The 2018 Coke Zero Sugar 400 was a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race held on July 7, 2018, at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. Contested over 168 laps – extended from 160 laps due to two overtime finish attempts – on the superspeedway, it was the 18th race of the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season. Erik Jones scored his first NASCAR Cup Series win, taking the first win for Toyota and Joe Gibbs Racing in a July Daytona race since 2008.
It was the first race in NASCAR Cup Series history to have two female pit members.
Entry list Driver Team Manufacturer 00 Joey Gase (i) 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 Jeffrey Earnhardt 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 J. J. Yeley (i) 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 Ray Black Jr. (i) Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet 62 Brendan Gaughan Beard Motorsports Chevrolet 72 Corey LaJoie TriStar Motorsports Chevrolet 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Toyota 88 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 92 Timothy Peters (i) RBR Enterprises Ford 95 Kasey Kahne Leavine Family Racing Chevrolet 96 D. J. Kennington Gaunt Brothers Racing Toyota 99 Landon Cassill StarCom Racing ChevroletOfficial entry list
Practice
First practice Clint Bowyer was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 44.821 seconds and a speed of .
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 1 14 Clint Bowyer Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 44.821 200.799 2 10 Aric Almirola Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 44.845 200.691 3 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 44.876 200.553Official first practice results
Final practice Final practice session for Thursday was cancelled due to rain.
Qualifying
Chase Elliott scored the pole for the race with a time of 46.381 and a speed of .
Qualifying results Pos Driver Team Manufacturer 19 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 46.394 46.381 288 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 46.647 46.621 32 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 46.778 46.680 448 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 46.708 46.787 54 Kevin Harvick Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 46.777 46.791 617 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 46.832 46.835 731 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 46.931 46.921 834 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 46.938 46.956 914 Clint Bowyer Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 46.987 47.011 103 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 47.054 47.047 1122 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 47.045 47.083 1212 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 47.038 47.125 1378 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Toyota 47.069 — 1442 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 47.086 — 1518 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 47.142 — 1662 Brendan Gaughan Beard Motorsports Chevrolet 47.145 — 1711 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 47.151 — 1824 William Byron (R) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 47.153 — 1913 Ty Dillon Germain Racing Chevrolet 47.162 — 206 Trevor Bayne Roush Fenway Racing Ford 47.165 — 2138 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 47.211 — 2243 Bubba Wallace (R) Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet 47.228 — 2341 Kurt Busch Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 47.270 — 2447 A. J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 47.284 — 2537 Chris Buescher JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 47.358 — 2610 Aric Almirola Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 47.360 — 271 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 47.424 — 2895 Kasey Kahne Leavine Family Racing Chevrolet 47.456 — 2920 Erik Jones Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 47.510 — 3021 Paul Menard Wood Brothers Racing Ford 47.568 — 3132 Matt DiBenedetto Go Fas Racing Ford 47.787 — 3219 Daniel Suárez Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 47.872 — 3315 Ross Chastain (i) Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 48.033 — 347 Jeffrey Earnhardt Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 48.045 — 3596 D. J. Kennington Gaunt Brothers Racing Toyota 48.306 — 3600 Joey Gase (i) StarCom Racing Chevrolet 48.554 — 3799 Landon Cassill StarCom Racing Chevrolet 48.640 — 3872 Corey LaJoie TriStar Motorsports Chevrolet 48.655 — 3951 Ray Black Jr. (i) Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet 49.141 — 4023 J. J. Yeley (i) BK Racing Toyota 49.253 — Did not qualify 4192 Timothy Peters (i) RBR Enterprises Ford 49.705 — Official qualifying results
Race results
Stage results
Stage 1 Laps: 40
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Points1 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 102 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 93 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 84 24 William Byron (R) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 75 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 66 41 Kurt Busch Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 57 31 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 48 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 39 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 210 88 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 1Official stage one results
Stage 2 Laps: 40
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Points1 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 102 34 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 93 88 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 84 95 Kasey Kahne Leavine Family Racing Chevrolet 75 13 Ty Dillon Germain Racing Chevrolet 66 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 57 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 48 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 39 6 Trevor Bayne Roush Fenway Racing Ford 210 31 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 1Official stage two results
Final stage results
Stage 3 Laps: 80
Pos Grid Driver Team Manufacturer Laps Points1 29 20 Erik Jones Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 168 402 13 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Toyota 168 353 24 47 A. J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 168 344 28 95 Kasey Kahne Leavine Family Racing Chevrolet 168 405 25 37 Chris Buescher JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 168 326 19 13 Ty Dillon Germain Racing Chevrolet 168 377 31 32 Matt DiBenedetto Go Fas Racing Ford 168 308 7 31 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 168 349 10 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 168 3310 2 88 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 168 3611 34 7 Jeffrey Earnhardt Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 168 2612 16 62 Brendan Gaughan Beard Motorsports Chevrolet 168 2513 35 96 D. J. Kennington Gaunt Brothers Racing Toyota 168 2414 22 43 Bubba Wallace (R) Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet 167 2315 21 38 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 167 2216 39 51 Ray Black Jr. (i) Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet 167 017 6 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 167 4018 40 23 J. J. Yeley (i) BK Racing Toyota 166 019 5 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 162 1820 20 6 Trevor Bayne Roush Fenway Racing Ford 162 1921 33 15 Ross Chastain (i) Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 162 022 9 14 Clint Bowyer Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 162 1523 4 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 162 1924 37 99 Landon Cassill StarCom Racing Chevrolet 162 1325 36 00 Joey Gase (i) StarCom Racing Chevrolet 161 026 8 34 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 155 2027 26 10 Aric Almirola Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 155 1028 30 21 Paul Menard Wood Brothers Racing Ford 152 929 14 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 123 20 30 27 1 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 68 731 38 72 Corey LaJoie TriStar Motorsports Chevrolet 65 632 18 24 William Byron (R) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 64 1233 15 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 64 1334 1 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 54 935 32 19 Daniel Suárez Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 54 236 3 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 53 437 23 41 Kurt Busch Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 53 638 17 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 53 139 11 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 53 140 12 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 53 1Official race results
Race statistics Lead changes: 25 among 16 different drivers Cautions/Laps: 10 for 46 laps Red flags: 1 for 5 minutes and 1 second Time of race: 3 hours, 13 minutes and 12 seconds Average speed:
Media
Television NBC Sports covered the race on the television side. Rick Allen, 2000 Coke Zero 400 winner Jeff Burton and two-time Coke Zero 400 winner Dale Earnhardt Jr. called the race from the broadcast booth, while Mike Tirico and Steve Letarte called from the NBC Peacock Pit Box on pit road. Dave Burns, Parker Kligerman, Marty Snider and Kelli Stavast reported from pit lane.
NBCBooth announcersPit reporters Lap-by-lap: Rick AllenColor commentator: Jeff BurtonColor commentator: Dale Earnhardt Jr.NBC Peacock Pitbox: Mike TiricoNBC Peacock Pitbox: Steve Letarte Dave BurnsParker KligermanMarty SniderKelli Stavast
Radio MRN had the radio call for the race which was also simulcast on SiriusXM's NASCAR Radio channel.
MRN RadioBooth announcersTurn announcersPit reporters Lead announcer: Joe MooreAnnouncer: Jeff StriegleAnnouncer: Rusty Wallace Turns 1 & 2: Dave MoodyBackstretch: Mike BagleyTurns 3 & 4: Kurt Becker Alex HaydenWinston KelleyKim CoonSteve Post
Standings after the race
Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 Kyle Busch 749 2 Kevin Harvick 692 (–57) 1 3 Martin Truex Jr. 629 (–120) 1 4 Joey Logano 618 (–131) 5 Brad Keselowski 596 (–153) 6 Clint Bowyer 594 (–155) 7 Kurt Busch 566 (–183) 1 8 Kyle Larson 544 (–205) 1 9 Denny Hamlin 538 (–211) 1 10 Aric Almirola 503 (–246) 1 11 Ryan Blaney 496 (–253) 12 Jimmie Johnson 461 (–288) 1 13 Erik Jones 448 (–301) 1 14 Chase Elliott 444 (–305) 15 Alex Bowman 426 (–323) 16 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 407 (–342)Official driver's standings
Manufacturers' Championship standings Pos Manufacturer Points 1 Toyota 660 2 Ford 644 (–16) 3 Chevrolet 581 (–79)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
External links