com/UcyRqkKC2A
— Xfinity Racing (@XfinityRacing) May 31, 2020
Clint Bowyer, Jimmie Johnson, Kyle Busch and Erik Jones rounded out the top five. Elliott and Logano exchanged words post-race, but neither mask-clad driver got physical.
How it Happened: Keselowski led from the drop of the green flag through the two competition yellows that flew during the race’s first stage, one on lap 20 and another on lap 60. Minus a Ryan Newman solo spin on lap 8, those opening 60 laps went caution-free, though many drivers in the field struggled until around lap 45 with the PJ1 grip compound sprayed on the lower groove, which started the race icy. By lap 45, however, the compound heated up and the lower groove became viable. Keselowski had challengers behind him gaining ground in the form of Elliott and Ryan Blaney but still held the race lead until lap 83 (Matt DiBenedetto stayed out at the second competition yellow and led four of those laps) when Blaney pulled ahead. Elliott proved stronger on the long run, taking the lead at lap 105 and scoring the stage one win.
Blaney took the lead under stage break pit stops and held it until lap 169 when Keselowski’s No. 2 again assumed the point. That lead held until the yellow flew on lap 200 when Blaney spun by himself, only to be tagged very late in the going by Ty Dillon.
Take a look at the crash involving @Blaney and @tydillon during Stage 2 at @BMSupdates. pic.twitter.com/Xc6kU0du9w
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) May 31, 2020
Elliott prevailed off pit road under the caution flag, and held the lead from laps 204-223, weathering cautions for solo-car incidents involving Rick Ware Racing teammates Joey Gase and Bayley Currey. Logano managed to lead lap 224 immediately after a restart, but Elliott drove away the next lap. Lap 228 saw the race interrupted by the “Big One” after contact between Johnson and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. unleashed hell on the high banks.
Here's another look at the contact between @StenhouseJr and @JimmieJohnson which caused a big crash in Stage 2. (?: @FS1) pic.twitter.com/VYAVwyIYdz
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) May 31, 2020
Elliott still went on to win stage two.
When the final stage started on lap 262, tire strategy put the Joe Gibbs Racing Toyotas of Hamlin and Busch up front. Hamlin would hold the lead through a lap 268 yellow flag for Chris Buescher scraping the wall, only to yield soon after the ensuing restart to Busch on lap 278. Busch ran away with the lead until a lap 329 yellow flew for Austin Dillon scraping the wall. Elliott would lead one lap before Busch went back up front. Hamlin retook the lead on a lap 361 restart after Newman’s second spin of the day, where he would stay until lap 416.
Lap 417 saw Busch use the lapped car of JJ Yeley to pass Hamlin back for the lead, a run that continued until the yellow flew on lap 434 when Kevin Harvick cut a tire and scraped the wall, collecting Jones in the incident. Hamlin won the race off pit road and took the green on the lap 440 restart, holding off a strong challenge from Elliott on lap 446 using the high groove and staying out on old tires when Gray Gaulding brought out the yellow on lap 458 after hitting the wall. The yellow flag flew again on lap 465 for another large crash when contact from Bubba Wallace collected Martin Truex Jr., Aric Almirola and Michael McDowell.
.@MartinTruex_Jr spins and other cars are collected in this incident late at @BMSupdates. pic.twitter.com/DeGDnrDBY9
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) May 31, 2020
Hamlin drove away with the lead on the lap 472 restart, using the high groove to keep Logano at bay. With the race win seemingly in hand, come lap 488 Hamlin jumped the cushion and hit the wall, allowing both Logano and Elliott to surge ahead. In a chaotic lap, Logano overdrove the ensuing corner and made contact with Elliott, with Hamlin shortly thereafter spinning and collecting the lapped car of BJ McLeod to bring out what would be the final yellow flag.
The race restarted on lap 496 with Elliott leading Logano. Logano passed Elliott for the lead on lap 497, but disaster struck for the two leaders on lap 498, when Elliott got under Logano and put both cars in the fence, handing the lead and win to an opportunistic Keselowski.
Here's a look at what happened between @joeylogano and @chaseelliott with three laps to go at @BMSupdates. pic.twitter.com/aADnCUwFk4
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) May 31, 2020
Drivers Who Accomplished Something
Keselowski and the No. 2 still are arguably the slowest car in the Penske camp and faded for much of Sunday’s final stage. Despite all that, the veteran has two wins in the span of a week and leads the Cup field in playoff points. New crew chief Jeremy Bullins had adopted the contrarian pit strategies of predecessor Paul Wolfe, and the results speak for themselves.
Bowyer’s runner-up finish was his best since Texas last spring, and best at Bristol since the spring race in 2017.
Though he was culpable in causing the lap 228 Big One (more on that later), Johnson put a complete race together in finishing third, his best finish of 2020 and his best result at Bristol since the spring race in 2018.
Though Hamlin dropped the ball in the closing laps, Toyota was arguably the most dominant manufacturer in Thunder Valley this Sunday. Kyle Busch finished fourth despite a pit-road speeding penalty, Jones fifth despite being involved in the lap 432 incident with Harvick, and Christopher Bell ninth despite his own troubles on pit road. Also worth noting was an 18th-place finish by Daniel Suarez (again despite multiple pit-road penalties) that marked the team’s best finish of 2020, as well as the best ever finish for Gaunt Brothers Racing off a superspeedway.
The same perseverance yielded strong finishes for a number of Chevrolets outside the Hendrick umbrella. Dillon finished sixth despite a pit-road speeding penalty and lap 328 contact with the wall. Six-time Bristol winner Kurt Busch finished seventh with a battered racecar that was a rare survivor of the lap 228 Big One. And Wallace capitalized on the reorganized Cup schedule, utilizing a trip to a Bristol bullring he’s been successful on to deliver his first top-10 finish since Las Vegas months ago, his sixth career top-10 finish in Cup competition.
Drivers Who Accomplished Nothing
Both Logano and Elliott had strong racecars and should be commended for leaving it all on the high banks seeking the win on Sunday. Having said that, Logano’s rage at Elliott during the caution laps prior to the lap 496 restart was completely misplaced (Elliott did not make contact with Logano to trigger their dust-up on lap 488), and played a big part in the two being so charged up racing for the win that come lap 498, both the Nos. 9 and 22 were in the wall. Yes, Elliott was at fault for washing up into Logano on lap 498, and his on-the-fence suggestion that he may have had a flat tire was ample reason for Logano to demand he man up in post-race remarks. Whatever side of the battle lines you fall on, these two can’t afford to lose their cool like this. There’s cagey veterans out there willing to steal race wins.
Both Hamlin and Blaney derailed days where their cars were definitely fast enough to win with self-induced mistakes. Hamlin’s will certainly be the one remembered, as had he not bobbled on lap 487 the race was his to win. But Blaney’s lap 198 spin that resulted in his front-end being smashed destroyed the only Penske Ford without a win in 2020. The speed is there, the complete races haven’t been.
Rick Ware Racing’s entries today accounted for three yellow flags on-track, with Gase being parked by NASCAR for incurring two black flags for failing to maintain minimum speed.
Joey Gase is back on the track with his one shot to make minimum speed
Kyle Busch isn't happy with that speed
"Good god, he's a fucking road block."
Now the 18 team is talking about slow he is in the middle of the corner "which isn't helping at all."
They're nudging NASCAR.
— Matt Weaver (@MattWeaverAW) May 31, 2020
The only positive on the day was that RWR entries did not collect any leaders on track.
Even before a broken tie-rod forced the No. 21 behind the wall for repairs during the final stage, DiBenedetto and team had screwed their Sunday up. Leaving their Ford out on track during the break for the second competition yellow, by the end of stage one Matty D was running sixth with track position. That all went out the window during the stage break courtesy of a pit-road speeding penalty that the team would never cover from. An underwhelming follow-up to his breakout performance in last year’s Night Race.
Insights, Opinions and Fake News
More short tracks. Less downforce. Go figure that the first 2020 race with the low-downforce package on a short track is by lightyears the best of the season. MORE MORE MORE!
Two competition yellows in the first half of a stage is ridiculous. Throwing the competition yellow on lap 20 despite nearly half of those 20 laps were run under yellow is more ridiculous. That more than half the field stayed off pit road for at least one of those yellows is most ridiculous. Either mandate cars come down pit road and change tires to analyze wear or end this charade of bunching up the field early.
Sunday’s race was royally entertaining, and both the Hamlin slip on lap 488 and the Logano/Elliott scrub in the closing laps were as surprising a Cup finish as has been seen in recent memory. The only unfortunate side to this thing was the inconsistent officiating that decided the second consecutive Bristol spring race. Elliott and Logano’s incident on lap 498 saw every bit as much contact and wall contact as had brought out the yellow when Buescher did it on lap 268, Dillon on lap 328 and Harvick on lap 432. Yet this time, Keselowski was left to drive off to victory.
On that same note though, given how NASCAR hosed Keselowski with the scoring order in this race a year ago, in a karmic sense the No. 2 deserved that send-off.
Yes, once he got onto the straightaway where Blaney’s car had come to a stop for his lap 198 spin, Ty Dillon had very little time or space to react. But damn if an ARCA amount of time didn’t elapse between Blaney’s spin and Dillon taking evasive action.
The Athletic’s Jordan Bianchi this week broke what appears to be the next stretch of NASCAR’s Cup Series schedule, carrying the series into August with a trek to the midwest. This schedule all made sense with the exception of an inexplicable stretch where the Cup cars will run Kentucky on a Sunday, return to Charlotte for a Wednesday night All-Star Race, all to pack up and head to Texas the next Sunday. That’s already a haul enough given current distancing requirements in the shops. But it’s also problematic in that it marks three intermediate oval races in seven days, one of which means nothing, in terms of points or otherwise. If you ever wanted to see the All-Star Race treated as a throwaway, this’ll be the year. Why not just throw it away for good?
Race winner Keselowski has been one of the most outspoken advocates in the Cup garage for the current weekend format of no practice, no qualifying, echoing such sentiments in his post-race remarks.
Brad Keselowski says the racing has been better due to the lack of practice.
"We're seeing more mistakes … and I don't think that's a bad thing. I hope we keep this up. I called this format a home run earlier this week and I stand by it."
— Matt Weaver (@MattWeaverAW) June 1, 2020
While Keselowski may be onto something in terms of comers and goers on track, it also seems that a lack of a practice on a track that has one of the trickiest pit roads on the Cup circuit yielded a literal pandemic of pit-road speeding penalties (21 were assessed on Sunday). Comers and goers making mistakes on-track are good for racing. Pit-road mistakes juggling the race order in such a volume is not.
FOX’s coverage of Sunday’s race was arguably the best since the return from hiatus, in no doubts aided by the track being so short and thus able to be covered by cameras more easily. Credit where it’s due, FOX gave us a full-field introduction during the pace laps, captured every major event on camera (including multiple angles of the lap 228 Big One), and even gave viewers a shot of the socially distanced spotters in the grandstands. Given how many short tracks are actively disregarding safety protocols, it was good to see that on camera. Two requests that I’ll relay from my two Frontstretch colleagues who used to write Thinkin’. From Matt McLaughlin, please keep the scoring pylon on screen when we “Crank it Up.” And from Mike Neff, please see below.
Um, @NASCARONFOX , please have your drone pilot watch this video on a loop, non-stop, until Sunday afternoon https://t.co/RWwfaXZYPK
— Mike Neff (@MNeffShortTrack) May 31, 2020
Tennessee Governor Bill Lee took some flack on social media for a, shall we put it, composed command to fire engines. Hard to fault a politician for staying composed when one sees how acting like a grand marshal should ended Howard Dean’s career. Besides, there’s plenty of other more valid things to fault them for.
Anyone that’s read my work here for the last decade knows I’m far from a fan of Kyle Busch. In fact, I detest his decade-plus looting trophies from the Xfinity and Truck series as a Cup regular almost as much the looters ravaging cities across the U.S. this weekend. OK, not almost as much. But yes, I detest it.
Having said that, there is no denying that Jeff Gordon and numerous media at-large employed a double standard in reacting to Johnson’s triggering of the lap 228 Big One as an accordion racing incident merely days after donning torches and pitchforks when Kyle Busch misjudged and collected Elliott in the closing laps at Darlington. Yes, Rowdy has a rep well known. So does Johnson for causing Big Ones… that is exactly how he scored his last win in the Busch Clash in 2019. Both were obviously unintentional miscalculations by drivers that don’t typically make such mistakes. Both triggered violent accidents. Yet the two were treated very differently by the booth. Either back off Rowdy for Darlington, or tar and feather Johnson. That is all.
Autoweek’s Matt Weaver made astute observations on how new Bristol plus the PJ1 compound has made the Bristol Motor Speedway the closest thing to a dirt track the Cup cars are running on in 2020.
The TrackBite legitimately makes Bristol the most dynamic track in NASCAR right now.
It runs like a dirt track and it might be my favorite version of Bristol.
— Matt Weaver (@MattWeaverAW) May 31, 2020
Between the variance in grooves run every lap of the race to the visible cushion that several drivers jumped in the final stage, the high banks of Bristol did have the Cup cars running like sprints on a slick, feature-race dirt track. No wonder Sunday was as good as it was. Really REALLY makes one hope that dirt shows up for 2021.
Though given what else was going on in North Carolina this weekend, maybe NASCAR is being smart keeping dirt and Cup racing separated. Only 42 miles apart, 311 Speedway owner Mike Fulp managed to top Ace Speedway’s Turner family in demonstrating utter stupidity stewarding short-track racing in the South with the most baffling COVID response plan conceived. Speaking to the Winston-Salem Journal, Fulp stated he planned to ban journalists from the track because a New York Times reporter that had recently been in Europe had inquired about covering the race. “The reporters could be [carriers]. We don’t have people here with the corona, and we got to protect our people here.” Fact check: There are confirmed “corona” cases in Stokes County, N.C.
However, a Facebook post on Fulp’s page (that also has plenty of images demonstrating that distancing and masks were nowhere to be found) went further to say reporters could purchase tickets, but would be removed from the facility if caught filming. I didn’t need my North Carolina public high school diploma to understand the logical fallacy here. There must be lead or something more toxic in the water in the North Carolina Piedmont.
Of note, the News & Observer‘s Andrew Carter reported Ace Speedway pulled the same stunt Saturday night, limiting reporter access while jamming the stands. I’m going to hold short-track promoters to the same standard that I’ve held NASCAR for the decade-plus I’ve covered this sport… when behaving like there’s something to hide, there’s something to hide. Like civil liability perhaps? If this caliber and intelligence of person are the ones holding the keys, I weep for the future of this sport’s grassroots.
Fearing for the future, the paint scheme of the race is going to the past. Quin Houff and Starcom racing FTW with the Mane ’N’ Tail special.
Up next, fire the engines! @P1_Houff is standing at the ready!@ManenTail pic.twitter.com/tEh6jt1bDR
— StarCom Racing (@StarcomRacing) May 31, 2020
Yes, I gave Landon Cassill recognition for a similar scheme last year, but this one’s classier.
Where it Rated (where one bottle is a stinker and a six-pack a classic): This one gets five icy cold Miller Lites and a shot of Jack. The only thing keeping Sunday from six-pack status was that for as great a finish as it was, it came as a product of inconsistent officiating.
What’s the Point(s): Hamlin, Logano, Alex Bowman, Harvick, Keselowski and Elliott have locked themselves into the playoffs with race wins. If the playoffs were to start today, Truex, Blaney, Kyle Busch, Kurt Busch, Almirola, Bowyer, DiBenedetto, Jones, Johnson and Dillon would point their way in. Dillon holds a five-point lead over William Byron for the final playoff spot. (Editor’s note: This article has been updated to reflect that Chase Elliott has locked into the playoffs with a race win. Thanks to commentariat member Bill B for catching this omission.)
Up Next: A full week off is finally in the cards for the Cup Series before heading down South to the site of the COVID hiatus. The long-delayed 500-miler at Atlanta Motor Speedway has coverage starting at 3 p.m. ET on FOX.
About the author
Richmond, Virginia native. Wake Forest University class of 2008. Affiliated with Frontstretch since 2008, as of today the site's first dirt racing commentator. Emphasis on commentary. Big race fan, bigger First Amendment advocate.
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That red flag with the yellow star looked like the Vietnamese standard–or some kludged together antifa/commie kitsch.
Concerning the bias shown by Jeff Gordon… he needs to just put on a HMS cheerleading outfit and stop pretending to be neutral.
Otherwise, it was a pretty exiting race full of surprises. As a Bad Brad fan, it had an especially enyable finish for me. What a welcome diversion from the ugliness in the news. I wish us all safety, security, and peace in the coming days.
Concerning the bias shown by Jeff Gordon… he needs to just put on a HMS cheerleading outfit and stop pretending to be neutral.
Otherwise, it was a pretty exciting race full of surprises. As a Bad Brad fan, it had an especially enyable finish for me. What a welcome diversion from the ugliness in the news. I wish us all safety, security, and peace in the coming days.
hum i flipped channels and them flipped back in time to see the elliott/logano wreck.
i had a protest 1 mile from my house on sunday, so i was a bit nervous. a swat vehicle patrolling was not what i wanted to see on my drive home from first time in church since mid march…so racing wasn’t #1 in my mind.
coming to atlanta next weekend. right now, hot and humid and showers.
Bryan, you left out Elliott in the “What’s the points” section. No big deal, 90% of the readers already know who’s locked into the playoffs.
That may have been the best Bristol race since the repave. It wasn’t classic Bristol because there were two grooves, but the results of 40 cars packed together going at high speeds yielded the same results, lots of bent sheet metal and pissed off drivers. I will give it the full six pack although I agree with Bryan about the inconsistent officiating. I’d also agree that the two competition cautions were to the detriment of the overall race (I get that they are the result of no practices but one would have been enough). While I think qualifying and practice should be re-instituted once the covid virus is no longer an issue, I think one practice session may be enough. Have one practice session before qualifying and that’s it. It would occur the day before the race and save teams money by necessitating them only being there on Saturday and Sunday instead of Friday through Sunday. Less practice means more uncertainty on race day which usually creates a more interesting race.
Definitely Elliott’s fault and I am sure Logano will not forget. The payback will come,,,, eventually. Of that you can be sure. If there was any viable excuse it is was that they were both going for the win on the final laps. As a fan, on a short track, that’s kind of what we all want to see but it doesn’t change the fact that Logano owes Elliott one.
I was just glad Johnson or Kyle didn’t win. I actually hope Kyle doesn’t win until very late in the season. It will eat him up inside and be fun to watch him self-destruct. As for Johnson, I am willing to see him win one last time for the benefit of his fans and as a send off in his final year. I just don’t want that win to come in the final round of the playoffs giving him an easy in to the final four.
I can’t believe that NASCAR can’t let the All-star race go this year. It’s pointless every year, but it seems stubborn to the point of stupidity this year with all the other covid related issues.
Bill B – i agree with you about all star race. guess then want to give jimmie a shot of winning in his final year. i’m sure it will garner a huge viewing audience being a wednesday night in the middle of july. will they run on oval or roval? not like fans can attend and i doubt the shops are open which was usually a draw for people to visit during the all star race in may.
oh man, i just realized, mid-week race, chance for michael waltrip to parade bryson byrnes out with a brief case containing a million dollars.
There is only one reason NASCAR is running this year’s all-star race Janice, to fulfill the FOX contract which includes 1 All-Star race. So the bottom line is money/greed.
I doubt Johnson has anything to do with it. And so what if he did win. It’s pretty much meaningless.
The lack of consistency with the officiating was and has been mind boggling. I am on one hand glad the caution did not come out at the end cause there was no debris and the cars were still driving, however, the caution did fly for single car brushes with the wall? So 2 cars slam the wall – no caution ; single car slaps the wall – caution? Joey basically rode the wall the final 2 laps there (same as Kyle I think last year at Darlington when he made a stink about it?) You would think it would be pretty easy to get this consistent! Is there debris (y-n) Can they drive it back to pit road and out of harms way (y-n) if either is no then call the caution. This really isn’t rocket science. There will always be questions about consistency when it comes to officiating but NASCAR isn’t even in a wheel house right now.
Lack of practice may be hurting the smaller teams as they dont quite have the simulation tools and data that large teams have. This appeared very evident yesterday to me. There were several cars that were so slow leaders were taking it 3 wide through corners just to avoid contact with them.
Good race, lot of comers and goers, it was nice to see the fast cars make it to the front and not get stuck in dirty air like we did last year.
“Commentariat?” Way to use a word incorrectly! Way to use a 50-cent word when a 10-cent word would do!
Wasn’t that the name of the horse that won the triple crown in the seventies? :)
@Bill LOL!
`Hey, Lucy! Looks like Chase has some `spainin`to do to Joey. Maybe Baby Busch should act as referee.
Jeff Gordon’s bias towards JJ? You mean that Jeffie’s; “Stenhouse deliberately stopped and forced Jimmy to crash into him!” wasn’t what happened??? LOL!
Bryan, this article is long enough. Do you really need to weigh in on short tracks that aren’t handling the virus like you’d wish it to? People violating “safety” guidelines is happening all over the country, right or wrong. You calling out these places, doesn’t help anything
First thing I was waiting for when Johnson took out Stenhouse was Gordon making excuses for Johnson and he didn’t disappoint. He really either needs to get rid of his Hendrick bias or get someone else in the booth that can be neutral. He’s not winning any points with fans when he can’t remain neutral. Of course Fox goes right along with it. Joy was actually repeating his excuses like they are fact.
I also noticed the inconsistent officiating. I think iceman above explained it best. It really isn’t that difficult.
I was actually surprised that Elliott/Logano handled it like adults. I took it as a racing incident, both going for the win and Chase went too hard into the corner and when up towards the wall running into Logano. Don’t think there was any intention to wreck there.
Competition cautions need to go. if you aren’t requiring these guys to pit and take on tires during these, get rid of them. They serve no purpose but to drive fans away from their tv sets.
Did anyone else notice alot of black cars with no sponsorships on them? Pretty disappointing that there are still Cup cars sponsor-less.
by my unofficial count Johnson has caused at least 12 wrecks where he gets off scott free but several other cars get wiped out. This is over the years and it sure looked similar to the Kyle Busch situation at Darlington. The commentators need to have opinions, thoughts, and wisdom/knowledge to do the job. He/she should not have bias.