2018 Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500
Race details[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9]
Race 2 of 36 in the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
2018 Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 program cover, featuring Jimmie Johnson and Ryan Newman.
2018 Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 program cover, featuring Jimmie Johnson and Ryan Newman.
Date February 25, 2018 (2018-02-25)
Location Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Georgia
Course Permanent racing facility
1.54 mi (2.48 km)
Distance 325 laps, 500.5 mi (806 km)
Average speed 143.068 miles per hour (230.246 km/h)
Pole position
Driver Joe Gibbs Racing
Time 30.024
Most laps led
Driver Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing
Laps 181
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 3.3/3.1 (Overnight)[10]
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)

The 2018 Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 was a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race held on February 25, 2018, at Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Georgia. Contested over 325 laps on the 1.54-mile-long (2.48 km) asphalt quad-oval intermediate speedway, it was the second race of the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season.

Report

Background

Atlanta Motor Speedway, the track where the race was held.

Atlanta Motor Speedway (formerly Atlanta International Raceway) is a track in Hampton, Georgia, 20 miles (32 km) south of Atlanta. It is a 1.54-mile (2.48 km) quad-oval track with a seating capacity of 111,000. It opened in 1960 as a 1.5-mile (2.4 km) standard oval. In 1994, 46 condominiums were built over the northeastern side of the track. In 1997, to standardize the track with Speedway Motorsports' other two 1.5-mile (2.4 km) ovals, the entire track was almost completely rebuilt. The frontstretch and backstretch were swapped, and the configuration of the track was changed from oval to quad-oval. The project made the track one of the fastest on the NASCAR circuit.

Entry list

No. Driver Team Manufacturer
00Jeffrey EarnhardtStarCom RacingChevrolet
1Jamie McMurrayChip Ganassi RacingChevrolet
2Brad KeselowskiTeam PenskeFord
3Austin DillonRichard Childress RacingChevrolet
4Kevin HarvickStewart-Haas RacingFord
6Trevor BayneRoush Fenway RacingFord
9Chase ElliottHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet
10Aric AlmirolaStewart-Haas RacingFord
11Denny HamlinJoe Gibbs RacingToyota
12Ryan BlaneyTeam PenskeFord
13Ty DillonGermain RacingChevrolet
14Clint BowyerStewart-Haas RacingFord
15Ross Chastain (i)Premium MotorsportsChevrolet
17Ricky Stenhouse Jr.Roush Fenway RacingFord
18Kyle BuschJoe Gibbs RacingToyota
19Daniel SuárezJoe Gibbs RacingToyota
20Erik JonesJoe Gibbs RacingToyota
21Paul MenardWood Brothers RacingFord
22Joey LoganoTeam PenskeFord
23Gray GauldingBK RacingToyota
24William Byron (R)Hendrick MotorsportsChevrolet
31Ryan NewmanRichard Childress RacingChevrolet
32Matt DiBenedettoGo Fas RacingFord
34Michael McDowellFront Row MotorsportsFord
37Chris BuescherJTG Daugherty RacingChevrolet
38David RaganFront Row MotorsportsFord
41Kurt BuschStewart-Haas RacingFord
42Kyle LarsonChip Ganassi RacingChevrolet
43Darrell Wallace Jr. (R)Richard Petty MotorsportsChevrolet
47A. J. AllmendingerJTG Daugherty RacingChevrolet
48Jimmie JohnsonHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet
51Harrison RhodesRick Ware RacingChevrolet
72Cole WhittTriStar MotorsportsChevrolet
78Martin Truex Jr.Furniture Row RacingToyota
88Alex BowmanHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet
95Kasey KahneLeavine Family RacingChevrolet
Official entry list

First practice

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 29.745 seconds and a speed of 186.384 mph (299.956 km/h).[11]

Pos No. Driver Team Manufacturer Time Speed
1 17Ricky Stenhouse Jr.Roush Fenway RacingFord29.745186.384
2 42Kyle LarsonChip Ganassi RacingChevrolet29.820185.915
3 43Darrell Wallace Jr. (R)Richard Petty MotorsportsChevrolet29.833185.834
Official first practice results

Qualifying

Kyle Busch scored the pole position.

Kyle Busch scored the pole for the race with a time of 30.024 and a speed of 184.652 mph (297.169 km/h).[12]

Qualifying results

Pos No. Driver Team Manufacturer R1 R2 R3
1 18Kyle BuschJoe Gibbs RacingToyota30.14030.17830.024
2 31Ryan NewmanRichard Childress RacingChevrolet30.09130.21830.062
3 4Kevin HarvickStewart-Haas RacingFord29.86930.04330.067
4 19Daniel SuárezJoe Gibbs RacingToyota30.07530.08430.093
5 2Brad KeselowskiTeam PenskeFord29.73730.15230.154
6 17Ricky Stenhouse Jr.Roush Fenway RacingFord30.13230.21230.176
7 41Kurt BuschStewart-Haas RacingFord30.12630.15530.215
8 42Kyle LarsonChip Ganassi RacingChevrolet30.02530.10130.221
9 14Clint BowyerStewart-Haas RacingFord29.98830.24830.414
10 20Erik JonesJoe Gibbs RacingToyota30.29930.29230.621
11 10Aric AlmirolaStewart-Haas RacingFord30.25130.2240.000
12 11Denny HamlinJoe Gibbs RacingToyota30.24030.3030.000
13 1Jamie McMurrayChip Ganassi RacingChevrolet30.02530.324
14 95Kasey KahneLeavine Family RacingChevrolet30.43330.377
15 21Paul MenardWood Brothers RacingFord30.24230.384
16 22Joey LoganoTeam PenskeFord30.11730.440
17 34Michael McDowellFront Row MotorsportsFord30.47530.469
18 88Alex BowmanHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet30.14630.523
19 43Darrell Wallace Jr. (R)Richard Petty MotorsportsChevrolet30.43930.551
20 6Trevor BayneRoush Fenway RacingFord30.35030.578
21 47A. J. AllmendingerJTG Daugherty RacingChevrolet30.43330.588
22 48Jimmie JohnsonHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet30.19430.590
23 24William Byron (R)Hendrick MotorsportsChevrolet30.08830.663
24 37Chris BuescherJTG Daugherty RacingChevrolet30.4880.000
25 3Austin DillonRichard Childress RacingChevrolet30.503
26 12Ryan BlaneyTeam PenskeFord30.537
27 9Chase ElliottHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet30.616
28 13Ty DillonGermain RacingChevrolet30.750
29 38David RaganFront Row MotorsportsFord30.780
30 32Matt DiBenedettoGo Fas RacingFord30.987
31 23Gray GauldingBK RacingToyota31.099
32 72Cole WhittTriStar MotorsportsChevrolet31.314
33 00Jeffrey EarnhardtStarCom RacingChevrolet31.671
34 15Ross Chastain (i)Premium MotorsportsChevrolet31.796
35 78Martin Truex Jr.Furniture Row RacingToyota0.000
36 51Harrison RhodesRick Ware RacingChevrolet0.000
Official qualifying results

Final practice

Ryan Newman was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 29.989 seconds and a speed of 184.868 mph (297.516 km/h).[13]

Pos No. Driver Team Manufacturer Time Speed
1 31Ryan NewmanRichard Childress RacingChevrolet29.989184.868
2 78Martin Truex Jr.Furniture Row RacingToyota30.033184.597
3 21Paul MenardWood Brothers RacingFord30.038184.566
Official final practice results

Race

Morning rain delayed the start of the race by 2.5 hours, The race was originally to start at 2:00 p.m. but the race was pushed to 1:00 p.m. because of rain, Track drying allowed the start of the race to begin at 3:30 pm EST. Because of track lights they were able to complete the race in its entirety.[14]

Stage 1

Start

Once racing began, Kyle Busch led the field to the green flag, but Ryan Newman took the lead on lap 1 and led 17 laps, but then Kyle Busch took the lead from Newman on lap 18 and led 2 laps, but then Kevin Harvick took the lead on lap 21 and led 11 laps, but then the first caution of the race flew on lap 32 for a scheduled competition caution for rain, so Kyle Busch retook the lead once the caution came out and led one lap and Kevin Harvick took the lead of the race on lap 33.

Racing resumed on lap 35.

Kevin Harvick led 64 laps en route to his stage one victory, finishing 6.5 seconds in front of second place Clint Bowyer. Also in the top five was Brad Keselowski, Martin Truex Jr., and Aric Almirola. The second caution of the race came out on lap 87 for conclusion of the first stage, and Martin Truex Jr. took the lead on lap 89 and led one lap, but then Brad Keselowski took the lead from Truex on lap 90.

Stage 2

Back to green on lap 93. Kurt Busch took the lead on lap 101 and led 25 laps and Kevin Harvick took the lead on lap 126 and led two laps, and Kyle Busch took the lead on lap 127.

Caution flew for the third time on lap 160 for a single car spin in turn 2. Jimmie Johnson got through the second turn and spun out. He was lapped by leader Kevin Harvick.

Racing restarted on lap 164.

Brad Keselowski outran Kurt Busch to win the second stage. Following were Kyle Busch, Joey Logano and Kevin Harvick.

Caution #4 flew on lap 172 for conclusion of the second stage.

Final stage

Kevin Harvick won the race.

Back to green on lap 178.

Brad Keselowski took the lead with 101 laps to go and rain threatened to end the race with about 100 laps to go, as three drivers including Kevin Harvick, Brad Keselowski and Kurt Busch wrestled to take the lead. Crew chiefs were concerned about watching the weather.

The final stage developed in strategies as the teams of Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano ran in green flag pit stops than other leaders, attempting to use one less stop as the other cars.

With 27 laps to go, the fifth caution of the race came out when Trevor Bayne blew an engine in Turn 2, creating a plume of smoke behind him. Darrell Wallace Jr. slammed in the back of Ricky Stenhouse Jr. which caused damage to Wallace Jr.'s car.

Racing restarted with 20 laps to go, and Kevin Harvick led 173 of 325 laps and drove on to score his second career Atlanta victory since 2001.[15]

Post race

"To be able to pay tribute to Dale Earnhardt was cool, been waiting a long time to do that" Harvick said.

Stage Results

Stage 1 Laps: 85

Pos No Driver Team Manufacturer Points
14Kevin HarvickStewart-Haas RacingFord10
214Clint BowyerStewart-Haas RacingFord9
32Brad KeselowskiTeam PenskeFord8
478Martin Truex Jr.Furniture Row RacingToyota7
510Aric AlmirolaStewart-Haas RacingFord6
618Kyle BuschJoe Gibbs RacingToyota5
742Kyle LarsonChip Ganassi RacingChevrolet4
841Kurt BuschStewart-Haas RacingFord3
911Denny HamlinJoe Gibbs RacingToyota2
1022Joey LoganoTeam PenskeFord1
Official stage one results

Stage 2 Laps: 85

Pos No Driver Team Manufacturer Points
12Brad KeselowskiTeam PenskeFord10
241Kurt BuschStewart-Haas RacingFord9
318Kyle BuschJoe Gibbs RacingToyota8
422Joey LoganoTeam PenskeFord7
54Kevin HarvickStewart-Haas RacingFord6
611Denny HamlinJoe Gibbs RacingToyota5
742Kyle LarsonChip Ganassi RacingChevrolet4
810Aric AlmirolaStewart-Haas RacingFord3
914Clint BowyerStewart-Haas RacingFord2
1019Daniel SuárezJoe Gibbs RacingToyota1
Official stage two results

Final Stage Results

Stage 3 Laps: 155

Pos Grid No Driver Team Manufacturer Laps Points
134Kevin HarvickStewart-Haas RacingFord32556
252Brad KeselowskiTeam PenskeFord32553
3914Clint BowyerStewart-Haas RacingFord32545
41211Denny HamlinJoe Gibbs RacingToyota32540
53578Martin Truex Jr.Furniture Row RacingToyota32539
61622Joey LoganoTeam PenskeFord32539
7118Kyle BuschJoe Gibbs RacingToyota32543
8741Kurt BuschStewart-Haas RacingFord32541
9842Kyle LarsonChip Ganassi RacingChevrolet32536
10279Chase ElliottHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet32527
111020Erik JonesJoe Gibbs RacingToyota32526
122612Ryan BlaneyTeam PenskeFord32525
131110Aric AlmirolaStewart-Haas RacingFord32533
14253Austin DillonRichard Childress RacingChevrolet32423
15419Daniel SuárezJoe Gibbs RacingToyota32423
16617Ricky Stenhouse Jr.Roush Fenway RacingFord32421
171521Paul MenardWood Brothers RacingFord32420
182324William Byron (R)Hendrick MotorsportsChevrolet32319
19131Jamie McMurrayChip Ganassi RacingChevrolet32318
201888Alex BowmanHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet32217
211495Kasey KahneLeavine Family RacingChevrolet32216
22231Ryan NewmanRichard Childress RacingChevrolet32215
232938David RaganFront Row MotorsportsFord32114
241734Michael McDowellFront Row MotorsportsFord32113
252437Chris BuescherJTG Daugherty RacingChevrolet32112
262813Ty DillonGermain RacingChevrolet32111
272248Jimmie JohnsonHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet32110
283272Cole WhittTriStar MotorsportsChevrolet3209
292147A. J. AllmendingerJTG Daugherty RacingChevrolet3208
303415Ross Chastain (i)Premium MotorsportsChevrolet3190
313032Matt DiBenedettoGo Fas RacingFord3196
321943Darrell Wallace Jr. (R)Richard Petty MotorsportsChevrolet3195
333651Harrison RhodesRick Ware RacingChevrolet3104
343300Jeffrey EarnhardtStarCom RacingChevrolet3053
35206Trevor BayneRoush Fenway RacingFord2922
363123Gray GauldingBK RacingToyota991
Official race results

Race statistics

  • 24 lead changes among 8 drivers
  • 5 cautions for 28 laps
  • Time of race: 3 hours, 29 minutes and 54 seconds
  • Average speed: 143.071 miles per hour (230.250 km/h)
  • Margin of victory: 2.690 seconds

Media

Television

The Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 was carried by Fox in the United States. Mike Joy, five-time Atlanta winner Jeff Gordon and three-time Atlanta winner Darrell Waltrip worked the race from the booth. Pit road was manned by Jamie Little, Vince Welch and Matt Yocum.

Fox
Booth announcersPit reporters
Lap-by-lap: Mike Joy
Color commentator: Jeff Gordon
Color commentator: Darrell Waltrip
Jamie Little
Vince Welch
Matt Yocum

Radio

The race was broadcast on radio by the Performance Racing Network and simulcast on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio. Doug Rice, Mark Garrow and Wendy Venturini called the race from the booth when the field raced down the front stretch. Rob Albright called the race from atop a billboard outside of 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. On pit road, PRN was manned by Brad Gillie, Brett McMillan, Jim Noble and Doug Turnbull.

PRN
Booth announcersTurn announcersPit 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
Doug Turnbull

Standings after the race

References

  1. "2018 schedule". Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. May 5, 2017. Archived from the original on December 24, 2017. Retrieved January 29, 2018.
  2. "Atlanta Motor Speedway". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. January 3, 2013. Archived from the original on February 19, 2016. Retrieved January 29, 2018.
  3. "Entry List". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. February 19, 2018. Retrieved February 19, 2018.
  4. "First Practice Results". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. February 23, 2018. Retrieved February 23, 2018.
  5. "Qualifying Results". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. February 23, 2018. Retrieved February 23, 2018.
  6. "Final Practice Results". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. February 24, 2018. Retrieved February 24, 2018.
  7. "Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 Results". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. February 25, 2018. Retrieved February 25, 2018.
  8. "Points standings" (PDF). Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. February 26, 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 28, 2018. Retrieved February 26, 2018.
  9. "Manufacturer standings" (PDF). Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. February 26, 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 28, 2018. Retrieved February 26, 2018.
  10. "Atlanta final TV ratings". Jayski's Silly Season Site. ESPN. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
  11. Spencer, Lee (February 23, 2018). "Stenhouse tops first Atlanta Cup practice over Larson and Wallace". Motorsport.com. Hampton, Georgia: Motorsport Network. Retrieved February 23, 2018.
  12. Odum, Charles (February 23, 2018). "Kyle Busch nips Newman to win pole at Atlanta Motor Speedway". Associated Press. Hampton, Georgia: AP Sports. Associated Press. Archived from the original on February 24, 2018. Retrieved February 23, 2018.
  13. Spencer, Lee (February 24, 2018). "Ryan Newman leads final practice at Atlanta". Motorsport.com. Hampton, Georgia: Motorsport Network. Retrieved February 24, 2018.
  14. Bianchi, Jordan (February 25, 2018). "Rain delays Atlanta NASCAR race". SBNation.com. Retrieved February 25, 2018.
  15. Hembree, Mike (February 25, 2018). "Kevin Harvick gets redemption, wins NASCAR Cup race at Atlanta Motor Speedway". USA TODAY. Retrieved February 25, 2018.
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