The 2018 Gander Outdoors 400 was a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race held on October 7, 2018 at Dover International Speedway in Dover, Delaware. Contested over 404 laps – extended from 400 laps due to an overtime finish – on the concrete speedway, it was the 30th race of the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season, fourth race of the Playoffs, and the first race of the Round of 12.
Hendrick Motorsports driver Chase Elliott took his 2nd win of the season, taking the race lead when Stewart–Haas Racing's Aric Almirola pitted with 6 laps to go, and maintained the lead through the overtime finish to advance to the Round of 8.
Report
Background
Dover International Speedway (formerly Dover Downs International Speedway) is a race track in Dover, Delaware, United States. Since opening in 1969, it has held at least one NASCAR race a season. In addition to NASCAR, the track also hosted USAC and the Verizon IndyCar Series. The track features one layout, a concrete oval, with 24° banking in the turns and 9° banking on the straights. The speedway is owned and operated by Dover Motorsports.
The track, nicknamed "The Monster Mile", was built in 1969 by Melvin Joseph of Melvin L. Joseph Construction Company, Inc., with an asphalt surface, but was replaced with concrete in 1995. Six years later in 2001, the track's capacity moved to 135,000 seats, making the track have the largest capacity of sports venue in the mid-Atlantic. In 2002, the name changed to Dover International Speedway from Dover Downs International Speedway after Dover Downs Gaming and Entertainment split, making Dover Motorsports. From 2007 to 2009, the speedway worked on an improvement project called "The Monster Makeover", which expanded facilities at the track and beautified the track. After the 2014 season, the track's capacity was reduced to 95,500 seats.
Entry list Driver Team Manufacturer 00 Landon Cassill (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 Matt Kenseth 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 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 Ford 52 Harrison Rhodes 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 Regan Smith Leavine Family Racing Chevrolet 96 Jeffrey Earnhardt Gaunt Brothers Racing ToyotaOfficial entry list
First practice Kyle Larson was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 21.892 seconds and a speed of .
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 1 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 21.892 164.444 2 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 22.025 163.451 3 41 Kurt Busch Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 22.037 163.362Official first practice results
Qualifying Qualifying on Friday was cancelled due to rain and Kyle Busch, the point leader, was awarded the pole as a result.
Starting lineup Pos Driver Team Manufacturer 1 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 2 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 3 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Toyota 4 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 5 14 Clint Bowyer Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 6 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 7 41 Kurt Busch Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 8 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 9 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 10 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 11 10 Aric Almirola Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 12 88 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 13 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 14 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 15 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 16 20 Erik Jones Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 17 31 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 18 21 Paul Menard Wood Brothers Racing Ford 19 19 Daniel Suárez Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 20 1 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 21 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 22 24 William Byron (R) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 23 37 Chris Buescher JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 24 47 A. J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 25 95 Regan Smith Leavine Family Racing Chevrolet 26 38 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 27 34 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 28 6 Matt Kenseth Roush Fenway Racing Ford 29 43 Bubba Wallace (R) Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet 30 13 Ty Dillon Germain Racing Chevrolet 31 32 Matt DiBenedetto Go Fas Racing Ford 32 15 Ross Chastain (i) Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 33 72 Corey LaJoie Tri-Star Motorsports Chevrolet 34 00 Landon Cassill (i) StarCom Racing Chevrolet 35 23 J. J. Yeley (i) BK Racing Toyota 36 51 B. J. McLeod (i) Rick Ware Racing Ford 37 96 Jeffrey Earnhardt Gaunt Brothers Racing Toyota 38 66 Timmy Hill (i) MBM Motorsports Toyota 39 52 Harrison Rhodes Rick Ware Racing ChevroletOfficial starting lineup
Practice (post-qualifying)
Second practice Second practice session scheduled for Saturday was cancelled due to rain.
Final practice
Kyle Larson was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 22.640 seconds and a speed of .
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 1 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 22.640 159.011 2 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 22.880 157.343 3 20 Erik Jones Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 22.916 157.095Official final practice results
Race
Kyle Busch led the field to green, and led the opening 15 laps of the race before being passed by Kevin Harvick. Harvick then led the majority of the race, leading a total of 286 laps and won both stages. Having ceded the lead to Busch on lap 321, Harvick dropped further back when he suffered a loose wheel, but he was able to work back up to a sixth-placed finish from a lap down. Aric Almirola took the lead from Busch on lap 323, and despite losing the lead to Brad Keselowski during the pit cycle at the third caution (for debris), Almirola regained the lead on the restart on lap 349. He led the race until the final ten laps, when Clint Bowyer crashed to cause the fourth caution, and Almirola pitted. Chase Elliott assumed the lead, as one of three drivers that did not pit, along with Martin Truex Jr. and Keselowski. On the restart, Elliott cleared Keselowski, who ultimately collided with Almirola, while Ryan Blaney, Truex Jr. and Alex Bowman were also involved, and the race went to a green–white–checkered finish. With a bump from Erik Jones, Elliott pulled clear on the restart and ultimately closed out the race for his 2nd win of the season to advance to the Round of 8.
Stage results
Stage 1 Laps: 120
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Points1 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 102 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 93 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 84 14 Clint Bowyer Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 75 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 66 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 57 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 48 41 Kurt Busch Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 39 10 Aric Almirola Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 210 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Toyota 1Official stage one results
Stage 2 Laps: 120
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Points1 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 102 14 Clint Bowyer Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 93 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Toyota 84 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 75 10 Aric Almirola Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 66 41 Kurt Busch Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 57 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 48 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 39 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 210 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 1Official stage two results
Final stage results
Stage 3 Laps: 160
Pos Grid Driver Team Manufacturer Laps Points1 9 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 404 482 15 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 404 383 6 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 404 504 16 20 Erik Jones Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 404 335 7 41 Kurt Busch Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 404 406 2 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 404 517 14 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 404 308 1 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 404 419 21 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 404 2810 19 19 Daniel Suárez Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 404 2711 8 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 404 3012 10 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 404 2513 11 10 Aric Almirola Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 404 3214 4 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 404 2915 3 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Toyota 404 3116 18 21 Paul Menard Wood Brothers Racing Ford 403 2117 17 31 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 403 2018 20 1 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 402 1919 22 24 William Byron (R) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 402 1820 28 6 Matt Kenseth Roush Fenway Racing Ford 402 1721 25 95 Regan Smith Leavine Family Racing Chevrolet 401 1622 24 47 A. J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 400 1523 29 43 Bubba Wallace (R) Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet 399 1424 26 38 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 399 1325 23 37 Chris Buescher JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 399 1226 27 34 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 399 1127 31 32 Matt DiBenedetto Go Fas Racing Ford 397 1028 12 88 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 396 929 30 13 Ty Dillon Germain Racing Chevrolet 396 830 33 72 Corey LaJoie TriStar Motorsports Chevrolet 394 731 37 96 Jeffrey Earnhardt Gaunt Brothers Racing Toyota 394 632 35 23 J. J. Yeley (i) BK Racing Toyota 392 033 34 00 Landon Cassill (i) StarCom Racing Chevrolet 390 034 36 51 B. J. McLeod (i) Rick Ware Racing Ford 389 035 5 14 Clint Bowyer Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 388 1836 13 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 387 137 32 15 Ross Chastain (i) Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 314 038 39 52 Harrison Rhodes Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet 308 139 38 66 Timmy Hill (i) MBM Motorsports Toyota 35 0Official race results
Race statistics Lead changes: 15 among 8 different drivers Cautions/Laps: 5 for 31 laps Red flags: 1 for 4 minutes and 59 seconds Time of race: 3 hours, 18 minutes and 2 seconds Average speed:
Media
Television NBC Sports covered the race on the television side. Rick Allen, 2006 race winner Jeff Burton, Steve Letarte and 2001 race 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 MRN 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 Backstretch: Mike Bagley Alex HaydenWinston KelleySteve PostKim Coon
Standings after the race