Brickyard 200

The Brickyard 200 was the fifth Cardboard Cup Series stock car race that occurred on January 28th, 2020. This race would be the first of which to run on paper.

Pre-Race Analysis
The Indianapolis Paper Speedway was the first track in the Cardboard Cup Series that ran on paper. Ryan Blaney took pole position, and 7 laps were planned to be ran.

Starting Grid

 * 1) Ryan Blaney
 * 2) Jimmie Johnson
 * 3) Aric Almirola
 * 4) William Byron
 * 5) Martin Truex, Jr.
 * 6) Kyle Busch
 * 7) Brad Keselowski
 * 8) Alex Bowman
 * 9) Ryan Newman
 * 10) Austin Dillon
 * 11) Ricky Stenhouse, Jr.
 * 12) Chase Elliott
 * 13) Matt DiBenedetto
 * 14) Erik Jones
 * 15) Clint Bowyer
 * 16) Joey Logano
 * 17) Kyle Larson
 * 18) Michael McDowell
 * 19) Joey Gase
 * 20) Cody Ware
 * 21) B.J. McLeod
 * 22) Garrett Smithley
 * 23) J.J. Yeley
 * 24) Corey LaJoie
 * 25) Reed Sorenson
 * 26) Josh Bilicki

DNQ:
 * 1) Ty Dillon (too slow)
 * 2) Ross Chastain (too slow)
 * 3) Joe Nemechek (too slow)
 * 4) Kyle Weatherman (too slow)

Race Summary
After the starting line-up was shown, the green flag waved. Ryan Blaney led the field into the first turns, whilst Jimmie Johnson and Aric Almirola battled for 2nd. Down the backstretch, Almirola managed to clear Jimmie Johnson, whom had his hands full with Martin Truex, Jr. After just one lap, Josh Bilicki would retire his #54 Chevrolet after transmission issues. After clearing Jimmie Johnson out of turn 4, Truex pursued Aric Almirola for a half a lap, before clearing him.

By lap 3, Ryan Blaney caught the rear end of the field, and put Reed Sorenson a lap back. Martin Truex Jr. would continue to close in on Ryan Blaney, but would not be able to pass him. That was, until, on lap 5, Truex gained a momentous run down the backstretch, and attempted to pass Blaney on the inside. Blaney tried to block Truex, but wound up crashing into the inside wall. Truex would suffer massive damage to the front of his Toyota, and would retire his vehicle after the incident. No caution would wave, giving Aric Almirola the lead with 2 laps remaining.

Exiting turn 4, William Byron would take a shot at the lead, in vain. Aric Almirola would then coast to the finish, with no attempts from the field at passing him.

Official Results

 * 1) Aric Almirola, running, 7 laps
 * 2) William Byron, running, 7 laps
 * 3) Kyle Busch, running, 7 laps
 * 4) Brad Keselowski, running, 7 laps
 * 5) Jimmie Johnson, running, 7 laps
 * 6) Ryan Newman, running, 7 laps
 * 7) Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., running, 7 laps
 * 8) Chase Elliott, running, 7 laps
 * 9) Alex Bowman, running, 7 laps
 * 10) Kyle Larson, running, 7 laps
 * 11) Clint Bowyer, running, 7 laps
 * 12) Joey Logano, running, 7 laps
 * 13) Erik Jones, running, 7 laps
 * 14) Matt DiBenedetto, running, 7 laps
 * 15) Austin Dillon, running, 7 laps
 * 16) Ryan Blaney, running, 7 laps
 * 17) Michael McDowell, running, 7 laps
 * 18) Joey Gase, running, 7 laps
 * 19) J.J. Yeley, running, 6 laps
 * 20) Corey LaJoie, running, 6 laps
 * 21) B.J. McLeod, running, 6 laps
 * 22) Garrett Smithley, running, 6 laps
 * 23) Cody Ware, running, 6 laps
 * 24) Reed Sorenson, running, 5 laps
 * 25) Martin Truex, Jr., crash, 5 laps
 * 26) Josh Bilicki, transmission, 1 lap