NASCAR 2018

2018 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series is the 2nd simulated season (70th annual) of professional stock car racing in the United States and the 46th modern-era Cup series season. The season begins at Daytona International Speedway with the Sprint Unlimited, the Can-Am Duel and the Daytona 500. The season will end with the Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. 
This season saw the introduction of a charter system in a deal reached between NASCAR and the Race Team Alliance. Thirty-six teams would hold a charter, which guarantees them a spot in the field for all 36 races. To be eligible for a charter, a team had to be running full-time since the 2013 season. Charter owners may transfer their Charter to another team, for one full season, once over the first five years of the agreement. NASCAR also reduced the size of the Cup field from 43 to 40 cars.
==Teams and drivers==
===Chartered===
Team 	Manufacturer	No.	Race Driver 	Rounds
BK Racing 	Toyota 	23 	David Ragan 	1-36
BK Racing 	Toyota 	83 	Michael Waltrip 	1
BK Racing 	Toyota 	83 	Matt DiBenedetto 	2-25,27,33-36
BK Racing 	Toyota 	83 	Dylan Lupton 	26
BK Racing 	Toyota 	83 	Jeffrey Earnhardt 	32,36
Chip Ganassi Racing 	Chevrolet 	1 	Jamie McMurray 	1-36
Chip Ganassi Racing 	Chevrolet 	42 	Kyle Larson 	1-36
Front Row Motorsports 	Ford 	34 	Chris Buescher (R) 	1-36
Front Row Motorsports 	Ford 	38 	Landon Cassill 	1-36
Furniture Row Racing 	Toyota 	78 	Martin Truex Jr. 	1-36
Germain Racing 	Chevrolet 	13 	Casey Mears 	1-36
Go FAS Racing 	Ford 	32 	Bobby Labonte 	1,10,17,32
Go FAS Racing 	Ford 	32 	Jeffrey Earnhardt 	2-3,5,7-9,12-13,15,18,23-26,28-30,33,35
Go FAS Racing 	Ford 	32 	Joey Gase 	4,6,11,27,31,34
Go FAS Racing 	Ford 	32 	Jeb Burton 	14,21
Go FAS Racing 	Ford 	32 	Patrick Carpentier 	16,20
Go FAS Racing 	Ford 	32 	Eddie MacDonald 	19
Go FAS Racing 	Ford 	32 	Boris Said 	22
Go FAS Racing 	Ford 	32 	Dylan Lupton 	36
H Scott Motorsports 	Chevrolet 	15 	Clint Bowyer 	1-36
H Scott Motorsports 	Chevrolet 	46 	Michael Annett 	1-22,24-36
H Scott Motorsports 	Chevrolet 	46 	Justin Allgaier 	23
Hendrick Motorsports 	Chevrolet 	5 	Kasey Kahne 	1-36
Hendrick Motorsports 	Chevrolet 	24 	Chase Elliot 	1-36
Hendrick Motorsports 	Chevrolet 	48 	Jimmie Johnson 	1-36
Hendrick Motorsports 	Chevrolet 	88 	Dale Earnhardt Jr. 	1-18
Hendrick Motorsports 	Chevrolet 	88 	Alex Bowman 	19,24,27-36
Hendrick Motorsports 	Chevrolet 	88 	Jeff Gordon 	20-23,25-26
Tommy Baldwin Racing 	Chevrolet 	7 	Regan Smith 	1-26
JTG Daugherty Racing 	Chevrolet 	47 	A.J. Allmendinger 	1-36
Joe Gibbs Racing 	Toyota 	11 	Franklin Clinton 	1-36
Joe Gibbs Racing 	Toyota 	18 	Kyle Busch 	1-36
Joe Gibbs Racing 	Toyota 	19 	Carl Edwards 	1-36
Joe Gibbs Racing 	Toyota 	20 	Matt Kenseth 	1-36
Circle Sport - Leavine Family Racing	Chevrolet 	95 	Ty Dillon 	1,7,14-15,18,29,36
Circle Sport - Leavine Family Racing	Chevrolet 	95 	Michael McDowell 	2-6,8-13,16-17,19-28,30-35
Richard Childress Racing 	Chevrolet 	3 	Austin Dillon 	1-36
Richard Childress Racing 	Chevrolet 	27 	Paul Menard 	1-36
Richard Childress Racing 	Chevrolet 	31 	Ryan Newman 	1-36
Richard Petty Motorsports 	Ford 	43 	Aric Almirola 	1-36
Richard Petty Motorsports 	Ford 	44 	Brian Scott (R) 	1-36
Roush Fenway Racing 	Ford 	6 	Trevor Bayne 	1-36
Roush Fenway Racing 	Ford 	16 	Greg Biffle 	1-36
Roush Fenway Racing 	Ford 	17 	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	1-36
Stewart-Haas Racing 	Chevrolet 	4 	Kevin Harvick 	1-36
Stewart-Haas Racing 	Chevrolet 	10 	Danica Patrick 	1-36
Stewart-Haas Racing 	Chevrolet 	14 	Brian Vickers 	1,3,5-7
Stewart-Haas Racing 	Chevrolet 	14 	Ty Dillon 	2,4,8
Stewart-Haas Racing 	Chevrolet 	14 	Tony Stewart 	9-36
Stewart-Haas Racing 	Chevrolet 	41 	Kurt Busch 	1-36
Team Penske 	Ford 	2 	Brad Keselowski 	1-36
Team Penske 	Ford 	22 	Joey Logano 	1-36
===Non-chartered===
Team 	Manufacturer	No.	Driver 	Rounds
BK Racing 	Toyota 	26 	Robert Richardson Jr.	1
BK Racing 	Toyota 	49 	Matt DiBenedetto 	36
BK Racing 	Toyota 	93 	Matt DiBenedetto 	1,26,32
BK Racing 	Toyota 	93 	Ryan Ellis 	9,20,34
BK Racing 	Toyota 	93 	Dylan Lupton 	16
Circle Sport - Leavine Family Racing	Chevrolet 	59 	Michael McDowell 	1,36
Front Row Motorsports 	Ford 	35 	David Gilliland 	10
The Motorsports Group 	Chevrolet 	30 	Josh Wise 	2-31,33-34
The Motorsports Group 	Chevrolet 	30 	Gray Gaulding 	35-36
Premium Motorsports 	Toyota 	55 	Michael Waltrip 	10
Premium Motorsports 	Chevrolet 	55 	Reed Sorenson 	6-9,11-13,17-21,23-30,32-34,36
Premium Motorsports 	Chevrolet 	55 	Cole Whitt 	14-15,31
Premium Motorsports 	Chevrolet 	55 	Cody Ware 	16
Premium Motorsports 	Chevrolet 	55 	Alex Kennedy 	22
Premium Motorsports 	Chevrolet 	55 	DJ Kennington 	35
Premium Motorsports 	Chevrolet 	98 	Cole Whitt 	2-13,16-28,30,33
Premium Motorsports 	Chevrolet 	98 	Reed Sorenson 	14-15,31,35
Premium Motorsports 	Chevrolet 	98 	Timmy Hill 	29
Premium Motorsports 	Chevrolet 	98 	Ryan Reed 	32
Wood Brothers Racing 	Ford 	21 	Ryan Blaney 	1-36
===Changes===
*Michael Waltrip Racing ceased its operations, shutting down #15 and #55 cars.
*David Ragan replaced J.J. Yeley in BK Racing #23 car.
*BK Racing shut down full-time #26 car for full-time #83 car.
*Chris Buescher replace David Ragan in Front Row Racing #34 car.
*Front Row Racing shut down full-time #35 car.
*Landon Cassill replace David Gilliland in Front Row Racing #38 car.
*Bobby Labonte will not race full season in Go FAS Racing #32 car.
*H Scott Motorsports shut down #51 car for full-time #15 car.
*Clint Bowyer will run full season in H Scott Motorsports #15 car.
*Michael Annett will not run full season for H Scott Motorsports #46 car.
*Hendrick Motorsports shut down full-time #25 car.
*Chase Elliot replaced Jeff Gordon in Hendrick Motorsports #24 car.
*Dale Earnhardt Jr. will not run full season for Hendrick Motorsports #88 car.
*Regan Smith will not run full season for Tommy Baldwin Racing #7 car.
*Leavine Family Racing became Circle Sport - Leavine Family Racing and changed its Ford manufacturer for Chevrolet.
*Phil Parsons Racing ceased its operations, shuting down #98 car.
*Richard Childress Racing shut down full-time #33 car.
*Richard Petty Motorsports shut down its #9 car for #44 car.
*Brian Scott will run full season for Richard Petty Motorsports #44 car.
*Furniture Row Racing changed its Chevrolet manufacturer for Toyota.
*Tony Stewart will not run full season in Stewart-Haas Racing #14 car.
==Season calendar==
Round 	Race title 	Track 	Date
 	Sprint Unlimited 	Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach	February 10
 	Budweiser Duels 	Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach	February 15
1 	Daytona 500 	Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach	February 18
2 	Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 	Atlanta Motor Speedway, Hampton 	February 25
3 	Kobalt 400 	Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Las Vegas 	March 4
4 	Good Sam 500 	Phoenix International Raceway, Avondale 	March 11
5 	Auto Club 400 	Auto Club Speedway, Fontana 	March 18
6 	STP 500 	Martinsville Speedway, Ridgeway 	March 25
7 	Duck Commander 500 	Texas Motor Speedway, Fort Worth 	April 8
8 	Food City 500 	Bristol Motor Speedway, Bristol 	April 22
9 	Toyota Owners 400 	Richmond International Raceway, Richmond 	April 29
10 	GEICO 500 	Talladega Superspeedway, Lincoln 	May 6
11 	Go Bowling 400 	Kansas Speedway, Kansas City 	May 12
 	Sprint Showdown 	Charlotte Motor Speedway, Concord 	May 18
 	NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race 	Charlotte Motor Speedway, Concord 	May 19
12 	Coca-Cola 600 	Charlotte Motor Speedway, Concord 	May 27
13 	AAA 400 Drive for Autism 	Dover International Speedway, Dover 	June 3
14 	Axalta "We Paint Winners" 400 	Pocono Raceway, Long Pond 	June 11*
15 	FireKeepers Casino 400 	Michigan International Speedway, Brooklyn 	June 17
16 	Toyota/Save Mart 350 	Sonoma Raceway, Sonoma 	June 24
17 	Coke Zero 400 	Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach	June 30
18 	Quaker State 400 	Kentucky Speedway, Sparta 	July 7
19 	New Hampshire 301 	New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Loudon 	July 15
20 	Crown Royal presents the Combat Wounded Coalition 400 at the Brickyard	Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Speedway 	July 22
21 	Pennsylvania 400 	Pocono Raceway, Long Pond 	July 30*
22 	Cheez-It 355 at The Glen 	Watkins Glen International, Watkins Glen 	August 5
23 	Pure Michigan 400 	Michigan International Speedway, Brooklyn 	August 12
24 	Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race 	Bristol Motor Speedway, Bristol 	August 19*
25 	Bojangles' Southern 500 	Darlington Raceway, Darlington 	September 2
26 	Federated Auto Parts 400 	Richmond International Raceway, Richmond 	September 8
Chase for the Cup	Chase for the Cup 	Chase for the Cup 	Chase for the Cup
Round of 16 	Round of 16 	Round of 16 	Round of 16
27 	Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 400 	Chicagoland Speedway, Joliet 	September 16
28 	Bad Boy Off Road 300 	New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Loudon 	September 23
29 	Citizen Soldier 400 	Dover International Speedway, Dover 	September 30
Round of 12 	Round of 12 	Round of 12 	Round of 12
30 	Bank of America 500 	Charlotte Motor Speedway, Concord 	October 7
31 	Hollywood Casino 400 	Kansas Speedway, Kansas City 	October 14
32 	Hellmann's 500 	Talladega Superspeedway, Lincoln 	October 21
Round of 8 	Round of 8 	Round of 8 	Round of 8
33 	Goody's Fast Relief 500 	Martinsville Speedway, Ridgeway 	October 28
34 	AAA Texas 500 	Texas Motor Speedway, Fort Worth 	November 4
35 	Can-Am 500 	Phoenix International Raceway, Avondale 	November 11
Championship 4 	Championship 4 	Championship 4 	Championship 4
36 	Ford EcoBoost 400 	Homestead-Miami Speedway, Homestead 	November 18
==Results and standings==
===Races===
Rd 	Pole position 	Most Laps Led 	Winner 	Manufacturer
 	- 	A.J. Allmendinger	Franklin Clinton 	Toyota
1 	Jimmie Johnson 	Franklin Clinton 	Franklin Clinton 	Toyota
2 	Kasey Kahne 	Matt Kenseth 	Chris Buescher 	Ford
3 	Chase Elliot 	Kevin Harvick 	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	Chevrolet
4 	Matt Kenseth 	Matt Kenseth 	Kurt Busch 	Chevrolet
5 	Jimmie Johnson 	Brad Keselowski 	Brad Keselowski 	Ford
6 	Kevin Harvick 	Kevin Harvick 	Matt Kenseth 	Toyota
7 	Brian Vickers 	Martin Truex Jr. 	Matt Kenseth 	Toyota
8 	Matt Kenseth 	Greg Biffle 	Jimmie Johnson 	Chevrolet
9 	- 	Chase Elliot 	Kyle Busch 	Toyota
10 	Carl Edwards 	Franklin Clinton 	Franklin Clinton 	Toyota
11 	Brad Keselowski 	Franklin Clinton 	Franklin Clinton 	Toyota
AS 	Matt Kenseth 	Matt Kenseth 	Matt Kenseth 	Toyota
12 	Matt Kenseth 	Kurt Busch 	Kurt Busch 	Chevrolet
13 	- 	Kyle Busch 	Chris Buescher 	Ford
14 	Matt Kenseth 	Matt Kenseth 	Chris Buescher 	Ford
15 	Jimmie Johnson 	Jimmie Johnson 	Tony Stewart 	Chevrolet
16 	Kurt Busch 	Franklin Clinton 	Franklin Clinton 	Toyota
17 	Austin Dillon 	Franklin Clinton 	Landon Cassill 	Ford
18 	- 	Tony Stewart 	Kurt Busch 	Chevrolet
19 	Brad Keselowski 	Kyle Busch 	Matt Kenseth 	Toyota
20 	Tony Stewart 	Kasey Kahne 	Kasey Kahne 	Chevrolet
21 	Clint Bowyer 	Greg Biffle 	Brad Keselowski 	Ford
22 	Kyle Busch 	Kurt Busch 	Clint Bowyer 	Chevrolet
23 	Carl Edwards 	Kasey Kahne 	Landon Cassill 	Ford
24 	Clint Bowyer 	Kyle Busch 	Alex Bowman 	Chevrolet
25 	- 	Clint Bowyer 	Jimmie Johnson 	Chevrolet
26 	Kasey Kahne 	Kyle Busch 	Kevin Harvick 	Chevrolet
Chase for the Cup	Chase for the Cup	Chase for the Cup	Chase for the Cup 	Chase for the Cup
Round of 16 	Round of 16 	Round of 16 	Round of 16 	Round of 16
27 	- 	Jimmie Johnson 	Jimmie Johnson 	Chevrolet
28 	Kasey Kahne 	Alex Bowman 	Jimmie Johnson 	Chevrolet
29 	- 	Chase Elliot 	Chase Elliot 	Chevrolet
Round of 12 	Round of 12 	Round of 12 	Round of 12 	Round of 12
30 	Matt Kenseth 	Greg Biffle 	Greg Biffle 	Ford
31 	Chase Elliot 	Chase Elliot 	Franklin Clinton 	Toyota
32 	Jeffrey Earnhardt	Franklin Clinton 	Franklin Clinton 	Toyota
Round of 8 	Round of 8 	Round of 8 	Round of 8 	Round of 8
33 	Jimmie Johnson 	Jimmie Johnson 	Matt Kenseth 	Toyota
34 	Kyle Busch 	Greg Biffle 	Kyle Busch 	Toyota
35 	Kyle Larson 	Brad Keselowski 	Alex Bowman 	Chevrolet
Championship 4 	Championship 4 	Championship 4 	Championship 4 	Championship 4
36 	Greg Biffle 	Matt Kenseth 	Jimmie Johnson 	Chevrolet
===Drivers' standings===
№ 	Drivers 	Wins 	Poles 	MLL 	Points 	
1 	Kyle Busch 	2 	1 	1 	5038 	
2 	Matt Kenseth 	4 	5 	4 	5037 	
3 	Alex Bowman 	2 	0 	1 	5036 	
4 	Franklin Clinton 	6 	0 	6 	5014 	
Chase for the Cup cut-off	Chase for the Cup cut-off	Chase for the Cup cut-off	Chase for the Cup cut-off	Chase for the Cup cut-off	Chase for the Cup cut-off	Chase for the Cup cut-off
5 	Jimmie Johnson 	5 	4 	3 	1170 	
6 	Brad Keselowski 	2 	2 	2 	1091 	
7 	Kevin Harvick 	1 	1 	2 	1069 	
8 	Greg Biffle 	1 	1 	3 	1048 	
9 	Chase Elliot 	1 	2 	3 	1038 	
10 	Carl Edwards 	0 	1 	0 	1012 	
11 	Martin Truex Jr. 	0 	0 	1 	981 	
12 	Clint Bowyer 	1 	1 	1 	956 	
13 	Ryan Newman 	0 	0 	0 	912 	
14 	Kasey Kahne 	1 	3 	0 	909 	
15 	Kurt Busch 	3 	1 	1 	907 	
16 	Tony Stewart 	1 	1 	1 	870 	
17 	Joey Logano 	0 	0 	0 	869 	
18 	A.J. Allmendinger 	0 	0 	0 	820 	
19 	Austin Dillon 	0 	1 	0 	778 	
20 	Ryan Blaney 	0 	0 	0 	752 	
21 	Jamie McMurray 	0 	0 	0 	748 	
22 	Kyle Larson 	0 	1 	0 	727 	
23 	Paul Menard 	0 	0 	0 	707 	
24 	Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 	0 	0 	0 	656 	
25 	Chris Buescher (R) 	3 	0 	0 	639 	
26 	Trevor Bayne 	0 	0 	0 	633 	
27 	Aric Almirola 	0 	0 	0 	625 	
28 	Regan Smith 	0 	0 	0 	560 	
29 	Brian Scott (R) 	0 	0 	0 	504 	
30 	Josh Wise 	0 	0 	0 	504 	
31 	David Ragan 	0 	0 	0 	488 	
32 	Dale Earnhardt Jr. 	1 	0 	0 	473 	
33 	Danica Patrick 	0 	0 	0 	426 	
34 	Landon Cassill 	2 	0 	0 	420 	
35 	Casey Mears 	0 	0 	0 	411 	
36 	Matt DiBenedetto 	0 	0 	0 	404 	
37 	Reed Sorenson 	0 	0 	0 	361 	
38 	Cole Whitt 	0 	0 	0 	326 	
39 	Michael McDowell 	0 	0 	0 	266 	
40 	Jeffrey Earnhardt 	0 	1 	0 	237 	
41 	Michael Annett 	0 	0 	0 	233 	
42 	Jeff Gordon 	0 	0 	0 	170 	
43 	Ty Dillon 	0 	0 	0 	153 	
44 	Brian Vickers 	0 	1 	0 	129 	
45 	Joey Gase 	0 	0 	0 	73 	
46 	Jeb Burton 	0 	0 	0 	45 	
47 	Michael Waltrip 	0 	0 	0 	37 	
48 	Dylan Lupton 	0 	0 	0 	31 	
49 	Bobby Labonte 	0 	0 	0 	29 	
50 	Boris Said 	0 	0 	0 	15 	
51 	Patrick Carpentier 	0 	0 	0 	15 	
52 	Cody Ware 	0 	0 	0 	14 	
53 	Ryan Ellis 	0 	0 	0 	13 	
54 	David Gilliland 	0 	0 	0 	13 	
55 	DJ Kennington 	0 	0 	0 	12 	
56 	Gray Gaulding 	0 	0 	0 	11 	
57 	Robert Richardson Jr. 	0 	0 	0 	8 	
58 	Alex Kennedy 	0 	0 	0 	6 	
59 	Justin Allgaier 	0 	0 	0 	4 	
60 	Eddie MacDonald 	0 	0 	0 	2 	
61 	Ryan Redd 	0 	0 	0 	1 	
62 	Timmy Hill 	0 	0 	0 	1 	
===Teams' standings===
No.	Team 	Points
1 	Joe Gibbs Racing 	4256
2 	Hendrick Motorsports 	4150
3 	Stewart-Haas Racing 	3488
4 	Richard Childress Racing 	2381
5 	Roush Fenway Racing 	2337
6 	Team Penske 	1960
7 	Chip Ganassi Racing 	1453
8 	H Scott Motorsports 	1193
9 	Richard Petty Motorsports	1138
10 	Front Row Motorsports 	1102
11 	Furniture Row Racing 	981
12 	BK Racing 	910
13 	JTG Daugherty Racing 	820
14 	Tommy Baldwin Racing 	560
15 	Go FAS Racing 	412
16 	Germain Racing 	411
17 	Leavine Family Racing 	312
===Manufactures' standings===
No.	Constructor	Wins
1 	Chevrolet 	16
2 	Toyota 	12
3 	Ford 	8
==Season Awards==
Award 	Driver 	Team
Drivers' Champion 	Kyle Busch 	Joe Gibbs Racing
Team's Champion 	- 	Joe Gibbs Racing
Manufactures Champion 	Chevrolet 	Chevrolet
Rookie of the Year 	Chris Buescher 	Front Row Motorsports
Kevin Harvick Fifth Place Trophy 	Jimmie Johnson 	Hendrick Motorsports
Regular Season Champion 	Jimmie Johnson 	Hendrick Motorsports
Coors Light Pole Award 	Matt Kenseth 	Joe Gibbs Racing
American Ethanol Most Laps Led Award	Franklin Clinton	Joe Gibbs Racing