2020 Sunoco 159


The 2020 Sunoco 159 was the 12th stock car race of the 2020 NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series season and the inaugural running of the event, after the scheduled race, the M&M's 200 at Iowa Speedway, had to be replaced due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The race was held on Sunday, August 16, 2020 in Daytona Beach, Florida at the Daytona International Speedway road course, a permanent road course. The race was extended from the scheduled 44 laps to 46 laps due to a NASCAR overtime finish. At race's end, Sheldon Creed of GMS Racing would pull away on the final restart to win the race, the 2nd NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series win of his career and the 2nd of the season. To fill the podium, Brett Moffitt of GMS Racing and Austin Hill of Hattori Racing Enterprises would finish 2nd and 3rd, respectively.
On July 30, it was revealed after simulation testing revealed concerns of high speeds entering turn 1, a temporary chicane was added in between the 4th turn of the oval and the entrance to pit road. NASCAR further announced that it would use the high-downforce aero package used for the road course races in 2019. 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.

Background

Entry list

Starting lineup

A new metric qualifying system was placed starting for the Daytona Road Course weekend. To determine the spots, new performance metrics would be weighted and averaged to determine a score. The metrics would be 50% on the finishing position from last race, 35% on team owner's points, and 15% on the fastest lap. As a result, Zane Smith of GMS Racing would win the pole.

Race results

Stage 1 Laps: 12
Fin#DriverTeamMakePts
123Brett MoffittGMS RacingChevrolet10
22Sheldon CreedGMS RacingChevrolet9
318Christian EckesKyle Busch MotorsportsToyota8
416Austin HillHattori Racing EnterprisesToyota7
538Todd GillilandFront Row MotorsportsFord6
699Ben RhodesThorSport RacingFord5
726Tyler AnkrumGMS RacingChevrolet4
815Tanner GrayDGR-CrosleyFord3
922Austin Wayne SelfAM RacingChevrolet2
1019Derek KrausMcAnally-Hilgemann RacingToyota1

Stage 2 Laps: 13
Fin#DriverTeamMakePts
12Sheldon CreedGMS RacingChevrolet10
216Austin HillHattori Racing EnterprisesToyota9
326Tyler AnkrumGMS RacingChevrolet8
421Zane SmithGMS RacingChevrolet7
524Kris WrightGMS RacingChevrolet6
611Spencer DavisSpencer Davis MotorsportsToyota5
74Raphaël LessardKyle Busch MotorsportsToyota4
851Alex TaglianiKyle Busch MotorsportsToyota3
923Brett MoffittGMS RacingChevrolet2
1045Ty MajeskiNiece MotorsportsChevrolet1

Stage 3 Laps: 21