The 2018 Overton's 400 was a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race that was held on July 1, 2018 at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois. Contested over 267 laps on the intermediate speedway, it was the 17th race of the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season.
Report
Background
Chicagoland Speedway is a tri-oval speedway in Joliet, Illinois, southwest of Chicago. The speedway opened in 2001 and currently hosts NASCAR racing. Until 2011, the speedway also hosted the IndyCar Series, recording numerous close finishes including the closest finish in IndyCar history. The speedway is owned and operated by International Speedway Corporation and located adjacent to Route 66 Raceway.
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 7 Reed Sorenson Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 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 B. J. McLeod (i) Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet 66 Timmy Hill (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 99 Kyle Weatherman StarCom Racing ChevroletOfficial entry list
Practice
First practice Ryan Blaney was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 30.169 seconds and a speed of .
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 1 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 30.169 178.992 2 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 30.191 178.861 3 88 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 30.210 178.749Official first practice results
Final practice Brad Keselowski was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 29.863 seconds and a speed of .
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 1 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 29.863 180.826 2 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Toyota 29.891 180.656 3 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 29.952 180.288Official final practice results
Qualifying
Paul Menard scored the pole for the race with a time of 29.998 and a speed of .
Starting Lineup Pos Driver Team Manufacturer 121 Paul Menard Wood Brothers Racing Ford 29.998 212 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 30.020 39 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 30.042 441 Kurt Busch Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 30.076 514 Clint Bowyer Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 30.085 610 Aric Almirola Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 30.124 72 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 30.152 824 William Byron (R) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 30.158 920 Erik Jones Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 30.197 1019 Daniel Suárez Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 30.627 114 Kevin Harvick Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 30.208 1222 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 30.213 131 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 30.254 143 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 30.329 1588 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 30.379 1618 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 30.391 1731 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 30.459 1842 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 30.470 1947 A. J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 30.498 2017 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 30.617 216 Trevor Bayne Roush Fenway Racing Ford 30.585 2243 Bubba Wallace (R) Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet 30.616 2338 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 30.701 2495 Kasey Kahne Leavine Family Racing Chevrolet 30.712 2513 Ty Dillon Germain Racing Chevrolet 30.775 2634 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 30.980 2715 Ross Chastain (i) Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 31.019 2832 Matt DiBenedetto Go Fas Racing Ford 31.031 2923 Gray Gaulding BK Racing Toyota 31.052 3099 Kyle Weatherman StarCom Racing Chevrolet 31.627 3100 Landon Cassill StarCom Racing Chevrolet 31.688 3272 Corey LaJoie TriStar Motorsports Chevrolet 31.916 3351 B. J. McLeod (i) Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet 31.934 347 Reed Sorenson Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 32.053 3566 Timmy Hill (i) MBM Motorsports Toyota 32.226 3678 Martin Truex Jr.† Furniture Row Racing Toyota 0.000 3711 Denny Hamlin† Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 0.000 3848 Jimmie Johnson† Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 0.000 3937 Chris Buescher† JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 0.000Official starting lineup † The cars of Martin Truex Jr., Denny Hamlin, Jimmie Johnson, and Chris Buescher all started in the rear of the field after failing post-qualifying inspection.
Race
Stage Results
Stage 1 Laps: 80
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Points1 10 Aric Almirola Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 102 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 93 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Toyota 84 41 Kurt Busch Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 75 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 66 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 57 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 48 22 Joey Logano 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: 80
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Points1 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 102 41 Kurt Busch Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 93 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 84 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Toyota 75 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 66 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 57 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 48 14 Clint Bowyer Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 39 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 210 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 1Official stage two results
Final Lap Final Stage Results
Stage 3 Laps: 107
Pos Grid Driver Team Manufacturer Laps Points1 16 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 267 402 18 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 267 523 11 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 267 504 36 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Toyota 267 485 5 14 Clint Bowyer Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 267 356 9 20 Erik Jones Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 267 327 37 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 267 328 12 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 267 339 7 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 267 3810 15 88 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 267 2711 10 19 Daniel Suárez Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 267 2612 13 1 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 267 2513 1 21 Paul Menard Wood Brothers Racing Ford 267 2414 38 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 267 2315 17 31 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 267 2216 20 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 266 2117 4 41 Kurt Busch Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 266 3618 2 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 266 2919 3 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 266 2420 8 24 William Byron (R) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 266 1721 26 34 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 266 1622 39 37 Chris Buescher JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 266 1523 22 43 Bubba Wallace (R) Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet 266 1424 19 47 A. J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 266 1325 6 10 Aric Almirola Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 266 2226 21 6 Trevor Bayne Roush Fenway Racing Ford 265 1127 24 95 Kasey Kahne Leavine Family Racing Chevrolet 264 1028 25 13 Ty Dillon Germain Racing Chevrolet 264 929 28 32 Matt DiBenedetto Go Fas Racing Ford 262 830 27 15 Ross Chastain (i) Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 261 031 29 23 Gray Gaulding BK Racing Toyota 260 632 34 7 Reed Sorenson Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 259 533 30 99 Kyle Weatherman StarCom Racing Chevrolet 255 434 32 72 Corey LaJoie TriStar Motorsports Chevrolet 233 335 33 51 B. J. McLeod (i) Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet 227 036 31 00 Landon Cassill StarCom Racing Chevrolet 224 137 14 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 189 138 23 38 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 189 139 35 66 Timmy Hill (i) MBM Motorsports Toyota 185 0Official race results
Race statistics Lead changes: 10 among different drivers Cautions/Laps: 5 for 23 Red flags: 0 Time of race: 2 hours, 50 minutes and 52 seconds Average speed:
Media
Television NBC Sports covered the race on the television side. Rick Allen, Jeff Burton, Steve Letarte, and 2005 race winner Dale Earnhardt Jr., in his debut as a color commentator for NASCAR on NBC, had the call in the booth for the race. Dave Burns, Marty Snider and Kelli Stavast reported from pit lane during the race.
NBCSNBooth announcersPit reporters Lap-by-lap: Rick AllenColor-commentator: Jeff BurtonColor-commentator: Steve LetarteColor-commentator: Dale Earnhardt Jr. Dave BurnsMarty SniderKelli Stavast
Radio The Motor Racing Network had the radio call for the race, which was simulcast on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio.
MRNBooth announcersTurn announcersPit reporters Lead announcer: Jeff StriegleAnnouncer: Dave MoodyAnnouncer: Rusty Wallace Turns 1 & 2: Mike BagleyTurns 3 & 4: Kyle Rickey Alex HaydenPete PistoneSteve PostKim Coon
Standings after the race
Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 Kyle Busch 736 2 Kevin Harvick 674 (–62) 3 Joey Logano 617 (–119) 1 4 Martin Truex Jr. 594 (–142) 1 5 Brad Keselowski 592 (–144) 6 Clint Bowyer 579 (–157) 7 Kurt Busch 560 (–176) 8 Denny Hamlin 537 (–199) 9 Kyle Larson 524 (–212) 1 10 Ryan Blaney 495 (–241) 1 11 Aric Almirola 493 (–243) 12 Jimmie Johnson 442 (–294) 13 Chase Elliott 435 (–301) 14 Erik Jones 408 (–328) 15 Alex Bowman 390 (–346) 16 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 367 (–369)Official driver's standings
Manufacturers' Championship standings Pos Manufacturer Points 1 1 Toyota 620 1 2 Ford 614 (–6) 3 Chevrolet 547 (–73)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