The NASCAR Cup Series heads to Dover Motor Speedway for the AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 400 on July 20 with the playoffs looming large.

Six races remain in the regular season, and every driver knows what it needs out of the next six weeks. For those locked in, more wins means more playoff points. For those on the bubble, weighing a good points day with aggressive strategy to win a race is a game of risk. For those well outside of the cutline, a win is the only thing that matters.

Chase Elliott is on the pole after the July 19 qualifying session was rained out, and he is in a tight battle for the regular season championship with William Byron and Kyle Larson. The regular season champion gets 15 playoff points, and that is key for Elliott, who has just the five playoff points in the bank from his win in Atlanta.

The in-season tournament semifinals also takes place Sunday, with Ty Gibbs vs. Tyler Reddick and Ty Dillon vs. John Hunter Nemechek.

Follow along with our live race updates, with green flag set for after 1 p.m. CT on Sunday.

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LIVE LEADERBOARD: Full field leaderboard of NASCAR Cup Series AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 400

Chase Elliott remains ahead of Denny Hamlin as the leaders all pit under green. Only Christopher Bell, Austin Dillon and Justin Haley remain on pit road.

Joey Logano and Josh Berry were each penalized for speeding on pit road.

Kyle Larson passes Chase Briscoe and is up to fourth. Chase Elliott’s lead over Denny Hamlin is now 2 seconds with lap traffic being a factor, as is weather close by.

Chase Elliott leads Denny Hamlin by 3.6 seconds with 100 laps to go. Hamlin passed Alex Bowman for second place about 15 laps ago. Elliott has caught lap traffic and is managing it well so far.

Rain is apparently coming toward the track, a scattered storm cell from the north. We’ll see how long until it gets to Dover Motor Speedway. In theory, final pit stops would start in about 25-30 laps. though weather could impact it.

Chase Elliott has been a very good restarter today, clearing Denny Hamlin by three car lengths into turn 1 on the restart. Alex Bowman passes Hamlin for second.

Chase Elliott and Christopher Bell go side-by-side on the restart after Elliott jumps up two spots to second on pit road, and Bell spins on the outside in turn 3! No apparent contact from Elliott, and that is going to virtually end Bell’s chances to win given the difficulty to pass.

After watching the replay, looks like Bell was already out of control when he turned into the corner. Was that an aero-aided spin?

Bell does not hit anything, but he’ll be at the back for this restart. What a turn of events.

Christopher Bell wins Stage 2 by about four seconds over Alex Bowman, who passed Denny Hamlin for second late in the stage.

The top 10:

Christopher BellAlex BowmanDenny HamlinChase ElliottKyle LarsonWilliam ByronChase BriscoeTy GibbsRyan BlaneyBubba Wallace

AJ Allmendinger has an issue and is in for an unscheduled stop. Yet another mishap for the No. 16 Kaulig Racing team.

Allmendinger is back down pit road a couple laps later and goes behind the wall with a right-rear brakes issue. Carson Hocevar and Cody Ware have also driven to the garage.

Christopher Bell leads Denny Hamlin by more than three seconds. The current top five:

Christopher BellDenny HamlinAlex BowmanWilliam ByronChase Elliott

Kyle Larson is in sixth, his highest spot in the running order today.

Chase Elliott will not be the leader once the pit cycle completes under green. Elliott’s crew had an issue on the left side, and he is now fifth among the leaders who had pitted. Denny Hamlin has the lead among that group after pitting a lap earlier.

Carson Hocevar and Daniel Suarez are the only ones who need to pit.

Alex Bowman is up to fourth as the leaders catch lap traffic. Chase Elliott only needs about a lap to lap Daniel Suarez this time. Elliott’s lead is 0.7 seconds over Christopher Bell with Denny Hamlin close by. Bowman is 2.8 seconds behind.

AJ Allmendinger again has some of the fastest lap times as they click off in stage 2, but he’s in 24th after the tire issue to end the first stage.

Chase Elliott has the restarts down so far today, as he again clears Christopher Bell by a couple car lengths off of turn 2. Denny Hamlin, in third, had the best car late in the last run. But we’ll see how long these guys run. It’s almost certainly going to be a two-stop final 150 laps. How about this stage, at 130 laps?

Chase Elliott earns his first stage victory of the season, holding off Christopher Bell after taking 10 or more laps to put Daniel Suarez a lap down. 28 cars are on the lead lap.

The top 10:

Chase ElliottChristopher BellDenny HamlinWilliam ByronAlex BowmanChase BriscoeTy GibbsKyle BuschJoey LoganoKyle Larson

AJ Allmendinger had a tire come apart on the final lap of the stage, sliding from ninth to 26th. Erik Jones was also in the wall late in the stage.

Alex Bowman was the fastest car there midway through the run, and he is up to sixth. AJ Allmendinger has been consistently one of the fastest cars since the field got stretched out, and he is up to 10th and trying to work around Joey Logano for ninth.

Several drivers are trying to best manage tire wear on a longer run. Kyle Busch, in sixth, tells his team that the right-front tire is doing a lot of the work through the corners, and he would like to help that. Joey Logano wants more rear grip.

Chase Elliott’s lead over Christopher Bell is 2.6 seconds, and lap traffic is about to become a chore for Elliott until stage end. Alex Bowman is up to 8th and is more often than not the fastest car on the track.

Chase Elliott has a very good restart and puts multiple car lengths ahead of a battle for second through turns 1 and 2. Teammates Christopher Bell and Chase Briscoe battle for second behind Elliott. Kyle Busch is in the top five after a good pit stop.

Meanwhile, Todd Gilliland was penalized for being too fast on pit road and had to restart at the tail end of the field.

Chase Elliott leads as the competition caution waves. His lap times had fallen off by about a second from the beginning of the run, so tires will be a factor today.

Shane van Gisbergen had a right-front tire issue earlier, and he’s now four laps down.

Chase Briscoe’s lap times are slipping, and Chase Elliott takes advantage via a pass for the lead.

“There might be something broken in the front,” Shane van Gisbergen tells his team. He is back outside the top 30 after starting sixth. He will come in for a pit stop under green.

Chase Briscoe works past Chase Elliott by the end of Lap 1 and takes the lead.

The 37-car field is rolling around Dover Motor Speedway for pace laps. Green flag soon.

NASCAR has set a competition caution for Lap 35 after no on-track activity on Saturday.

Chase Elliott is on the pole after Saturday’s qualifying session was rained out.

The top 10:

Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports ChevroletChase Briscoe, No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing ToyotaChristopher Bell, No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing ToyotaTyler Reddick, No. 45 23XI Racing ToyotaWilliam Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports ChevroletShane van Gisbergen, No. 88 Trackhouse Racing ChevroletMichael McDowell, No. 71 Spire Motorsports ChevroletJoey Logano, No. 22 Team Penske FordTy Gibbs, No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing ToyotaKyle Busch, No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet

Find the full starting lineup here.

The AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 400 will be aired on the radio by the Performance Racing Network. PRN has affiliates all across the country, and their feed can also be streamed on NASCAR.com as well as the NASCAR app. The race can also be heard on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.

Green Flag Time:  Approx. 1:15 p.m. CT on Sunday, July 20Track: Dover Motor Speedway (1-mile concrete oval) in Dover, DelawareLength:  400 laps, 400 milesStages:  120 laps, 130 laps, 150 lapsTV coverage: TNTRadio:  PRNStreaming: Watch FREE on Fubo;; MAX app for in-car cameras (subscription required); NASCAR.com and SiriusXM on Channel 90 for audio (subscription required)

The AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 400 will be broadcast nationally on TNT. Other streaming options for the race include MAX for in-car cameras for each driver.

2024: Denny Hamlin2023: Martin Truex Jr.2022: Chase Elliott2021: Alex Bowman