The 2018 Federated Auto Parts 400 was a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race that was held on September 22, 2018, at Richmond Raceway in Richmond, Virginia. Contested over 400 laps on the D-shaped short track, it was the 28th race of the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season, second race of the Playoffs and second race of the Round of 16.
Report
Background
Richmond Raceway (RR), formerly known as Richmond International Raceway (RIR), is a 3/4-mile (1.2 km), D-shaped, asphalt race track located just outside Richmond, Virginia, in Henrico County. It hosts the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Xfinity Series. Known as "America's premier short track", it formerly hosted a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race, an IndyCar Series race and two USAC sprint car races.
Entry list Driver Team Manufacturer 00 Joey Gase (i) 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 Matt Kenseth 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 Alon Day 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 52 Gray Gaulding Rick Ware Racing Ford 66 Timmy Hill (i) MBM Motorsports Toyota 72 Corey LaJoie TriStar Motorsports Chevrolet 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Toyota 88 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 95 Regan Smith Leavine Family Racing Chevrolet 96 Jeffrey Earnhardt Gaunt Brothers Racing Toyota 99 Landon Cassill (i) StarCom Racing ChevroletOfficial entry list
Practice
First practice Kyle Busch was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 22.279 seconds and a speed of .
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 1 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 22.279 121.190 2 10 Aric Almirola Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 22.320 120.968 3 20 Erik Jones Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 22.370 120.697Official first practice results
Final practice Brad Keselowski was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 22.458 seconds and a speed of .
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 1 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 22.458 120.224 2 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Toyota 22.475 120.133 3 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 22.602 119.458Official final practice results
Qualifying
Kevin Harvick scored the pole for the race with a time of 22.153 and a speed of .
Qualifying results Pos Driver Team Manufacturer 14 Kevin Harvick Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 22.148 22.194 22.153 211 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 22.014 22.182 22.159 378 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Toyota 22.113 22.161 22.217 412 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 22.105 22.074 22.241 519 Daniel Suárez Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 21.967 21.964 22.244 641 Kurt Busch Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 21.970 22.166 22.267 710 Aric Almirola Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 22.098 22.186 22.320 82 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 22.001 22.162 22.342 920 Erik Jones Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 22.054 22.185 22.342 1042 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 22.168 22.182 22.347 1151 Cole Custer (i) Rick Ware Racing Ford 22.123 22.123 22.360 1218 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 22.093 22.199 22.390 1322 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 22.235 22.232 — 1488 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 22.108 22.236 — 151 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 22.093 22.241 — 1617 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 22.175 22.286 — 1731 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 22.269 22.297 — 186 Matt Kenseth Roush Fenway Racing Ford 22.025 22.318 — 199 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 22.066 22.332 — 2024 William Byron (R) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 22.244 22.354 — 2121 Paul Menard Wood Brothers Racing Ford 22.195 22.374 — 2248 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 22.240 22.438 — 2337 Chris Buescher JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 22.291 22.439 — 2434 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 22.273 22.678 — 2514 Clint Bowyer Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 22.305 — — 2643 Bubba Wallace (R) Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet 22.324 — — 2738 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 22.326 — — 283 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 22.348 — — 2932 Matt DiBenedetto Go Fas Racing Ford 22.355 — — 3047 A. J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 22.373 — — 3113 Ty Dillon Germain Racing Chevrolet 22.407 — — 3215 Ross Chastain (i) Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 22.416 — — 3395 Regan Smith Leavine Family Racing Chevrolet 22.448 — — 3472 Corey LaJoie TriStar Motorsports Chevrolet 22.578 — — 3596 Jeffrey Earnhardt Gaunt Brothers Racing Toyota 22.601 — — 3652 Gray Gaulding Rick Ware Racing Ford 22.932 — — 3723 Alon Day BK Racing Toyota 22.954 — — 3800 Joey Gase (i) StarCom Racing Chevrolet 22.960 — — 3999 Landon Cassill (i) StarCom Racing Chevrolet 23.066 — — 4066 Timmy Hill (i) MBM Motorsports Toyota 23.079 — —Official qualifying results Kyle Busch, Daniel Suárez, Regan Smith, and David Ragan all started from the rear after failing inspection.
Race
Stage Results
Stage 1 Laps: 100
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Points1 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Toyota 102 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 93 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 84 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 75 41 Kurt Busch Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 66 10 Aric Almirola Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 57 20 Erik Jones Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 48 88 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 39 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 210 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 1Official stage one results
Stage 2 Laps: 100
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Points1 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Toyota 102 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 93 10 Aric Almirola Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 84 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 75 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 66 88 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 57 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 48 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 39 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 210 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 1Official stage two results
Final Stage Results
Stage 3 Laps: 200
Pos Grid Driver Team Manufacturer Laps Points1 11 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 400 402 1 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 400 533 3 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Toyota 400 544 18 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 400 475 6 10 Aric Almirola Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 400 456 26 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 400 357 9 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 400 328 21 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 400 329 7 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 400 4210 24 14 Clint Bowyer Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 400 2711 8 20 Erik Jones Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 400 3012 13 88 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 400 3313 15 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 400 2414 12 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 399 2515 16 31 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 399 2216 2 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 399 2317 38 19 Daniel Suárez Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 399 2018 5 41 Kurt Busch Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 398 2519 4 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 398 1820 19 24 William Byron (R) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 398 1721 14 1 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 398 1622 20 21 Paul Menard Wood Brothers Racing Ford 397 1523 40 38 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 397 1424 23 34 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 397 1325 17 6 Matt Kenseth Roush Fenway Racing Ford 396 1226 10 51 Cole Custer (i) Rick Ware Racing Ford 396 027 25 43 Bubba Wallace (R) Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet 395 1028 29 13 Ty Dillon Germain Racing Chevrolet 395 929 28 47 A. J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 394 830 22 37 Chris Buescher JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 394 731 39 95 Regan Smith Leavine Family Racing Chevrolet 394 632 31 72 Corey LaJoie TriStar Motorsports Chevrolet 393 533 30 15 Ross Chastain (i) Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 392 034 27 32 Matt DiBenedetto Go Fas Racing Ford 391 335 35 00 Joey Gase (i) StarCom Racing Chevrolet 388 036 36 99 Landon Cassill (i) StarCom Racing Chevrolet 387 037 32 96 Jeffrey Earnhardt Gaunt Brothers Racing Toyota 387 138 34 23 Alon Day BK Racing Toyota 383 139 37 66 Timmy Hill (i) MBM Motorsports Toyota 382 040 33 52 Gray Gaulding Rick Ware Racing Ford 289 1Official race results
Race statistics Lead changes: 8 among different drivers Cautions/Laps: 3 for 23 Red flags: 0 Time of race: 2 hours, 54 minutes and 30 seconds Average speed:
Media
Television NBC Sports covered the race on the television side. Rick Allen, Jeff Burton, Steve Letarte and three-time Richmond winner Dale Earnhardt Jr. had the call in the booth for the race. Dave Burns, Marty Snider and Kelli Stavast will report from pit lane during the race.
NBCSNBooth announcersPit reporters Lap-by-lap: Rick AllenColor-commentator: Jeff BurtonColor-commentator: Steve LetarteColor-commentator: Dale Earnhardt Jr. Dave BurnsMarty SniderKelli Stavast
Radio The Motor Racing Network had the radio call for the race, which was simulcast on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio.
MRNBooth announcersTurn announcersPit reporters Lead announcer: Joe MooreAnnouncer: Jeff StriegleAnnouncer: Rusty Wallace Backstretch: Dave Moody Alex HaydenWinston KelleySteve Post
Standings after the race
Pos Driver Points 1 Martin Truex Jr. 2,141 2 Kyle Busch 2,125 (–16) 1 3 Kevin Harvick 2,113 (–28) 1 4 Brad Keselowski 2,111 (–30) 5 Joey Logano 2,081 (–60) 3 6 Aric Almirola 2,079 (–62) 1 7 Kyle Larson 2,073 (–68) 2 8 Kurt Busch 2,071 (–70) 4 9 Chase Elliott 2,066 (–75) 10 Austin Dillon 2,066 (–75) 1 11 Alex Bowman 2,061 (–80) 5 12 Ryan Blaney 2,060 (–81) 2 13 Clint Bowyer 2,056 (–85) 1 14 Jimmie Johnson 2,054 (–87) 15 Erik Jones 2,039 (–102) 16 Denny Hamlin 2,031 (–110)Official driver's standings
Manufacturers' Championship standings Pos Manufacturer Points 1 1 Toyota 1,015 1 2 Ford 1,010 (–5) 3 Chevrolet 915 (–100)Official manufacturers' standings Note: Only the first 16 positions are included for the driver standings.
References