2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
The 2018 Monster Energy Cup Series will be the 70th season of professional stock car racing in the United States, and the 47th modern-era Cup series season. The season will begin at Daytona International Speedway with the Advance Auto Parts Clash, the Can-Am Duel qualifying races and the 60th running of the Daytona 500. The season will end with the Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway on November 18, 2018.
It will be the fourth season of the current 10-year television contract with Fox Sports and NBC Sports and the third of a five-year race sanctioning agreement with all tracks.[1][2]
Chevrolet has announced that, due to the discontinuation of the Holden Commodore (VF) (marketed in the United States as the Chevrolet SS), starting in 2018, they will be fielding the Camaro ZL1.[3]
Chartered teams
Complete schedule
Non-chartered teams
Complete schedule
| Manufacturer | Team | No. | Race driver | Crew chief |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chevrolet | ||||
| Premium Motorsports | 55 | TBA | TBA | |
| Rick Ware Racing | 51 | TBA | TBA | |
| TriStar Motorsports | 72 | TBA | TBA | |
| Ford | Team Penske | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Jeremy Bullins |
| Toyota | BK Racing | 83 | TBA | TBA |
Limited schedule
| Manufacturer | Team | No. | Race driver | Crew chief |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chevrolet | Beard Motorsports | 75 | TBA | TBA |
| Circle Sport – The Motorsports Group | 30 | TBA | TBA | |
| MBM Motorsports | 66 | TBA | TBA | |
| Tommy Baldwin Racing | 7 | TBA | TBA | |
| Toyota | Gaunt Brothers Racing | 96 | TBA | TBA |
Changes
Teams
- Team Penske will expand to a three-car team with the addition of Ryan Blaney in the No. 12, previously with Wood Brothers Racing in the No. 21 in 2017.
Drivers
- On April 25, 2017, Dale Earnhardt Jr. announced that he would retire from full-time racing.[5] On July 20, 2017, Alex Bowman was announced as his full-time replacement.
- On July 11, 2017, it was announced that Erik Jones will be replacing Matt Kenseth in the No. 20 car for Joe Gibbs Racing.
- On July 26, 2017, it was announced that Paul Menard will replace Ryan Blaney in the No. 21 car for Wood Brothers Racing.
- On August 1, 2017, it was announced that Kurt Busch will become a free agent after driving the No. 41 car for Stewart Haas Racing.
- On August 7, 2017, it was announced that Kasey Kahne would become a free agent after driving the No. 5 car for Hendrick Motorsports. On August 8, 2017, it was announced that William Byron was named as his full-time replacement in the 5 car.
Crew Chiefs
- Jeremy Bullins will move over from the No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Team to the new No. 12 Team Penske team to continue to be Ryan Blaney's crew chief.
- Greg Erwin will move from the No. 22 Team Penske team in the NASCAR Xfinity Series to the No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing team to be Paul Menard's Crew Chief.
Miscellaneous
- Chevrolet is running the Camaro ZL1 for this season.[6]
Schedule
The final schedule – comprising 36 races, as well as exhibition races, which are the Advance Auto Parts Clash, Can-Am Duel qualifying duel races for the Daytona 500 and the All-Star Race – was released on May 23, 2017.[7]
Schedule changes
In 2015, NASCAR and 23 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series tracks agreed on a five-year contract that guarantees each track would continue to host races through 2020.[9] Despite the agreement, Speedway Motorsports decided to transfer one of its Cup Series races at New Hampshire Motor Speedway to Las Vegas Motor Speedway to form a race weekend involving each of the three national series in the fall.[10] On July 27, 2016, Daytona International Speedway announced that the 60th running of the Daytona 500 would be moved one week earlier to be held on February 18, 2018.[11]
Several changes were announced with the release of the final schedule. The 25th Big Machine Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway moved to September to become the final race of the regular season, while the Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond Raceway moved to the second race in the Round of 16. Richmond's spring race will also move back to a Saturday night. The new date that Las Vegas Motor Speedway acquired from New Hampshire Motor Speedway was moved to the first race of the playoffs to replace Chicagoland Speedway, which became race 17 of the regular season. Chicagoland's move to back to July before the Coke Zero 400 will result in NBC's schedule to begin at Chicagoland, not Daytona. Dover International Speedway's spring race, the AAA 400 Drive for Autism, was moved one month early to precede Kansas Speedway and Charlotte Motor Speedway. The track's fall race, the Dover 400, was moved one week later to become the first race of the Round of 12. Also, Charlotte Motor Speedway's Bank of America 500 moved one week earlier and will utilize the track's road course layout instead of its quad-oval. With an additional off-week in the schedule for 2018, the Father's Day off-week that Fox added for the U. S. Open will be restored, with the third off-week being after the Bristol August race.[7][12]
See also
References
- ^ "NASCAR, FOX extend, expand rights agreement". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. August 1, 2013. Retrieved May 18, 2017.
- ^ Cain, Holly (July 23, 2013). "NASCAR, NBC Sports Group reach landmark deal". NASCAR.com. Daytona Beach, Florida: NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved May 18, 2017.
- ^ Folsom, Brandon (August 10, 2017). "Chevy Camaro returning to NASCAR Cup Series in 2018: 'It's a monster'". Detroit Free Press. Gannett Company. Retrieved August 11, 2017.
- ^ "2018 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Team / Driver Chart". Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. Retrieved July 31, 2017.
- ^ Valade, Jodie (April 25, 2017). "Dale Earnhardt Jr. to Retire From Racing". The New York Times. Charlotte, North Carolina: The New York Times Company. Retrieved May 18, 2017.
- ^ Burden, Melissa (August 10, 2017). "Camaro ZL1 will be Chevy's new NASCAR entry". The Detroit News. Digital First Media. Retrieved August 11, 2017.
- ^ a b "Playoff makeover headlines 2018 NASCAR schedules" (Press release). Daytona Beach, Florida: NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. May 23, 2017. Retrieved May 23, 2017.
- ^ "OVERTON'S MARINE PARTNERS WITH POCONO RACEWAY FOR MULTI-YEAR NASCAR SPONSORSHIP". Pocono Raceway. July 10, 2017. Retrieved July 10, 2017.
- ^ Scott, David (October 26, 2015). "NASCAR signs 5-year deals with tracks". The Charlotte Observer. The McClatchy Company. Retrieved May 18, 2017.
- ^ Long, Dustin (March 8, 2017). "Las Vegas gets second Cup date in 2018; New Hampshire loses a Cup date". NASCARTalk.com. NBC Sports. Retrieved May 18, 2017.
- ^ "59th Running Of The DAYTONA 500 In 2018 Returns To Traditional Date On Presidents Day Weekend" (Press release). Daytona International Speedway. July 26, 2016. Retrieved May 20, 2017.
- ^ Cain, Holly (May 23, 2017). "Playoff makeover, Daytona's return to history highlight 2018 NASCAR schedule". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved May 23, 2017.