The 2018 Gander Outdoors 400 was a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race held on July 29, 2018, at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. Contested over 164 laps – extended from 160 laps due to an overtime finish – on the superspeedway, it was the 21st race of the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season.
Leading a race-high 52 laps, Joe Gibbs Racing driver Kyle Busch took his 6th victory of the season, leading home teammate and polesitter Daniel Suárez in a 1–2 finish.
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 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 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 96 Jeffrey Earnhardt Gaunt Brothers Racing Toyota 99 Kyle Weatherman StarCom Racing ChevroletOfficial entry list
Practice
First practice Kevin Harvick was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 51.439 seconds and a speed of .
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 1 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 51.439 174.965 2 20 Erik Jones Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 51.449 174.931 3 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 51.605 174.402Official first practice results
Final practice
Joey Logano was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 51.029 seconds and a speed of .
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 1 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 51.029 176.370 2 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 51.039 176.336 3 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Toyota 51.310 175.404Official final practice results
Qualifying
Daniel Suárez scored the pole for the race with a time of 50.851 and a speed of after Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch were both disqualified after failing post-qualifying inspection.
Qualifying results Pos Driver Team Manufacturer 14 Kevin Harvick Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 51.087 50.986 50.633 218 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 51.688 51.316 50.723 319 Daniel Suárez Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 51.477 51.219 50.851 442 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 51.498 51.207 50.853 522 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 51.507 51.234 50.969 624 William Byron (R) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 51.538 50.971 50.993 711 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 51.624 51.312 51.012 820 Erik Jones Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 51.267 50.942 51.023 92 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 51.307 51.217 51.050 101 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 51.579 51.224 51.103 119 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 51.528 51.271 51.112 123 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 51.777 51.263 51.184 1341 Kurt Busch Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 51.193 51.322 — 1478 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Toyota 51.381 51.356 — 1548 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 51.648 51.398 — 1631 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 51.446 51.498 — 1721 Paul Menard Wood Brothers Racing Ford 51.511 51.504 — 1812 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 51.946 51.530 — 1910 Aric Almirola Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 51.641 51.534 — 2088 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 51.787 51.540 — 2114 Clint Bowyer Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 51.544 51.553 — 2243 Bubba Wallace (R) Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet 51.922 51.595 — 236 Matt Kenseth Roush Fenway Racing Ford 51.983 51.654 — 2495 Kasey Kahne Leavine Family Racing Chevrolet 51.834 52.168 — 2537 Chris Buescher JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 51.990 — — 2634 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 52.023 — — 2747 A. J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 52.118 — — 2813 Ty Dillon Germain Racing Chevrolet 52.174 — — 2938 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 52.241 — — 3017 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 52.319 — — 3132 Matt DiBenedetto Go Fas Racing Ford 52.517 — — 3296 Jeffrey Earnhardt Gaunt Brothers Racing Toyota 53.313 — — 3323 J. J. Yeley (i) BK Racing Toyota 53.323 — — 3472 Corey LaJoie TriStar Motorsports Chevrolet 53.346 — — 3515 Gray Gaulding Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 53.557 — — 3699 Kyle Weatherman StarCom Racing Chevrolet 53.767 — — 3700 Landon Cassill StarCom Racing Chevrolet 53.976 — — 387 Reed Sorenson Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 54.276 — — 3951 B. J. McLeod (i) Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet 54.286 — — 4066 Timmy Hill (i) MBM Motorsports Toyota 54.652 — —Official qualifying results
Race
Stage results
Stage 1 Laps: 50
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Points1 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 102 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 93 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 84 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 75 19 Daniel Suárez Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 66 14 Clint Bowyer Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 57 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 48 41 Kurt Busch Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 39 88 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 210 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 1
Stage 2 Laps: 50
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Points1 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 102 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 93 14 Clint Bowyer Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 84 88 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 75 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 66 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 57 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 48 1 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 39 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 210 24 William Byron (R) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 1
Final stage results
Stage 3 Laps: 60
Pos Grid Driver Team Manufacturer Laps Points1 2 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 164 472 3 19 Daniel Suárez Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 164 413 20 88 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 164 434 1 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 164 525 8 20 Erik Jones Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 164 326 6 24 William Byron (R) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 164 327 11 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 164 498 16 31 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 164 299 13 41 Kurt Busch Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 164 3110 7 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 164 3511 21 14 Clint Bowyer Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 164 3912 18 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 164 2813 12 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 164 2414 27 47 A. J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 164 2315 14 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Toyota 164 2216 26 34 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 164 2117 15 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 164 2518 23 6 Matt Kenseth Roush Fenway Racing Ford 164 1919 29 38 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 164 1820 10 1 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 164 2521 17 21 Paul Menard Wood Brothers Racing Ford 164 1622 30 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 164 1523 4 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 164 2024 28 13 Ty Dillon Germain Racing Chevrolet 164 1325 19 10 Aric Almirola Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 164 1226 5 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 164 1127 31 32 Matt DiBenedetto Go Fas Racing Ford 164 1028 33 23 J. J. Yeley (i) BK Racing Toyota 164 029 32 96 Jeffrey Earnhardt Gaunt Brothers Racing Toyota 163 830 24 95 Kasey Kahne Leavine Family Racing Chevrolet 162 731 36 99 Kyle Weatherman StarCom Racing Chevrolet 161 632 38 7 Reed Sorenson Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 161 533 22 43 Bubba Wallace (R) Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet 153 434 37 00 Landon Cassill StarCom Racing Chevrolet 148 335 35 15 Ross Chastain (i) Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 146 036 40 66 Timmy Hill (i) MBM Motorsports Toyota 142 037 25 37 Chris Buescher JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 123 138 9 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 121 939 34 72 Corey LaJoie TriStar Motorsports Chevrolet 95 140 39 51 B. J. McLeod (i) Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet 77 0Official race results
Race statistics Lead changes: 13 among 10 different drivers Cautions/Laps: 7 for 29 laps Red flags: 1 for 10 minutes and 10 seconds Time of race: 3 hours, 5 minutes and 43 seconds Average speed:
Media
Television NBC Sports covered the race on the television side. Rick Allen, Jeff Burton, Steve Letarte and two-time Pocono winner Dale Earnhardt Jr. called the race from the broadcast booth, while Dave Burns, Marty Snider and Kelli Stavast reported from pit lane.
NBCSNBooth announcersPit reporters Lap-by-lap: Rick AllenColor commentator: Jeff BurtonColor commentator: Steve LetarteColor commentator: Dale Earnhardt Jr. Dave BurnsMarty SniderKelli Stavast
Radio Motor Racing Network had the radio call for the race, which was simulcast on SiriusXM's NASCAR Radio channel.
MRNBooth announcersTurn announcersPit reporters Lead announcer: Joe MooreAnnouncer: Jeff StriegleAnnouncer: Rusty Wallace Turn 1: Dave Moody Turns 2: Mike BagleyTurn 3: Kyle Rickey Alex HaydenWinston KelleySteve Post
Standings after the race
Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 Kyle Busch 891 2 Kevin Harvick 843 (–48) 3 Martin Truex Jr. 762 (–129) 4 Joey Logano 690 (–201) 1 5 Clint Bowyer 677 (–214) 1 6 Kurt Busch 677 (–214) 7 Brad Keselowski 644 (–247) 8 Kyle Larson 626 (–265) 1 9 Denny Hamlin 618 (–273) 1 10 Ryan Blaney 612 (–279) 11 Aric Almirola 587 (–304) 1 12 Chase Elliott 569 (–322) 1 13 Jimmie Johnson 547 (–344) 14 Erik Jones 533 (–358) 15 Alex Bowman 496 (–395) 16 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 440 (–451)Official driver's standings
Manufacturers' Championship standings Pos Manufacturer Points 1 Toyota 775 2 Ford 752 (–23) 3 Chevrolet 675 (–100)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.
Notes
References