2020 Go Bowling 235
The 2020 Go Bowling 235 was a NASCAR Cup Series raced on August 16, 2020, at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. Contested over 65 laps on the 3.61-mile (5.81 km) road course, it was the 23rd race of the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season, which was a replacement race for the Watkins Glen round because of government restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 23 of 36 in the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series | |||
|
2020 Go Bowling 235 program cover | |||
| Date | August 16, 2020 | ||
| Location | Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 3.61 mi (5.81 km) | ||
| Distance | 65 laps, 234.65 mi (377.633 km) | ||
| Average speed | 89.39 miles per hour (143.86 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Stewart-Haas Racing | ||
| Grid positions set by competition-based formula | |||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | |
| Laps | 34 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | NBC | ||
| Announcers | Rick Allen, Jeff Burton, Steve Letarte and Dale Earnhardt Jr. | ||
| Nielsen Ratings | 3.237 million | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | MRN | ||
| Booth Announcers | Alex Hayden, Jeff Striegle and Rusty Wallace | ||
| Turn Announcers |
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The race had three stages: the first two stages at 15 laps each, and 35 for the final.
On July 30, it was revealed after simulation testing revealed concerns of high speeds entering turn 1 (a turn already considered to be difficult among road racers), a temporary chicane was added in between the 4th turn of the oval and the entrance to pit road (similar to the Charlotte ROVAL). NASCAR further announced that it would use the high-downforce aero package used for the road course races in 2019 (in 2020, road courses were scheduled to use a low-downforce package similar to what was used in 2018 and what is used on ovals 1-mile or shorter in 2020). The addition of the chicane increased the length of the course from 3.56 to 3.61 miles and added a 13th and 14th turn to the original 12-turn layout.