2018 Pennzoil 400
The 2018 Pennzoil 400 was a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race held on March 4, 2018, at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Las Vegas. Contested over 267 laps on the 1.5 mi (2.4 km) asphalt intermediate speedway, it was the third race of the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season.
| Race details[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 3 of 36 in the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series | |||
| Date | March 4, 2018 | ||
| Location | Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Las Vegas | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 1.5 mi (2.4 km) | ||
| Distance | 267 laps, 400.5 mi (640.8 km) | ||
| Average speed | 141.756 miles per hour (228.134 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Team Penske | ||
| Time | 28.200 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | |
| Laps | 214 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | Fox | ||
| Announcers | Mike Joy, Jeff Gordon and Darrell Waltrip | ||
| Nielsen Ratings | 2.9/2.8 (Overnight)[11] | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | PRN | ||
| Booth Announcers | Doug Rice, Mark Garrow and Wendy Venturini | ||
| Turn Announcers | Rob Albright (1 & 2) and Pat Patterson (3 & 4) | ||
Report
Background
Las Vegas Motor Speedway, located in Clark County, Nevada outside the Las Vegas city limits and about 15 miles northeast of the Las Vegas Strip, is a 1,200-acre (490 ha) complex of multiple tracks for motorsports racing. The complex is owned by Speedway Motorsports, Inc., which is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Entry list
First practice
Kyle Larson was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 28.323 seconds and a speed of 190.658 mph (306.834 km/h).[12]
| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 28.323 | 190.658 |
| 2 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 28.360 | 190.409 |
| 3 | 21 | Paul Menard | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 28.366 | 190.369 |
| Official first practice results | ||||||
Qualifying
Ryan Blaney scored the pole for the race with a time of 28.200 and a speed of 191.489 mph (308.172 km/h).[13]
Qualifying results
Practice (post-qualifying)
Second practice
Kyle Larson was the fastest in the second practice session with a time of 28.791 seconds and a speed of 187.559 mph (301.847 km/h).[14]
| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 28.791 | 187.559 |
| 2 | 31 | Ryan Newman | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 28.807 | 187.454 |
| 3 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 28.941 | 186.587 |
| Official second practice results | ||||||
Final practice
Ryan Blaney was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 28.963 seconds and a speed of 186.445 mph (300.054 km/h).[15]
| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 28.963 | 186.445 |
| 2 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 29.011 | 186.136 |
| 3 | 78 | Martin Truex Jr. | Furniture Row Racing | Toyota | 29.018 | 186.091 |
| Official final practice results | ||||||
Race
First stage
Start
Ryan Blaney led the field to the green flag at 3:46 p.m. Blaney led a total of one lap, and Kevin Harvick took the lead on lap 2, and led 37 laps, but then Michael McDowell took the lead on lap 39 and led 11 laps, and Kevin Harvick regained the lead on lap 49 and led the 80-lap first stage. He finished 3.6 seconds in front of Martin Truex Jr., leading 68 of the 80 laps. Also in the top five were Kyle Larson, Ryan Blaney and Joey Logano. The first caution of the race flew for conclusion of stage 1.
Second stage
The race restarted on lap 89, Kyle Busch took the lead on lap 122, and led 4 laps, but then Kevin Harvick regained the lead on lap 126 and dominated the race in its second stage, winning by 5.3 seconds over Ryan Blaney. Following were Kyle Larson, Joey Logano and Kyle Busch. Harvick led 76 of the stage’s 80 laps. The second caution of the race flew for conclusion of stage 2.
Final stage
The race restarted on lap 167, and it remained green for 10 laps. The third caution of the race flew on lap 176 after Jamie McMurray slapped the outside wall. He parked his Chevrolet.
The race restarted on lap 183 and the fourth caution of the race flew when Kurt Busch lost control of his car in heavy traffic with 84 laps to go and slid up the track into Chase Elliott and into the wall. Both cars suffered heavy damage.
The race restarted on lap 195. Harvick drove on to score his third career victory and second at Las Vegas.[16]
Post race
“I know how hard it is to get to victory lane, and to know we have been there 100 times is something I almost can’t fathom,” Harvick said.
Stage Results
Stage 1 Laps: 80
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 10 |
| 2 | 78 | Martin Truex Jr. | Furniture Row Racing | Toyota | 9 |
| 3 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 8 |
| 4 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 7 |
| 5 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 6 |
| 6 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 5 |
| 7 | 41 | Kurt Busch | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 4 |
| 8 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 3 |
| 9 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 2 |
| 10 | 21 | Paul Menard | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 1 |
| Official stage one results | |||||
Stage 2 Laps: 80
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 10 |
| 2 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 9 |
| 3 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 8 |
| 4 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 7 |
| 5 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 6 |
| 6 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 5 |
| 7 | 78 | Martin Truex Jr. | Furniture Row Racing | Toyota | 4 |
| 8 | 41 | Kurt Busch | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 3 |
| 9 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 2 |
| 10 | 21 | Paul Menard | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 1 |
| Official stage two results | |||||
Final Stage Results
Stage 3 Laps: 107
| Pos | Grid | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Laps | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 267 | 40[N 1] |
| 2 | 13 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 267 | 43 |
| 3 | 5 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 267 | 50 |
| 4 | 4 | 78 | Martin Truex Jr. | Furniture Row Racing | Toyota | 267 | 46 |
| 5 | 1 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 267 | 48 |
| 6 | 8 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 267 | 41 |
| 7 | 10 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 267 | 43 |
| 8 | 9 | 20 | Erik Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 267 | 29 |
| 9 | 12 | 21 | Paul Menard | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 267 | 30 |
| 10 | 29 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 266 | 27 |
| 11 | 25 | 31 | Ryan Newman | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 266 | 26 |
| 12 | 14 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 266 | 25 |
| 13 | 16 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 266 | 24 |
| 14 | 7 | 17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 265 | 23 |
| 15 | 28 | 37 | Chris Buescher | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 265 | 22 |
| 16 | 20 | 88 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 265 | 21 |
| 17 | 19 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 265 | 20 |
| 18 | 11 | 14 | Clint Bowyer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 265 | 19 |
| 19 | 21 | 95 | Kasey Kahne | Leavine Family Racing | Chevrolet | 264 | 18 |
| 20 | 24 | 6 | Trevor Bayne | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 264 | 17 |
| 21 | 26 | 43 | Darrell Wallace Jr. (R) | Richard Petty Motorsports | Chevrolet | 264 | 16 |
| 22 | 32 | 32 | Matt DiBenedetto | Go Fas Racing | Ford | 264 | 15 |
| 23 | 23 | 38 | David Ragan | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 264 | 14 |
| 24 | 31 | 13 | Ty Dillon | Germain Racing | Chevrolet | 264 | 13 |
| 25 | 30 | 51 | Cole Custer (i) | Rick Ware Racing | Ford | 264 | 0 |
| 26 | 18 | 19 | Daniel Suárez | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 263 | 11 |
| 27 | 17 | 24 | William Byron (R) | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 263 | 10 |
| 28 | 34 | 72 | Cole Whitt | TriStar Motorsports | Chevrolet | 262 | 9 |
| 29 | 33 | 15 | Ross Chastain (i) | Premium Motorsports | Chevrolet | 262 | 0 |
| 30 | 27 | 47 | A. J. Allmendinger | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 262 | 7 |
| 31 | 36 | 00 | Jeffrey Earnhardt | StarCom Racing | Chevrolet | 255 | 6 |
| 32 | 37 | 55 | Joey Gase (i) | Premium Motorsports | Chevrolet | 253 | 0 |
| 33 | 35 | 23 | Gray Gaulding | BK Racing | Toyota | 195 | 4 |
| 34 | 6 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 183 | 8 |
| 35 | 3 | 41 | Kurt Busch | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 183 | 9 |
| 36 | 22 | 1 | Jamie McMurray | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 176 | 1 |
| 37 | 15 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 100 | 1 |
| Official race results | |||||||
- Kevin Harvick was penalized 20 points after failing post-race inspection.
Race statistics
- 11 lead changes among 6 different drivers
- 4 cautions for 29 laps
- Time of race: 2 hours, 49 minutes and 31 seconds
- Average speed: 141.760 miles per hour (228.141 km/h)
- Margin of victory: 2.906 seconds
Media
Television
Fox Sports covered their 18th race at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Mike Joy, 2001 race winner Jeff Gordon and Darrell Waltrip called from the booth for the race. Jamie Little, Vince Welch and Matt Yocum handled the pit road duties for the television side.
| Fox | |
|---|---|
| Booth announcers | Pit reporters |
| Lap-by-lap: Mike Joy Color-commentator: Jeff Gordon Color commentator: Darrell Waltrip | Jamie Little Vince Welch Matt Yocum |
Radio
PRN covered the radio call for the race which was also simulcasted on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio. Doug Rice, Mark Garrow and Wendy Venturini called the race in the booth when the field raced through the tri-oval. Rob Albright called the race from a billboard in turn 2 when the field raced through turns 1 and 2. Pat Patterson called the race from a billboard outside of turn 3 when the field raced through turns 3 and 4. Brad Gillie, Brett McMillan, Jim Noble and Steve Richards worked pit road for the radio side.
| PRN | ||
|---|---|---|
| Booth announcers | Turn announcers | Pit reporters |
| Lead announcer: Doug Rice Announcer: Mark Garrow Announcer: Wendy Venturini | Turns 1 & 2: Rob Albright Turns 3 & 4: Pat Patterson | Brad Gillie Brett McMillan Jim Noble Steve Richards |
Penalties
On March 7, 2018, NASCAR assessed the Stewart-Haas Racing No. 4 Ford an L1 penalty for violating sections 20.4.8.1 (dealing with rear window support) and 20.4.18 (rocker panel extensions). A brace that supports the rear window failed and did not meet specifications for keeping the rear window glass rigid in all directions, at all times. Additionally, the rocker panel extension was not aluminum. The team would be docked 20 driver and owner points, the win would not count toward playoffs, crew chief Rodney Childers was fined $50,000 and car chief Robert Smith would be suspended for the next two races. Additionally, the No. 55 team was penalized for a loose lug nut during inspection and crew chief Todd Parrott was fined $10,000.[17]
Standings after the race
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References
- "2018 schedule". Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. May 5, 2017. Archived from the original on December 24, 2017. Retrieved February 6, 2018.
- "Las Vegas Motor Speedway". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. January 3, 2013. Retrieved February 6, 2018.
- "Entry List". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. February 26, 2018. Retrieved February 26, 2018.
- "First Practice Results". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. March 2, 2018. Retrieved March 2, 2018.
- "Qualifying Results". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. March 2, 2018. Retrieved March 2, 2018.
- "Second Practice Results". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. March 3, 2018. Retrieved March 3, 2018.
- "Final Practice Results". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. March 3, 2018. Retrieved March 3, 2018.
- "Pennzoil 400 Results". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. March 4, 2018. Retrieved March 4, 2018.
- "Points standings" (PDF). Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. March 5, 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 6, 2018. Retrieved March 5, 2018.
- "Manufacturer standings" (PDF). Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. March 5, 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 6, 2018. Retrieved March 5, 2018.
- "Las Vegas final TV ratings". Jayski's Silly Season Site. ESPN. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
- Utter, Jim (March 2, 2018). "Kyle Larson leads pre-qualifying practice at Las Vegas". Motorsport.com. Las Vegas: Motorsport Network. Retrieved March 2, 2018.
- Beacham, Greg (March 2, 2018). "Ryan Blaney claims Vegas pole; Harvick still fast in 2nd". Associated Press. Las Vegas: AP Sports. Associated Press. Archived from the original on March 3, 2018. Retrieved March 2, 2018.
- DeGroot, Nick (March 3, 2018). "Kyle Larson leads second Cup practice at Las Vegas". Motorsport.com. Las Vegas: Motorsport Network. Retrieved March 3, 2018.
- Utter, Jim (March 3, 2018). "Pole-sitter Ryan Blaney paces final practice at Las Vegas". Motorsport.com. Las Vegas: Motorsport Network. Retrieved March 3, 2018.
- Hembree, Mike (March 4, 2018). "Kevin Harvick dominates at Las Vegas, wins second consecutive Cup race". USA TODAY. Retrieved March 4, 2018.
- "No. 4 Monster Energy Series team penalized post-Vegas". Official Site Of NASCAR. Retrieved March 7, 2018.
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