2018 NASCAR Cup Series (Simpsonverse)

The 2018 NASCAR Cup Series was the 70th season of NASCAR professional stock car racing in the United States, and the 47th modern-era Cup series season. The season began at Daytona International Speedway with the Busch Clash, the Gatorade Duel qualifying races and the 60th running of the Daytona 500, and ended with the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on December 9, 2018.

The season marked the debut of Honda, which fielded the Civic and Accord, as well as the Chevrolet Malibu, which replaced the outgoing Chevrolet SS. This was also the last season for Kasey Kahne, who announced his intention to retire from racing at the end of the season and was forced to step away in early October 2018 after not being medically cleared to continue, and five-time champion Tony Stewart, who announced his intention to retire from racing at the end of the season in 2017, as well as BK Racing who sold its equipment to Front Row Motorsports. It was also the final season Ford fielded the Fusion, replacing it with the Lincoln Continental in 2019, marking the first time a model was replaced with one of a separate brand.

Dale Earnhardt, Jr., driving for Dale Earnhardt, Inc. won the championship for the third and final time in his career, after defeating Blaise Alexander and Kyle Busch. Earnhardt won five races over the course of the season. Tony Stewart won his second Daytona 500.

Manufacturer changes

 * Chevrolet upgraded the Camaro to the ZL1 version.

Schedule
The final schedule – comprising 39 races, as well as exhibition races, which are the Busch Clash, Gatorade Duel qualifying duel races for the Daytona 500 and the All-Star Race – was released on May 23, 2017.