# 2018 Pennzoil 400

The 2018 Pennzoil 400 was a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race held on March 4, 2018, at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Las Vegas. Contested over 267 laps on the 1.5 mi (2.4 km) asphalt intermediate speedway, it was the third race of the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season.

## Report
### Background

Las Vegas Motor Speedway, located in Clark County, Nevada outside the Las Vegas city limits and about 15 miles northeast of the Las Vegas Strip, is a 1,200-acre (490 ha) complex of multiple tracks for motorsports racing. The complex is owned by Speedway Motorsports, Inc., which is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina.

#### Entry list

| 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 | Cole Custer (i) | Rick Ware Racing | Ford |
| 55 | Joey Gase (i) | Premium Motorsports | 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

Kyle Larson was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 28.323 seconds and a speed of 190.658 mph (306.834 km/h).
| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Time | Speed |
| 1 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 28.323 | 190.658 |
| 2 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 28.360 | 190.409 |
| 3 | 21 | Paul Menard | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 28.366 | 190.369 |
| Official first practice results |||||||

## Qualifying

Ryan Blaney scored the pole for the race with a time of 28.200 and a speed of 191.489 mph (308.172 km/h).

### Qualifying results

| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | R1 | R2 | R3 |
| 1 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 28.419 | 28.271 | 28.200 |
| 2 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 28.540 | 28.259 | 28.384 |
| 3 | 41 | Kurt Busch | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 28.569 | 28.579 | 28.411 |
| 4 | 78 | Martin Truex Jr. | Furniture Row Racing | Toyota | 28.515 | 28.476 | 28.424 |
| 5 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 28.570 | 28.539 | 28.504 |
| 6 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 28.422 | 28.515 | 28.545 |
| 7 | 17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 28.477 | 28.515 | 28.549 |
| 8 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 28.396 | 28.530 | 28.556 |
| 9 | 20 | Erik Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 28.510 | 28.355 | 28.614 |
| 10 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 28.644 | 28.447 | 28.626 |
| 11 | 14 | Clint Bowyer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 28.545 | 28.533 | 28.652 |
| 12 | 21 | Paul Menard | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 28.394 | 28.571 | 28.656 |
| 13 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 28.505 | 28.596 | — |
| 14 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 28.551 | 28.615 | — |
| 15 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 28.634 | 28.631 | — |
| 16 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 28.706 | 28.656 | — |
| 17 | 24 | William Byron (R) | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 28.421 | 28.668 | — |
| 18 | 19 | Daniel Suárez | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 28.427 | 28.744 | — |
| 19 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 28.534 | 28.747 | — |
| 20 | 88 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 28.660 | 28.809 | — |
| 21 | 95 | Kasey Kahne | Leavine Family Racing | Chevrolet | 28.705 | 28.830 | — |
| 22 | 1 | Jamie McMurray | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 28.703 | 28.839 | — |
| 23 | 38 | David Ragan | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 28.578 | 28.852 | — |
| 24 | 6 | Trevor Bayne | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 28.693 | 28.968 | — |
| 25 | 31 | Ryan Newman | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 28.777 | — | — |
| 26 | 43 | Darrell Wallace Jr. (R) | Richard Petty Motorsports | Chevrolet | 28.793 | — | — |
| 27 | 47 | A. J. Allmendinger | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 28.890 | — | — |
| 28 | 37 | Chris Buescher | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 28.980 | — | — |
| 29 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 29.013 | — | — |
| 30 | 51 | Cole Custer (i) | Rick Ware Racing | Ford | 29.035 | — | — |
| 31 | 13 | Ty Dillon | Germain Racing | Chevrolet | 29.140 | — | — |
| 32 | 32 | Matt DiBenedetto | Go Fas Racing | Ford | 29.185 | — | — |
| 33 | 15 | Ross Chastain (i) | Premium Motorsports | Chevrolet | 29.441 | — | — |
| 34 | 72 | Cole Whitt | TriStar Motorsports | Chevrolet | 29.626 | — | — |
| 35 | 23 | Gray Gaulding | BK Racing | Toyota | 30.127 | — | — |
| 36 | 00 | Jeffrey Earnhardt | StarCom Racing | Chevrolet | 30.631 | — | — |
| 37 | 55 | Joey Gase (i) | Premium Motorsports | Chevrolet | 31.101 | — | — |
| Official qualifying results ||||||||

## Practice (post-qualifying)
### Second practice

Kyle Larson was the fastest in the second practice session with a time of 28.791 seconds and a speed of 187.559 mph (301.847 km/h).
| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Time | Speed |
| 1 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 28.791 | 187.559 |
| 2 | 31 | Ryan Newman | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 28.807 | 187.454 |
| 3 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 28.941 | 186.587 |
| Official second practice results |||||||

### Final practice

Ryan Blaney was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 28.963 seconds and a speed of 186.445 mph (300.054 km/h).
| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Time | Speed |
| 1 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 28.963 | 186.445 |
| 2 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 29.011 | 186.136 |
| 3 | 78 | Martin Truex Jr. | Furniture Row Racing | Toyota | 29.018 | 186.091 |
| Official final practice results |||||||

## Race
### First stage
#### Start

Ryan Blaney led the field to the green flag at 3:46 p.m. Blaney led a total of one lap, and Kevin Harvick took the lead on lap 2, and led 37 laps, but then Michael McDowell took the lead on lap 39 and led 11 laps, and Kevin Harvick regained the lead on lap 49 and led the 80-lap first stage. He finished 3.6 seconds in front of Martin Truex Jr., leading 68 of the 80 laps. Also in the top five were Kyle Larson, Ryan Blaney and Joey Logano. The first caution of the race flew for conclusion of stage 1.

### Second stage

The race restarted on lap 89, Kyle Busch took the lead on lap 122, and led 4 laps, but then Kevin Harvick regained the lead on lap 126 and dominated the race in its second stage, winning by 5.3 seconds over Ryan Blaney. Following were Kyle Larson, Joey Logano and Kyle Busch. Harvick led 76 of the stage’s 80 laps. The second caution of the race flew for conclusion of stage 2.

### Final stage

The race restarted on lap 167, and it remained green for 10 laps. The third caution of the race flew on lap 176 after Jamie McMurray slapped the outside wall. He parked his Chevrolet.
The race restarted on lap 183 and the fourth caution of the race flew when Kurt Busch lost control of his car in heavy traffic with 84 laps to go and slid up the track into Chase Elliott and into the wall. Both cars suffered heavy damage.
The race restarted on lap 195. Harvick drove on to score his third career victory and second at Las Vegas.

#### Post race

“I know how hard it is to get to victory lane, and to know we have been there 100 times is something I almost can't fathom,” Harvick said.

### Stage Results

Stage 1 Laps: 80
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Points |
| 1 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 10 |
| 2 | 78 | Martin Truex Jr. | Furniture Row Racing | Toyota | 9 |
| 3 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 8 |
| 4 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 7 |
| 5 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 6 |
| 6 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 5 |
| 7 | 41 | Kurt Busch | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 4 |
| 8 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 3 |
| 9 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 2 |
| 10 | 21 | Paul Menard | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 1 |
| Official stage one results ||||||
Stage 2 Laps: 80
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Points |
| 1 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 10 |
| 2 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 9 |
| 3 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 8 |
| 4 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 7 |
| 5 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 6 |
| 6 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 5 |
| 7 | 78 | Martin Truex Jr. | Furniture Row Racing | Toyota | 4 |
| 8 | 41 | Kurt Busch | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 3 |
| 9 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 2 |
| 10 | 21 | Paul Menard | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 1 |
| Official stage two results ||||||

### Final Stage Results

Stage 3 Laps: 107
| Pos | Grid | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Laps | Points |
| 1 | 2 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 267 | 40 |
| 2 | 13 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 267 | 43 |
| 3 | 5 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 267 | 50 |
| 4 | 4 | 78 | Martin Truex Jr. | Furniture Row Racing | Toyota | 267 | 46 |
| 5 | 1 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 267 | 48 |
| 6 | 8 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 267 | 41 |
| 7 | 10 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 267 | 43 |
| 8 | 9 | 20 | Erik Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 267 | 29 |
| 9 | 12 | 21 | Paul Menard | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 267 | 30 |
| 10 | 29 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 266 | 27 |
| 11 | 25 | 31 | Ryan Newman | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 266 | 26 |
| 12 | 14 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 266 | 25 |
| 13 | 16 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 266 | 24 |
| 14 | 7 | 17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 265 | 23 |
| 15 | 28 | 37 | Chris Buescher | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 265 | 22 |
| 16 | 20 | 88 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 265 | 21 |
| 17 | 19 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 265 | 20 |
| 18 | 11 | 14 | Clint Bowyer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 265 | 19 |
| 19 | 21 | 95 | Kasey Kahne | Leavine Family Racing | Chevrolet | 264 | 18 |
| 20 | 24 | 6 | Trevor Bayne | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 264 | 17 |
| 21 | 26 | 43 | Darrell Wallace Jr. (R) | Richard Petty Motorsports | Chevrolet | 264 | 16 |
| 22 | 32 | 32 | Matt DiBenedetto | Go Fas Racing | Ford | 264 | 15 |
| 23 | 23 | 38 | David Ragan | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 264 | 14 |
| 24 | 31 | 13 | Ty Dillon | Germain Racing | Chevrolet | 264 | 13 |
| 25 | 30 | 51 | Cole Custer (i) | Rick Ware Racing | Ford | 264 | 0 |
| 26 | 18 | 19 | Daniel Suárez | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 263 | 11 |
| 27 | 17 | 24 | William Byron (R) | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 263 | 10 |
| 28 | 34 | 72 | Cole Whitt | TriStar Motorsports | Chevrolet | 262 | 9 |
| 29 | 33 | 15 | Ross Chastain (i) | Premium Motorsports | Chevrolet | 262 | 0 |
| 30 | 27 | 47 | A. J. Allmendinger | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 262 | 7 |
| 31 | 36 | 00 | Jeffrey Earnhardt | StarCom Racing | Chevrolet | 255 | 6 |
| 32 | 37 | 55 | Joey Gase (i) | Premium Motorsports | Chevrolet | 253 | 0 |
| 33 | 35 | 23 | Gray Gaulding | BK Racing | Toyota | 195 | 4 |
| 34 | 6 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 183 | 8 |
| 35 | 3 | 41 | Kurt Busch | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 183 | 9 |
| 36 | 22 | 1 | Jamie McMurray | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 176 | 1 |
| 37 | 15 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 100 | 1 |
| Official race results ||||||||
* ↑ Kevin Harvick was penalized 20 points after failing post-race inspection.

### Race statistics

* 11 lead changes among 6 different drivers
* 4 cautions for 29 laps
* Time of race: 2 hours, 49 minutes and 31 seconds
* Average speed: 141.760 miles per hour (228.141 km/h)
* Margin of victory: 2.906 seconds

## Media
### Television

Fox Sports covered their 18th race at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Mike Joy, 2001 race winner Jeff Gordon and Darrell Waltrip called from the booth for the race. Jamie Little, Vince Welch and Matt Yocum handled the pit road duties for the television side.
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

PRN covered the radio call for the race which was also simulcasted on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio. Doug Rice, Mark Garrow and Wendy Venturini called the race in the booth when the field raced through the tri-oval. Rob Albright called the race from a billboard in 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. Brad Gillie, Brett McMillan, Jim Noble and Steve Richards worked pit road for the radio side.
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 Steve Richards |

## Penalties

On March 7, 2018, NASCAR assessed the Stewart-Haas Racing No. 4 Ford an L1 penalty for violating sections 20.4.8.1 (dealing with rear window support) and 20.4.18 (rocker panel extensions). A brace that supports the rear window failed and did not meet specifications for keeping the rear window glass rigid in all directions, at all times. Additionally, the rocker panel extension was not aluminum. The team would be docked 20 driver and owner points, the win would not count toward playoffs, crew chief Rodney Childers was fined $50,000 and car chief Robert Smith would be suspended for the next two races. Additionally, the No. 55 team was penalized for a loose lug nut during inspection and crew chief Todd Parrott was fined $10,000.

## Standings after the race

| | Pos | Driver | Points |
| 3 | 1 | Kevin Harvick | 135 |
| 1 | 2 | Joey Logano | 132 (–3) |
| 1 | 3 | Ryan Blaney | 131 (–4) |
| 3 | 4 | Martin Truex Jr. | 115 (–20) |
| 6 | 5 | Kyle Busch | 104 (–31) |
| 7 | 6 | Kyle Larson | 104 (–31) |
| 5 | 7 | Brad Keselowski | 99 (–36) |
| 5 | 8 | Denny Hamlin | 97 (–38) |
| | 9 | Paul Menard | 96 (–39) |
| 4 | 10 | Austin Dillon | 94 (–41) |
| 6 | 11 | Clint Bowyer | 93 (–42) |
| 2 | 12 | Aric Almirola | 93 (–42) |
| 5 | 13 | Kurt Busch | 77 (–58) |
| 2 | 14 | Ryan Newman | 75 (–60) |
| 1 | 15 | Darrell Wallace Jr. | 68 (–67) |
| 2 | 16 | Chris Buescher | 67 (–68) |
| Official driver's standings ||||
| | Pos | Manufacturer | Points |
| | 1 | Ford | 113 |
| | 2 | Chevrolet | 102 (–11) |
| | 3 | Toyota | 102 (–11) |
| Official manufacturers' standings ||||