The 2018 O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 was a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race held on April 8, 2018, at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas. Contested over 334 laps on the 1.5-mile (2.4 km) intermediate quad-oval, it was the seventh race of the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season.
Report
Background
Texas Motor Speedway is a speedway located in the northernmost portion of the U.S. city of Fort Worth, Texas – the portion located in Denton County, Texas. The track measures around and is banked 24 degrees in the turns, and is of the oval design, where the front straightaway juts outward slightly. The track layout is similar to Atlanta Motor Speedway and Charlotte Motor Speedway (formerly Lowe's Motor Speedway). The track is owned by Speedway Motorsports, Inc., the same company that owns Atlanta and Charlotte Motor Speedways, as well as the short-track Bristol Motor Speedway.
Entry list Driver Team Manufacturer 00 Landon Cassill StarCom Racing Chevrolet 1 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 6 Trevor Bayne Roush Fenway Racing Ford 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 10 Aric Almirola Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 13 Ty Dillon Germain Racing Chevrolet 14 Clint Bowyer Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 15 Ross Chastain (i) Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 19 Daniel Suárez Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 20 Erik Jones Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 21 Paul Menard Wood Brothers Racing Ford 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 23 Gray Gaulding BK Racing Toyota 24 William Byron (R) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 31 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 32 Matt DiBenedetto Go Fas Racing Ford 34 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 37 Chris Buescher JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 38 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 41 Kurt Busch Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 43 Bubba Wallace (R) Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet 47 A. J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 51 Harrison Rhodes Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet 55 Reed Sorenson Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 72 Cole Whitt TriStar Motorsports Chevrolet 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Toyota 88 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 95 Kasey Kahne Leavine Family Racing ChevroletOfficial entry list
First practice Kurt Busch was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 27.523 seconds and a speed of .
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 1 41 Kurt Busch Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 27.523 196.200 2 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 27.559 195.943 3 14 Clint Bowyer Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 27.632 195.426Official first practice results
Qualifying
Kurt Busch scored the pole for the race with a time of 27.360 and a speed of after only one round of qualifying was completed due to lightning in the area.
Qualifying results Pos Driver Team Manufacturer 141 Kurt Busch Stewart–Haas RacingFord 27.360 24 Kevin Harvick Stewart–Haas RacingFord 27.395 314 Clint Bowyer Stewart–Haas RacingFord 27.435 412 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 27.467 511 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 27.515 678 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Toyota 27.554 722 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 27.562 818 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 27.583 948 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 27.607 1042 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 27.688 112 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 27.689 1210 Aric Almirola Stewart–Haas RacingFord 27.693 136 Trevor Bayne Roush Fenway Racing Ford 27.715 1419 Daniel Suárez Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 27.719 1543 Bubba Wallace (R) Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet 27.726 1688 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 27.729 173 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 27.757 1837 Chris Buescher JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 27.758 1921 Paul Menard Wood Brothers Racing Ford 27.774 209 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 27.789 2120 Erik Jones Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 27.810 2247 A. J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 27.842 2313 Ty Dillon Germain Racing Chevrolet 27.861 241 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 27.873 2531 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 27.905 2617 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 27.913 2734 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 27.919 2895 Kasey Kahne Leavine Family Racing Chevrolet 28.030 2938 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 28.082 3032 Matt DiBenedetto Go Fas Racing Ford 28.184 3115 Ross Chastain (i) Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 28.325 3223 Gray Gaulding BK Racing Toyota 28.569 3324 William Byron (R) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 28.694 3472 Cole Whitt TriStar Motorsports Chevrolet 28.963 3500 Landon Cassill StarCom Racing Chevrolet 30.276 3651 Harrison Rhodes Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet 32.729 3755 Reed Sorenson Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 0.000Official qualifying results
Practice (post-qualifying)
Second practice Daniel Suárez was the fastest in the second practice session with a time of 27.136 seconds and a speed of .
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 1 19 Daniel Suárez Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 27.136 198.998 2 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 27.163 198.800 3 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 27.171 198.741Official second practice results
Final practice Jimmie Johnson was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 27.253 seconds and a speed of .
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 1 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 27.253 198.143 2 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 27.275 197.984 3 19 Daniel Suárez Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 27.303 197.780Official final practice results
Race results
Stage Results
Stage 1 Laps: 85
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Points1 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Hass Racing Ford 102 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 93 41 Kurt Busch Stewart-Hass Racing Ford 84 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 75 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 66 14 Clint Bowyer Stewart-Hass Racing Ford 57 1 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 48 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 39 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 210 20 Erik Jones Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 1Official stage one results
Stage 2 Laps: 85
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Points1 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 102 41 Kurt Busch Stewart-Hass Racing Ford 93 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 84 20 Erik Jones Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 75 14 Clint Bowyer Stewart-Hass Racing Ford 66 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 57 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 48 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 39 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 210 10 Aric Almirola Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 1Official stage two results
Final Stage Results
Stage 3 Laps: 164
Pos Grid Driver Team Manufacturer Laps Points1 8 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 334 592 2 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 334 453 24 1 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 334 384 21 20 Erik Jones Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 334 415 4 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 334 326 7 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 334 467 1 41 Kurt Busch Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 334 478 15 43 Bubba Wallace (R) Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet 334 299 3 14 Clint Bowyer Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 334 3910 33 24 William Byron (R) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 334 2711 20 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 333 3312 13 6 Trevor Bayne Roush Fenway Racing Ford 333 2513 23 13 Ty Dillon Germain Racing Chevrolet 332 2414 27 34 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 332 2315 18 37 Chris Buescher JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 331 2216 30 32 Matt DiBenedetto Go Fas Racing Ford 329 2117 28 95 Kasey Kahne Leavine Family Racing Chevrolet 328 2018 31 15 Ross Chastain (i) Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 325 019 34 72 Cole Whitt TriStar Motorsports Chevrolet 324 1820 32 23 Gray Gaulding BK Racing Toyota 322 1721 35 00 Landon Cassill StarCom Racing Chevrolet 321 1622 36 51 Harrison Rhodes Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet 319 1523 29 38 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 317 1424 22 47 A. J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 316 1325 26 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 315 1526 17 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 304 1127 25 31 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 303 1028 16 88 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 294 929 14 19 Daniel Suárez Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 290 830 19 21 Paul Menard Wood Brothers Racing Ford 215 731 37 55 Reed Sorenson Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 209 632 12 10 Aric Almirola Stewart-Hass Racing Ford 178 633 11 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 178 1134 5 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 177 535 9 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendricks Motorsports Chevrolet 175 236 10 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 126 737 6 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Toyota 80 1Official race results
Race statistics Lead changes: 8 among different drivers Cautions/Laps: 8 for 48 Red flags: 1 for 11 minutes and 5 seconds Time of race: 3 hours, 32 minutes and 7 seconds Average speed:
Media
Television Fox Sports covered their 18th race at the Texas Motor Speedway. Mike Joy, 2009 race winner Jeff Gordon and Darrell Waltrip had the call in the booth for the race. Jamie Little, Vince Welch and Matt Yocum handled the pit road duties for the television side.
FS1Booth announcersPit reporters Lap-by-lap: Mike JoyColor-commentator: Jeff GordonColor commentator: Darrell Waltrip Jamie LittleVince WelchMatt Yocum
Radio The race was broadcast on radio by the Performance Racing Network and simulcast on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio.
PRNBooth announcersTurn announcersPit reporters Lead announcer: Doug RiceAnnouncer: Mark GarrowAnnouncer: Wendy Venturini Turns 1 & 2: Rob AlbrightTurns 3 & 4: Pat Patterson Brad GillieBrett McMillanJim NobleSteve Richards
Standings after the race
Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 Kyle Busch 316 2 2 Joey Logano 278 (–38) 3 Ryan Blaney 265 (–51) 3 4 Kevin Harvick 257 (–59) 3 5 Martin Truex Jr. 250 (–66) 2 6 Clint Bowyer 249 (–67) 2 7 Brad Keselowski 237 (–79) 2 8 Kurt Busch 224 (–92) 3 9 Denny Hamlin 222 (–94) 1 10 Kyle Larson 202 (–114) 1 11 Erik Jones 193 (–123) 1 12 Aric Almirola 177 (–139) 13 Austin Dillon 159 (–157) 14 Alex Bowman 154 (–162) 3 15 Chase Elliott 148 (–168) 1 16 Paul Menard 146 (–170)Official driver's standings
Manufacturers' Championship standings Pos Manufacturer Points 1 Ford 253 2 Toyota 252 (–1) 3 Chevrolet 227 (–26)Official manufacturers' standings
Note: Only the first 16 positions are included for the driver standings. . – Driver has clinched a position in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series playoffs.
References