# 2018 Hollywood Casino 400

The 2018 Hollywood Casino 400 was a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race held on October 21, 2018, at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Kansas. Contested over 267 laps on the 1.5 mile (2.4 km) intermediate speedway, it was the 32nd race of the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season, sixth race of the Playoffs, and final race of the Round of 12.

## Report
### Background

Kansas Speedway is a 1.5-mile (2.4 km) tri-oval race track in Kansas City, Kansas. It was built in 2001 and it currently hosts two annual NASCAR race weekends. The Verizon IndyCar Series also raced at here until 2011. The speedway is owned and operated by the International Speedway Corporation.

#### Entry list

| No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer |
| 00 | Landon Cassill (i) | 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 |
| 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 | Regan Smith | Leavine Family Racing | Chevrolet |
| 96 | Jeffrey Earnhardt | Gaunt Brothers Racing | Toyota |
| 99 | Kyle Weatherman | StarCom Racing | Chevrolet |
| Official entry list Archived 2018-10-16 at the Wayback Machine ||||

## First practice

Ryan Blaney was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 28.106 seconds and a speed of 192.130 mph (309.203 km/h).
| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Time | Speed |
| 1 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 28.106 | 192.130 |
| 2 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 28.159 | 191.768 |
| 3 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 28.160 | 191.761 |
| Official first practice results |||||||

## Qualifying

Joey Logano scored the pole for the race with a time of 28.177 and a speed of 191.646 mph (308.424 km/h).

### Qualifying results

| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | R1 | R2 | R3 |
| 1 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 28.327 | 28.271 | 28.177 |
| 2 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 28.235 | 28.260 | 28.235 |
| 3 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 28.470 | 28.239 | 28.239 |
| 4 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 28.460 | 28.298 | 28.282 |
| 5 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 28.431 | 28.377 | 28.313 |
| 6 | 20 | Erik Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 28.486 | 28.308 | 28.308 |
| 7 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 28.271 | 28.338 | 28.271 |
| 8 | 19 | Daniel Suárez | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 28.677 | 28.373 | 28.354 |
| 9 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 28.734 | 28.408 | 28.408 |
| 10 | 88 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 28.548 | 28.383 | 28.383 |
| 11 | 41 | Kurt Busch | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 28.382 | 28.314 | 28.314 |
| 12 | 78 | Martin Truex Jr. | Furniture Row Racing | Toyota | 28.373 | 28.352 | 28.352 |
| 13 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 28.506 | 28.417 | — |
| 14 | 14 | Clint Bowyer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 28.228 | 28.424 | — |
| 15 | 17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 28.598 | 28.453 | — |
| 16 | 31 | Ryan Newman | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 28.606 | 28.459 | — |
| 17 | 24 | William Byron (R) | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 28.661 | 28.461 | — |
| 18 | 21 | Paul Menard | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 28.460 | 28.553 | — |
| 19 | 6 | Trevor Bayne | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 28.736 | 28.557 | — |
| 20 | 1 | Jamie McMurray | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 28.650 | 28.599 | — |
| 21 | 37 | Chris Buescher | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 28.680 | 28.599 | — |
| 22 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 28.640 | 28.628 | — |
| 23 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 28.529 | 28.640 | — |
| 24 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 28.697 | 28.740 | — |
| 25 | 47 | A. J. Allmendinger | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 28.767 | — | — |
| 26 | 95 | Regan Smith | Leavine Family Racing | Chevrolet | 28.805 | — | — |
| 27 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 28.852 | — | — |
| 28 | 38 | David Ragan | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 28.856 | — | — |
| 29 | 43 | Darrell Wallace Jr. (R) | Richard Petty Motorsports | Chevrolet | 28.946 | — | — |
| 30 | 13 | Ty Dillon | Germain Racing | Chevrolet | 29.020 | — | — |
| 31 | 32 | Matt DiBenedetto | Go Fas Racing | Ford | 29.093 | — | — |
| 32 | 15 | Ross Chastain (i) | Premium Motorsports | Chevrolet | 29.349 | — | — |
| 33 | 96 | Jeffrey Earnhardt | Gaunt Brothers Racing | Toyota | 29.468 | — | — |
| 34 | 72 | Corey LaJoie | TriStar Motorsports | Chevrolet | 29.486 | — | — |
| 35 | 00 | Landon Cassill (i) | StarCom Racing | Chevrolet | 29.625 | — | — |
| 36 | 23 | J. J. Yeley (i) | BK Racing | Toyota | 29.804 | — | — |
| 37 | 99 | Kyle Weatherman | StarCom Racing | Chevrolet | 29.892 | — | — |
| 38 | 51 | B. J. McLeod (i) | Rick Ware Racing | Chevrolet | 30.313 | — | — |
| 39 | 7 | Reed Sorenson | Premium Motorsports | Chevrolet | 30.356 | — | — |
| 40 | 66 | Timmy Hill (i) | MBM Motorsports | Toyota | 30.387 | — | — |
| Official qualifying results ||||||||

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

Aric Almirola was the fastest in the second practice session with a time of 28.926 seconds and a speed of 186.683 mph (300.437 km/h).
| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Time | Speed |
| 1 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 28.926 | 186.683 |
| 2 | 20 | Erik Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 28.939 | 186.599 |
| 3 | 78 | Martin Truex Jr. | Furniture Row Racing | Toyota | 28.977 | 186.355 |
| Official second practice results |||||||

### Final practice

Kurt Busch was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 28.997 seconds and a speed of 186.226 mph (299.702 km/h).
| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Time | Speed |
| 1 | 41 | Kurt Busch | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 28.997 | 186.226 |
| 2 | 20 | Erik Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 29.016 | 186.104 |
| 3 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 29.057 | 185.842 |
| Official final practice results |||||||

## Race
### Stage Results

Stage 1 Laps: 80
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Points |
| 1 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 10 |
| 2 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 9 |
| 3 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 8 |
| 4 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 7 |
| 5 | 21 | Paul Menard | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 6 |
| 6 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 5 |
| 7 | 14 | Clint Bowyer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 4 |
| 8 | 20 | Erik Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 3 |
| 9 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 2 |
| 10 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 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 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 8 |
| 4 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 7 |
| 5 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 6 |
| 6 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 5 |
| 7 | 20 | Erik Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 4 |
| 8 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 3 |
| 9 | 88 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 2 |
| 10 | 78 | Martin Truex Jr. | Furniture Row Racing | Toyota | 1 |
| Official stage two results ||||||

### Final Stage Results

Stage 3 Laps: 107
| Pos | Grid | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Laps | Points |
| 1 | 13 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 267 | 48 |
| 2 | 7 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 267 | 48 |
| 3 | 27 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 267 | 39 |
| 4 | 6 | 20 | Erik Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 267 | 40 |
| 5 | 12 | 78 | Martin Truex Jr. | Furniture Row Racing | Toyota | 267 | 33 |
| 6 | 5 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 267 | 31 |
| 7 | 4 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 267 | 47 |
| 8 | 1 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 267 | 47 |
| 9 | 10 | 88 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 267 | 30 |
| 10 | 3 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 267 | 32 |
| 11 | 23 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 267 | 26 |
| 12 | 2 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 267 | 44 |
| 13 | 14 | 14 | Clint Bowyer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 267 | 28 |
| 14 | 9 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 266 | 23 |
| 15 | 16 | 31 | Ryan Newman | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 266 | 22 |
| 16 | 21 | 37 | Chris Buescher | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 266 | 21 |
| 17 | 20 | 1 | Jamie McMurray | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 266 | 20 |
| 18 | 11 | 41 | Kurt Busch | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 266 | 19 |
| 19 | 28 | 38 | David Ragan | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 265 | 18 |
| 20 | 15 | 17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Roush-Fenway Racing | Ford | 265 | 17 |
| 21 | 25 | 47 | A. J. Allmendinger | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 265 | 16 |
| 22 | 22 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 264 | 20 |
| 23 | 31 | 32 | Matt DiBenedetto | Go Fas Racing | Ford | 264 | 14 |
| 24 | 8 | 19 | Daniel Suárez | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 263 | 13 |
| 25 | 30 | 13 | Ty Dillon | Germain Racing | Chevrolet | 263 | 12 |
| 26 | 29 | 43 | Darrell Wallace Jr. (R) | Richard Petty Motorsports | Chevrolet | 263 | 11 |
| 27 | 24 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 262 | 10 |
| 28 | 26 | 95 | Regan Smith | Leavine Family Racing | Chevrolet | 259 | 9 |
| 29 | 35 | 00 | Landon Cassill (i) | StarCom Racing | Chevrolet | 258 | 0 |
| 30 | 19 | 6 | Trevor Bayne | Roush-Fenway Racing | Ford | 258 | 7 |
| 31 | 36 | 23 | J. J. Yeley (i) | BK Racing | Toyota | 256 | 0 |
| 32 | 18 | 21 | Paul Menard | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 256 | 11 |
| 33 | 38 | 51 | B. J. McLeod (i) | Rick Ware Racing | Chevrolet | 250 | 0 |
| 34 | 34 | 72 | Corey LaJoie | TriStar Motorsports | Chevrolet | 219 | 3 |
| 35 | 37 | 99 | Kyle Weatherman | StarCom Racing | Chevrolet | 216 | 2 |
| 36 | 39 | 7 | Reed Sorenson | Premium Motorsports | Chevrolet | 157 | 1 |
| 37 | 33 | 96 | Jeffrey Earnhardt | Gaunt Brothers Racing | Toyota | 151 | 1 |
| 38 | 17 | 24 | William Byron (R) | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 55 | 1 |
| 39 | 32 | 15 | Ross Chastain (i) | Premium Motorsports | Chevrolet | 37 | 0 |
| 40 | 40 | 66 | Timmy Hill (i) | MBM Motorsports | Toyota | 3 | 0 |
| Official race results ||||||||

### Race statistics

* Lead changes: 8 among different drivers
* Cautions/Laps: 3 for 17
* Red flags: 0
* Time of race: 2 hours, 38 minutes and 2 seconds
* Average speed: 152.713 miles per hour (245.768 km/h)

## Media
### Television

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

### Radio

MRN 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 | Turns 1 & 2: Dave Moody Turns 3 & 4: Mike Bagley | Alex Hayden Winston Kelley Steve Post Kim Coon |

## Standings after the race

| | Pos | Driver | Points |
| 1 | 1 | Kyle Busch | 4,055 |
| 1 | 2 | Kevin Harvick | 4,054 (–1) |
| 4 | 3 | Martin Truex Jr. | 4,038 (–17) |
| 4 | 4 | Chase Elliott | 4,018 (–37) |
| 1 | 5 | Clint Bowyer | 4,015 (–40) |
| 3 | 6 | Joey Logano | 4,015 (–40) |
| 3 | 7 | Kurt Busch | 4,015 (–40) |
| 3 | 8 | Aric Almirola | 4,006 (–49) |
| 1 | 9 | Ryan Blaney | 2,212 (–1,843) |
| 1 | 10 | Brad Keselowski | 2,194 (–1,861) |
| | 11 | Kyle Larson | 2,178 (–1,877) |
| 1 | 12 | Denny Hamlin | 2,159 (–1,896) |
| 2 | 13 | Austin Dillon | 2,150 (–1,905) |
| 2 | 14 | Erik Jones | 2,148 (–1,907) |
| 1 | 15 | Jimmie Johnson | 2,148 (–1,907) |
| 4 | 16 | Alex Bowman | 2,144 (–1,911) |
| Official driver's standings ||||
| | Pos | Manufacturer | Points |
| | 1 | Ford | 1,155 |
| | 2 | Toyota | 1,143 (–12) |
| | 3 | Chevrolet | 1,061 (–94) |
| Official manufacturers' standings ||||