NASCAR at Texas live updates: Kyle Busch wins his first race of 2020, extending streak

NASCAR entered its third straight day of weather-related postponements at Texas Motor Speedway on Wednesday before the Autotrader Echopark Automotive 500 finally restarted in the afternoon (NBCSN).

The race at the 1.5-mile oval is 501 miles (334 laps) and has stages breaks on laps 105, 210 and 334.

(Click here for a live NASCAR leaderboard)

Joey Logano is the only driver who has earned a spot in the Championship 4 race thanks to his win at Kansas on Oct. 18.

Follow along here for lap-by-lap updates for the Autotrader Echopark Automotive 500 at Texas Motor Speedway. Refresh this page for the latest updates and follow NASCAR reporter Alex Andrejev on Twitter at @AndrejevAlex. All times listed are Eastern.

NASCAR AT TEXAS RACE RESULTS

NASCAR post-Texas playoff standings

Checkered flag — Kyle Busch wins

Kyle Busch wins the race, extending his streak of consecutive NASCAR seasons with a win to 16. Martin Truex Jr. finished second and Christopher Bell was third.

There are still 3 spots in the championship race at Phoenix up for grabs.

7:51 p.m.: Lead change with 20 laps to go

After a brief pit by Bowyer, Kyle Busch retakes the lead with teammate Martin Truex Jr. 1 second behind. Truex is still in contention for the Championship race at Phoenix, but needs a win to secure his spot.

7:43 p.m.: 36 laps to go with Clint Bowyer in front

Clint Bowyer has a 2.6-second lead over Kyle Busch, but the 14’s crew tell him not to focus on Busch. They say rookie Christopher Bell is the one they’re racing for the win. He’s only 15 laps since his last pit stop.

7:35 p.m.: Jimmie Johnson’s car is smoking

Jimmie Johnson’s day may be done. He’s on pit road with 52 laps to go with engine trouble. The 48 car was smoking as his crew took a look under the hood.

Clint Bowyer is back in front, slightly ahead of Kyle Busch.

7:23 p.m.: Kyle Busch still leading the pack, Bowyer out of fuel

With 75 laps to go, it’s Busch in front of Martin Truex Jr. r by about 7 seconds. Busch told his crew that he’s feeling a bit of a rumble in his car, which has been a common complaint of drivers in the field today at Texas.

Clint Bowyer was in second but just pitted because he was almost out of fuel.

7:08 p.m., Lap 231: Kyle Busch leads at Texas

Busch and Bowyer battle on the restart with Busch choosing the inside lane. DiBendetto sneaks into third after the restart, but all of them have been eliminated from the playoffs. But more playoff drivers creep into the top-10,and Hamlin has made a lot of progress. He gets to P5. Truex then makes a pass of both Logano and Hamlin. The order is Truex, Logano, Hamlin, Bowman, Kurt Busch in P4-P8.

6:52 p.m., Lap 210: Kyle Busch wins Stage 2

After the green flag pit stops cycle through, Busch holds his lead over teammate Truex, who looks slower on four new tires without refueling. Busch wins the second stage, then stays out instead of pitting as Truex leads a group of cars to pit road. The No. 19 takes fuel only on the pit stop. With Busch staying out, no one is able to take the wave-around.

The finishing order for the stage includes a few more playoff drivers: Kyle Busch, Truex, Bowman, Keselowski, Blaney, Bell, A. Dillon, Bowyer, Stenhouse, Harvick in the top-10 in that order.

6:47 p.m., Lap 200: Green flag pit stops

Truex pits for four tires nearing the end of the stage, giving Busch the lead, but Truex appears to be playing the long game. He’s still in the playoffs and needs a win at 51 points down. Hamlin is the last playoff driver to make a pit stop and chance tires, taking four new ones, after reporting vibration. This track appears extremely unforgiving on tires.

6:44 p.m., Lap 194: MTJ stays ahead, but Hamlin is behind

The top-10 is lacking playoff drivers. Truex leads the field, and Bowman (P5) and Elliott (P7) are in the top-10. But Keselowski (P11), Logano (P12), Hamlin (P13), Kurt Busch (P16) and Harvick (one lap down).

6:36 p.m., Lap 176: Harvick pits under green

Harvick reports vibration and crew chief Rodney Childers tells him he is able to come in and pit. He takes four new tires and is the first to pit road under green. He goes a lap down. Kyle Busch and Hamlin were also reporting vibration earlier.

6:31 p.m., Lap 167: Race is official

The race reaches the halfway mark, meaning the event is official and can be considered complete even if rain returns and does not run to the full 334 laps, although rain is not expected to return. We made it!

6:24 p.m., Lap 156: Blaney passed by Truex

After chasing down Blaney, Truex finally makes the pass on the inside lane for the lead. Harvick reports a slick track in certain spots from seventh place right before Kyle Busch zips to the front of the pack to get to third. The order is Truex, Blaney, Ky. Busch, Bowyer, A. Dillon in the top-five. Hamlin is in P13.

6:13 p.m., Lap 134: Caution for Gase

Byron gets into Gase, causing Gase to spin in the back and bring out a caution. A lot of top teams take left side tires, including Bowman, Johnson and Harvick. Bowman stutters coming out on pit road and Blaney takes just fuel to take the lead for the restart. Truex briefly takes the lead, but Blaney takes it back to settle into the top spot after the race restarts.

6:07 p.m., Lap 128: Harvick making moves, weepers reported

Harvick has raced in the top-10 after essentially starting a lap down. He is in eighth and looks very fast. As does Johnson, who makes a pass of Bowyer to run in third. The order settles into Bowman, Blaney, Johnson, Truex, Bowyer in the top-five.

Hamlin’s radio mentions that there might be some weepers (wet spots) in Turn 3, but there’s not much more mention of it.

5:58 p.m., Lap 110: Bowman wins race off pit road

Bowman reportedly took four new tires on Lap 78 and takes none at the stage break to win the race off pit road. Bell also makes a jump on pit road with just two new tires. Bowman gets the lead on the restart as Bell falls back. Blaney and Bowyer battle for second place when the race goes green.

5:50 p.m., Lap 105: Bowyer wins Stage 1

With three laps left in the stage, Bowyer puts a block on Truex chasing him down in second. Truex wiggles rounding Turn 3, but saves it. He loses time, but still finishes in second. Bower wins Stage 1 at Texas. Only a few playoff drivers sneak into the top-10. The stage finishing order is Bowyer, Truex, Jones, Blaney, Johnson, Byron, Elliott, Logano, A. Dillon and DiBenedetto. Only Truex, Elliott and Logano are playoff drivers.

5:42 p.m., Lap 90: Bowyer stays ahead

Harvick moves up to 18th to 16th place, and is making quick work of the track. Meanwhile, Bowyer gets a big bush from Jones off the restart after the caution and still leads. The running order remains fairly unchanged, but Bowyer, Truex, Jones, Blaney, Johnson are racing in the top-five as the first stage winds down. Only Truex is a playoff driver.

5:37 p.m., Lap 76: Fifth caution, Bowyer leads

A yellow flag comes out for debris on the track in Turn 4. The running order is Bowyer, Truex Jr., Jones, Logano and Johnson. Hamlin has raced up to 22nd and Harvick is in 21st at the flag.

5:27 p.m., Lap 68: Back to green

Bowyer leads the restart from the inside lane, with Jones giving him a push from behind on the restart. Truex Jr. takes the outside lane and settles into second place without any pushes. He started the race in last due to an early penalty and raced into the top-five less than halfway through the first stage.

5:21 p.m., Lap 64: Kenseth, Wallace out

Hamlin is on the six-minute clock for repairs as his team works on the nose of his No. 11 Toyota. He was in front of Kenseth when he spun out and has minimal damage. Kenseth and Wallace have more severe damage, and neither team will complete the race. “I just hate it for my guys,” Wallace says on NBCSN, describing the four-day wait his RPM team endured only to crash out. “...On to Martinsville.”

5:12 p.m., Lap 60: Caution out for Kenseth

Five laps in, Kenseth gets loose running mid-pack and wiggles on the outside lane, then turns into Wallace’s car in the inside. Wallace goes sliding through the infield grass, then exits his No. 43. Kenseth’s car is totaled in front and he will likely be done for the day. The caution flag comes out, and Harvick gets the free pass.

5:03 p.m., Lap 53: Cars rolling off pit road

The yellow flag comes out and Harvick, who was a lap down at the red flag due to a slippery track that sent him into the wall, comes to pit road early to check the tow of his car.

5 p.m.: Engines fired

“Fire in the hole,” Jimmie Johnson’s radio says as engines roar to life after 72+ hours since the race was red flagged Sunday. Bowyer and Johnson lead the field on pace laps and will lead at the green flag.

4:28 p.m.: Cars on the grid

There is movement on the grid! I repeat, there is movement on the grid! The radar looks promising. This could be the day. Race coverage is on NBCSN.

4:03 p.m.: Sun is coming out

As NASCAR eyes a 3:30 p.m. start local time, the sun is finally starting to shine on Texas Motor Speedway. Get ready, it looks like we’re actually going to have racing today.

2:52 p.m.: Updated start time for NASCAR race

With track drying going well, NASCAR is planning to push the cars out to the grid at 3:30 p.m. CT / 4:30 p.m. ET and will aim to fire engines at approximately 4 p.m. CT / 5 p.m. ET.

2:15 p.m.: Not starting on-time

NASCAR confirms the race will not start at 3 p.m. as drying efforts continue, but says that the rain has stopped at the speedway.

“Track drying is well underway and progress is being made,” a memo from NASCAR says. “We’re still battling the cold temperatures, so drying is going to take a little longer than it would on a warmer day.”

No new start time has been provided, but the weather radar isn’t showing large rain cells in Fort Worth, so it’s looking more optimistic to complete this race today.

2:10 p.m.: Track still wet

An on-time start seems questionable with Air Titans and jet dryers continuing to make laps less than an hour before the race is scheduled to resume. Although the sky looks menacing, the weather radar isn’t showing rain in the area this afternoon, which is a good sign. That means the race could still finish tonight, but the timing of the restart will depend on how long it takes NASCAR to dry the track, which could be another one to two hours.

1:20 p.m.: Air Titans on a wet track, but teams getting ready

A live camera of the speedway shows overcast skies, but not as much rain or mist as the days prior, and there could be an opening to race. Air Titans have been called out to dry the track approaching a 3 p.m. start. Wood Brothers Racing posts an update saying that the last of the rain is passing through and the team is “getting things ready” with a photo inside the No. 21 team’s garage, which also shows the damp conditions outside.

12:20 p.m.: Kyle Larson to Hendrick Motorsports

No, it’s not related to this race but it’s big news. Kyle Larson has been signed by Hendrick Motorsports and will join the team in 2021 to drive the No. 5 car. There won’t be a No. 88 car in the Cup field next season (Alex Bowman is moving to the 48).

“Kyle is unquestionably one of the most talented race car drivers in the world,” team owner Rick Hendrick said in a statement. “He has championship-level ability and will be a significant addition to our on-track program. More importantly, I have full confidence that he understands our expectations and will be a tremendous ambassador for our team, our partners and NASCAR.”

Also, it’s still wet in Texas.

11:15 a.m.: More rain in Texas

Rain was reported near the track around 9 a.m. EST and the forecast looks bleak through Wednesday morning, with a 76 percent chance of rain expected through 1 p.m., according to AccuWeather.com. There could be a window this afternoon, with the rain lightening to a 30 to 40 percent chance after 3 p.m., but it would still take a few hours to dry the track once rain stops.

What happens if the NASCAR race at Texas is postponed again?

If NASCAR is able to run its race at Texas today, then Martinsville will go on as planned Sunday and the championship race at Phoenix on Nov. 8.

If the race gets rained out again, that’s where things get more complicated.

“As of now, if we are able to get the race in on Wednesday, NASCAR plans to leave the advertised Martinsville schedule in place,” a memo sent from NASCAR Tuesday said. “Any additional postponements will require an adjustment to the Martinsville schedule, and we will notify you of those changes as they happen.”

NASCAR PLAYOFF POINTS STANDINGS

NASCAR RACE STARTING ORDER (WEDNESDAY)

*Playoff driver