The 2018 Food City 500 was a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race held on April 15 and 16, 2018, at Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tennessee. The second half of the race was postponed to April 16 due to rain. Contested over 500 laps on the concrete short track, it was the eighth race of the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season.
Report
Background
Bristol Motor Speedway, formerly known as Bristol International Raceway and Bristol Raceway, is a NASCAR short track venue located in Bristol, Tennessee. Constructed in 1960, it held its first NASCAR race on July 30, 1961. Despite its short length, Bristol is among the most popular tracks on the NASCAR schedule because of its distinct features, which include extraordinarily steep banking, an all concrete surface, two pit roads, and stadium-like seating.
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 Toyota 55 Reed Sorenson Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 66 Chad Finchum (i) MBM Motorsports Toyota 72 Corey LaJoie TriStar Motorsports Chevrolet 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Toyota 88 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 95 Kasey Kahne Leavine Family Racing Chevrolet 96 D. J. Kennington Gaunt Brothers Racing ToyotaOfficial entry list
First practice Ryan Blaney was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 14.774 seconds and a speed of .
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 1 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 14.774 129.877 2 20 Erik Jones Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 14.774 129.877 3 41 Kurt Busch Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 14.799 129.657Official first practice results
Qualifying Kyle Busch scored the pole for the race with a time of 14.895 and a speed of .
Qualifying results Pos Driver Team Manufacturer 118 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 14.879 14.878 14.895 241 Kurt Busch Stewart–Haas RacingFord 14.946 14.871 14.897 32 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 15.124 14.988 14.960 417 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 15.074 15.052 14.961 512 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 15.051 14.953 14.969 642 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 15.197 15.018 14.985 721 Paul Menard Wood Brothers Racing Ford 15.042 15.066 14.993 888 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 15.051 15.053 15.010 934 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 15.108 15.183 15.029 1022 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 15.004 15.176 15.041 1124 William Byron (R) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 15.190 15.043 15.053 1219 Daniel Suárez Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 15.132 15.069 15.153 1320 Erik Jones Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 15.195 15.071 — 1414 Clint Bowyer Stewart–Haas RacingFord 15.091 15.086 — 1595 Kasey Kahne Leavine Family Racing Chevrolet 15.178 15.095 — 169 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 15.138 15.105 — 1748 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 15.103 15.112 — 1847 A. J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 15.139 15.136 — 1910 Aric Almirola Stewart–Haas RacingFord 15.183 15.144 — 2043 Bubba Wallace (R) Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet 15.163 15.178 — 213 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 15.216 15.181 — 2237 Chris Buescher JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 15.190 15.196 — 2338 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 15.135 15.204 — 2432 Matt DiBenedetto Go Fas Racing Ford 15.223 15.285 — 2531 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 15.383 — — 261 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 15.410 — — 2711 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 15.256 — — 2878 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Toyota 15.257 — — 2915 Ross Chastain (i) Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 15.320 — — 3023 Gray Gaulding BK Racing Toyota 15.358 — — 3100 Landon Cassill StarCom Racing Chevrolet 15.360 — — 3213 Ty Dillon Germain Racing Chevrolet 15.477 — — 336 Trevor Bayne Roush Fenway Racing Ford 15.499 — — 3472 Corey LaJoie TriStar Motorsports Chevrolet 15.755 — — 3596 D. J. Kennington Gaunt Brothers Racing Toyota 15.807 — — 3655 Reed Sorenson Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 15.810 — — 3751 Harrison Rhodes Rick Ware Racing Toyota 16.253 — — 3866 Chad Finchum (i) MBM Motorsports Toyota 16.735 — — 394 Kevin Harvick Stewart–Haas RacingFord 0.000 — —Official qualifying results
Practice (post-qualifying)
Second practice Kyle Larson was the fastest in the second practice session with a time of 14.874 seconds and a speed of .
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 1 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 14.874 129.004 2 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Toyota 14.880 128.952 3 10 Aric Almirola Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 14.881 128.943Official second practice results
Final practice David Ragan was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 15.051 seconds and a speed of .
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 1 38 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 15.051 127.487 2 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 15.100 127.073 3 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 15.109 126.997Official final practice results
Race results
Stage Results
Stage 1 Laps: 125
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Points1 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 102 31 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 93 14 Clint Bowyer Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 84 47 A. J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 75 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 66 20 Erik Jones Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 57 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 48 10 Aric Almirola Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 39 17 Kurt Busch Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 210 41 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 1Official stage one results
Stage 2 Laps: 125
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Points1 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 102 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 93 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 84 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 75 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 66 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 57 88 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 48 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 39 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 210 43 Bubba Wallace (R) Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet 1Official stage two results
Final Stage Results
Stage 3 Laps: 250
Pos Grid Driver Team Manufacturer Laps Points1 1 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 500 492 6 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 500 473 17 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 500 464 4 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 500 395 8 88 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 500 366 19 10 Aric Almirola Stewart-Hass Racing Ford 500 347 39 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 500 338 14 14 Clint Bowyer Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 500 379 10 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 500 2810 30 31 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 500 3611 12 19 Daniel Suárez Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 500 2612 23 38 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 500 2513 7 21 Paul Menard Wood Brothers Racing Ford 499 2414 25 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 499 3015 21 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 499 2416 20 43 Bubba Wallace (R) Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet 499 2217 18 47 A. J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 499 2718 11 24 William Byron (R) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 498 1919 31 1 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 498 1820 29 00 Landon Cassill StarCom Racing Chevrolet 498 1721 24 32 Matt DiBenedetto Go Fas Racing Ford 497 1622 2 41 Kurt Busch Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 496 1723 3 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 495 3424 33 6 Trevor Bayne Roush Fenway Racing Ford 495 1325 34 72 Corey LaJoie TriStar Motorsports Chevrolet 494 1226 13 20 Erik Jones Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 494 1627 35 96 D. J. Kennington Gaunt Brothers Racing Toyota 482 1028 32 13 Ty Dillon Germain Racing Chevrolet 475 929 16 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 473 830 26 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Toyota 458 731 28 23 Gray Gaulding BK Racing Toyota 448 632 36 55 Reed Sorenson Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 342 533 38 66 Chad Finchum (i) MBM Motorsports Toyota 335 034 15 95 Kasey Kahne Leavine Family Racing Chevrolet 236 335 5 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 117 236 22 37 Chris Buescher JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 116 137 37 51 Harrison Rhodes Rick Ware Racing Toyota 115 138 9 34 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 9 139 29 15 Ross Chastain (i) Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 3 0Official race results
Race statistics Lead changes: 8 among different drivers Cautions/Laps: 13 for 114 Red flags: 4 for 18 hours 58 minutes and 48 seconds Time of race: 3 hours, 26 minutes and 25 seconds Average speed:
Media
Television Fox Sports covered their 18th race at the Bristol Motor Speedway. Mike Joy, five-time Bristol winner Jeff Gordon and 12-time Bristol winner – and all-time Bristol race winner – 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.
Fox Sports TelevisionBooth announcersPit reporters Lap-by-lap: Mike JoyColor-commentator: Jeff GordonColor commentator: Darrell Waltrip Jamie LittleVince WelchMatt Yocum
Radio PRN had the radio call for the race which was also simulcasted on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio. Doug Rice, Mark Garrow and Wendy Venturini called the race in the booth when the field was racing down the frontstretch. Rob Albright called the race from atop the turn 3 suites when the field raced down the backstretch. Brad Gillie, Brett Mcmillan, Jim Noble, and Steve Richards covered the action on pit lane.
PRN RadioBooth announcersTurn announcersPit reporters Lead announcer: Doug RiceAnnouncer: Mark GarrowAnnouncer: Wendy Venturini Backstretch: Rob Albright Brad GillieBrett McMillanJim NobleSteve Richards
Standings after the race
Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 Kyle Busch 365 2 Joey Logano 306 (–59) 1 3 Kevin Harvick 290 (–75) 2 4 Clint Bowyer 286 (–79) 2 5 Brad Keselowski 271 (–94) 3 6 Ryan Blaney 267 (–98) 2 7 Martin Truex Jr. 257 (–108) 1 8 Denny Hamlin 252 (–113) 1 9 Kyle Larson 249 (–116) 2 10 Kurt Busch 241 (–124) 1 11 Aric Almirola 211 (–154) 1 12 Erik Jones 209 (–156) 1 13 Alex Bowman 190 (–175) 1 14 Austin Dillon 183 (–182) 2 15 Ryan Newman 181 (–184) 16 Paul Menard 170 (–195)Official driver's standings
Manufacturers' Championship standings Pos Manufacturer Points 1 1 Toyota 292 1 2 Ford 286 (–6) 3 Chevrolet 262 (–30)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