The 2020 Consumers Energy 400 was a NASCAR Cup Series race held on August 9, 2020, and was held over 500 kilometers (312 miles), shortened by 44 laps from the original distance because of modified NASCAR rules for doubleheader races, one of three Cup Series events to be run under the doubleheader format; however, the race retained the original 400-mile name.[8] It was the 22nd race of the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season.
| Race details[1][2][3][4][5][6] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 22 of 36 in the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series | |||
 2020 Consumers Energy 400 program cover | |||
| Date | August 9, 2020 | ||
| Location | Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Michigan | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility 2.0 mi (3.2 km) | ||
| Distance | 156 laps, 312 mi (502.008 km) | ||
| Average speed | 144.463 miles per hour (232.491 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Roush Fenway Racing | ||
| Grid positions set by partial inversion of previous race's finishing order | |||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | |
| Laps | 90 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | NBCSN | ||
| Announcers | Rick Allen, Jeff Burton, Steve Letarte and Dale Earnhardt Jr. | ||
| Nielsen Ratings | 2.371 million[7] | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | MRN | ||
| Booth Announcers | Alex Hayden and Jeff Striegle | ||
| Turn Announcers | Dave Moody (1–2) and Kyle Rickey (3–4) | ||
During both Michigan races that season Reed Sorenson ran a special #74 Fake Steak sponsored car fielded by Spire Motorsports that was used to gather footage that was used in the 2021 Netflix sitcom The Crew. Despite being used for filming he was officially classified as being in the race and finished 31st.[9]
Report
Background
The race was held at Michigan International Speedway, a two-mile (3.2 km) moderate-banked D-shaped speedway located in Brooklyn, Michigan. The track is used primarily for NASCAR events. It is sometimes known as a "sister track" to Texas World Speedway, and was used as the basis of Auto Club Speedway. The track is owned by International Speedway Corporation. Michigan International Speedway is recognized as one of motorsports' premier facilities because of its wide racing surface and high banking (by open-wheel standards; the 18-degree banking is modest by stock car standards).
Entry list
- (R) denotes rookie driver.
- (i) denotes driver who are ineligible for series driver points.
Qualifying
Chris Buescher was awarded the pole for the race as determined by the top 20 from Saturday's finishing order inverted.
Starting Lineup
Race
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Stage Results
Stage OneLaps: 40
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 14 | Clint Bowyer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 10 |
| 2 | 95 | Christopher Bell (R) | Leavine Family Racing | Toyota | 9 |
| 3 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 8 |
| 4 | 21 | Matt DiBenedetto | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 7 |
| 5 | 20 | Erik Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 6 |
| 6 | 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 5 |
| 7 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 4 |
| 8 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 3 |
| 9 | 1 | Kurt Busch | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 2 |
| 10 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 1 |
| Official stage one results | |||||
Stage TwoLaps: 45
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 10 |
| 2 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 9 |
| 3 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 8 |
| 4 | 95 | Christopher Bell (R) | Leavine Family Racing | Toyota | 7 |
| 5 | 14 | Clint Bowyer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 6 |
| 6 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 5 |
| 7 | 20 | Erik Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 4 |
| 8 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 3 |
| 9 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 2 |
| 10 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 1 |
| Official stage two results | |||||
Final Stage Results
Stage ThreeLaps: 71
| Pos | Grid | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Laps | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 20 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 156 | 53 |
| 2 | 15 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 156 | 40 |
| 3 | 18 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 156 | 34 |
| 4 | 16 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 156 | 49 |
| 5 | 13 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 156 | 35 |
| 6 | 5 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 156 | 34 |
| 7 | 6 | 21 | Matt DiBenedetto | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 156 | 37 |
| 8 | 31 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 156 | 29 |
| 9 | 14 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 156 | 28 |
| 10 | 11 | 1 | Kurt Busch | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 156 | 29 |
| 11 | 9 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 156 | 26 |
| 12 | 7 | 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 156 | 30 |
| 13 | 28 | 6 | Ryan Newman | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 156 | 24 |
| 14 | 2 | 14 | Clint Bowyer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 156 | 39 |
| 15 | 4 | 42 | Matt Kenseth | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 156 | 22 |
| 16 | 25 | 37 | Ryan Preece | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 156 | 21 |
| 17 | 8 | 95 | Christopher Bell (R) | Leavine Family Racing | Toyota | 156 | 36 |
| 18 | 23 | 13 | Ty Dillon | Germain Racing | Chevrolet | 156 | 19 |
| 19 | 32 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 156 | 18 |
| 20 | 1 | 17 | Chris Buescher | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 156 | 17 |
| 21 | 12 | 43 | Bubba Wallace | Richard Petty Motorsports | Chevrolet | 156 | 16 |
| 22 | 22 | 32 | Corey LaJoie | Go Fas Racing | Ford | 156 | 15 |
| 23 | 36 | 38 | John Hunter Nemechek (R) | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 156 | 14 |
| 24 | 3 | 8 | Tyler Reddick (R) | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 156 | 13 |
| 25 | 34 | 41 | Cole Custer (R) | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 156 | 12 |
| 26 | 24 | 96 | Daniel Suárez | Gaunt Brothers Racing | Toyota | 156 | 11 |
| 27 | 10 | 20 | Erik Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 156 | 20 |
| 28 | 29 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 156 | 9 |
| 29 | 26 | 27 | J. J. Yeley (i) | Rick Ware Racing | Ford | 154 | 0 |
| 30 | 37 | 15 | Brennan Poole (R) | Premium Motorsports | Chevrolet | 153 | 7 |
| 31 | 30 | 74 | Reed Sorenson | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 153 | 6 |
| 32 | 27 | 00 | Quin Houff (R) | StarCom Racing | Chevrolet | 153 | 5 |
| 33 | 39 | 7 | Josh Bilicki (i) | Tommy Baldwin Racing | Chevrolet | 152 | 0 |
| 34 | 35 | 53 | Garrett Smithley (i) | Rick Ware Racing | Ford | 152 | 0 |
| 35 | 33 | 66 | Timmy Hill (i) | MBM Motorsports | Toyota | 150 | 0 |
| 36 | 21 | 88 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 149 | 1 |
| 37 | 38 | 51 | James Davison | Petty Ware Racing | Ford | 147 | 1 |
| 38 | 17 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 95 | 6 |
| 39 | 19 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 95 | 10 |
| Official race results | |||||||
Race statistics
- Lead changes: 10 among 6 different drivers
- Cautions/Laps: 5 for 24
- Red flags: 0
- Time of race: 2 hours, 9 minutes and 35 seconds
- Average speed: 144.463 miles per hour (232.491 km/h)
Media
Television
NBC Sports covered the race on the television side. Rick Allen, Jeff Burton, Steve Letarte and two-time Michigan winner, Dale Earnhardt Jr. covered the race from the booth at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Marty Snider and Kelli Stavast handled the pit road duties on site, and Rutledge Wood handled the features from his home during the race.
| NBCSN | ||
|---|---|---|
| Booth announcers | Pit reporters | Features reporter |
| Lap-by-lap: Rick Allen Color-commentator: Jeff Burton Color-commentator: Steve Letarte Color-commentator: Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Marty Snider Kelli Stavast | Rutledge Wood |
Radio
Radio coverage of the race was broadcast by Motor Racing Network (MRN) and simulcast on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio. Alex Hayden and Jeff Striegle called the race in the booth while the field is racing on the front stretch. Dave Moody called the race from a billboard outside of turn 2 when the field is racing through turns 1 and 2. Kyle Rickey called the race from a platform outside of turn 3 when the field races through turns 3 and 4. Winston Kelley and Kim Coon worked pit road for the radio side.
| MRN | ||
|---|---|---|
| Booth announcers | Turn announcers | Pit reporters |
| Lead announcer: Alex Hayden Announcer: Jeff Striegle | Turns 1 & 2: Dave Moody Turns 3 & 4: Kyle Rickey | Winston Kelley Kim Coon |
Standings after the race
- Manufacturers' Championship standings
| Pos | Manufacturer | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|
 | 1 | Ford | 828 |
| | 2 | Toyota | 770 (–58) |
| | 3 | Chevrolet | 725 (–103) |
- Note: Only the first 16 positions are included for the driver standings.
- . – Driver has clinched a position in the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs.