The 2018 Fitzgerald Glider Kits 300 was the seventh stock car race of the 2018 NASCAR Xfinity Series season, and the 36th iteration of the event. The race was held Saturday, April 14, 2018, in Bristol, Tennessee at Bristol Motor Speedway, a 0.533 miles (0.858 km) permanent oval-shaped racetrack. The race took the scheduled 300 laps to complete. At race's end, Ryan Preece of Joe Gibbs Racing would take the lead on the final restart with 10 laps to go and win his second and to date, final career NASCAR Xfinity Series win and his first and only win of the season. To fill out the podium, Justin Allgaier of JR Motorsports and Daniel Hemric of Richard Childress Racing would finish second and third, respectively.

Background

The Bristol Motor Speedway, formerly known as Bristol International Raceway and Bristol Raceway, is a NASCAR short track venue located in Bristol, Tennessee. Constructed in 1960, it held its first NASCAR race on July 30, 1961. Despite its short length, Bristol is among the most popular tracks on the NASCAR schedule because of its distinct features, which include extraordinarily steep banking, an all concrete surface, two pit roads, and stadium-like seating. It has also been named one of the loudest NASCAR tracks.

Entry list #DriverTeamMakeSponsor0Garrett SmithleyJD MotorsportsChevroletVehicleKeys.com00Cole CusterStewart-Haas Racing with Biagi-DenBesteFordHaas Automation1Elliott SadlerJR MotorsportsChevroletArmour Chili01Vinnie MillerJD MotorsportsChevroletFlex Glue2Matt TifftRichard Childress RacingChevroletTunity "Hear Any Muted TV"3Shane LeeRichard Childress RacingChevroletChildress Vineyards4Ross ChastainJD MotorsportsChevroletFlorida Watermelon Association5Michael AnnettJR MotorsportsChevroletPilot Flying J7Justin AllgaierJR MotorsportsChevroletSuave Men8Tommy Joe MartinsB. J. McLeod MotorsportsChevroletGilreath Farms Red Angus "The New Black", AAN Adjusters9Tyler ReddickJR MotorsportsChevroletBurgerFi11Ryan TruexKaulig RacingChevroletBar Harbor15Joe NemechekJD MotorsportsChevroletFlex Seal16Ryan ReedRoush Fenway RacingFordDriveDownA1C.com18Ryan PreeceJoe Gibbs RacingToyotaRheem19Brandon JonesJoe Gibbs RacingToyotaMenards, Turtle Wax20Christopher BellJoe Gibbs RacingToyotaGameStop, Seagate Game Drive for Xbox21Daniel HemricRichard Childress RacingChevroletSouth Point Hotel, Casino & Spa22Austin CindricTeam PenskeFordFitzgerald Glider Kits23Spencer GallagherGMS RacingChevroletAllegiant Air24Kaz GralaJGL RacingFordNettts28Tony Mrakovich*JGL RacingFordSmart Emissions Reducer35Joey GaseGo Green Racing with SS-Green Light RacingChevroletSparks Energy36Alex LabbéDGM RacingChevroletWholey's, Can-Am38J. J. Yeley**RSS RacingChevroletRSS Racing39Ryan Sieg**RSS RacingChevroletLombard Bros Gaming40Chad FinchumMBM MotorsportsToyotaSmithbilt Homes, Concrete North, Inc.42John Hunter NemechekChip Ganassi RacingChevroletFire Alarm Services45Josh BilickiJP MotorsportsToyotaPrevagen51Jeremy ClementsJeremy Clements RacingChevroletRepairableVehicles.com, All South Electric52David StarrJimmy Means RacingChevroletFranklin Signs & Graphics55Stephen LeichtJP MotorsportsToyotaJani-King "The King of Clean"60Ty MajeskiRoush Fenway RacingFordSunnyD66Timmy HillMBM MotorsportsDodgeCrashClaimsR.Us, Chris Kyle Memorial Benefit74Cody WareMike Harmon RacingDodgeHorizon Transport76Spencer BoydSS-Green Light RacingChevroletGrunt Style "This We'll Defend"78B. J. McLeodB. J. McLeod MotorsportsChevroletEPIC Racewear89Morgan ShepherdShepherd Racing VenturesChevroletVisone RV Motorhome Parts, Racing with Jesus90Josh WilliamsDGM RacingChevroletStarTron, Sleep Well Sleep Disorder Specialists93Jeff GreenRSS RacingChevroletRSS Racing98Chase BriscoeStewart-Haas Racing with Biagi-DenBesteFordFordOfficial entry list *Driver would change to Dylan Lupton.

**The two would swap seats for the race, after Sieg destroyed his primary car in qualifying. Yeley would instead start and park the #39.

Practice

First practice The first practice session would occur on Friday, April 13, at 1:05 PM EST, and would last for 50 minutes. Brandon Jones of Joe Gibbs Racing would set the fastest time in the session, with a time of 15.495 and an average speed of . Pos.#DriverTeamMakeTimeSpeed119Brandon JonesJoe Gibbs RacingToyota15.495123.83327Justin AllgaierJR MotorsportsChevrolet15.535123.515318Ryan PreeceJoe Gibbs RacingToyota15.537123.499Full first practice results

Second and final practice The second and final practice session, sometimes referred to as Happy Hour, would occur on Friday, April 13, at 3:05 PM EST, and would last for 50 minutes. Cole Custer of Stewart-Haas Racing with Biagi-DenBeste would set the fastest time in the session, with a time of 15.528 and an average speed of . Pos.#DriverTeamMakeTimeSpeed100Cole CusterStewart-Haas Racing with Biagi-DenBesteFord15.528123.570221Daniel HemricRichard Childress RacingChevrolet15.577123.182319Brandon JonesJoe Gibbs RacingToyota15.585123.118Full Happy Hour practice results

Qualifying Qualifying was held on Saturday, April 14, at 9:35 AM EST. Since Bristol Motor Speedway is under 2 miles (3.2 km), the qualifying system was a multi-car system that included three rounds. The first round was 15 minutes, where every driver would be able to set a lap within the 15 minutes. Then, the second round would consist of the fastest 24 cars in Round 1, and drivers would have 10 minutes to set a lap. Round 3 consisted of the fastest 12 drivers from Round 2, and the drivers would have 5 minutes to set a time. Whoever was fastest in Round 3 would win the pole.

Cole Custer of Stewart-Haas Racing with Biagi-DenBeste would win the pole, setting a time of 15.090 and an average speed of .

One driver would fail to qualify: Morgan Shepherd.

Full qualifying results Pos.#DriverTeamMakeTime (R1)Speed (R1)Time (R2)Speed (R2)Time (R3)Speed (R3)100Cole CusterStewart-Haas Racing with Biagi-DenBesteFord15.464124.08215.216126.10415.090127.15727Justin AllgaierJR MotorsportsChevrolet15.278125.59215.260125.74015.119126.913320Christopher BellJoe Gibbs RacingToyota15.436124.30715.204126.20415.144126.704421Daniel HemricRichard Childress RacingChevrolet15.230125.98815.208126.17015.160126.570542John Hunter NemechekChip Ganassi RacingChevrolet15.176126.43615.179126.41115.179126.411619Brandon JonesJoe Gibbs RacingToyota15.610122.92115.260125.74015.199126.245718Ryan PreeceJoe Gibbs RacingToyota15.538123.49115.259125.74915.250125.82383Shane LeeRichard Childress RacingChevrolet15.500123.79415.378124.77615.282125.559923Spencer GallagherGMS RacingChevrolet15.258125.75715.323125.22415.301125.4041022Austin CindricTeam PenskeFord15.355124.96315.352124.98715.304125.379112Matt TifftRichard Childress RacingChevrolet15.422124.42015.296125.44515.304125.3791216Ryan ReedRoush Fenway RacingFord15.550123.39515.346125.03615.422124.420Eliminated in Round 2131Elliott SadlerJR MotorsportsChevrolet15.380124.75915.386124.711——1460Ty MajeskiRoush Fenway RacingFord15.314125.29715.393124.654——154Ross ChastainJD MotorsportsChevrolet15.434124.32315.401124.589——1636Alex LabbéDGM RacingChevrolet15.513123.69015.417124.460——1724Kaz GralaJGL RacingFord15.517123.65815.432124.339——185Michael AnnettJR MotorsportsChevrolet15.555123.35615.488123.889——1951Jeremy ClementsJeremy Clements RacingChevrolet15.581123.15015.491123.865——2039Ryan SiegRSS RacingChevrolet15.587123.10315.527123.578——2111Ryan TruexKaulig RacingChevrolet15.438124.29115.537123.499——2298Chase BriscoeStewart-Haas Racing with Biagi-DenBesteFord15.552123.38015.695122.255——2338J. J. YeleyRSS RacingChevrolet15.453124.170————2493Jeff GreenRSS RacingChevrolet15.580123.158————Eliminated in Round 1259Tyler ReddickJR MotorsportsChevrolet15.621122.835————2678B. J. McLeodB. J. McLeod MotorsportsChevrolet15.738121.921————278Tommy Joe MartinsB. J. McLeod MotorsportsChevrolet15.748121.844————2835Joey GaseGo Green Racing with SS-Green Light RacingChevrolet15.792121.505————2940Chad FinchumMBM MotorsportsToyota15.917120.550————3015Joe NemechekJD MotorsportsChevrolet15.920120.528————3166Timmy HillMBM MotorsportsDodge15.977120.098————3290Josh WilliamsDGM RacingChevrolet16.031119.693————3328Dylan LuptonJGL RacingFord16.031119.693————Qualified by owner's points3401Vinnie MillerJD MotorsportsChevrolet16.059119.484————350Garrett SmithleyJD MotorsportsChevrolet16.068119.417————3645Josh BilickiJP MotorsportsToyota16.168118.679————3776Spencer BoydSS-Green Light RacingChevrolet16.296117.747————3855Stephen LeichtJP MotorsportsToyota16.331117.494————3974Cody WareMike Harmon RacingDodge16.381117.136————4052David StarrJimmy Means RacingChevrolet16.521116.143————Failed to qualify4189Morgan ShepherdShepherd Racing VenturesChevrolet16.547115.961————Official qualifying resultsOfficial starting lineup

Race results Stage 1 Laps: 85 Pos.#DriverTeamMakePts120Christopher BellJoe Gibbs RacingToyota10221Daniel HemricRichard Childress RacingChevrolet9300Cole CusterStewart-Haas Racing with Biagi-DenBesteFord8418Ryan PreeceJoe Gibbs RacingToyota7522Austin CindricTeam PenskeFord6642John Hunter NemechekChip Ganassi RacingChevrolet573Shane LeeRichard Childress RacingChevrolet4816Ryan ReedRoush Fenway RacingFord3911Ryan TruexKaulig RacingChevrolet2107Justin AllgaierJR MotorsportsChevrolet1 Stage 2 Laps: 85 Pos.#DriverTeamMakePts118Ryan PreeceJoe Gibbs RacingToyota10221Daniel HemricRichard Childress RacingChevrolet937Justin AllgaierJR MotorsportsChevrolet843Shane LeeRichard Childress RacingChevrolet7522Austin CindricTeam PenskeFord6642John Hunter NemechekChip Ganassi RacingChevrolet574Ross ChastainJD MotorsportsChevrolet4811Ryan TruexKaulig RacingChevrolet3923Spencer GallagherGMS RacingChevrolet21098Chase BriscoeStewart-Haas Racing with Biagi-DenBesteFord1 Stage 3 Laps: 130