2018 NASCAR Cup Series (Simpsonverse)
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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.
Teams and drivers
Complete schedule
| Manufacturer | Team | No. | Race driver | Crew chief | Model |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BMW | Germain Racing | 13 | Casey Mears | Matt Borland | M3 |
| Chevrolet | Dale Earnhardt, Inc. | 01 | Jeffrey Earnhardt | Tony Eury, Sr. | Camaro ZL1 |
| 1 | Martin Truex Jr. | Matt McCall | |||
| 8 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Tony Eury Jr. | |||
| 15 | Alex Bowman | Bruce Cook | |||
| 81 | Matt Kenseth | Kevin Hamlin | |||
| Hendrick Motorsports | 9 | Chase Elliott | Alan Gustafson | Camaro ZL1 | |
| 24 | William Byron (R) | Darian Grubb | |||
| 25 | Brad Keselowski | Greg Ives | |||
| 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Chad Knaus | |||
| 84 | Landon Cassill | Lance McGrew | |||
| JTG Daugherty Racing | 47 | A. J. Allmendinger | Tristan Smith | Malibu | |
| 59 | Chris Buescher | Trent Owens | |||
| Leavine Family Racing | 95 | Kasey Kahne 25 | Travis Mack 15 Jon Leonard 21 |
Malibu | |
| Cole Whitt | |||||
| Premium Motorsports | 49 | Justin Marks (R) | Pat Tryson | Camaro ZL1 | |
| Richard Childress Racing | 3 | Austin Dillon | Justin Alexander | Camaro ZL1 | |
| 30 | Ryan Newman | Luke Lambert | |||
| 33 | Ty Dillon | Gil Martin | |||
| StarCom Racing | 05 | Joey Gase (R) (34) | Tony Furr 16 Jonas Bell 1 Rick Bourgeois 19 |
Camaro ZL1 | |
| Tomy Drissi (5) | |||||
| TriStar Motorsports | 72 | Corey LaJoie 23 | Frankie Kerr | Malibu | |
| Cole Whitt 13 | |||||
| Dodge | Chip Ganassi Racing | 40 | Bryan Clauson | Jeff Vandermoss | Challenger |
| 41 | Brennan Poole | Mike Shiplett | |||
| 42 | Ross Chastain (R) | Chad Johnston | |||
| Petty Enterprises | 7 | Sam Hornish Jr. | Drew Blickensderfer | ||
| 43 | Darrell Wallace Jr. (R) | Derek Stamets | |||
| 44 | Chad McCumbee | Mark Tudor | |||
| 45 | Adam Petty | Billy Wilburn | |||
| 46 | Austin Petty | Mike Ford | |||
| Ford | Front Row Motorsports | 34 | Michael McDowell | Derrick Finley | Fusion |
| 35 | Kyle Larson | Todd Anderson | |||
| 38 | David Ragan | Seth Barbour | |||
| Go Fas Racing | 32 | Matt DiBenedetto | Gene Nead 2 Randy Cox 34 |
Fusion | |
| Orr Motorsports | 37 | Regan Smith | John Page | Fusion | |
| Roush Fenway Racing | 6 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Matt Puccia | Roush Mustang | |
| 17 | Trevor Bayne | Brian Pattie | |||
| Elliott Sadler | |||||
| Stewart-Haas Racing | 00 | Brian Vickers | Billy Scott | Mustang | |
| 4 | Kevin Harvick | Rodney Childers 34 Tony Gibson 2 | |||
| 10 | Aric Almirola | Johnny Klausmeier | |||
| 14 | Tony Stewart | Greg Zipadelli | |||
| Team Penske | 2 | Blaise Alexander | Paul Wolfe | Mustang | |
| 12 | Ryan Blaney | Jeremy Bullins | |||
| 22 | Joey Logano | Todd Gordon | |||
| Wood Brothers Racing | 21 | Paul Menard | Greg Erwin | Shelby GT500 | |
| Yates Racing | 28 | Jamie McMurray | Todd Parrott | Fusion | |
| 88 | Ryan Reed | Kevin Manion | |||
| 96 | Jason Leffler | Larry Carter | |||
| Honda | Brett Favre Racing | 16 | Parker Kligerman | Joey Knuckles | Civic |
| 61 | Jeb Burton | Tim Steele | |||
| 90 | Johanna Robbins | Darrell Bryant | |||
| Labonte Motorsports | 09 | Justin Allgaier | Jay Guy | Accord | |
| 52 | Michael Annett | Steve Addington | |||
| 53 | Dakoda Armstrong (R) | Jimmy Elledge | |||
| Toyota | Furniture Row Racing | 78 | Kurt Busch | Cole Pearn | Camry |
| Joe Gibbs Racing | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Mike Wheeler | ||
| 18 | Kyle Busch | Adam Stevens | |||
| 19 | Daniel Suárez | Scott Graves 30 Dave Rogers 6 | |||
| 20 | Erik Jones | Chris Gayle | |||
| Michael Waltrip Racing | 51 | Clint Bowyer | Dax Gerringer | ||
| 55 | Brett Moffitt | Chad Walter | |||
| Toyota 34 Ford 2 |
BK Racing | 23 | Gray Gaulding 17 | Rick Bourgeois 17 Tony Furr 19 |
Camry
Fusion |
| J. J. Yeley 13 | |||||
| Blake Jones 3 | |||||
| Spencer Gallagher 1 | |||||
| Joey Gase 1 | |||||
| Chevrolet (Start Your Engines!) 23 Ford 11 Toyota 2 |
Rick Ware Racing | 56 | Justin Marks 1 | Pat Tryson 1 Ken Evans 34 George Church 1 |
2017 SS
2017 Fusion 2016 Avalon |
| Harrison Rhodes 5 | |||||
| Cole Custer 3 | |||||
| Timmy Hill 3 | |||||
| Cody Ware 3 | |||||
| B. J. McLeod 13 | |||||
| Chris Cook 1 | |||||
| Ray Black Jr. 1 | |||||
| Josh Bilicki 1 | |||||
| Reed Sorenson 1 | |||||
| David Starr 1 | |||||
| Stanton Barrett 1 | |||||
| Jeb Burton 1 |
Limited schedule
| Manufacturer | Team | No. | Race driver | Crew chief | Round(s) | Model |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chevrolet | Beard Motorsports | 62 | Brendan Gaughan | Darren Shaw | 4 | Malibu |
| NY Racing Team | 71 | J. J. Yeley | George Church | 1 | 2017 SS | |
| Premium Motorsports | Peter Sospenzo | 2 | ||||
| D. J. Kennington | 3 | |||||
| Reed Sorenson | 6 | |||||
| Jesse Little | 1 | |||||
| Garrett Smithley | 1 | |||||
| Ross Chastain | 1 | |||||
| Hermie Sadler | 1 | |||||
| Danica Patrick | 1 | |||||
| 98 | Reed Sorenson | 1 | ||||
| J. J. Yeley | ||||||
| 1 | ||||||
| Earnhardt-Childress Racing (Start Your Engines!) | 80 | Daniel Hemric | Brandon Thomas | 2 | Camaro | |
| StarCom Racing | 99 | Derrike Cope | Domenick Turse 3 Jonas Bell 2 Derrike Cope 1 Wayne Carroll Jr. 12 |
3 | 2015 SS | |
| Garrett Smithley | 2 | |||||
| Kyle Weatherman | 7 | |||||
| Landon Cassill | 4 | |||||
| Gray Gaulding | 2 | |||||
| Ford | RBR Enterprises | 92 | David Gilliland | Mike Hester | 1 | 2016 Fusion |
| Timothy Peters | 2 | |||||
| Honda | Labonte Motorsports | 54 | Bobby Labonte | Gary DeHart | 5 | Accord |
| Toyota | Gaunt Brothers Racing | 96 | D. J. Kennington | Mark Hillman | 7 | 2016 Avalon |
| Parker Kligerman | 4 | |||||
| Jeffrey Earnhardt | 10 | |||||
| Jesse Little | 1 | |||||
| Obaika Racing | 97 | David Starr | Dan Stillman | 2 | 2017 Camry | |
| Tanner Berryhill | 2 | |||||
| Ford Dodge Chevrolet (Start Your Engines!) |
MBM Motorsports | 66 | Mark Thompson | Mike Hillman Sr. 4 Robert Scott 12 Gary Showalter 1 Michael Groves 4 |
1 | 2015 Mustang
2015 Challenger 2015 SS |
| Chad Finchum | 1 | |||||
| Timmy Hill | 19 | |||||
| Chevrolet (Start Your Engines!) 3 Ford 3 |
Rick Ware Racing | 57 | Cody Ware | George Church 5 Ken Evans 1 |
1 | 2017 SS
2017 Mustang |
| B. J. McLeod | 2 | |||||
| J. J. Yeley | 1 | |||||
| Gray Gaulding | 1 | |||||
| Harrison Rhodes | 1 |
Local Leasing entries
| Manufacturer | Team | No. | Race Driver | Crew Chief | Round(s) | Model and year |
|---|
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.
| No | Race Title | Track | Date | Time (ET) | TV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Busch Clash Qualifier | Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach, Florida | February 10 | 12:00 p.m. | CBS Sports Network | |
| Busch Clash | February 11 | 3:00 p.m. | CBS | ||
| Gatorade Duel | February 15 | 7:00 p.m. | CBS | ||
| 1 | Daytona 500 | February 18 | 2:30 p.m. | CBS | |
| 2 | Subway 400 | Rockingham Speedway, Rockingham, North Carolina | February 25 | 3:30 p.m. | Fox |
| 3 | Pennzoil 400 | Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Las Vegas, Nevada | March 4 | 3:30 p.m. | Fox |
| 4 | Camping World 500 | Road America, Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin | March 11 | 3:30 p.m. | Fox |
| 5 | Budweiser 400 | Riverside Speedway, Moreno Valley, California | March 18 | 3:30 p.m. | Fox |
| 6 | STP 500 | Martinsville Speedway, Ridgeway, Virginia | March 26 | 2:00 p.m. | FS1 |
| 7 | O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 | Texas World Speedway, College Station | April 8 | 2:00 p.m. | FS1 |
| 8 | Jacob's Grand Prix | Brands Hatch, West Kingsdown, Kent, England | April 15 | 1:15 p.m.
1:30 p.m. |
Fox |
| 9 | Double Dare 400 | Nazareth Speedway, Nazareth, Pennsylvania | April 21 | 6:30 p.m. | Fox
Nickelodeon Netflix |
| 10 | GEICO 500 | Talladega Superspeedway, Lincoln, Alabama | April 29 | 2:00 p.m. | Fox |
| 11 | AAA 400 Drive for Autism | Dover International Speedway, Dover, Delaware | May 6 | 1:45 p.m. | FS1 |
| 12 | KC Masterpiece 400 | Kansas Speedway, Kansas City, Kansas | May 12 | 8:00 p.m. | FS1 |
| NASCAR Open | Greenville-Pickens Speedway, Easley, South Carolina | May 19 | 6:00 p.m. | FS1 | |
| NASCAR All-Star Race | May 19 | 8:00 p.m. | FS1 | ||
| 13 | Coca-Cola 600 | Charlotte Motor Speedway, Concord, North Carolina | May 27 | 6:00 p.m. | Fox |
| 14 | Old Spice 400 | Gateway Motorsports Park, Madison, Illinois | June 3 | 2:00 p.m. | FS1 |
| 15 | FireKeepers Casino 400 | Michigan International Speedway, Brooklyn, Michigan | June 10 | 4:30 p.m. | Fox |
| 16 | McDonald's 400 | Chicago Motor Speedway, Cicero, Illinois | June 23 | 3:00 p.m. | FS1 |
| 17 | Overton’s 400 | Chicagoland Speedway, Joliet, Illinois | June 24 | 2:30 p.m. | MGM |
| 18 | U.S. Cellular 400 | Iowa Speedway, Newton, Iowa | July 1 | 3:15 p.m. | NBC |
| Daytona Late Model Classic | Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach, Florida | July 6 | 1:00 p.m. | TBS | |
| 19 | Coke Zero Sugar 400 | July 7 | 7:00 p.m. | MGM | |
| 20 | Quaker State 400 presented by Walmart | Kentucky Speedway, Sparta, Kentucky | July 14 | 7:30 p.m. | TBS |
| 21 | Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 | New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Loudon, New Hampshire | July 22 | 4:15 p.m. | TBS |
| 22 | Gander Outdoors 400[1] | Pocono Raceway, Long Pond, Pennsylvania | July 29 | 2:30 p.m. | TBS |
| 23 | Go Bowling at The Glen[2] | Watkins Glen International, Watkins Glen, New York | August 5 | 2:30 p.m. | NBC |
| 24 | Howard Johnson's 400 | Pikes Peak International Raceway, Fountain, Colorado | August 12 | 2:30 p.m. | MGM |
| 25 | Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race | Bristol Motor Speedway, Bristol, Tennessee | August 18 | 6:30 p.m. | MGM |
| 26 | Southern 500 | Darlington Raceway, Darlington, South Carolina | September 2 | 7:00 p.m. | MGM |
| 27 | Big Machine Vodka 400 at the Brickyard | Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Speedway, Indiana | September 10 | 2:00 p.m. | MGM |
| 28 | Tyson Holly Farms 400 | North Wilkesboro Speedway, North Wilkesboro, North Carolina |
September 16 | 3:00 p.m. | MGM |
| 29 | Federated Auto Parts 400 | Richmond Raceway, Richmond, Virginia | September 22 | 7:30 p.m. | TBS |
| 30 | Bank of America Roval 500 | Charlotte Motor Speedway, Concord, North Carolina, (Roval) | September 30 | 2:00 p.m. | NBC |
| 31 | TNN 420 | Fairgrounds Speedway, Nashville, Tennessee | October 7 | 2:30 p.m. | TNN |
| 32 | Federated Auto Parts 400 | Richmond Raceway, Richmond, Virginia | October 14 | 2:00 p.m. | TBS |
| 33 | 1000Bulbs.com 500 | Talladega Superspeedway, Lincoln, Alabama | October 21 | 2:00 p.m. | NBC |
| 34 | Can-Am 500 | ISM Raceway, Avondale, Arizona | October 28 | 2:00 p.m. | NBC |
| 35 | Keystone Light 400 | Milwaukee Mile, West Allis, Wisconsin | November 4 | 2:30 p.m. | NBC |
| 36 | Auto Club 400 | Auto Club Speedway, Fontana, California | November 11 | 2:30 p.m. | TBS |
| 37 | Toyota/Save Mart 350 | Sonoma Raceway, Sonoma, California | November 18 | 3:00 p.m. | TBS |
| 38 | Ford EcoBoost 400 | Homestead-Miami Speedway, Homestead, Florida | November 25 | 2:30 p.m. | NBC |
| 39 | Sega 350 | Suzuka Circuit, Suzuka, Japan | December 2 | 2:30 p.m. | MGM |
| 40 | Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 | Atlanta Motor Speedway, Hampton, Georgia | December 9 | 3:30 p.m. | MGM |
Season summary
Race reports
Results and standings
Race results
| Race | Pole position | Most laps led | Winning driver | Model | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Busch Clash Qualifier | Johanna Robbins | Honda Civic | |||
| Busch Clash | Tony Stewart | Ford Mustang | |||
| Gatorade Duel #1 | Dale Earnhardt, Jr. | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 | |||
| Gatorade Duel #2 | Adam Petty | Dodge Challenger | |||
| 1 | Daytona 500 | Tony Stewart | Ford Mustang | ||
| 2 | Subway 400 | Joey Logano | Ford Mustang | ||
| 3 | Pennzoil 400 | Blaise Alexander | Ford Mustang | ||
| 4 | Camping World 500 | Kevin Harvick | Ford Mustang | ||
| 5 | Budweiser 400 | Austin Petty | Dodge Challenger | ||
| 6 | STP 500 | Alex Bowman | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 | ||
| 7 | O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 | Sam Hornish, Jr. | Dodge Challenger | ||
| 8 | Jacob's Grand Prix | Jeffrey Earnhardt | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 | ||
| 9 | Double Dare 400 | Matt Kenseth | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 | ||
| 10 | GEICO 500 | Chase Elliott | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 | ||
| 11 | AAA 400 Drive for Autism | Dale Earnhardt, Jr. | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 | ||
| 12 | KC Masterpiece 400 | Dale Earnhardt, Jr. | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 | ||
| NASCAR Open | Ty Dillon | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 | |||
| NASCAR All-Star Race | Tony Stewart | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 | |||
| 13 | Coca-Cola 600 | Jeffrey Earnhardt | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 | ||
| 14 | Old Spice 400 | Kevin Harvick | Ford Mustang | ||
| 15 | FireKeepers Casino 400 | Austin Dillon | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 | ||
| 16 | McDonald's 400 | Jimmie Johnson | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 | ||
| 17 | Overton’s 400 | Darrell Wallace, Jr. | Dodge Challenger | ||
| 18 | U.S. Cellular 400 | Regan Smith | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 | ||
| Daytona Late Model Classic | Cale Yarborough | ||||
| 19 | Coke Zero Sugar 400 | Dale Earnhardt, Jr. | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 | ||
| 20 | Quaker State 400 presented by Walmart | Landon Cassill | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 | ||
| 21 | Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 | Ryan Blaney | Ford Mustang | ||
| 22 | Gander Outdoors 400 | Aric Almirola | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 | ||
| 23 | Go Bowling at The Glen | Chase Elliott | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 | ||
| 24 | Howard Johnson's 400 | Brad Keselowski | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 | ||
| 25 | Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race | Kurt Busch | Toyota Camry | ||
| 26 | Southern 500 | Jeffrey Earnhardt | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 | ||
| 27 | Big Machine Vodka 400 at the Brickyard | Dale Earnhardt, Jr. | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 | ||
| 28 | Tyson Holly Farms 400 | Kyle Busch | Toyota Camry | ||
| 29 | Federated Auto Parts 400 | Tony Stewart | Ford Mustang | ||
| 30 | Bank of America Roval 500 | Jason Leffler | Ford Fusion | ||
| 31 | TNN 420 | Dale Earnhardt, Jr. | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 | ||
| 32 | Federated Auto Parts 400 | Adam Petty | Dodge Challenger | ||
| 33 | 1000Bulbs.com 500 | Brendan Gaughan | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 | ||
| 34 | Can-Am 500 | Brad Keselowski | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 | ||
| 35 | Keystone Light 400 | Blaise Alexander | Ford Mustang | ||
| 36 | Auto Club 400 | Martin Truex, Jr. | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 | ||
| 37 | Toyota/Save Mart 350 | Bryan Clauson | Dodge Challenger | ||
| 38 | Ford EcoBoost 400 | Matt Kenseth | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 | ||
| 39 | Sega 350 | Johanna Robbins | Honda Civic | ||
| 40 | Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 | Denny Hamlin | Toyota Camry |