# 2018 Gander Outdoors 400

The 2018 Gander Outdoors 400 is a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race held on July 29, 2018, at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. Contested over 164 laps—extended from 160 laps due to an overtime finish, on the 2.5-mile (4.0 km) superspeedway, it was the 21st race of the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season.

## Report
### Background

Pocono Raceway is a superspeedway that is located in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania in Long Pond. It is the site of two annual NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races held in early June and late July/early August, one NASCAR Xfinity Series event in early June, one NASCAR Camping World Truck Series event in late July/early August, and two ARCA Racing Series races in early June and late July/early August.
From 1971 to 1989, and again since 2013, the track has also hosted an Indy Car race, currently sanctioned by the IndyCar Series and run in August.
Pocono is one of a very few NASCAR tracks that is not owned by either Speedway Motorsports, Inc. or International Speedway Corporation, the dominant track owners in NASCAR. It is run by the Igdalsky siblings Brandon and Nicholas, both of whom are third-generation members of the family-owned Mattco Inc., started by Joseph II and Rose Mattioli. Mattco also owns South Boston Speedway in South Boston, Virginia.
In addition to NASCAR races, Pocono is used throughout the year by the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) and motorcycle clubs as well as racing schools.
The triangular oval also has three separate infield sections of racetrack – North Course, East Course and South Course. Each of these infield sections use a separate portion of the tri-oval to complete the track. During regular non-race weekends, multiple clubs can use the track by running on different infield sections. Several of the infield sections can also be run in either direction, or multiple infield sections can be put together, running the North Course and the South Course and using the tri-oval to connect the two.

#### Entry list

| No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer |
| 00 | Landon Cassill | 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 | Reed Sorenson | 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 | Darrell Wallace Jr. (R) | Richard Petty Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 47 | A. J. Allmendinger | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet |
| 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 51 | B. J. McLeod (i) | Rick Ware Racing | Chevrolet |
| 66 | Timmy Hill (i) | MBM Motorsports | Toyota |
| 72 | Corey LaJoie | TriStar Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 78 | Martin Truex Jr. | Furniture Row Racing | Toyota |
| 88 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 95 | Kasey Kahne | Leavine Family Racing | Chevrolet |
| 96 | Jeffrey Earnhardt | Gaunt Brothers Racing | Toyota |
| 99 | Kyle Weatherman | StarCom Racing | Chevrolet |
| Official entry list ||||

## Practice
### First practice

Kevin Harvick was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 51.439 seconds and a speed of 174.965 mph (281.579 km/h).
| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Time | Speed |
| 1 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 51.439 | 174.965 |
| 2 | 20 | Erik Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 51.449 | 174.931 |
| 3 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 51.605 | 174.402 |
| Official first practice results |||||||

### Final practice

Joey Logano was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 51.029 seconds and a speed of 176.370 mph (283.840 km/h).
| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Time | Speed |
| 1 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 51.029 | 176.370 |
| 2 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 51.039 | 176.336 |
| 3 | 78 | Martin Truex Jr. | Furniture Row Racing | Toyota | 51.310 | 175.404 |
| Official final practice results |||||||

## Qualifying

Daniel Suárez scored the pole for the race with a time of 50.851 and a speed of 176.988 mph (284.835 km/h) after Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch were both disqualified after failing post-qualifying inspection.

### Qualifying results

| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | R1 | R2 | R3 |
| 1 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 51.087 | 50.986 | 50.633 |
| 2 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 51.688 | 51.316 | 50.723 |
| 3 | 19 | Daniel Suárez | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 51.477 | 51.219 | 50.851 |
| 4 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 51.498 | 51.207 | 50.853 |
| 5 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 51.507 | 51.234 | 50.969 |
| 6 | 24 | William Byron (R) | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 51.538 | 50.971 | 50.993 |
| 7 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 51.624 | 51.312 | 51.012 |
| 8 | 20 | Erik Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 51.267 | 50.942 | 51.023 |
| 9 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 51.307 | 51.217 | 51.050 |
| 10 | 1 | Jamie McMurray | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 51.579 | 51.224 | 51.103 |
| 11 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 51.528 | 51.271 | 51.112 |
| 12 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 51.777 | 51.263 | 51.184 |
| 13 | 41 | Kurt Busch | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 51.193 | 51.322 | — |
| 14 | 78 | Martin Truex Jr. | Furniture Row Racing | Toyota | 51.381 | 51.356 | — |
| 15 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 51.648 | 51.398 | — |
| 16 | 31 | Ryan Newman | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 51.446 | 51.498 | — |
| 17 | 21 | Paul Menard | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 51.511 | 51.504 | — |
| 18 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 51.946 | 51.530 | — |
| 19 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 51.641 | 51.534 | — |
| 20 | 88 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 51.787 | 51.540 | — |
| 21 | 14 | Clint Bowyer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 51.544 | 51.553 | — |
| 22 | 43 | Darrell Wallace Jr. (R) | Richard Petty Motorsports | Chevrolet | 51.922 | 51.595 | — |
| 23 | 6 | Matt Kenseth | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 51.983 | 51.654 | — |
| 24 | 95 | Kasey Kahne | Leavine Family Racing | Chevrolet | 51.834 | 52.168 | — |
| 25 | 37 | Chris Buescher | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 51.990 | — | — |
| 26 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 52.023 | — | — |
| 27 | 47 | A. J. Allmendinger | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 52.118 | — | — |
| 28 | 13 | Ty Dillon | Germain Racing | Chevrolet | 52.174 | — | — |
| 29 | 38 | David Ragan | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 52.241 | — | — |
| 30 | 17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 52.319 | — | — |
| 31 | 32 | Matt DiBenedetto | Go Fas Racing | Ford | 52.517 | — | — |
| 32 | 96 | Jeffrey Earnhardt | Gaunt Brothers Racing | Toyota | 53.313 | — | — |
| 33 | 23 | J. J. Yeley (i) | BK Racing | Toyota | 53.323 | — | — |
| 34 | 72 | Corey LaJoie | TriStar Motorsports | Chevrolet | 53.346 | — | — |
| 35 | 15 | Gray Gaulding | Premium Motorsports | Chevrolet | 53.557 | — | — |
| 36 | 99 | Kyle Weatherman | StarCom Racing | Chevrolet | 53.767 | — | — |
| 37 | 00 | Landon Cassill | StarCom Racing | Chevrolet | 53.976 | — | — |
| 38 | 7 | Reed Sorenson | Premium Motorsports | Chevrolet | 54.276 | — | — |
| 39 | 51 | B. J. McLeod (i) | Rick Ware Racing | Chevrolet | 54.286 | — | — |
| 40 | 66 | Timmy Hill (i) | MBM Motorsports | Toyota | 54.652 | — | — |
| Official qualifying results ||||||||
* Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch will start from the rear after both cars failed post-qualifying inspection, leaving Daniel Suárez as the polesitter. Kyle Larson, Joey Logano, William Byron, Austin Dillon, Jimmie Johnson, Paul Menard, Ryan Blaney, Aric Almirola, Clint Bowyer, Darrell Wallace Jr. and Kasey Kahne also failed post-qualifying inspection. All 13 cars that failed the post-qualifying inspection will start at the rear and they lined up based on owner points.
* Gray Gaulding practiced and qualified the No. 15 for Ross Chastain who was in Iowa for the Xfinity Series race. Chastain will start at the rear due to Driver Change.

## Race
### Stage Results

Stage 1 Laps: 50
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Points |
| 1 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 10 |
| 2 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 9 |
| 3 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 8 |
| 4 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 7 |
| 5 | 19 | Daniel Suárez | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 6 |
| 6 | 14 | Clint Bowyer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 5 |
| 7 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 4 |
| 8 | 41 | Kurt Busch | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 3 |
| 9 | 88 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 2 |
| 10 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 1 |
| Official stage one results ||||||
Stage 2 Laps: 50
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Points |
| 1 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 10 |
| 2 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 9 |
| 3 | 14 | Clint Bowyer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 8 |
| 4 | 88 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 7 |
| 5 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 6 |
| 6 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 5 |
| 7 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 4 |
| 8 | 1 | Jamie McMurray | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 3 |
| 9 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 2 |
| 10 | 24 | William Byron (R) | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 1 |
| Official stage two results ||||||

### Final Stage Results

Stage 3 Laps: 60
| Pos | Grid | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Laps | Points |
| 1 | 2 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 164 | 47 |
| 2 | 3 | 19 | Daniel Suárez | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 164 | 41 |
| 3 | 20 | 88 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 164 | 43 |
| 4 | 1 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 164 | 52 |
| 5 | 8 | 20 | Erik Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 164 | 32 |
| 6 | 6 | 24 | William Byron (R) | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 164 | 32 |
| 7 | 11 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 164 | 49 |
| 8 | 16 | 31 | Ryan Newman | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 164 | 29 |
| 9 | 13 | 41 | Kurt Busch | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 164 | 31 |
| 10 | 7 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 164 | 35 |
| 11 | 21 | 14 | Clint Bowyer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 164 | 39 |
| 12 | 18 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 164 | 28 |
| 13 | 12 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 164 | 24 |
| 14 | 27 | 47 | A. J. Allmendinger | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 164 | 23 |
| 15 | 14 | 78 | Martin Truex Jr. | Furniture Row Racing | Toyota | 164 | 22 |
| 16 | 26 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 164 | 21 |
| 17 | 15 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 164 | 25 |
| 18 | 23 | 6 | Matt Kenseth | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 164 | 19 |
| 19 | 29 | 38 | David Ragan | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 164 | 18 |
| 20 | 10 | 1 | Jamie McMurray | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 164 | 25 |
| 21 | 17 | 21 | Paul Menard | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 164 | 16 |
| 22 | 30 | 17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 164 | 15 |
| 23 | 4 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 164 | 20 |
| 24 | 28 | 13 | Ty Dillon | Germain Racing | Chevrolet | 164 | 13 |
| 25 | 19 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 164 | 12 |
| 26 | 5 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 164 | 11 |
| 27 | 31 | 32 | Matt DiBenedetto | Go Fas Racing | Ford | 164 | 10 |
| 28 | 33 | 23 | J. J. Yeley (i) | BK Racing | Toyota | 164 | 0 |
| 29 | 32 | 96 | Jeffrey Earnhardt | Gaunt Brothers Racing | Toyota | 163 | 8 |
| 30 | 24 | 95 | Kasey Kahne | Leavine Family Racing | Chevrolet | 162 | 7 |
| 31 | 36 | 99 | Kyle Weatherman | StarCom Racing | Chevrolet | 161 | 6 |
| 32 | 38 | 7 | Reed Sorenson | Premium Motorsports | Chevrolet | 161 | 5 |
| 33 | 22 | 43 | Darrell Wallace Jr. (R) | Richard Petty Motorsports | Chevrolet | 153 | 4 |
| 34 | 37 | 00 | Landon Cassill | StarCom Racing | Chevrolet | 148 | 3 |
| 35 | 35 | 15 | Ross Chastain (i) | Premium Motorsports | Chevrolet | 146 | 0 |
| 36 | 40 | 66 | Timmy Hill (i) | MBM Motorsports | Toyota | 142 | 0 |
| 37 | 25 | 37 | Chris Buescher | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 123 | 1 |
| 38 | 9 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 121 | 9 |
| 39 | 34 | 72 | Corey LaJoie | TriStar Motorsports | Chevrolet | 95 | 1 |
| 40 | 39 | 51 | B. J. McLeod (i) | Rick Ware Racing | Chevrolet | 77 | 0 |
| Official race results ||||||||

### Race statistics

* Lead changes: 10 among different drivers
* Cautions/Laps: 7 for 29
* Red flags: 1 for 10 minutes and 10 seconds
* Time of race: 3 hours, 5 minutes and 43 seconds
* Average speed: 132.460 miles per hour (213.174 km/h)

## Media
### Television

NBC Sports covered the race on the television side. Rick Allen, Jeff Burton, Steve Letarte and two-time Pocono winner Dale Earnhardt Jr. had the call in the booth for the race. Dave Burns, Marty Snider and Kelli Stavast reported from pit lane during the race.
NBCSN :
| Booth announcers | Pit reporters |
| Lap-by-lap: Rick Allen Color-commentator: Jeff Burton Color-commentator: Steve Letarte Color-commentator: Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Dave Burns Marty Snider Kelli Stavast |

### Radio

Motor Racing Network had the radio call for the race, which was simulcast on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio.
MRN :
| Booth announcers | Turn announcers | Pit reporters |
| Lead announcer: Joe Moore Announcer: Jeff Striegle Announcer: Rusty Wallace | Turn 1: Dave Moody Turns 2: Mike Bagley Turn 3: Kyle Rickey | Alex Hayden Winston Kelley Steve Post |

## Standings after the race

| | Pos | Driver | Points |
| | 1 | Kyle Busch | 891 |
| | 2 | Kevin Harvick | 843 (–48) |
| | 3 | Martin Truex Jr. | 762 (–129) |
| | 4 | Joey Logano | 690 (–201) |
| 1 | 5 | Clint Bowyer | 677 (–214) |
| 1 | 6 | Kurt Busch | 677 (–214) |
| | 7 | Brad Keselowski | 644 (–247) |
| | 8 | Kyle Larson | 626 (–265) |
| 1 | 9 | Denny Hamlin | 618 (–273) |
| 1 | 10 | Ryan Blaney | 612 (–279) |
| | 11 | Aric Almirola | 587 (–304) |
| 1 | 12 | Chase Elliott | 569 (–322) |
| 1 | 13 | Jimmie Johnson | 547 (–344) |
| | 14 | Erik Jones | 533 (–358) |
| | 15 | Alex Bowman | 496 (–395) |
| | 16 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 440 (–451) |
| Official driver's standings ||||
| | Pos | Manufacturer | Points |
| | 1 | Toyota | 775 |
| | 2 | Ford | 752 (–23) |
| | 3 | Chevrolet | 675 (–100) |
| Official manufacturers' standings ||||