The Best Stories From a NASCAR Season They Said Couldn’t Be Done – Autoweek

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They said it couldnt be done back in April.

In the midst of the COVID-19 shutdown, NASCAR officials were deep in the complicated work of trying to save the 2020 season. It wasnt just enough for league president Steve Phelps to complete a partial season. The industry needed to reach 38 televised Cup Series events.

Without the full slate, teams would not receive the complete allotment of NASCARs broadcast money and couldnt afford to send cars to tracks. The sanctioning body would not meet the terms of its TV agreements.

Two months and nine weeks passed without a green flag. The completion of a full season that ended short of Thanksgiving felt like a near impossibility. There were just too many moving parts to navigate.

The tracks owned by either NASCAR itself or Speedway Motorsports Inc. provided flexibility, but the Cup Series was also contractually obligated to compete at independent venues Indianapolis, Pocono and Dover.

A self-inflicted complication was that NASCAR also wanted to complete the regular season in time to contest the 10 Cup Series playoff races as originally scheduled.

To do so, NASCAR and its TV partners would need to mutually agree to several midweek races, which would also be complicated by the eventual resumption of the stick and ball season. At one point during the summer, a major first happened when the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL and NASCAR all contested events at the same time.

Talk about crowded airwaves.

And yet, NASCAR was able to become the first major televised sport to return from the shutdown, accomplishing all of its goals with a regular season that largely ran in Sunday-Wednesday-Sunday intervals from May to September.

That asked a lot from fans, officials, competitors, broadcasters and the independent media.

Certain states wouldnt permit fans, and some like California or New York, wouldnt allow events whatsoever. To contain costs, additional races were added close to home at Charlotte and Darlington. The All-Star Race was moved from Charlotte to Bristol because Tennessee permitted up to 30,000 fans. Watkins Glen was replaced with the Daytona Road Course.

It worked.

NASCAR completed a full regular season, teams got paid, and the playoffs took place as scheduled. The campaign ended with the divisions most popular driver (Chase Elliott) winning three of the final five races to capture his first championship.

He won when it mattered the most, upsetting historic seasons by Denny Hamlin (7 wins) and Kevin Harvick (9 wins) to capitalize on the playoff format.

The 2021 schedule was released to much fanfare. There are several new teams on the grid at the expense of several veteran departures.

AD 2020 was a frustrating year for numerous reasons but NASCAR ended it with a considerable amount of momentum.

In no particular order, here are the stories from the 2020 NASCAR season that well be talking about for years to come.

The 2020 Season Was Completed

For nine weeks, and after just four races to start the season, NASCAR was shut down by COVID-19 in exchange for the eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series. In the meanwhile, series officials were at work putting together a schedule for all three national tours that essentially amounted to one-day shows without practice or qualifying sessions.

NASCAR scheduled doubleheaders for Michigan and Dover, alongside the pre-scheduled one at Pocono -- in addition to the points races at Charlotte and Darlington for cost containment purposes.

When Watkins Glen couldnt happen, NASCAR pivoted to add a replacement race on the Daytona International Speedway Road Course. Chicagoland, Sonoma and Richmond were canceled in exchange for the races in the Carolinas a byproduct of the flexibility of NASCAR and SMI owning a majority of the dates.

"I believe (we were) the only sport that finished a full season," Phelps said. "The NFL is obviously in the midst of theirs. We are hopeful that they continue with their progress and finish their season. But as of now, as of tomorrow, we're the only major sport that finished a full season. (Im) certainly proud of that."

Out With the Old, In With the New

The NASCAR Cup Series ownership pool is about to get younger and more diverse.

Consider the stalwarts of ownership before we look at the fresh faces: Chip Ganassi is 62. Gene Haas is 68. Rick Hendrick is 71. Jack Roush is 78. Joe Gibbs is 80. Roger Penske is 83.

Sure, some of these teams will be inherited by their next-generation successors, but the Cup Series needed a fresh coat of paint, and it will get it next season following a considerable amount of ownership turnover in advance of the Next-Gen cars debut in 2022.

Archie St. Hilaire (61) has sold his ownership charter for Go Fas Racing to the new Live Fast Motorsports team owned by BJ McLeod (37) and Matt Tifft (24) with McLeod behind the wheel. Justin Marks (39) has launched Team Trackhouse with an ambitious diversity and education platform with Daniel Suarez behind the wheel.

NASCAR spotter and executive turned sports agent Jeff Dickerson (45) will expand his Spire Motorsports entry into a two-car effort after purchasing the charter owned by Leavine Family Racing owner Bob Leavine (76).

And, of course, the most notable additions to the ownership landscape are Denny Hamlin (40) and Michael Jordan (57) with the launch of 23XI Racing for driver Bubba Wallace

Bubba Wallace and Social Activism

Few things in NASCAR are transcendent these days, but Bubba Wallace generated headlines across sports, pop culture and the mainstream this summer for his increased activity and leadership within the social activism realm.

Wallace is the only full-time Black driver across all three NASCAR national touring divisions and the first since Wendell Scott from 1961-1973. He called for NASCAR to ban the Confederate flag this summer, which it did, and raced at Martinsville Speedway in June with a #BlackLivesMatter scheme.

At Talladega in June, NASCAR officials found a garage pull-down rope fastened as a noose within the stall that housed his Richard Petty Motorsports No. 43 Chevrolet. An FBI investigation determined that the rope was tied that way since the previous race in October, when it contained another car, and determined that a hate crime had not been committed.

"Whether it was tied sometime throughout 2019, the fall race there, someone did it with whatever intent they had," Wallace said. "We werent in that garage stall at that time, so we cant say it was directed toward me, which is good. It wasnt directed toward me or my family.

"But somebody still knows how to tie a noose and whether they did it as a bad joke or not, who knows? But it was good for the public to see. It still wont change some peoples mind of it being a hoax, but it is what it is."

Michael Jordan and 23XI Racing

Jimmie Johnson's (Sort Of) Retirement

Its not a goodbye, but its essentially a see you over there kind of thing.

Thats the best way to describe the retirement of NASCAR Cup Series living legend Jimmie Johnson. After seven championships, 83 wins and two decades of dominance, Johnson is simply trying something different.

Johnson has signed a two-year deal to race on the road and street courses in IndyCar with Chip Ganassi Racing and has teased an openness to attempt the Indianapolis 500, too.

Meanwhile, the 2020 season wasnt the send-off everyone had imagined when Johnson first announced his retirement. The pandemic began four weeks into the season, and tracks were forced to say goodbye the best way they could, even if most had little to no fans.

Johnson didnt win a race and he missed the playoffs by six points. He was forced to miss the Brickyard 400 due to a positive COVID-19 test and that was likely enough to derail his championship hopes.

There were other disappointments too, like a disqualification for a technical infraction in the Coca-Cola 600 that cost the No. 48 team 45 points after a second-place finish. He also crashed from the lead in the first race back from the shutdown at Darlington. He was fifth-place in points at the time.

He ended his full-time career with a fifth-place run at Phoenix.

"I thought I hit bottom a few times, and there was a bottom a little lower than what I envisioned," Johnson said. "I felt like on track there was mistakes that I made, and we had issues, times where the team made mistakes, had bad luck on track, supposedly had COVID and missed the Brickyard 400. There were just many lows that kept rolling. When I thought that was it, there was another low. I just had to figure out how to put a smile on my face."

The Wildly Different 2021 Schedule

The 2021 NASCAR Cup Series schedule looks radically different than any that has come before it.

To start, there will be seven races on road courses next year, more than double the amount from the previous two seasons and the most since there were four on the 1964 schedule.

Three of these races will take place on new venues or configurations: Circuit of the Americas, Road America and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course, which replaces the Brickyard 400 on the tracks legendary oval layout.

But wait, theres more!

For the first time in 50 years, the NASCAR Cup Series will also contest a race on dirt. The annual spring event at Bristol will see its high banked concrete surface temporarily covered in clay for a doubleheader with the Truck Series.

The last of the new additions is a return to the Nashville region, home to one of NASCARs strongest and most loyal audiences, with a tripleheader at Nashville Superspeedway.

Absent from the schedule are Chicagoland Speedway and Kentucky Speedway. Texas Motor Speedway will only host one points paying race but gains the All-Star Race from Charlotte Motor Speedway.

"We said back early in 2018 that we wanted to evolve the schedule," said NASCAR Vice President and Chief Racing Development Officer Steve O'Donnell. "2020 was going to be a year where we could make some moves within the portfolio of races we had. You're going to see some really bold changes from NASCAR in 2021 and beyond. We believe we've delivered on that."

Kyle Busch's Championship Hangover

It has been a long time since the previous years champion suffered a hangover, but thats exactly what happened to Kyle Busch in 2020.

The two-time champion won just once, and that triumph came after he had been eliminated from the playoffs.

Worse yet, he called when he would be eliminated. Busch finished eighth in the standings, his worst such result since 2014. His average finish of 13.8 was his worst since 2010. He had won 26 races in the previous five seasons combined.

As a result, Busch will be given a new crew chief in Ben Beshore, with Adam Stevens (the architect of his two championships) moving over to the No. 20 team to work with Christopher Bell.

"We obviously weren't good enough," Busch said. "We weren't able to capitalize and do what we needed to do ... [My team members] give full effort, man. There's no quit. But it just hasn't quite lined up for us this year."

Ryan Newman's Daytona 500 Crash

Ryan Newman will contest the full Cup Series schedule for a 20th time in 2021, but he isnt sure how thats possible.

The Rocket Man believes he should have died at the end of the 2020 Daytona 500.

He was involved in a crash coming to the checkered flag of the Great American Race when he was turned sideways into the wall, flipped upside down and then hit on the drivers side door by an oncoming Corey Lajoie.

He was rushed to the hospital for what was later described as a bruised brain, where he left two days later holding the hands of his two daughters, a surprise to everyone. Newman called it a miracle and a testament to NASCARs safety initiatives.

He missed just three races as the COVID-19 pandemic shut the season down for two months just three weeks after his injury. He was cleared for competition by May.

"Its great to be alive," Newman said. "If you looked at my car, its a miracle."

Kyle Larson's Slur, Exile and Return

Kyle Larson has experienced a remarkable journey, both professionally and personally, during the 2020 season.

Through the first month of the season, Larson had guided the Chip Ganassi Racing No. 42 team to seventh in the championship standings and looked to be a consistent threat to contend in his final season before reaching free agency.

Then came the COVID-19 shutdown and Larsons casual usage of a racial slur during an iRacing broadcast. Within two days, every major sponsor on the No. 42 threatened to withdraw support of the team until Larson was removed. Thus, Ganassi fired and replaced him with the retired Matt Kenseth. NASCAR indefinitely suspended the 28-year-old.

Larson went on to enjoy one of the most remarkable dirt seasons of all-time, winning over 50 features within the confines of a Sprint Car, Midget and Super Late Model. Simultaneously, Larson increased his work with several inner-city youth and diversity foundations as penance for what transpired.

He was reinstated by NASCAR in October and was signed by Hendrick Motorsports for the 2021 season. He will continue working with NASCAR on diversity programs as per the conditions of his reinstatement.

"I definitely think theres probably a lot of people out there that have concern about me," Larson said. "Its not something that happens overnight.

"I think its something that takes time. I think people, as they get to spend more time around me or get to see what Im doing off the racetrack, outside the race car and get to really learn who I am, I think thats when the forgiveness will be there and people will have a more open mind to forgive me.

"I know that takes time. Its still been such a short time since this all happened that I still have a lot of my reputation to rebuild. I look forward to being around Mr. (Hendrick) and learn a lot off of him because hes probably one of the if not the most respected people in the garage area. It will take time, but I think who I really am will shine through and people will be able to forgive me."

President Donald J. Trump Attends the Daytona 500

Donald Trump became just the second sitting president to visit the Daytona 500. George W. Bush attended the 2004 race. He delivered a speech to the crowd before the green flag, met several drivers prior to the drivers meeting, and took several laps around the track in the presidential limo.

"The Daytona 500 is a legendary display of roaring engines, soaring spirits of the American skills, speed, and power," Trump said in his speech.

Chase Elliott Wins the Cup Championship

Chase Elliott captured the NASCAR Cup Series championship at just 24-years-old, adding to the family legacy established his by father and 1988 Cup Series champion Bill Elliott.

The younger Elliott won three of the final five races, including the final two at Martinsville and Phoenix to hoist the Bill France Cup. The win at Martinsville propelled him to the final four for the first time in his career, after getting denied just short of the championship race in three other playoff appearances.

Elliott won five times overall and now has 11 wins in 185 starts in addition to his winning the most popular driver award in each of the past three seasons.

"I've been thinking hard about (why I dont have the words to describe what this means) and I don't know why I can't put it into words," Elliott said. "I think part of it is that it's just a moment that I've wanted my whole life.

"You want time to stop so bad in that moment and that's just not how time works. You can't just pause. Like anything else in life, when you're having fun, time flies.

"So, I had that moment, one that I couldn't ask for anything more and time just cruises on. And it's hard to sit down right now and think too much about it, because if you do, time flies and we'll be right back in Daytona. So, I'm getting there. I don't know that I'm there yet, but I'm getting there."

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The Best Stories From a NASCAR Season They Said Couldn't Be Done - Autoweek