Ryan Blaney scored his second Stage win of the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season when he held off a hungry Kyle Busch on the final lap of Stage 1 in Sunday’s O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 at Texas Motor Speedway.
Ryan Blaney led 32 laps in Stage 1, which tied polesitter Aric Almirola for the most laps led in the opening Stage of the race.
Kevin Harvick was third in Stage 1 and he was followed by Tyler Reddick and William Byron in the top-five.
Kurt Busch, Jimmie Johnson, Alex Bowman, Chris Buescher and Martin Truex Jr. rounded out the top-10 in Stage 1.
Truex had been battling for the lead, and actually led five laps in the Stage, however he ran out of fuel during a round of green flag pit stops, which mired him further in the pack. Truex did a great job rallying for a Stage point.
Almirola started the day with brake troubles, but he had overcome them to be the dominant car early in the race. Unfortunately, Almirola was busted for a blend-line violation on pit exit on lap 63. Almirola was able to stay on the lead lap and finished 16th in Stage 1.
Stage and Playoff Points Awarded in Stage 1:
| Finish | Driver | Stage Points | Playoff Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ryan Blaney | 10 | 1 |
| 2 | Kyle Busch | 9 | 0 |
| 3 | Kevin Harvick | 8 | 0 |
| 4 | Tyler Reddick | 7 | 0 |
| 5 | William Byron | 6 | 0 |
| 6 | Kurt Busch | 5 | 0 |
| 7 | Jimmie Johnson | 4 | 0 |
| 8 | Alex Bowman | 3 | 0 |
| 9 | Chris Buescher | 2 | 0 |
| 10 | Martin Truex Jr. | 1 | 0 |
