2020 Consumers Energy 400
{{short description|NASCAR Cup Series race}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox NASCAR race report
| Type = CUST
| Description = Race 22 of 36 in the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series
| Race Name = Consumers Energy 400
| Details ref = {{cite web |title=2020 schedule |url=https://www.jayski.com/nascar-cup-series/2020-nascar-cup-series-schedule/ |website=Jayski.com|publisher=Jayski's Silly Season Site |access-date=July 8, 2020|date=January 17, 2020}}{{cite web|title=Michigan International Speedway|url=http://www.nascar.com/en_us/nascar-tracks/michigan-international-speedway.html|website=NASCAR.com|publisher=NASCAR Media Group, LLC.|access-date=July 8, 2020|date=January 3, 2013|archive-date=April 7, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170407042342/http://www.nascar.com/en_us/nascar-tracks/michigan-international-speedway.html|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|title=Entry List|url=https://www.jayski.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/31/2020/8/8/2020-22cup-entry.pdf|website=Jayski.com|publisher=Jayski's Silly Season Site|access-date=August 4, 2020|date=August 4, 2020}}{{cite web|title=Starting Lineup|url=https://www.nascar.com/news-media/2020/08/08/starting-lineup-for-sundays-nascar-cup-series-race-at-michigan/|website=NASCAR.com|publisher=NASCAR Media Group, LLC.|access-date=August 8, 2020|date=August 8, 2020}}{{cite web|title=Consumers Energy 400 Results|url=https://www.nascar.com/results/racecenter/2020/nascar-cup-series/consumers-energy-400/stn/results/|website=NASCAR.com|publisher=NASCAR Media Group, LLC.|access-date=August 9, 2020|date=August 9, 2020}}{{cite web|title=Points standings|url=https://www.jayski.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/31/2020/8/9/2020-22cup-points.pdf|website=Jayski.com|publisher=Jayski's Silly Season Site|access-date=August 9, 2020|date=August 9, 2020}}
| Fulldate = {{Start date|2020|08|09}}
| Year = 2020
| Image =2020 FireKeepers Casino 400 and 2020 Consumers Energy 400 program cover.png
| Caption =2020 Consumers Energy 400 program cover
| Location = Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Michigan
| Course_mi = 2.0
| Course_km = 3.2
| Distance_laps = 156
| Distance_mi = 312
| Distance_km = 502.008
| Weather =
| Avg = {{convert|144.463|mph|km/h}}
| Pole_Driver = Chris Buescher
| Pole_Team = Roush Fenway Racing
| Grid_from_inversion = yes
| Most_Driver = Kevin Harvick
| Most_Team = Stewart-Haas Racing
| Most_laps = 90
| Car = 4
| First_Driver = Kevin Harvick
| First_Team = Stewart-Haas Racing
| Network = NBCSN
| Announcers = Rick Allen, Jeff Burton, Steve Letarte and Dale Earnhardt Jr.
| Ratings = 2.371 million{{cite web|title=Consumers Energy 400 ratings|url=http://www.showbuzzdaily.com/articles/skedball-weekly-sports-tv-ratings-8-3-8-9-2020.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200812064206/http://www.showbuzzdaily.com/articles/skedball-weekly-sports-tv-ratings-8-3-8-9-2020.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=August 12, 2020|website=ShowBuzzDaily|publisher=Mitch Metcalf|access-date=August 11, 2020}}
| Radio = MRN
| Booth_Ann = Alex Hayden and Jeff Striegle
| Turn_Ann = Dave Moody (1–2) and Kyle Rickey (3–4)
}}
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.{{cite news|url=https://www.mispeedway.com/Articles/2020/08/Michigan-Heritage-Trophy.aspx|title=NASCAR OEMs to battle this weekend for coveted Michigan Heritage Trophy|work=Michigan International Speedway|date=August 4, 2020|access-date=August 4, 2020|quote=The NASCAR Cup Series FireKeepers Casino 400 will be held on Saturday, August 8 at 4:00 pm (NBCSN), while the Consumers Energy 400 will take place the following day at 4:30 pm (NBCSN). [...] The distance for each race will be 312 miles.|archive-date=September 15, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200915002042/https://www.mispeedway.com/Articles/2020/08/Michigan-Heritage-Trophy.aspx|url-status=dead}} It was the 22nd race of the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season.
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.{{Cite web |last=DesOrmeau |first=Taylor |date=2020-08-09 |title=Kevin James 2021 Netflix sitcom inspires fake-sponsored car at MIS, race footage to be used in show |url=https://www.mlive.com/sports/2020/08/kevin-james-2021-netflix-sitcom-inspires-fake-sponsored-car-at-mis-race-footage-to-be-used-in-show.html |access-date=2023-11-13 |website=mlive |language=en}}
Report
=Background=
File:Michigan International Speedway track map.png, the track where the race is held.]]
The race was held at Michigan International Speedway, a {{convert|2|mi|km|adj=on|spell=in}} 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).
{{Clear}}
==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
File:Kevin harvick (48069936286).jpg won the race.]]
=Stage Results=
Stage One
Laps: 40
| class="wikitable" style="font-size:98%" | |||||
| Pos
! {{Tooltip|No|Car Number}} ! 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 |
| colspan="6"|[https://www.jayski.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/31/2020/8/9/2020-22cup-results.pdf Official stage one results] |
Stage Two
Laps: 45
| class="wikitable" style="font-size:98%" | |||||
| Pos
! {{Tooltip|No|Car Number}} ! 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 |
| colspan="6"|[https://www.jayski.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/31/2020/8/9/2020-22cup-results.pdf Official stage two results] |
=Final Stage Results=
Stage Three
Laps: 71
| class="wikitable" style="font-size:98%" | |||||||
| Pos
! Grid ! {{Tooltip|No|Car Number}} ! 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 |
| colspan="8"|[https://www.jayski.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/31/2020/8/9/2020-22cup-results.pdf 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: {{convert|144.463|mph|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.
| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%" | ||
| colspan="3"|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.
| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%" | ||
| colspan="3"|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
{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}
;Drivers' Championship standings
| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%" |
| ! Pos
! Driver ! Points |
|---|
| align="left"| 10px
| style="text-align:center;"| 1 | style="background:#FFDEAD;"| Kevin Harvick | style="text-align:center;"| 916 |
| align="left"| 10px
| style="text-align:center;"| 2 | style="background:#FFDEAD;"| Brad Keselowski | style="text-align:center;"| 779 (–137) |
| align="left"| 10px
| style="text-align:center;"| 3 | style="background:#FFDEAD;"| Denny Hamlin | style="text-align:center;"| 776 (–140) |
| align="left"| 10px
| style="text-align:center;"| 4 | style="background:#FFDEAD;"| Ryan Blaney | style="text-align:center;"| 741 (–175) |
| align="left"| 10px
| style="text-align:center;"| 5 | style="background:#FFDEAD;"| Chase Elliott | style="text-align:center;"| 721 (–195) |
| align="left"| 10px
| style="text-align:center;"| 6 | style="background:#FFDEAD;"| Joey Logano | style="text-align:center;"| 717 (–199) |
| align="left"| 10px
| style="text-align:center;"| 7 | style="background:#FFDEAD;"| Martin Truex Jr. | style="text-align:center;"| 716 (–200) |
| align="left"| 10px
| style="text-align:center;"| 8 | style="text-align:center;"| 669 (–247) |
| align="left"| 10px 1
| style="text-align:center;"| 9 | style="text-align:center;"| 651 (–265) |
| align="left"| 10px 1
| style="text-align:center;"| 10 | style="text-align:center;"| 648 (–268) |
| align="left"| 10px
| style="text-align:center;"| 11 | style="background:#FFDEAD;"| Alex Bowman | style="text-align:center;"| 585 (–331) |
| align="left"| 10px
| style="text-align:center;"| 12 | style="text-align:center;"| 571 (–345) |
| align="left"| 10px
| style="text-align:center;"| 13 | style="text-align:center;"| 568 (–348) |
| align="left"| 10px
| style="text-align:center;"| 14 | style="text-align:center;"| 537 (–379) |
| align="left"| 10px
| style="text-align:center;"| 15 | style="text-align:center;"| 511 (–405) |
| align="left"| 10px 1
| style="text-align:center;"| 16 | style="text-align:center;"| 511 (–405) |
| class="sortbottom"
!colspan="9"|[https://www.jayski.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/31/2020/8/9/2020-22cup-points.pdf Official driver's standings] |
{{col-2}}
;Manufacturers' Championship standings
| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%" |
| ! Pos
! Manufacturer ! Points |
|---|
| align="left"| 10px
| style="text-align:center;"| 1 | Ford | style="text-align:center;"| 828 |
| align="left"| 10px
| style="text-align:center;"| 2 | Toyota | style="text-align:center;"| 770 (–58) |
| align="left"| 10px
| style="text-align:center;"| 3 | style="text-align:center;"| 725 (–103) |
| class="sortbottom" |
- Note: Only the first 16 positions are included for the driver standings.
- . – Driver has clinched a position in the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs.
{{col-end}}
References
{{Reflist|30em}}
{{NASCAR next race
| Series = NASCAR Cup Series
| Monsteryear = 2020
| Previous_race = 2020 FireKeepers Casino 400
| Next_race = 2020 Go Bowling 235
}}
{{2020 NASCAR Cup}}