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 asphalt intermediate speedway, it was the third race of the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season.
Entry list Driver Team Manufacturer 00 Jeffrey Earnhardt StarCom Racing Chevrolet 1 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 6 Trevor Bayne Roush Fenway Racing Ford 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 10 Aric Almirola Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 13 Ty Dillon Germain Racing Chevrolet 14 Clint Bowyer Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 15 Ross Chastain (i) Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 19 Daniel Suárez Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 20 Erik Jones Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 21 Paul Menard Wood Brothers Racing Ford 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 23 Gray Gaulding BK Racing Toyota 24 William Byron (R) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 31 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 32 Matt DiBenedetto Go Fas Racing Ford 34 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 37 Chris Buescher JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 38 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 41 Kurt Busch Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 43 Bubba Wallace (R) Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet 47 A. J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 51 Cole Custer (i) Rick Ware Racing Ford 55 Joey Gase (i) Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 72 Cole Whitt TriStar Motorsports Chevrolet 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Toyota 88 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 95 Kasey Kahne Leavine Family Racing ChevroletOfficial 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 .
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 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 28.366 190.369Official first practice results
Qualifying
Ryan Blaney scored the pole for the race with a time of 28.200 and a speed of .
Qualifying results Pos Driver Team Manufacturer 112 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 28.419 28.271 28.200 24 Kevin Harvick Stewart–Haas RacingFord 28.540 28.259 28.384 341 Kurt Busch Stewart–Haas RacingFord 28.569 28.579 28.411 478 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Toyota 28.515 28.476 28.424 542 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 28.570 28.539 28.504 69 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 28.422 28.515 28.545 717 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 28.477 28.515 28.549 82 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 28.396 28.530 28.556 920 Erik Jones Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 28.510 28.355 28.614 1022 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 28.644 28.447 28.626 1114 Clint Bowyer Stewart–Haas RacingFord 28.545 28.533 28.652 1221 Paul Menard Wood Brothers Racing Ford 28.394 28.571 28.656 1318 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 28.505 28.596 — 1448 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 28.551 28.615 — 1534 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 28.634 28.631 — 163 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 28.706 28.656 — 1724 William Byron (R) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 28.421 28.668 — 1819 Daniel Suárez Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 28.427 28.744 — 1911 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 28.534 28.747 — 2088 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 28.660 28.809 — 2195 Kasey Kahne Leavine Family Racing Chevrolet 28.705 28.830 — 221 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 28.703 28.839 — 2338 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 28.578 28.852 — 246 Trevor Bayne Roush Fenway Racing Ford 28.693 28.968 — 2531 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 28.777 — — 2643 Bubba Wallace (R) Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet 28.793 — — 2747 A. J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 28.890 — — 2837 Chris Buescher JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 28.980 — — 2910 Aric Almirola Stewart–Haas RacingFord 29.013 — — 3051 Cole Custer (i) Rick Ware Racing Ford 29.035 — — 3113 Ty Dillon Germain Racing Chevrolet 29.140 — — 3232 Matt DiBenedetto Go Fas Racing Ford 29.185 — — 3315 Ross Chastain (i) Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 29.441 — — 3472 Cole Whitt TriStar Motorsports Chevrolet 29.626 — — 3523 Gray Gaulding BK Racing Toyota 30.127 — — 3600 Jeffrey Earnhardt StarCom Racing Chevrolet 30.631 — — 3755 Joey Gase (i) Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 31.101 — —Official 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 .
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 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 28.941 186.587Official 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 .
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 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 29.018 186.091Official final practice results
Race result
Stage Results
Stage 1 Laps: 80
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Points1 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 102 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Toyota 93 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 84 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 75 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 66 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 57 41 Kurt Busch Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 48 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 39 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 210 21 Paul Menard Wood Brothers Racing Ford 1Official stage one results
Stage 2 Laps: 80
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Points1 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 102 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 93 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 84 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 75 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 66 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 57 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Toyota 48 41 Kurt Busch Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 39 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 210 21 Paul Menard Wood Brothers Racing Ford 1Official stage two results
Final Stage Results
Stage 3 Laps: 107
Pos Grid Driver Team Manufacturer Laps Points1 2 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 267 40 2 13 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 267 433 5 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 267 504 4 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Toyota 267 465 1 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 267 486 8 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 267 417 10 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 267 438 9 20 Erik Jones Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 267 299 12 21 Paul Menard Wood Brothers Racing Ford 267 3010 29 10 Aric Almirola Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 266 2711 25 31 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 266 2612 14 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 266 2513 16 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 266 2414 7 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 265 2315 28 37 Chris Buescher JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 265 2216 20 88 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 265 2117 19 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 265 2018 11 14 Clint Bowyer Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 265 1919 21 95 Kasey Kahne Leavine Family Racing Chevrolet 264 1820 24 6 Trevor Bayne Roush Fenway Racing Ford 264 1721 26 43 Bubba Wallace (R) Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet 264 1622 32 32 Matt DiBenedetto Go Fas Racing Ford 264 1523 23 38 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 264 1424 31 13 Ty Dillon Germain Racing Chevrolet 264 1325 30 51 Cole Custer (i) Rick Ware Racing Ford 264 026 18 19 Daniel Suárez Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 263 1127 17 24 William Byron (R) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 263 1028 34 72 Cole Whitt TriStar Motorsports Chevrolet 262 929 33 15 Ross Chastain (i) Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 262 030 27 47 A. J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 262 731 36 00 Jeffrey Earnhardt StarCom Racing Chevrolet 255 632 37 55 Joey Gase (i) Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 253 033 35 23 Gray Gaulding BK Racing Toyota 195 434 6 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 183 835 3 41 Kurt Busch Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 183 936 22 1 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 176 137 15 34 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 100 1Official race results
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: 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 announcersPit reporters Lap-by-lap: Mike JoyColor-commentator: Jeff GordonColor commentator: Darrell Waltrip Jamie LittleVince WelchMatt 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 announcersTurn announcersPit reporters Lead announcer: Doug RiceAnnouncer: Mark GarrowAnnouncer: Wendy Venturini Turns 1 & 2: Rob AlbrightTurns 3 & 4: Pat Patterson Brad GillieBrett McMillanJim NobleSteve 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.
Standings after the race
Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 3 1 Kevin Harvick 135 1 2 Joey Logano 132 (–3) 1 3 Ryan Blaney 131 (–4) 3 4 Martin Truex Jr. 115 (–20) 6 5 Kyle Busch 104 (–31) 7 6 Kyle Larson 104 (–31) 5 7 Brad Keselowski 99 (–36) 5 8 Denny Hamlin 97 (–38) 9 Paul Menard 96 (–39) 4 10 Austin Dillon 94 (–41) 6 11 Clint Bowyer 93 (–42) 2 12 Aric Almirola 93 (–42) 5 13 Kurt Busch 77 (–58) 2 14 Ryan Newman 75 (–60) 1 15 Bubba Wallace 68 (–67) 2 16 Chris Buescher 67 (–68)Official driver's standings
Manufacturers' Championship standings Pos Manufacturer Points 1 Ford 113 2 Chevrolet 102 (–11) 3 Toyota 102 (–11)Official manufacturers' standings
Note: Only the first 16 positions are included for the driver standings.
References