The 2018 Quaker State 400 presented by Walmart is a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race held on July 14, 2018, at Kentucky Speedway in Sparta, Kentucky. Contested over 267 laps on the speedway, it was the 19th race of the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season.
Report
Background
The sixth running of the Quaker State 400 was held in Sparta, Kentucky at Kentucky Speedway on July 9, 2016. The track is a tri-oval speedway owned by Speedway Motorsports, Inc. Kentucky Speedway, which has also hosted the ARCA Racing Series, NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, NASCAR Xfinity Series, and the Indy Racing League, has a grandstand seating capacity of 107,000.
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 Matt Kenseth Roush Fenway Racing Ford 7 Jesse Little (i) 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 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 Garrett Smithley (i) StarCom Racing ChevroletOfficial entry list
Practice
First practice Kyle Larson was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 29.053 seconds and a speed of .
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 1 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 29.053 185.867 2 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 29.244 184.653 3 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 29.300 184.300Official first practice results
Final practice Erik Jones was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 28.762 seconds and a speed of .
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 1 20 Erik Jones Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 28.762 187.748 2 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 28.829 187.311 3 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 28.954 186.503Official final practice results
Qualifying Martin Truex Jr. scored the pole for the race with a time of 28.588 and a speed of .
Qualifying results Pos Driver Team Manufacturer 178 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Toyota 28.927 28.575 28.588 220 Erik Jones Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 28.773 28.763 28.611 34 Kevin Harvick Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 28.745 28.791 28.640 42 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 28.851 28.757 28.664 518 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 28.884 28.662 28.692 621 Paul Menard Wood Brothers Racing Ford 28.878 28.813 28.705 712 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 28.911 28.798 28.732 814 Clint Bowyer Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 28.902 28.769 28.770 941 Kurt Busch Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 29.018 28.780 28.780 1031 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 28.906 28.767 28.866 1119 Daniel Suárez Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 28.898 28.831 28.877 1210 Aric Almirola Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 28.937 28.707 28.895 133 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 28.783 28.851 — 1417 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 29.143 28.866 — 1588 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 28.977 28.935 — 169 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 29.074 28.947 — 176 Matt Kenseth Roush Fenway Racing Ford 29.222 28.951 — 1842 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 29.152 28.979 — 1922 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 29.205 28.981 — 2037 Chris Buescher JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 29.036 29.004 — 2124 William Byron (R) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 29.121 29.010 — 221 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 29.135 29.050 — 2334 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 29.175 29.116 — 2438 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 29.235 29.234 — 2543 Bubba Wallace (R) Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet 29.263 — — 2647 A. J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 29.271 — — 2748 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 29.281 — — 2813 Ty Dillon Germain Racing Chevrolet 29.533 — — 2995 Kasey Kahne Leavine Family Racing Chevrolet 29.582 — — 3015 Ross Chastain (i) Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 29.805 — — 3172 Corey LaJoie TriStar Motorsports Chevrolet 29.936 — — 3223 J. J. Yeley (i) BK Racing Toyota 30.022 — — 3300 Landon Cassill StarCom Racing Chevrolet 30.150 — — 3451 B. J. McLeod (i) Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet 30.357 — — 3599 Garrett Smithley (i) StarCom Racing Chevrolet 30.649 — — 3611 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 0.000 — — 3732 Matt DiBenedetto Go Fas Racing Ford 0.000 — — 387 Jesse Little (i) Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 0.000 — — 3966 Timmy Hill (i) MBM Motorsports Toyota 0.000 — —Official qualifying results
Race
Stage Results
Stage 1 Laps: 80
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Points1 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Toyota 102 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 93 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 84 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 75 21 Paul Menard Wood Brothers Racing Ford 66 14 Clint Bowyer Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 57 19 Daniel Suárez Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 48 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 39 10 Aric Almirola Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 210 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 1Official stage one results
Stage 2 Laps: 80
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Points1 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Toyota 102 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 93 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 84 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 75 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 66 14 Clint Bowyer Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 57 41 Kurt Busch Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 48 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 39 20 Erik Jones Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 210 21 Paul Menard Wood Brothers Racing Ford 1Official stage two results
Final Stage Results
Stage 3 Laps: 107
Pos Grid Driver Team Manufacturer Laps Points1 1 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Toyota 267 602 7 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 267 503 4 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 267 344 5 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 267 505 3 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 267 486 9 41 Kurt Busch Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 267 357 2 20 Erik Jones Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 267 328 12 10 Aric Almirola Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 267 319 18 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 267 3710 19 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 267 3011 6 21 Paul Menard Wood Brothers Racing Ford 267 3312 8 14 Clint Bowyer Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 267 3513 16 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 267 2514 27 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 267 2315 11 19 Daniel Suárez Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 267 2616 36 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 267 2117 22 1 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 267 2018 24 38 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 267 1919 17 6 Matt Kenseth Roush Fenway Racing Ford 267 1820 21 24 William Byron (R) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 267 1721 10 31 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 267 1622 13 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 266 1523 20 37 Chris Buescher JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 266 1424 23 34 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 266 1325 29 95 Kasey Kahne Leavine Family Racing Chevrolet 266 1226 14 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 266 1127 25 43 Bubba Wallace (R) Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet 264 1028 30 15 Ross Chastain (i) Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 263 029 28 13 Ty Dillon Germain Racing Chevrolet 263 830 26 47 A. J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 262 731 31 72 Corey LaJoie TriStar Motorsports Chevrolet 260 632 34 51 B. J. McLeod (i) Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet 256 033 33 00 Landon Cassill StarCom Racing Chevrolet 256 434 39 66 Timmy Hill (i) MBM Motorsports Toyota 254 035 38 7 Jesse Little (i) Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 253 036 35 99 Garrett Smithley (i) StarCom Racing Chevrolet 251 037 37 32 Matt DiBenedetto Go Fas Racing Ford 200 138 32 23 J. J. Yeley (i) BK Racing Toyota 199 039 15 88 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 108 1Official race results
Race statistics Lead changes: 7 among different drivers Cautions/Laps: 4 for 22 Red flags: 0 Time of race: 2 hours, 39 minutes and 43 seconds Average speed:
Media
Television NBC Sports covered the race on the television side. Rick Allen, Jeff Burton, Steve Letarte and Dale Earnhardt Jr. had the call in the booth for the race. Dave Burns, Parker Kligerman, 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 BurnsParker KligermanMarty SniderKelli Stavast
Radio PRN had the radio call for the race, which was simulcast on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio.
PRNBooth announcersTurn announcersPit reporters Lead announcer: Doug RiceAnnouncer: Mark Garrow 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 799 2 Kevin Harvick 740 (–59) 3 Martin Truex Jr. 689 (–110) 4 Joey Logano 648 (–151) 5 Brad Keselowski 630 (–169) 6 Clint Bowyer 629 (–170) 7 Kurt Busch 601 (–198) 8 Kyle Larson 581 (–218) 9 Denny Hamlin 559 (–240) 1 10 Ryan Blaney 546 (–253) 1 11 Aric Almirola 534 (–265) 12 Jimmie Johnson 484 (–315) 13 Erik Jones 480 (–319) 14 Chase Elliott 469 (–330) 15 Alex Bowman 427 (–372) 16 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 418 (–381)Official driver's standings
Manufacturers' Championship standings Pos Manufacturer Points 1 Toyota 700 2 Ford 679 (–21) 3 Chevrolet 609 (–91)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