2019 NASCAR Panasonic Cup Series (Johnsonverse)

The 2019 NASCAR Panasonic Cup Series is the 71st season of professional stock car racing in the United States, and the 48th modern-era NASCAR Cup series season. The season began at Road America with the Harley-Davidson 250 on January 27, 2019, followed by Daytona International Speedway with the Busch Clash, the Can-Am Duel qualifying races and the 61st running of the Daytona 500. The season will end with the PrimeStar Rebel 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on November 17, 2019. Macy Waltrip enters the season as the defending champion.

It is the fifth season of the current 10-year television contract with Fox Sports, NBC Sports, and WBC Sports, and the fourth of a five-year race sanctioning agreement with all tracks.

It is scheduled to be the first season in which the Cup Series has raced at Lucas Oil Speedway (replacing the August Bristol race), Nazareth Speedway (falling on the former Father's Day off-weekend), The Milwaukee Mile (replacing the September Richmond race), Mid-Ohio Sports Car Complex (replacing the October Dover race), and Brands Hatch in Kent, England (falling on the former August off-weekend), marking the first international points-paying Cup Series race since 1958. The Brands Hatch, Mid-Ohio, and Nazareth races will be broadcast by WBC (Nazareth has been owned and operated by Johnson Industries since 2003), while the remainder will remain on NBC. This season will be the first time the season finale will have been held at Atlanta since 2000; Rockingham will host the third race on the schedule, after the Daytona 500 as it was from 1987 to 2001, with its old spot in the schedule occupied by Homestead-Miami.

In addition, this season will see Audi, Hyundai, and Kia enter NASCAR competition with the A7, Aslan and Optima, respectively; it will also see the return of Porsche (with the Boxster and 991), which last competed in NASCAR in 1954, Jaguar (with the XE), which last competed in 1956, Aston Martin (with the DB11 Superleggera), which entered an unknown model in 1953, and Johnson-owned Pontiac, Oldsmobile, Plymouth, Mercury, Studebaker, and Geyser (with a company-owned Grand Prix, Cutlass, Roadrunner, Cyclone, Commander, and Hawk entering four races to collect data for a full comeback in 2020; Pontiac plans to field both the Grand Prix and Firebird in Cup, BGN, AutoZone, K&N, and ARCA competition, with Oldsmobile, Plymouth and Mercury doing the same), which entered multiple models between 1959 and 2004, 1949 and 1994, 1949 and 1974, the 1950s and the 1980s, 1950 and 1962, and 2000 and 2006, respectively. In addition, Toyota will begin fielding a second model, the Avalon, and Chrysler will field a third model, the Maserati GranTurismo, marking the first time a grand tourer has been used in NASCAR. Chevrolet and Ford will replace the Impala and Taurus with the Malibu and Lincoln Continental, respectively. Lincoln had run in NASCAR from 1949 to 1957.

This will be the final season for 2003 NASCAR Winston Cup champion Matt Kenseth. His #60 Ford will be handed over to Kaz Grala.

2019 will also see NASCAR introduce the Summer Shootout, which will see Cup, BGN, and SuperTruck drivers competing in SSCs via a fan vote. The first Summer Shootout will be raced at Pikes Peak International Raceway.

Chevrolet

 * Hendrick Motorsports (Camaro)
 * 5 Justin Allgaier
 * 9 Chase Elliott
 * 24 William Byron
 * 25 Alex Bowman
 * 48 Jimmie Johnson
 * JTG Daugherty Racing (Malibu)
 * 37 Chris Buescher
 * 47 Ryan Reed
 * 59 Tyler Reddick (R)
 * Richard Childress Racing (Malibu)
 * 03 Parker Kligerman (R)
 * 3 Austin Dillon
 * 29 Daniel Hemric (R)
 * 31 Ty Dillon
 * 33 John Wes Townley (R)
 * Stewart-Haas Racing (Camaro)
 * 00 Cole Custer (R)
 * 4 Kevin Harvick
 * 10 Aric Almirola
 * 14 Tony Stewart
 * 41 Jeb Burton
 * Dale Earnhardt Inc. (Camaro)
 * 8 Jeffrey Earnhardt
 * 15 Macy Waltrip
 * 146 Michael Annett
 * StarCom Racing (Malibu)
 * 99 Ralph Higgins (R)


 * Phoenix Racing (Camaro)
 * 09 Scott Heckert (R)
 * 50 Brian Vickers
 * 67 Brennan Newberry (R)
 * 74 Manny Brown (R)
 * Premium Motorsports with Scuderia Corsa (Camaro)
 * 158 Ross Chastain


 * Timber Racing (Malibu)
 * 125 Rachel Bolan (R)
 * 128 Robert Sheehan (R)
 * 138 Robert Lord (R)


 * Plucked Feathers Motorsports (Malibu)
 * 134 Chris Hanson (R)


 * Spire Motorsports (Camaro)
 * 178 Quin Houff (R)

Ford

 * Front Row Motorsports (Mustang)
 * 34 Michael McDowell
 * 35 David Gilliland
 * 36 Lorne Roth (R)
 * 38 David Ragan
 * 139 Alan Walker (R)
 * Go FAS Racing (Taurus)
 * 32 Matt DiBenedetto
 * Roush Fenway Racing (Roush Mustang)
 * 06 Trevor Bayne
 * 6 Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
 * 60 Matt Kenseth
 * 97 Carl Edwards
 * Wood Brothers Racing (Shelby GT500)
 * 21 Paul Menard
 * 121 Jon Wood (R)


 * Brown Hornet Racing (Mustang)
 * 164 Hal Dixon (R)

Toyota

 * GMS Racing (Avalon)
 * 73 Gray Gaulding
 * 82 Spencer Gallagher (R)
 * 83 Robert Richardson Jr.
 * 84 Amber Lucky
 * 85 Luke Trigger (R)
 * Joe Gibbs Racing (Camry)
 * 11 Denny Hamlin
 * 18 Christopher Bell (R)
 * 19 Daniel Suárez
 * 20 Erik Jones
 * 81 Ryan Preece


 * Kyle Busch Motorsports (Avalon)
 * 51 Jesse Clemons (R)
 * 54 Kyle Busch
 * 78 Kurt Busch
 * 87 Matt Tifft (R)


 * Hillman Racing (Camry)
 * 04 Landon Cassill

Dodge

 * Team Penske (Charger)
 * 02 Ryan Blaney
 * 2 Brad Keselowski
 * 22 Joey Logano
 * 77 Sam Hornish Jr.
 * Richard Petty Motorsports (Challenger)
 * 43 Darrell Wallace Jr.
 * 44 Billy Johnson
 * 45 James Buescher (R)
 * Evernham Motorsports (Charger)
 * 93 Kasey Kahne
 * Chip Ganassi Racing (Challenger)
 * 01 Martin Truex Jr.
 * 1 David Stremme
 * 39 Bryan Clauson
 * 42 Kyle Larson


 * Rusty Wallace Racing (Charger)
 * 102 Steve Wallace (R)

Honda

 * Orange County Racing (Accord)
 * 86 Jed Thomas
 * 90 Luke George
 * Doug Yates Racing (Civic)
 * 28 Elliott Sadler
 * 88 Vinnie Miller (R)
 * Leavine Family Racing (Accord)
 * 95 Ryan Reed

BMW (Only Fields M3)

 * Team Ohio
 * 64 Kelly Walker
 * 65 Rodney Clay
 * Germain Racing
 * 13 Ryan Newman


 * Dar-Wal Inc.
 * 17 Ray Black Jr. (R)

Nissan (Only Fields Sentra)

 * MAG Incorporated
 * 58 Lyle White
 * 68 Bill Fuller
 * 71 Randall Parker
 * 177 Randy Norton
 * Stash Motorsports
 * 91 Bo Abraham
 * 92 Beau Philips

Buick (Only Fields Regal)

 * Bobby Allison Racing
 * 12 Dakoda Armstrong
 * 152 Clint Bowyer
 * 153 Alvin Shields
 * Rossi Racing
 * 50 BJ Fisher
 * 53 Tyson Golston

Cadillac (Only Fields CTS-V)

 * Red Tiger Motorsports with Sterling Marlin
 * 170 Tracy Johnson
 * Parsons Motorsports
 * 16 T.J. Bell (R)
 * 49 Ned Shannon (R)
 * 66 Tanner Berryhill

Lincoln (RETURNING; Only Fields Continental)

 * Rick Ware Racing
 * 51 Cody Ware (R)


 * Hedrick Racing
 * 141 Dexter Bean (R)


 * Spinner-Marcis Auto Racing
 * 171 Zack Brady (R)

Audi (NEW; Only Fields A7)

 * NY Racing Team
 * 174 J.J. Yeley
 * 175 Matt Mills (R)


 * Marchesi Racing
 * 176 Mark Marchesi (R)

Maserati (NEW; Only Fields GranTurismo)

 * Cale Yarborough Racing
 * 98 Simon Stevens


 * Slick Poly Racing
 * 69 Mike Maier (R)

Jaguar (RETURNING; Only Fields XE)

 * Travis Carter Enterprises
 * 23 Ben Rhodes
 * 55 Matt Carter (R)
 * 61 Kyle Krisiloff (R)


 * Ken Schrader Racing
 * 52 Josh Berry (R)

Porsche (RETURNING)

 * Kenny Bernstein Racing (Boxster)
 * 26 Harrison Rhodes


 * NEMCO Motorsports with Carl Long (991)
 * 187 John Hunter Nemechek (R)

Kia (NEW; Only Fields Optima)

 * Junior Johnson Racing
 * 27 BJ McCleod


 * Labonte Bros. Racing
 * 96 Justin Labonte (R)

Aston Martin (RETURNING; Only Fields DB11 Superleggera)

 * Delma Cowart Racing
 * 0 Noah Howe
 * 100 Chris Vallely
 * 180 Dave Hawkins (R)


 * Rudd Performance Motorsports
 * 110 Mike Murphy (R)


 * Butch Jones Enterprises with Geoffrey Bodine
 * 162 Clay Jones (R)
 * 163 Katie Bell (R)

Hyundai (NEW; Only Fields Aslan)

 * Tri-Star Motorsports
 * 72 Cole Whitt
 * 79 Corey LaJoie (R)
 * 158 Stephen Leicht
 * 167 Timothy Peters (R)


 * Stavola Bros. Racing
 * 08 Carl Maggio (R)


 * Robby Gordon Motorsports
 * 07 Takuma Sato (R)
 * 107 Kimi Raikkonen (R)

Chevrolet

 * StarCom Racing (Gen-6 Chevrolet SS)
 * 99 TBA
 * Beard Motorsports (Impala)
 * 62 Brendan Gaughan
 * Tommy Baldwin Racing (Camaro)
 * 7 Ryan Truex

Dodge

 * Arrington Racing (Charger)
 * 167 Bayley Currey
 * MBM Motorsports (Challenger)
 * 66 Timmy Hill
 * 166 Carl Long

Honda

 * Obaika Racing (Accord)
 * 101 Sheldon Creed (R)

BMW

 * Germain Racing
 * 127 Casey Mears

Aston Martin

 * Gaunt Brothers Racing
 * 96 D.J. Kennington

Pontiac (RETURNING)

 * Pontiac Racing Development (Grand Prix)
 * 192 Hailie Deegan

Oldsmobile (RETURNING)

 * Oldsmobile Racing Development (Cutlass)
 * 141 Spencer Davis

Plymouth (RETURNING)

 * Plymouth Racing Development (Superbird/Roadrunner)
 * 140 Max McLaughlin

Mercury (RETURNING)

 * Mercury Racing Development (Cyclone)
 * 125 Jeremy Clements

Geyser (RETURNING)

 * Geyser Racing Development (Hawk)
 * 193 Ryan Sieg

Studebaker (RETURNING)

 * Studebaker Racing Development (Commander)
 * 200 Jeff Green

Teams and drivers

 * On October 28, 2018, Hendrick Motorsports announced that Ally Financial signed a two-year deal to co-sponsor the new No. 5 team with Brandt starting in 2019. Ally had previously been with the Hendrick team when they were still known as GMAC.
 * On August 23, 2018, Front Row Motorsports purchased the majority of the assets of the bankrupt BK Racing for US$2.08 million. With this purchase, FRM will field a third team in the 2019 season (they have since announced two more cars).
 * On September 3, 2018, Obaika Racing announced that they will run a few races in the Cup series in 2018, before moving to full-time in 2019.
 * On September 7, 2018, it was announced that Matt DiBenedetto will not return to Go FAS Racing in 2019.
 * On September 10, 2018, it was announced that Jamie McMurray will not return to Chip Ganassi Racing in 2019. CGR had offered McMurray a contract to drive at the 2019 Daytona 500 before moving to a leadership position with the team. On December 12, 2018, Fox Sports announced that McMurray has joined its Fox NASCAR broadcast team as an analyst for NASCAR RaceDay and NASCAR Race Hub starting in 2019. Despite this, McMurray has yet to formally announce retirement.
 * On September 15, 2018, it was announced that Ryan Newman will not return to Richard Childress Racing in 2019. Later on September 21, 2018, it was confirmed that Newman will move to Germain Racing full-time in the No. 13 BMW.
 * On September 16, 2018, it was announced that Kyle Busch would be leaving Joe Gibbs Racing to expand Kyle Busch Motorsports to the Panasonic Cup Series, buying out the assets of Furniture Row Racing. The four-car team will consist of Kyle Busch as an owner-driver, Kurt Busch, Jesse Clemons, and Matt Tifft, the latter two running for Rookie of the Year honors. The same day, Christopher Bell was announced as the new driver of the #18 car, also running for RotY honors.
 * On September 17, 2018, it was announced that Jeb Burton would inherit the #41 car from Kurt Busch at Stewart-Haas Racing.
 * On September 28, 2018, it was announced that Daniel Hemric will run the #29 car for Richard Childress Racing and compete for 2019 Rookie of the Year honors.
 * On October 6, 2018, it was announced that Ross Chastain will be returning to the No. 158 Premium Motorsports Chevrolet on a 'handshake deal'. Team owner Jay Robinson states he will not hold back Chastain if a better opportunity presents itself.
 * On November 26, 2018, Tommy Baldwin Racing announced its rebirth, and that they would run the Daytona 500 and select other races. They will once again run the Chevrolet Camaro.

Manufacturers

 * Toyota will begin fielding a second model, the Avalon, after five seasons of exclusively fielding the Camry in the SSC era. GMS Racing will switch to the Avalon, and Kyle Busch Motorsports will also field the model, while Joe Gibbs Racing and Hillman Racing have confirmed they will continue using the Camry. This echoes a similar move for a second model in the Busch Series, with Toyota fielding the revived Supra in that series for preparation of adding the Supra to the Cup Series in 2020, as well as the AutoZone Elite Series and McDonald's Australia Series.
 * A "Manufacturer Boom" will take place, as Kia, Maserati, and Hyundai will enter NASCAR competition. In addition, Aston Martin, Jaguar, and Porsche, all of which competed in the 1950s, will return to NASCAR.
 * After running the Honda Civic in 2018, Gaunt Brothers Racing will switch to the Aston-Martin DB11 Superleggera in 2019. So far, it is the only confirmed part-time Aston Martin team.
 * Dodge will offer the new Neon for superspeedway races, as it had with the now-discontinued Dart for short tracks and road courses in the first two years of the SSC.
 * Aston Martin had originally announced it would field the Vanquish Volante, but switched to the DB11 Superleggera after the Vanquish line was discontinued in 2018.
 * On October 28, 2018, prior to the Iowa Corn 400, Ford announced that the Taurus would be replaced by the Lincoln Continental due to the imminent discontinuation of the Taurus. Go FAS Racing is reportedly staying with the Taurus due to money issues.
 * On November 26, 2018, GM announced that the Chevrolet Impala would cease production after the 2019 model year. In the same announcement, they stated that the Impala would be replaced by the Malibu in NASCAR competition across all series, and that any team continuing to run the Impala would not receive factory support. Beard Motorsports, the last remaining Impala team due to money issues, will receive equipment and parts from Richard Childress Racing's former Impala program to keep their team going after having their factory support cut off.
 * On February 8, 2019, Johnson Auto announced it would be fielding its own part-time teams with K&N Pro Series driver Hailie Deegan, Busch North drivers Max McLaughlin and Spencer Davis, and BGN drivers Jeremy Clements, Ryan Sieg and Jeff Green at the Daytona 500, Dodge Challenger 400, Tyson Holly Farms 400, and Toyota/Save Mart 350 to collect data for Pontiac, Oldsmobile, Plymouth, Mercury, and Geyser’s return to NASCAR competition in 2020. They will be using the newly-relaunched Grand Prix, Cutlass, Cyclone, Superbird (for the Daytona 500 and Dodge Challenger 400), Roadrunner (for the Tyson Holly Farms 400 and Toyota/Save Mart 350), Commander, and Hawk for these teams. Pontiac had previously run in NASCAR from 1959 to 2003, with a few surplus cars remaining in Nextel Cup competition until a few races into the 2004 season, Busch Series competition until the end of the 2005 season, and ARCA as late as 2007, Oldsmobile had run in NASCAR from its inaugural 1949 season until 1994, Mercury had run from the 1950s to the 1980s, Plymouth had run from 1949 to 1974, Studebaker had run from 1950 to 1962, and Geyser had run in the Busch Series from 2000 to 2006.



Rule changes

 * In response to the second "Great Team Boom" of 2018 and 2019, NASCAR will expand the field to 60 cars on superspeedways, 51 cars on intermediate tracks, 48 cars on road courses, and keep the 46 car field on short tracks.
 * This season will see the return of the Winston Million, renamed the Panasonic Million to reflect Panasonic's title sponsorship. 2019 will also see the return of the No Bull 5, renamed the CompuServe 5, and for a $500,000 bonus.
 * On January 4, 2019, NASCAR announced a new post-race inspection rule in all three series, where race-winning teams found to be in violation of the rule book will automatically be disqualified. Following a race, the first-place and second-place team, along with at least one randomly selected car, will undergo post-race inspection. The car that fails the inspection will receive last-place points. When asked about the rule in a press conference before the Harley-Davidson 250, Tim Johnson responded, "Too many cars are having an unfair advantage. Remember when the winner of the first Strictly Stock race, Glenn Dunaway, was disqualified for having his car fitted with illegal springs? Brian and Mike, on the other hand, would let drivers who fail inspection get off scot-free aside from losing points. To me, that is unfair”.



Schedule
The final schedule – comprising 39 races, as well as exhibition races, which are the Busch Clash, Can-Am Duels qualifying duel races for the Daytona 500, the All-Star Race (renamed The Panasonic as a nod to The Winston), the Daytona Late Model Classic, and the Circuit City Summer Shootout – was released on April 3, 2018. Key changes from 2018 include:


 * Two of the three off-weekends (Father's Day and August) are now race weekends, occupied by Nazareth Speedway and Brands Hatch, respectively.
 * Atlanta was moved to November to become the season finale for the first time since 2000 (it was scheduled to be the season finale in 2001, before the New Hampshire 300 was delayed to the Sunday after November by 9/11). As a result, Homestead-Miami was moved to March, and Rockingham was moved to Atlanta's old spot on the schedule immediately following the Daytona 500 for the first time since 2001.
 * Several tracks lost races to other venues, none of which had ever hosted a Cup Series event (but had hosted, or do host, BGN and SuperTruck Series events). Bristol lost its August night race to Lucas Oil Raceway (formerly Indianapolis Raceway Park), Richmond lost its September date to Milwaukee Mile, and Dover lost its October date to Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.
 * Sonoma Raceway will return to the original 2.52 mile course configuration for the first time since 1997.
 * In broadcasting, the Walt Disney World Speedway race was moved from ESPN to WBC. With the move, the entire second half of the season will be broadcast over-the-air, barring any weather-related broadcast moves to Johnson's cable networks (i.e. The Family Channel, ESPN, TNN, The NASCAR Network, Cartoon Network).

Round 1: Harley-Davidson 250
Lyle White started on the pole for the 2019 season opener after Alex Bowman's time was disallowed due to a post-qualifying infraction. The race was considered the ultimate test for the new manufacturers, and incoming drivers and teams. Throughout a chaotic race that saw Dakoda Armstrong hit a wall head-on (he was uninjured), Kyle Busch triumphed, getting his first win as an owner-driver in the Cup level, and the first win for the Toyota Avalon.

Speedweeks 2019
In Daytona 500 qualifying, William Byron won the pole while Alex Bowman qualified second. This was the fifth consecutive Daytona 500 pole won by Hendrick Motorsports and the first with all four cars in the top 4.

Daytona Speedweeks started with the Advance Auto Parts Clash. Paul Menard drew the pole. The race went under a red flag after the first few laps due to rain. The race returned to green and then the field pitted for the competition caution followed by another red flag for rain. After the restart, Bo Abraham got into leader Paul Menard and collect most of the field including Kyle Busch, Brad Keselowski, Kevin Harvick, and Clint Bowyer, and sending Jamie McMurray into a wild barrel-roll. The race went red again due to rain during the caution and it was called, giving the win to Abraham.

In the Duels on Thursday, Byron led the first Duel. Kyle Busch spun after making contact with Jimmie Johnson. Kevin Harvick took the lead after pit stops and held off Ricky Stenhouse Jr. for the win. In the second duel, Bowman started in the lead. Joey Logano made a last lap pass on Tony Stewart to win a caution-free race, marking the first victory for the Dodge Neon (a model that has yet to enter production in the US and Canada).

Round 2: Daytona 500 by STP
William Byron started on pole. Cody Ware spun when coming to pit road and collected Tyler Reddick and Jimmie Johnson. Kyle Larson and Brad Keselowski both spun after tire issues. Matt DiBenedetto led the most laps, but was involved in a accident with Ryan Blaney, Paul Menard, Chase Elliott, Martin Truex Jr., and others, and sending Takuma Sato into a wild flip. On the restart, Clint Bowyer got turned and collected Byron, Austin Dillon, Ryan Newman, and others. In Green-White-Checkered, Tony Stewart was able to hold off Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch for his second 500 win, five years after the first. It was also the first Daytona 500 sponsored by STP since 1993.

Before the race, the song Sweet Victory was performed live by David Glen Eisley, accompanied by Bob Kulick on the guitar, and the backing track of the orchestral version, during the pre-race show, accompanied by a clip of the song being played from the SpongeBob SquarePants episode Band Geeks, with new footage of Daytona International Speedway and the fans, the full version of the song played, and the narrator (again voiced by Mr. Lawrence) saying, “Okay, racing fans”, and introducing Eisley and Kulick, ending with a dedication card to Stephen Hillenburg. The song was performed in direct response to the NFL's infamous ratings trap during Super Bowl LIII's halftime show in which it was teased, but never actually performed.

Round 3: Dodge Challenger 400
Aric Almirola started on pole for the first Cup Series race held at Rockingham in February since 2004, as well as the first race to use a new package that incorporates elements from the Stock Prototype category of the as-of-yet unnamed sports car series NASCAR will introduce in 2020, such as aero ducts to pass clean air back to other cars and foster pack racing (this package will only be used at the intermediate tracks such as Charlotte and Kansas; larger tracks such as Auto Club, Michigan, and Indianapolis, short tracks, road courses, and plate tracks will continue using the package implemented under the Final Solution memo in 2016; during the pre-season, Tim Johnson discovered a rough draft for a new rule package that would entail reducing horsepower and utilizing restrictor plates and a larger spoiler, as well as tapered spacers at the plate tracks, but since the executives in question had just made these rules using the game Ultimate NASCAR, which does allow such experimentation, to see if it would work, nobody was fired, and Johnson found himself staying up into the early morning hours playing around with the package in-game). Some top runners including Almirola, Larson, and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. had speeding penalties. Kyle Busch got into the wall and had a tire go down. Max McLaughlin, driving a Plymouth Superbird for developmental purposes in preparation for the manufacturer's full-time return to NASCAR competition in 2020, dominated much of the race, leading 75 laps, due to the aerodynamic nature of the Superbird (seen as the start of what has been coined the “Second Aero War"), but debris from Kyle Busch's crash sheared the rear spoiler off, stripping the car of all downforce and sending it high into the air before landing hard and barrel-rolling in the trioval grass; McLaughlin was unhurt, but the car was destroyed; Plymouth stated in a post-race interview that they would reinforce the rear spoiler. During the final round of green flag pit stops, Ryan Preece ran into the back of BJ McLeod. Brad Keselowski, battling stomach flu, took the lead from teammate Joey Logano and held off Martin Truex Jr. for his second Atlanta win and his 60th win overall at Team Penske across Cup and BGN.

Round 4: Pennzoil 400 presented by Jiffy Lube
Kevin Harvick started on pole. Kyle Larson and Austin Dillon suffered pit road penalties in the first stage during green flag stops. Kyle Busch had a speeding penalty while making a pit stop under green flag. In the closing stages, controversy erupted when Kyle Busch got together with Joey Logano on the backstretch and sent the latter into the same spot Jeff Gordon crashed in 2009, this time splitting the car open. Logano's crew believed Busch intentionally wrecked him in retaliation for the incident at the 2017 running of the race that saw a post-race fight on pit road, and attacked Busch's pit. A red flag was thrown to clean up the mess and de-escalate the pit road situation. Replays, however, showed that Busch hadn't intentionally wrecked Logano, but had merely gotten loose. The race ended in a major upset when Ben Rhodes, driving a Jaguar XE for returning team owner Travis Carter, who was in his first full-time NASCAR season as an owner since 2007, and his first full-time season in the Cup Series since 2003, beat Brad Keselowski in a photo-finish. It was not only Rhodes' first Cup Series victory, but also Travis Carter's first-ever points win and Jaguar's first NASCAR win since 1954.

Round 5: TicketGuardian 500
Ryan Blaney started the race from pole position. Erik Jones spun from a flat tire and Brad Keselowski hit the wall after an issue in the right front of the car caused a tire to go down. Michael McDowell and Ryan Preece were involved in wrecks while Matt DiBenedetto had a mechanical issue. Blaney was leading late in the race until Kyle Busch passed him with 17 laps to go. Kyle Busch looked to be on his way to victory, but had a tire go down with 4 to go, sending him into the gate for haulers, which a child had fiddled with and unwittingly unlocked; Busch hit the gate and was sent flying over the catchfence. Busch was uninjured, and the car had landed in an unoccupied area, but Busch's Avalon was completely destroyed, and the race was red-flagged to remove debris from the track. It marked the first time a car had gone over the outside wall since Jimmy Horton did so in the 1993 DieHard 500 at Talladega. The race went to a Green-White-Checkered finish, in which Chase Elliott beat Macy Waltrip in a mad dash to the finish for his first win of the year.

Round 6: Auto Club 400
Austin Dillon started the race on pole, who had a tire go down. Kyle Busch had a pit road speeding penalty, giving the lead to Brad Keselowski. In the final stage of the race, Darrell Wallace Jr. brought out a caution during a round of green flag pit stops, putting Kyle Busch back toward the front. On the last lap, Busch was passed by Tony Stewart, who went on to take his second win of the season.

Round 7: STP 500
Joey Logano started on pole. Michael McDowell got into the wall and Ty Dillon and William Byron got together. Kyle Larson got into McDowell, ending the day for McDowell. Brad Keselowski dominated, leading 446 laps, but couldn't hold off a charging Chase Elliott, who pulled a bump-and-run on him in turn 4 for his second win of the season.

Round 8: Ford EcoBoost 400
Jimmie Johnson started on pole for the first NASCAR race held at Homestead-Miami Speedway outside of November since the 2001 Florida Dodge Dealers 400K Truck Series race (which was held on March 4). Erik Jones spun early as Brad Keselowski had to go to the garage for several laps due to rear-end issues. Johnson led most of the early stages. Daniel Hemric had a tire go down and spun and Kyle Larson slammed the wall and caught on fire. Denny Hamlin was able to get the lead off pit road. Ryan Blaney had led until his engine expired. Kyle Busch led the most laps, but got loose and got into the wall and had to go to pit road. Hamlin, who suffered back-to-back pit road penalties, was able to get back in the lead after the final round of green-flag pit stops and held off Clint Bowyer for his first win of the season.