The 2018 Can-Am 500 was a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race that was held on November 11, 2018, at ISM Raceway in Avondale, Arizona. Contested over 312 laps on the one mile (1.6 km) oval, it was the 35th race of the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season, ninth race of the Playoffs, and final race of the Round of 8.
Report
Background
ISM Raceway – also known as PIR – is a one-mile, low-banked tri-oval race track located in Avondale, Arizona. It is named after the nearby metropolitan area of Phoenix. The motorsport track opened in 1964 and currently hosts two NASCAR race weekends annually. The raceway is currently owned and operated by NASCAR.
The raceway was originally constructed with a road course that ran both inside and outside of the main tri-oval. In 1991 the track was reconfigured with the current interior layout. PIR has an estimated grandstand seating capacity of around 67,000. Lights were installed around the track in 2004 following the addition of a second annual NASCAR race weekend.
ISM Raceway is home to two annual NASCAR race weekends, one of 13 facilities on the NASCAR schedule to host more than one race weekend a year. The track is both the first and last stop in the western United States, as well as the fourth and penultimate track on the schedule.
Entry list Driver Team Manufacturer 00 Landon Cassill (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 7 D. J. Kennington (i) Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 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 J. J. Yeley (i) 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 Cody Ware Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet 66 Timmy Hill (i) MBM Motorsports Toyota 72 Cole Whitt TriStar Motorsports Chevrolet 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Toyota 88 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 95 Regan Smith Leavine Family Racing Chevrolet 97 Tanner Berryhill Obaika Racing ToyotaOfficial entry list
First practice Erik Jones was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 26.113 seconds and a speed of .
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 1 20 Erik Jones Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 26.113 137.862 2 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 26.120 137.825 3 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 26.122 137.815Official first practice results
Qualifying
Kevin Harvick scored the pole for the race with a time of 25.836 and a speed of .
Qualifying results Pos Driver Team Manufacturer 14 Kevin Harvick Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 26.158 25.998 25.836 29 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 26.257 25.823 25.871 317 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush–Fenway Racing Ford 26.176 26.017 25.898 412 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 26.317 26.011 25.924 588 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 26.335 25.979 25.948 618 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 26.176 25.889 25.954 720 Erik Jones Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 26.201 25.981 26.022 842 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 26.226 25.887 26.038 922 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 26.183 26.020 26.039 1011 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 26.253 25.926 26.040 1121 Paul Menard Wood Brothers Racing Ford 26.228 25.958 26.108 122 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 26.199 26.019 26.150 1378 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Toyota 26.290 26.023 — 1441 Kurt Busch Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 26.174 26.053 — 153 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 26.099 26.074 — 1614 Clint Bowyer Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 26.244 26.110 — 176 Matt Kenseth Roush–Fenway Racing Ford 26.028 26.131 — 1810 Aric Almirola Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 26.282 26.140 — 1924 William Byron (R) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 26.195 26.162 — 2048 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 26.234 26.174 — 211 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 26.232 26.176 — 2231 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 26.255 26.212 — 2334 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 26.231 26.313 — 2447 A. J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 26.321 26.368 — 2537 Chris Buescher JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 26.342 — — 2619 Daniel Suárez Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 26.368 — — 2732 Matt DiBenedetto Go Fas Racing Ford 26.487 — — 2813 Ty Dillon Germain Racing Chevrolet 26.516 — — 2995 Regan Smith Leavine Family Racing Chevrolet 26.539 — — 3043 Bubba Wallace (R) Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet 26.560 — — 3138 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 26.614 — — 3200 Landon Cassill (i) StarCom Racing Chevrolet 26.834 — — 3315 Ross Chastain (i) Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 26.970 — — 3472 Cole Whitt TriStar Motorsports Chevrolet 27.001 — — 3523 J. J. Yeley (i) BK Racing Toyota 27.010 — — 3697 Tanner Berryhill Obaika Racing Toyota 27.231 — — 3766 Timmy Hill (i) MBM Motorsports Toyota 27.457 — — 387 D. J. Kennington (i) Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 27.666 — — 3951 Cody Ware Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet 0.000 — —Official qualifying results
Practice (post-qualifying)
Second practice Kevin Harvick was the fastest in the second practice session with a time of 26.724 seconds and a speed of .
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 1 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 26.724 134.710 2 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 26.730 134.680 3 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 26.770 134.479Official second practice results
Final practice Kevin Harvick was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 26.642 seconds and a speed of .
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 1 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 26.642 135.125 2 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 26.769 134.484 3 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 26.804 134.308Official final practice results
Race
Stage Results
Stage 1 Laps: 75
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Points1 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 102 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 93 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 84 41 Kurt Busch Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 75 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 66 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 57 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 48 20 Erik Jones Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 39 88 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 210 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 1Official stage one results
Stage 2 Laps: 75
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Points1 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 102 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 93 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Toyota 84 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 75 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 66 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 57 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 48 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 39 24 William Byron (R) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 210 10 Aric Almirola Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 1Official stage two results
Final Stage Results
Stage 3 Laps: 162
Pos Grid Driver Team Manufacturer Laps Points1 6 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 312 542 12 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 312 503 8 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 312 454 18 10 Aric Almirola Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 312 345 1 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 312 396 21 1 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 312 317 17 6 Matt Kenseth Roush–Fenway Racing Ford 312 308 15 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 312 359 19 24 William Byron (R) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 312 3010 30 43 Bubba Wallace (R) Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet 312 2711 22 31 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 312 2612 24 47 A. J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 312 2513 10 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 312 3214 13 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Toyota 312 3115 20 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 312 2216 23 34 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 311 2117 7 20 Erik Jones Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 310 2318 25 37 Chris Buescher JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 310 1919 28 13 Ty Dillon Germain Racing Chevrolet 310 1820 31 38 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 310 1721 27 32 Matt DiBenedetto Go Fas Racing Ford 310 1622 29 95 Regan Smith Leavine Family Racing Chevrolet 310 1523 2 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 309 2824 33 15 Ross Chastain (i) Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 309 025 34 72 Cole Whitt TriStar Motorsports Chevrolet 309 1226 32 00 Landon Cassill (i) StarCom Racing Chevrolet 308 027 38 7 D. J. Kennington (i) Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 306 028 39 51 Cody Ware Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet 306 929 11 21 Paul Menard Wood Brothers Racing Ford 303 830 5 88 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 285 931 36 97 Tanner Berryhill Obaika Racing Toyota 283 632 14 41 Kurt Busch Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 272 1233 3 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush–Fenway Racing Ford 262 434 4 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 237 1535 16 14 Clint Bowyer Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 133 236 26 19 Daniel Suárez Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 96 137 9 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 95 138 35 23 J. J. Yeley (i) BK Racing Toyota 88 039 37 66 Timmy Hill (i) MBM Motorsports Toyota 40 0Official race results
Race statistics Lead changes: 8 among different drivers Cautions/Laps: 10 for 61 Red flags: 1 for 16 minutes and 24 seconds Time of race: 3 hours, 10 minutes and 20 seconds Average speed:
Media
Television NBC Sports covered the race on the television side. Rick Allen, two–time Phoenix winner Jeff Burton, Steve Letarte and three-time Phoenix winner Dale Earnhardt Jr. had the call in the booth for the race. Dave Burns, Parker Kligerman, Marty Snider and Kelli Stavast reported from pit lane during the race.
NBCBooth announcersPit reporters Lap-by-lap: Rick AllenColor-commentator: Jeff BurtonColor-commentator: Steve LetarteColor-commentator: Dale Earnhardt Jr. Dave BurnsParker KligermanMarty SniderKelli Stavast
Radio MRN had the radio call for the race, which was simulcast on SiriusXM's NASCAR Radio.
MRN Booth announcersTurn announcersPit reporters Lead announcer: Joe MooreAnnouncer: Jeff StriegleAnnouncer: Rusty Wallace Turns 1 & 2: Dan HubbardTurns 3 & 4: Kyle Rickey Alex HaydenWinston KelleySteve PostKim Coon
Standings after the race
Pos Driver Points 2 1 Joey Logano 5,000 1 2 Kyle Busch 5,000 (–0) 1 3 Martin Truex Jr. 5,000 (–0) 4 Kevin Harvick 5,000 (–0) 1 5 Chase Elliott 2,320 (–2,680) 1 6 Kurt Busch 2,318 (–2,682) 7 Aric Almirola 2,316 (–2,684) 2 8 Brad Keselowski 2,309 (–2,691) 9 Ryan Blaney 2,278 (–2,722) 2 10 Kyle Larson 2,256 (–2,744) 11 Denny Hamlin 2,252 (–2,748) 4 12 Clint Bowyer 2,242 (–2,758) 3 13 Austin Dillon 2,219 (–2,781) 14 Jimmie Johnson 2,217 (–2,783) 2 15 Erik Jones 2,207 (–2,793) 1 16 Alex Bowman 2,196 (–2,804)Official driver's standings
Manufacturers' Championship standings Pos Manufacturer Points 1 Ford 1,270 2 Toyota 1,251 (–19) 3 Chevrolet 1,157 (–113)Official manufacturers' standings Note: Only the first 16 positions are included for the driver standings.
References