2018 First Data 500 Explained

Type:	NASME
Race Name:	First Data 500
Details Ref:	^[1] ^[2] ^[3] ^[4] ^[5] ^[6] ^[7] ^[8] ^[9]
Year:	2018
Race No:	33
Season No:	36
Location:	Martinsville Speedway in Ridgeway, Virginia
Course Mi:	.526
Course Km:	.847
Distance Laps:	500
Distance Mi:	263
Distance Km:	423.5
Avg:	75.31mph
Pole Driver:	Kyle Busch
Pole Team:	Joe Gibbs Racing
Pole Time:	19.673
Most Driver:	Joey Logano
Most Team:	Team Penske
Most Laps:	309
Car:	22
First Driver:	Joey Logano
First Team:	Team Penske
Network:	NBCSN
Announcers:	Rick Allen, Jeff Burton, Steve Letarte and Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Ratings:	1.3 (Overnight)^[10]
Radio:	MRN
Booth Ann:	Joe Moore, Jeff Striegle and Rusty Wallace
Turn Ann:	Dave Moody (Backstretch)

The 2018 First Data 500 was a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race held on October 28, 2018, at Martinsville Speedway in Ridgeway, Virginia. Contested over 500 laps on the .526 mile (.847 km) short track (extended from 500 laps), it was the 33rd race of the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season, seventh race of the Playoffs, and first race of the Round of 8.

Report

Background

Martinsville Speedway is an International Speedway Corporation-owned NASCAR stock car racing track located in Henry County, in Ridgeway, Virginia, just to the south of Martinsville. At 0.526miles in length, it is the shortest track in the NASCAR Monster Energy Cup Series. The track is also one of the first paved oval tracks in NASCAR, being built in 1947 by H. Clay Earles. It is also the only race track that has been on the NASCAR circuit from its beginning in 1948. Along with this, Martinsville is the only NASCAR oval track on the entire NASCAR track circuit to have asphalt surfaces on the straightaways, then concrete to cover the turns.

Entry list

	Driver	Manufacturer
00	Joey Gase (i)	Chevrolet
1		Chevrolet
2		Ford
3		Chevrolet
4		Ford
6		Ford
7		Chevrolet
9		Chevrolet
10		Ford
11		Toyota
12		Ford
13		Chevrolet
14		Ford
15	Ross Chastain (i)	Chevrolet
17		Ford
18		Toyota
19		Toyota
20		Toyota
21		Ford
22		Ford
23	J. J. Yeley (i)	Toyota
24	William Byron (R)	Chevrolet
31		Chevrolet
32		Ford
34		Ford
37		Chevrolet
38		Ford
41		Ford
42		Chevrolet
43	Darrell Wallace Jr. (R)	Chevrolet
47		Chevrolet
48		Chevrolet
51	Jeb Burton (i)	Chevrolet
66	Timmy Hill (i)	Toyota
72		Chevrolet
78		Toyota
88		Chevrolet
95		Chevrolet
96	D. J. Kennington (i)	Toyota
99	Landon Cassill (i)	Chevrolet
Official entry list

Practice

First practice

Brad Keselowski was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 19.784 seconds and a speed of 95.714mph.^[11]

Pos		Time
1	2	19.784	95.714
2	41	19.798	95.646
3	18	19.809	95.593
Official first practice results

Final practice

Ryan Newman was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 19.785 seconds and a speed of 95.709mph.^[12]

Pos		Time
1	31	19.785	95.709
2	9	19.951	94.913
3	18	19.978	94.784
Official final practice results

Qualifying

Kyle Busch scored the pole for the race with a time of 19.673 and a speed of 96.254mph.^[13]

Qualifying results

Pos		Driver	Manufacturer
1	18		Toyota	19.795	19.711	19.673
2	14		Ford	19.694	19.716	19.700
3	11		Toyota	19.738	19.715	19.702
4	12		Ford	19.660	19.761	19.706
5	10		Ford	19.717	19.722	19.713
6	78		Toyota	19.858	19.751	19.739
7	41		Ford	19.719	19.692	19.692
8	2		Ford	19.831	19.780	19.770
9	19		Toyota	19.792	19.731	19.786
10	42		Chevrolet	19.763	19.741	19.806
11	22		Ford	19.730	19.802	19.825
12	24	William Byron (R)	Chevrolet	19.836	19.762	19.877
13	4		Ford	19.836	19.822	—
14	38		Ford	19.796	19.796	—
15	37		Chevrolet	19.795	19.795	—
16	88		Chevrolet	19.863	19.842	—
17	47		Chevrolet	19.756	19.756	—
18	31		Chevrolet	19.763	19.763	—
19	1		Chevrolet	19.740	19.740	—
20	17		Ford	19.832	19.832	—
21	9		Chevrolet	19.891	19.891	—
22	34		Ford	19.879	19.879	—
23	48		Chevrolet	19.881	19.881	—
24	20		Toyota	19.802	19.802	—
25	15	Ross Chastain (i)	Chevrolet	19.898	—	—
26	13		Chevrolet	19.905	—	—
27	6		Ford	19.913	—	—
28	3		Chevrolet	19.916	—	—
29	32		Ford	19.918	—	—
30	95		Chevrolet	19.941	—	—
31	72		Chevrolet	20.057	—	—
32	43	Darrell Wallace Jr. (R)	Chevrolet	20.062	—	—
33	96	D. J. Kennington (i)	Toyota	20.162	—	—
34	23	J. J. Yeley (i)	Toyota	20.205	—	—
35	00	Joey Gase (i)	Chevrolet	20.342	—	—
36	51	Jeb Burton (i)	Chevrolet	20.388	—	—
37	66	Timmy Hill (i)	Toyota	20.432	—	—
38	7		Chevrolet	20.472	—	—
39	21		Ford	21.040	—	—
40	99	Landon Cassill (i)	Chevrolet	0.000	—	—
Official qualifying results

Race

Stage Results

Stage 1Laps: 130

Pos		Driver	Team	Manufacturer	Points
1	11	Denny Hamlin	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	10
2	22	Joey Logano	Team Penske	Ford	9
3	18	Kyle Busch	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	8
4	14	Clint Bowyer	Stewart-Haas Racing	Ford	7
5	41	Kurt Busch	Stewart-Haas Racing	Ford	6
6	31	Ryan Newman	Richard Childress Racing	Chevrolet	5
7	78	Martin Truex Jr.	Furniture Row Racing	Toyota	4
8	12	Ryan Blaney	Team Penske	Ford	3
9	4	Kevin Harvick	Stewart-Haas Racing	Ford	2
10	10	Aric Almirola	Stewart-Haas Racing	Ford	1
Official stage one results

Stage 2Laps: 130

Pos		Driver	Team	Manufacturer	Points
1	22	Joey Logano	Team Penske	Ford	10
2	11	Denny Hamlin	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	9
3	18	Kyle Busch	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	8
4	78	Martin Truex Jr.	Furniture Row Racing	Toyota	7
5	41	Kurt Busch	Stewart-Haas Racing	Ford	6
6	31	Ryan Newman	Richard Childress Racing	Chevrolet	5
7	9	Chase Elliott	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	4
8	14	Clint Bowyer	Stewart-Haas Racing	Ford	3
9	47	A. J. Allmendinger	JTG Daugherty Racing	Chevrolet	2
10	2	Brad Keselowski	Team Penske	Ford	1
Official stage two results

Final Stage Results

Stage 3Laps: 240

Pos	Grid		Driver	Team	Manufacturer	Laps	Points
1	11	22	Joey Logano	Team Penske	Ford	500	59
2	3	11	Denny Hamlin	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	500	54
3	6	78	Martin Truex Jr.	Furniture Row Racing	Toyota	500	45
4	1	18	Kyle Busch	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	500	49
5	8	2	Brad Keselowski	Team Penske	Ford	500	33
6	7	41	Kurt Busch	Stewart-Haas Racing	Ford	500	43
7	21	9	Chase Elliott	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	500	34
8	18	31	Ryan Newman	Richard Childress Racing	Chevrolet	500	39
9	9	19	Daniel Suárez	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	500	28
10	13	4	Kevin Harvick	Stewart-Haas Racing	Ford	500	29
11	5	10	Aric Almirola	Stewart-Haas Racing	Ford	500	27
12	23	48	Jimmie Johnson	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	500	25
13	15	37	Chris Buescher	JTG Daugherty Racing	Chevrolet	500	24
14	17	47	A. J. Allmendinger	JTG Daugherty Racing	Chevrolet	500	25
15	26	13	Ty Dillon	Germain Racing	Chevrolet	500	22
16	19	1	Jamie McMurray	Chip Ganassi Racing	Chevrolet	500	21
17	16	88	Alex Bowman	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	500	20
18	14	38	David Ragan	Front Row Motorsports	Ford	500	19
19	20	17	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	Roush Fenway Racing	Ford	500	18
20	4	12	Ryan Blaney	Team Penske	Ford	500	20
21	2	14	Clint Bowyer	Stewart-Haas Racing	Ford	499	26
22	39	21	Paul Menard	Wood Brothers Racing	Ford	499	15
23	27	6	Matt Kenseth	Roush Fenway Racing	Ford	499	14
24	31	72	Cole Whitt	TriStar Motorsports	Chevrolet	498	13
25	22	34	Michael McDowell	Front Row Motorsports	Ford	497	12
26	24	20	Erik Jones	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	494	11
27	33	96	D. J. Kennington (i)	Gaunt Brothers Racing	Toyota	493	0
28	30	95	Regan Smith	Leavine Family Racing	Chevrolet	492	9
29	25	15	Ross Chastain (i)	Premium Motorsports	Chevrolet	492	0
30	28	3	Austin Dillon	Richard Childress Racing	Chevrolet	491	7
31	34	23	J. J. Yeley (i)	BK Racing	Toyota	491	0
32	40	99	Landon Cassill (i)	StarCom Racing	Chevrolet	490	0
33	36	51	Jeb Burton (i)	Rick Ware Racing	Chevrolet	489	0
34	32	43	Darrell Wallace Jr. (R)	Richard Petty Motorsports	Chevrolet	488	3
35	35	00	Joey Gase (i)	StarCom Racing	Chevrolet	467	0
36	29	32	Matt DiBenedetto	Go Fas Racing	Ford	451	1
37	10	42	Kyle Larson	Chip Ganassi Racing	Chevrolet	393	1
38	37	66	Timmy Hill (i)	MBM Motorsports	Toyota	368	0
39	12	24	William Byron (R)	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	364	1
40	38	7	Hermie Sadler	Premium Motorsports	Chevrolet	230	1
Official race results

Race statistics

Lead changes: 6 among different drivers
Cautions/Laps: 8 for 68
Red flags: 0
Time of race: 3 hours, 29 minutes and 32 seconds
Average speed: 75.31mph

Media

Television

NBC Sports covered the race on the television side. Rick Allen, 1997 race winner Jeff Burton, Steve Letarte and 2014 race winner 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.

Radio

MRN covered the radio call for the race, which was simulcast on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio.

Standings after the race

	Pos	Driver	Points
	1	Kyle Busch	4,104
1	2	Martin Truex Jr.	4,083 (–21)
1	3	Kevin Harvick	4,083 (–21)
2	4	Joey Logano	4,074 (–30)
2	5	Kurt Busch	4,058 (–46)
2	6	Chase Elliott	4,052 (–52)
2	7	Clint Bowyer	4,041 (–63)
	8	Aric Almirola	4,033 (–71)
	9	Ryan Blaney	2,232 (–1,872)
	10	Brad Keselowski	2,227 (–1,877)
1	11	Denny Hamlin	2,213 (–1,891)
1	12	Kyle Larson	2,179 (–1,925)
2	13	Jimmie Johnson	2,173 (–1,931)
2	14	Alex Bowman	2,164 (–1,940)
1	15	Erik Jones	2,159 (–1,949)
3	16	Austin Dillon	2,157 (–1,947)
Official driver's standings

Manufacturers' Championship standings

	Pos	Manufacturer	Points
	1	Ford	1,195
	2	Toyota	1,178 (–17)
	3	Chevrolet	1,091 (–104)
Official manufacturers' standings

Note: Only the first 16 positions are included for the driver standings.

Notes and References

Web site: 2018 schedule. Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. September 17, 2018. May 5, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20171224004109/http://www.jayski.com/news/pages/story/_/page/2018-NASCAR-Cup-Schedule. December 24, 2017. dead.
Web site: Martinsville Speedway. NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC.. September 17, 2018. January 3, 2013. April 25, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170425205616/https://www.nascar.com/en_us/nascar-tracks/martinsville-speedway.html. dead.
Web site: Entry List. MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. October 23, 2018. October 23, 2018.
Web site: First Practice Results. MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. October 27, 2018. October 27, 2018.
Web site: Final Practice Results. MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. October 27, 2018. October 27, 2018.
Web site: Starting Lineup. MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. October 27, 2018. October 27, 2018.
Web site: First Data 500 Results. MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. October 28, 2018. October 28, 2018.
Web site: Points standings. https://web.archive.org/web/20181123115004/http://www.jayski.com/stats/2018/pdfs/33mar2018racereport.pdf. dead. November 23, 2018. Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. October 29, 2018. October 29, 2018.
Web site: Manufacturer standings. https://web.archive.org/web/20181123115004/http://www.jayski.com/stats/2018/pdfs/33mar2018racereport.pdf. dead. November 23, 2018. Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. October 29, 2018. October 29, 2018.
Web site: Martinsville final TV ratings . . . 20 November 2018.
Web site: Utter. Jim. Brad Keselowski tops two playoffs drivers in Saturday's first practice. Motorsport.com. Motorsport Network. October 27, 2018. Ridgeway, Virginia. October 27, 2018.
Web site: Utter. Jim. Ryan Newman fastest in final practice at Martinsville . Motorsport.com. Motorsport Network. October 27, 2018. Ridgeway, Virginia. October 27, 2018.
News: Kyle Busch to lead next round of NASCAR's playoffs. October 27, 2018. Associated Press. Associated Press. AP Sports. October 27, 2018. Ridgeway, Virginia. https://web.archive.org/web/20181028073736/https://racing.ap.org/article/kyle-busch-lead-next-round-nascars-playoffs. October 28, 2018. dead.