Jump to content

2018 Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
2018 Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500
Race details[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9]
Race 2 of 36 in the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
2018 Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 program cover, featuring Jimmie Johnson and Ryan Newman.
2018 Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 program cover, featuring Jimmie Johnson and Ryan Newman.
Date February 25, 2018 (2018-02-25)
Location Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Georgia
Course Permanent racing facility
1.54 mi (2.48 km)
Distance 325 laps, 500.5 mi (806 km)
Average speed 143.068 miles per hour (230.246 km/h)
Pole position
Driver Joe Gibbs Racing
Time 30.024
Most laps led
Driver Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing
Laps 181
Winner
No. 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing
Television in the United States
Network Fox
Announcers Mike Joy, Jeff Gordon and Darrell Waltrip
Nielsen Ratings 3.3/3.1 (Overnight)[10]
Radio in the United States
Radio PRN
Booth Announcers Doug Rice, Mark Garrow and Wendy Venturini
Turn Announcers Rob Albright (1 & 2) and Pat Patterson (3 & 4)

The 2018 Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 was a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race held on February 25, 2018, at Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Georgia. Contested over 325 laps on the 1.54-mile-long (2.48 km) asphalt quad-oval intermediate speedway, it was the second race of the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season.

Report

[edit]

Background

[edit]
Atlanta Motor Speedway, the track where the race was held.

Atlanta Motor Speedway (formerly Atlanta International Raceway) is a track in Hampton, Georgia, 20 miles (32 km) south of Atlanta. It is a 1.54-mile (2.48 km) quad-oval track with a seating capacity of 111,000. It opened in 1960 as a 1.5-mile (2.4 km) standard oval. In 1994, 46 condominiums were built over the northeastern side of the track. In 1997, to standardize the track with Speedway Motorsports' other two 1.5-mile (2.4 km) ovals, the entire track was almost completely rebuilt. The frontstretch and backstretch were swapped, and the configuration of the track was changed from oval to quad-oval. The project made the track one of the fastest on the NASCAR circuit.

Entry list

[edit]
No. 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 Darrell Wallace Jr. (R) Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet
47 A. J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet
48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
51 Harrison Rhodes Rick Ware Racing 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 Chevrolet
Official entry list

First practice

[edit]

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 29.745 seconds and a speed of 186.384 mph (299.956 km/h).[11]

Pos No. Driver Team Manufacturer Time Speed
1 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 29.745 186.384
2 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 29.820 185.915
3 43 Darrell Wallace Jr. (R) Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet 29.833 185.834
Official first practice results

Qualifying

[edit]
Kyle Busch scored the pole position.

Kyle Busch scored the pole for the race with a time of 30.024 and a speed of 184.652 mph (297.169 km/h).[12]

Qualifying results

[edit]
Pos No. Driver Team Manufacturer R1 R2 R3
1 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 30.140 30.178 30.024
2 31 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 30.091 30.218 30.062
3 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 29.869 30.043 30.067
4 19 Daniel Suárez Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 30.075 30.084 30.093
5 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 29.737 30.152 30.154
6 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 30.132 30.212 30.176
7 41 Kurt Busch Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 30.126 30.155 30.215
8 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 30.025 30.101 30.221
9 14 Clint Bowyer Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 29.988 30.248 30.414
10 20 Erik Jones Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 30.299 30.292 30.621
11 10 Aric Almirola Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 30.251 30.224 0.000
12 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 30.240 30.303 0.000
13 1 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 30.025 30.324
14 95 Kasey Kahne Leavine Family Racing Chevrolet 30.433 30.377
15 21 Paul Menard Wood Brothers Racing Ford 30.242 30.384
16 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 30.117 30.440
17 34 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 30.475 30.469
18 88 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 30.146 30.523
19 43 Darrell Wallace Jr. (R) Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet 30.439 30.551
20 6 Trevor Bayne Roush Fenway Racing Ford 30.350 30.578
21 47 A. J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 30.433 30.588
22 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 30.194 30.590
23 24 William Byron (R) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 30.088 30.663
24 37 Chris Buescher JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 30.488 0.000
25 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 30.503
26 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 30.537
27 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 30.616
28 13 Ty Dillon Germain Racing Chevrolet 30.750
29 38 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 30.780
30 32 Matt DiBenedetto Go Fas Racing Ford 30.987
31 23 Gray Gaulding BK Racing Toyota 31.099
32 72 Cole Whitt TriStar Motorsports Chevrolet 31.314
33 00 Jeffrey Earnhardt StarCom Racing Chevrolet 31.671
34 15 Ross Chastain (i) Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 31.796
35 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Toyota 0.000
36 51 Harrison Rhodes Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet 0.000
Official qualifying results

Final practice

[edit]

Ryan Newman was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 29.989 seconds and a speed of 184.868 mph (297.516 km/h).[13]

Pos No. Driver Team Manufacturer Time Speed
1 31 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 29.989 184.868
2 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Toyota 30.033 184.597
3 21 Paul Menard Wood Brothers Racing Ford 30.038 184.566
Official final practice results

Race

[edit]

Morning rain delayed the start of the race by 2.5 hours, The race was originally to start at 2:00 p.m. but the race was pushed to 1:00 p.m. because of rain, Track drying allowed the start of the race to begin at 3:30 pm EST. Because of track lights they were able to complete the race in its entirety.[14]

Stage 1

[edit]

Start

[edit]

Once racing began, Kyle Busch led the field to the green flag, but Ryan Newman took the lead on lap 1 and led 17 laps, but then Kyle Busch took the lead from Newman on lap 18 and led 2 laps, but then Kevin Harvick took the lead on lap 21 and led 11 laps, but then the first caution of the race flew on lap 32 for a scheduled competition caution for rain, so Kyle Busch retook the lead once the caution came out and led one lap and Kevin Harvick took the lead of the race on lap 33.

Racing resumed on lap 35.

Kevin Harvick led 64 laps en route to his stage one victory, finishing 6.5 seconds in front of second place Clint Bowyer. Also in the top five was Brad Keselowski, Martin Truex Jr., and Aric Almirola. The second caution of the race came out on lap 87 for conclusion of the first stage, and Martin Truex Jr. took the lead on lap 89 and led one lap, but then Brad Keselowski took the lead from Truex on lap 90.

Stage 2

[edit]

Back to green on lap 93. Kurt Busch took the lead on lap 101 and led 25 laps and Kevin Harvick took the lead on lap 126 and led two laps, and Kyle Busch took the lead on lap 127.

Caution flew for the third time on lap 160 for a single car spin in turn 2. Jimmie Johnson got through the second turn and spun out. He was lapped by leader Kevin Harvick.

Racing restarted on lap 164.

Brad Keselowski outran Kurt Busch to win the second stage. Following were Kyle Busch, Joey Logano and Kevin Harvick.

Caution #4 flew on lap 172 for conclusion of the second stage.

Final stage

[edit]
Kevin Harvick won the race.

Back to green on lap 178.

Brad Keselowski took the lead with 101 laps to go and rain threatened to end the race with about 100 laps to go, as three drivers including Kevin Harvick, Brad Keselowski and Kurt Busch wrestled to take the lead. Crew chiefs were concerned about watching the weather.

The final stage developed in strategies as the teams of Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano ran in green flag pit stops than other leaders, attempting to use one less stop as the other cars.

With 27 laps to go, the fifth caution of the race came out when Trevor Bayne blew an engine in Turn 2, creating a plume of smoke behind him. Darrell Wallace Jr. slammed in the back of Ricky Stenhouse Jr. which caused damage to Wallace Jr.'s car.

Racing restarted with 20 laps to go, and Kevin Harvick led 173 of 325 laps and drove on to score his second career Atlanta victory since 2001.[15]

Post race

[edit]

"To be able to pay tribute to Dale Earnhardt was cool, been waiting a long time to do that" Harvick said.

Stage Results

[edit]

Stage 1 Laps: 85

Pos No Driver Team Manufacturer Points
1 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 10
2 14 Clint Bowyer Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 9
3 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 8
4 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Toyota 7
5 10 Aric Almirola Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 6
6 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 5
7 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 4
8 41 Kurt Busch Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 3
9 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 2
10 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 1
Official stage one results

Stage 2 Laps: 85

Pos No Driver Team Manufacturer Points
1 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 10
2 41 Kurt Busch Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 9
3 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 8
4 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 7
5 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 6
6 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 5
7 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 4
8 10 Aric Almirola Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 3
9 14 Clint Bowyer Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 2
10 19 Daniel Suárez Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 1
Official stage two results

Final Stage Results

[edit]

Stage 3 Laps: 155

Pos Grid No Driver Team Manufacturer Laps Points
1 3 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 325 56
2 5 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 325 53
3 9 14 Clint Bowyer Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 325 45
4 12 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 325 40
5 35 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Toyota 325 39
6 16 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 325 39
7 1 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 325 43
8 7 41 Kurt Busch Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 325 41
9 8 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 325 36
10 27 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 325 27
11 10 20 Erik Jones Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 325 26
12 26 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 325 25
13 11 10 Aric Almirola Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 325 33
14 25 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 324 23
15 4 19 Daniel Suárez Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 324 23
16 6 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 324 21
17 15 21 Paul Menard Wood Brothers Racing Ford 324 20
18 23 24 William Byron (R) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 323 19
19 13 1 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 323 18
20 18 88 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 322 17
21 14 95 Kasey Kahne Leavine Family Racing Chevrolet 322 16
22 2 31 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 322 15
23 29 38 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 321 14
24 17 34 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 321 13
25 24 37 Chris Buescher JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 321 12
26 28 13 Ty Dillon Germain Racing Chevrolet 321 11
27 22 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 321 10
28 32 72 Cole Whitt TriStar Motorsports Chevrolet 320 9
29 21 47 A. J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 320 8
30 34 15 Ross Chastain (i) Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 319 0
31 30 32 Matt DiBenedetto Go Fas Racing Ford 319 6
32 19 43 Darrell Wallace Jr. (R) Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet 319 5
33 36 51 Harrison Rhodes Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet 310 4
34 33 00 Jeffrey Earnhardt StarCom Racing Chevrolet 305 3
35 20 6 Trevor Bayne Roush Fenway Racing Ford 292 2
36 31 23 Gray Gaulding BK Racing Toyota 99 1
Official race results

Race statistics

[edit]
  • 24 lead changes among 8 drivers
  • 5 cautions for 28 laps
  • Time of race: 3 hours, 29 minutes and 54 seconds
  • Average speed: 143.071 miles per hour (230.250 km/h)
  • Margin of victory: 2.690 seconds

Media

[edit]

Television

[edit]

The Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 was carried by Fox in the United States. Mike Joy, five-time Atlanta winner Jeff Gordon and three-time Atlanta winner Darrell Waltrip worked the race from the booth. Pit road was manned by Jamie Little, Vince Welch and Matt Yocum.

Fox
Booth announcers Pit reporters
Lap-by-lap: Mike Joy
Color commentator: Jeff Gordon
Color commentator: Darrell Waltrip
Jamie Little
Vince Welch
Matt Yocum

Radio

[edit]

The race was broadcast on radio by the Performance Racing Network and simulcast on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio. Doug Rice, Mark Garrow and Wendy Venturini called the race from the booth when the field raced down the front stretch. Rob Albright called the race from atop a billboard outside of 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. On pit road, PRN was manned by Brad Gillie, Brett McMillan, Jim Noble and Doug Turnbull.

PRN
Booth announcers Turn announcers Pit reporters
Lead announcer: Doug Rice
Announcer: Mark Garrow
Announcer: Wendy Venturini
Turns 1 & 2: Rob Albright
Turns 3 & 4: Pat Patterson
Brad Gillie
Brett McMillan
Jim Noble
Doug Turnbull

Standings after the race

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "2018 schedule". Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. May 5, 2017. Archived from the original on December 24, 2017. Retrieved January 29, 2018.
  2. ^ "Atlanta Motor Speedway". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. January 3, 2013. Archived from the original on February 19, 2016. Retrieved January 29, 2018.
  3. ^ "Entry List". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. February 19, 2018. Retrieved February 19, 2018.
  4. ^ "First Practice Results". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. February 23, 2018. Retrieved February 23, 2018.
  5. ^ "Qualifying Results". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. February 23, 2018. Retrieved February 23, 2018.
  6. ^ "Final Practice Results". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. February 24, 2018. Retrieved February 24, 2018.
  7. ^ "Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 Results". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. February 25, 2018. Retrieved February 25, 2018.
  8. ^ "Points standings" (PDF). Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. February 26, 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 28, 2018. Retrieved February 26, 2018.
  9. ^ "Manufacturer standings" (PDF). Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. February 26, 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 28, 2018. Retrieved February 26, 2018.
  10. ^ "Atlanta final TV ratings". Jayski's Silly Season Site. ESPN. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
  11. ^ Spencer, Lee (February 23, 2018). "Stenhouse tops first Atlanta Cup practice over Larson and Wallace". Motorsport.com. Hampton, Georgia: Motorsport Network. Retrieved February 23, 2018.
  12. ^ Odum, Charles (February 23, 2018). "Kyle Busch nips Newman to win pole at Atlanta Motor Speedway". Associated Press. Hampton, Georgia: AP Sports. Associated Press. Archived from the original on February 24, 2018. Retrieved February 23, 2018.
  13. ^ Spencer, Lee (February 24, 2018). "Ryan Newman leads final practice at Atlanta". Motorsport.com. Hampton, Georgia: Motorsport Network. Retrieved February 24, 2018.
  14. ^ Bianchi, Jordan (February 25, 2018). "Rain delays Atlanta NASCAR race". SBNation.com. Retrieved February 25, 2018.
  15. ^ Hembree, Mike (February 25, 2018). "Kevin Harvick gets redemption, wins NASCAR Cup race at Atlanta Motor Speedway". USA TODAY. Retrieved February 25, 2018.


Previous race:
2018 Daytona 500
Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
2018 season
Next race:
2018 Pennzoil 400