The 2018 AAA Texas 500 was a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race that was held on November 4, 2018, at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas. Contested over 337 laps – extended from 334 laps due to an overtime finish – on the intermediate quad-oval, it was the 34th race of the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season, the eighth race of the Playoffs, and the second race of the Round of 8.
Leading 177 laps during the race, Stewart–Haas Racing driver Kevin Harvick took his 8th victory of the season, which was initially thought to advance him to the Championship 4. However, Harvick's car was found to have a non-conforming spoiler during post-race technical checks, and as a result, lost his automatic qualification to the Championship 4.
Report
Background
Texas Motor Speedway is a speedway located in Fort Worth, Texas. The track measures around and is banked 24 degrees in the turns, and is of the oval design, where the front straightaway juts outward slightly. The track layout is similar to Charlotte Motor Speedway. The track is owned by Speedway Motorsports.
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 Trevor Bayne Roush Fenway Racing Ford 7 Reed Sorenson (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 Joey Gase (i) Rick Ware Racing Ford 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 Parker Kligerman (i) Gaunt Brothers Racing Toyota 97 David Starr (i) Obaika Racing Toyota 99 Kyle Weatherman StarCom Racing ChevroletOfficial entry list
First practice Ryan Blaney was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 27.139 seconds and a speed of .
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 1 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 27.139 198.976 2 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 27.210 198.456 3 41 Kurt Busch Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 27.254 198.136Official first practice results
Qualifying
Ryan Blaney scored the pole for the race with a time of 26.932 and a speed of .
Qualifying results Pos Driver Team Manufacturer 112 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 27.043 27.182 26.932 214 Clint Bowyer Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 27.220 27.188 26.969 34 Kevin Harvick Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 27.115 27.068 27.008 410 Aric Almirola Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 27.251 27.277 27.030 52 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 27.361 27.273 27.064 611 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 27.488 27.162 27.101 741 Kurt Busch Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 27.201 27.070 27.105 822 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 27.302 26.964 27.124 924 William Byron (R) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 27.273 27.181 27.126 1018 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 27.187 27.142 27.176 1121 Paul Menard Wood Brothers Racing Ford 27.428 27.262 27.279 1220 Erik Jones Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 27.276 27.130 27.293 1378 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Toyota 27.396 27.278 — 1431 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 27.451 27.283 — 156 Trevor Bayne Roush Fenway Racing Ford 27.544 27.312 — 169 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 27.506 27.316 — 1717 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 27.425 27.329 — 1888 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 27.505 27.336 — 1919 Daniel Suárez Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 27.441 27.356 — 201 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 27.313 27.358 — 2137 Chris Buescher JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 27.364 27.399 — 2242 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 27.538 27.437 — 2348 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 27.418 27.449 — 2413 Ty Dillon Germain Racing Chevrolet 27.519 27.479 — 2547 A. J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 27.550 — — 263 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 27.646 — — 2738 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 27.661 — — 2895 Regan Smith Leavine Family Racing Chevrolet 27.728 — — 2934 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 27.767 — — 3043 Bubba Wallace (R) Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet 27.778 — — 3132 Matt DiBenedetto Go Fas Racing Ford 28.066 — — 3200 Landon Cassill (i) StarCom Racing Chevrolet 28.148 — — 3315 Ross Chastain (i) Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 28.228 — — 3496 Parker Kligerman (i) Gaunt Brothers Racing Toyota 28.256 — — 3523 J. J. Yeley (i) BK Racing Toyota 28.381 — — 3699 Kyle Weatherman StarCom Racing Chevrolet 28.598 — — 3772 Corey LaJoie TriStar Motorsports Chevrolet 28.598 — — 387 Reed Sorenson (i) Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 28.785 — — 3951 Joey Gase (i) Rick Ware Racing Ford 29.496 — — 4097 David Starr (i) Obaika Racing Toyota 29.784 — —Did not qualify 4166 Timmy Hill (i) MBM Motorsports Toyota 0.000 — —Official qualifying results
Practice (post-qualifying)
Second practice Aric Almirola was the fastest in the second practice session with a time of 27.856 seconds and a speed of .
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 1 10 Aric Almirola Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 27.856 193.854 2 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 27.863 193.805 3 14 Clint Bowyer Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 27.868 193.771Official second practice results
Final practice Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 28.074 seconds and a speed of .
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 1 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush–Fenway Racing Ford 28.074 192.349 2 41 Kurt Busch Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 28.114 192.075 3 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Toyota 28.142 191.884Official final practice results
Race
Stage results
Stage 1 Laps: 85
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Points1 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 102 41 Kurt Busch Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 93 20 Erik Jones Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 84 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 75 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Toyota 66 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 57 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 48 21 Paul Menard Wood Brothers Racing Ford 39 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 210 10 Aric Almirola Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 1Official stage one results
Stage 2 Laps: 85
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Points1 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 102 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 93 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Toyota 84 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 75 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 66 10 Aric Almirola Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 57 20 Erik Jones Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 48 41 Kurt Busch Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 39 19 Daniel Suárez Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 210 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 1Official stage two results
Final stage results
Stage 3 Laps: 164
Pos Grid Driver Team Manufacturer Laps Points1 3 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 337 202 1 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 337 313 8 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 337 454 12 20 Erik Jones Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 337 255 22 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 337 326 16 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 337 347 7 41 Kurt Busch Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 337 428 4 10 Aric Almirola Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 337 359 13 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Toyota 337 4210 26 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 337 2711 17 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 337 2612 5 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 337 3213 11 21 Paul Menard Wood Brothers Racing Ford 337 2714 18 88 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 337 2315 23 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 337 2216 9 24 William Byron (R) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 337 2117 10 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 337 2418 14 31 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 335 1919 20 1 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 335 1820 25 47 A. J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 335 1721 15 6 Trevor Bayne Roush Fenway Racing Ford 335 1622 24 13 Ty Dillon Germain Racing Chevrolet 335 1523 21 37 Chris Buescher JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 335 1424 27 38 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 335 1325 30 43 Bubba Wallace (R) Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet 335 1226 2 14 Clint Bowyer Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 334 1127 28 95 Regan Smith Leavine Family Racing Chevrolet 332 1028 19 19 Daniel Suárez Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 332 1129 29 34 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 331 830 6 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 331 731 34 96 Parker Kligerman (i) Gaunt Brothers Racing Toyota 329 032 33 15 Ross Chastain (i) Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 326 033 38 7 Reed Sorenson (i) Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 326 034 36 99 Kyle Weatherman StarCom Racing Chevrolet 323 335 32 00 Landon Cassill (i) StarCom Racing Chevrolet 321 036 35 23 J. J. Yeley (i) BK Racing Toyota 321 037 39 51 Joey Gase (i) Rick Ware Racing Ford 317 038 31 32 Matt DiBenedetto Go Fas Racing Ford 300 139 40 97 David Starr (i) Obaika Racing Toyota 287 040 37 72 Corey LaJoie TriStar Motorsports Chevrolet 269 1Official race results
Race statistics Lead changes: 16 among 7 different drivers Cautions/Laps: 8 for 37 laps Red flags: 0 Time of race: 3 hours, 21 minutes and 27 seconds Average speed:
Media
Television NBC Sports covered the race on the television side. Rick Allen, two-time Texas winner Jeff Burton, Steve Letarte and 2000 Texas 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 PRN had the radio call for the race, which was simulcast on SiriusXM's NASCAR Radio channel.
PRN Booth announcersTurn announcersPit reporters Lead announcer: Doug RiceAnnouncer: Mark Garrow Turns 1 & 2: Rob AlbrightTurns 3 & 4: Pat Patterson Brad GillieBrett McMillanWendy VenturiniSteve Richards
Standings after the race
Pos Driver Points 1 Kyle Busch 4,128 2 Martin Truex Jr. 4,125 (−3) 1 3 Joey Logano 4,119 (−6) 1 4 Kevin Harvick 4,103 (−25) 5 Kurt Busch 4,100 (−28) 6 Chase Elliott 4,086 (−42) 1 7 Aric Almirola 4,068 (−60) 1 8 Clint Bowyer 4,052 (−76) 9 Ryan Blaney 2,283 (−1,845) 10 Brad Keselowski 2,259 (−1,869) 11 Denny Hamlin 2,220 (−1,908) 12 Kyle Larson 2,211 (−1,917) 2 13 Erik Jones 2,204 (−1,924) 1 14 Jimmie Johnson 2,195 (−1,933) 1 15 Alex Bowman 2,187 (−1,941) 16 Austin Dillon 2,184 (−1,944)Official driver's standings
Manufacturers' Championship standings Pos Manufacturer Points 1 Ford 1,235 2 Toyota 1,211 (−24) 3 Chevrolet 1,123 (−112)Official manufacturers' standings Note: Only the first 16 positions are included for the driver standings.
Notes
References