2018 Overton's 400 Explained

Type:	NASME
Race Name:	Overton's 400
Details Ref:	^[1] ^[2] ^[3] ^[4] ^[5] ^[6] ^[7] ^[8] ^[9]
Year:	2018
Race No:	17
Season No:	36
Location:	Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois
Course Mi:	1.5
Course Km:	2.4
Distance Laps:	267
Distance Mi:	400.5
Distance Km:	640.8
Avg:	140.636mph
Pole Driver:	Paul Menard
Pole Team:	Wood Brothers Racing
Pole Time:	29.998
Most Driver:	Aric Almirola
Most Team:	Stewart-Haas Racing
Most Laps:	70
Car:	18
First Driver:	Kyle Busch
First Team:	Joe Gibbs Racing
Network:	NBCSN
Announcers:	Rick Allen, Jeff Burton, Steve Letarte and Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Ratings:	1.6 (Overnight)^[10]
Radio:	MRN
Booth Ann:	Joe Moore, Jeff Striegle and Rusty Wallace
Turn Ann:	Dave Moody (1 & 2) and Mike Bagley (3 & 4)

The 2018 Overton's 400 was a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race that was held on July 1, 2018 at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois. Contested over 267 laps on the 1.5miles intermediate speedway, it was the 17th race of the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season. The race would become best known for its intense finish, and for producing arguably one of the best finishes in NASCAR history, as Kyle Busch and Kyle Larson dueled in the closing laps of the race for the win.

Report

Background

Chicagoland Speedway is a 1.5miles tri-oval speedway in Joliet, Illinois, southwest of Chicago. The speedway opened in 2001 and currently hosts NASCAR racing. Until 2011, the speedway also hosted the IndyCar Series, recording numerous close finishes including the closest finish in IndyCar history. The speedway is owned and operated by International Speedway Corporation and located adjacent to Route 66 Raceway.

Entry list

	Driver	Team	Manufacturer
00			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			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	B. J. McLeod (i)		Chevrolet
66	Timmy Hill (i)		Toyota
72			Chevrolet
78			Toyota
88			Chevrolet
95			Chevrolet
99			Chevrolet
Official entry list

Practice

First practice

Ryan Blaney was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 30.169 seconds and a speed of 178.992mph.^[11]

Pos		Driver	Team	Manufacturer	Time
1	12				30.169	178.992
2	48				30.191	178.861
3	88				30.210	178.749
Official first practice results

Final practice

Brad Keselowski was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 29.863 seconds and a speed of 180.826mph.^[12]

Pos		Driver	Team	Manufacturer	Time
1	2				29.863	180.826
2	78				29.891	180.656
3	22				29.952	180.288
Official final practice results

Qualifying

Paul Menard scored the pole for the race with a time of 29.998 and a speed of 180.012mph.^[13]

Starting Lineup

Pos		Driver	Team	Manufacturer
1	21			Ford	29.998
2	12			Ford	30.020
3	9			Chevrolet	30.042
4	41			Ford	30.076
5	14			Ford	30.085
6	10			Ford	30.124
7	2			Ford	30.152
8	24	William Byron (R)		Chevrolet	30.158
9	20			Toyota	30.197
10	19			Toyota	30.627
11	4			Ford	30.208
12	22			Ford	30.213
13	1			Chevrolet	30.254
14	3			Chevrolet	30.329
15	88			Chevrolet	30.379
16	18			Toyota	30.391
17	31			Chevrolet	30.459
18	42			Chevrolet	30.470
19	47			Chevrolet	30.498
20	17			Ford	30.617
21	6			Ford	30.585
22	43	Darrell Wallace Jr. (R)		Chevrolet	30.616
23	38			Ford	30.701
24	95			Chevrolet	30.712
25	13			Chevrolet	30.775
26	34			Ford	30.980
27	15	Ross Chastain (i)		Chevrolet	31.019
28	32			Ford	31.031
29	23			Toyota	31.052
30	99			Chevrolet	31.627
31	00			Chevrolet	31.688
32	72			Chevrolet	31.916
33	51	B. J. McLeod (i)		Chevrolet	31.934
34	7			Chevrolet	32.053
35	66	Timmy Hill (i)		Toyota	32.226
36	78	Martin Truex Jr.†		Toyota	0.000
37	11	Denny Hamlin†		Toyota	0.000
38	48	Jimmie Johnson†		Chevrolet	0.000
39	37	Chris Buescher†		Chevrolet	0.000
Official starting lineup

† The cars of Martin Truex Jr., Denny Hamlin, Jimmie Johnson, and Chris Buescher all started in the rear of the field after failing post-qualifying inspection.

Race

Stage Results

Stage 1Laps: 80

Pos		Driver	Team	Manufacturer	Points
1	10	Aric Almirola	Stewart-Haas Racing	Ford	10
2	42	Kyle Larson	Chip Ganassi Racing	Chevrolet	9
3	78	Martin Truex Jr.	Furniture Row Racing	Toyota	8
4	41	Kurt Busch	Stewart-Haas Racing	Ford	7
5	4	Kevin Harvick	Stewart-Haas Racing	Ford	6
6	2	Brad Keselowski	Team Penske	Ford	5
7	12	Ryan Blaney	Team Penske	Ford	4
8	22	Joey Logano	Team Penske	Ford	3
9	9	Chase Elliott	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	2
10	20	Erik Jones	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	1
Official stage one results

Stage 2Laps: 80

Pos		Driver	Team	Manufacturer	Points
1	4	Kevin Harvick	Stewart-Haas Racing	Ford	10
2	41	Kurt Busch	Stewart-Haas Racing	Ford	9
3	42	Kyle Larson	Chip Ganassi Racing	Chevrolet	8
4	78	Martin Truex Jr.	Furniture Row Racing	Toyota	7
5	12	Ryan Blaney	Team Penske	Ford	6
6	2	Brad Keselowski	Team Penske	Ford	5
7	9	Chase Elliott	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	4
8	14	Clint Bowyer	Stewart-Haas Racing	Ford	3
9	11	Denny Hamlin	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	2
10	22	Joey Logano	Team Penske	Ford	1
Official stage two results

Final Lap

With 4 laps to go, Kyle Busch built a full second lead over Kyle Larson but Larson was closing the gap fast. With 3 to go, Busch and Larson had to navigate through lapped traffic with a total of 4 lapped cars bunched together all around them making it difficult for them to pass the cars. On the final lap, Larson had closed the gap to 0.35 seconds and attempted to pass Busch on the inside in turn one trying to use the slide job but failed to get in front of Busch. The two made contact with Larson putting Busch in the wall in turn 2. Down the backstretch, Larson took the lead from Busch heading into turn 3. Busch sent the car hard into turn 3 hitting Larson in the rear hard causing Larson to go sideways trying to save his car and Busch hit the wall again by driving his car deep into the corner. Busch ended up taking the win over Larson in one of the most memorable finishes in NASCAR history.

Final Stage Results

Stage 3Laps: 107

Pos	Grid		Driver	Team	Manufacturer	Laps	Points
1	16	18	Kyle Busch	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	267	40
2	18	42	Kyle Larson	Chip Ganassi Racing	Chevrolet	267	52
3	11	4	Kevin Harvick	Stewart-Haas Racing	Ford	267	50
4	36	78	Martin Truex Jr.	Furniture Row Racing	Toyota	267	48
5	5	14	Clint Bowyer	Stewart-Haas Racing	Ford	267	35
6	9	20	Erik Jones	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	267	32
7	37	11	Denny Hamlin	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	267	32
8	12	22	Joey Logano	Team Penske	Ford	267	33
9	7	2	Brad Keselowski	Team Penske	Ford	267	38
10	15	88	Alex Bowman	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	267	27
11	10	19	Daniel Suárez	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	267	26
12	13	1	Jamie McMurray	Chip Ganassi Racing	Chevrolet	267	25
13	1	21	Paul Menard	Wood Brothers Racing	Ford	267	24
14	38	48	Jimmie Johnson	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	267	23
15	17	31	Ryan Newman	Richard Childress Racing	Chevrolet	267	22
16	20	17	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	Roush Fenway Racing	Ford	266	21
17	4	41	Kurt Busch	Stewart-Haas Racing	Ford	266	36
18	2	12	Ryan Blaney	Team Penske	Ford	266	29
19	3	9	Chase Elliott	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	266	24
20	8	24	William Byron (R)	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	266	17
21	26	34	Michael McDowell	Front Row Motorsports	Ford	266	16
22	39	37	Chris Buescher	JTG Daugherty Racing	Chevrolet	266	15
23	22	43	Darrell Wallace Jr. (R)	Richard Petty Motorsports	Chevrolet	266	14
24	19	47	A. J. Allmendinger	JTG Daugherty Racing	Chevrolet	266	13
25	6	10	Aric Almirola	Stewart-Haas Racing	Ford	266	22
26	21	6	Trevor Bayne	Roush Fenway Racing	Ford	265	11
27	24	95	Kasey Kahne	Leavine Family Racing	Chevrolet	264	10
28	25	13	Ty Dillon	Germain Racing	Chevrolet	264	9
29	28	32	Matt DiBenedetto	Go Fas Racing	Ford	262	8
30	27	15	Ross Chastain (i)	Premium Motorsports	Chevrolet	261	0
31	29	23	Gray Gaulding	BK Racing	Toyota	260	6
32	34	7	Reed Sorenson	Premium Motorsports	Chevrolet	259	5
33	30	99	Kyle Weatherman	StarCom Racing	Chevrolet	255	4
34	32	72	Corey LaJoie	TriStar Motorsports	Chevrolet	233	3
35	33	51	B. J. McLeod (i)	Rick Ware Racing	Chevrolet	227	0
36	31	00	Landon Cassill	StarCom Racing	Chevrolet	224	1
37	14	3	Austin Dillon	Richard Childress Racing	Chevrolet	189	1
38	23	38	David Ragan	Front Row Motorsports	Ford	189	1
39	35	66	Timmy Hill (i)	MBM Motorsports	Toyota	185	0
Official race results

Race statistics

• Lead changes: 10 among different drivers
• Cautions/Laps: 5 for 23
• Red flags: 0
• Time of race: 2 hours, 50 minutes and 52 seconds
• Average speed: 140.636mph

Media

Television

NBC Sports covered the race on the television side. Rick Allen, Jeff Burton, Steve Letarte, and 2005 race winner Dale Earnhardt Jr., in his debut as a color commentator for NASCAR on NBC, had the call in the booth for the race. Dave Burns, Marty Snider and Kelli Stavast reported from pit lane during the race.

Radio

The Motor Racing Network had the radio call for the race, which was simulcast on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio.

Standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings

	Pos	Driver	Points
	1	Kyle Busch	736
	2	Kevin Harvick	674 (–62)
	3	Joey Logano	617 (–119)
1	4	Martin Truex Jr.	594 (–142)
1	5	Brad Keselowski	592 (–144)
	6	Clint Bowyer	579 (–157)
	7	Kurt Busch	560 (–176)
	8	Denny Hamlin	537 (–199)
	9	Kyle Larson	524 (–212)
1	10	Ryan Blaney	495 (–241)
1	11	Aric Almirola	493 (–243)
	12	Jimmie Johnson	442 (–294)
	13	Chase Elliott	435 (–301)
	14	Erik Jones	408 (–328)
	15	Alex Bowman	390 (–346)
	16	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	367 (–369)
Official driver's standings

Manufacturers' Championship standings

	Pos	Manufacturer	Points
1	1	Toyota	620
1	2	Ford	614 (–6)
	3	Chevrolet	547 (–73)
Official manufacturers' standings

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

. – Driver has clinched a position in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series playoffs.

Notes and References

1. Web site: 2018 schedule. Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. May 30, 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.
2. Web site: Chicagoland Speedway. NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC.. May 30, 2018. January 3, 2013.
3. Web site: Entry List. MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. June 25, 2018. June 25, 2018.
4. Web site: First Practice Results. MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. June 30, 2018. June 30, 2018.
5. Web site: Final Practice Results. MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. June 30, 2018. June 30, 2018.
6. Web site: Starting Lineup. MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. June 30, 2018. June 30, 2018.
7. Web site: Overton's 400 Results. MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. July 1, 2018. July 1, 2018.
8. Web site: Points standings. Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. July 2, 2018. July 2, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180712192828/http://www.jayski.com/stats/2018/pdfs/17chi2018racereport.pdf. July 12, 2018. dead.
9. Web site: Manufacturer standings. Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. July 2, 2018. July 2, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180712192828/http://www.jayski.com/stats/2018/pdfs/17chi2018racereport.pdf. July 12, 2018. dead.
10. Web site: Chicago Overnight TV Ratings . . . 2 October 2018.
11. Web site: DeGroot. Nick. Ryan Blaney tops first Cup practice at Chicagoland. Motorsport.com. Motorsport Network. June 30, 2018. Joliet, Illinois. June 30, 2018.
12. Web site: Utter. Jim. Brad Keselowski leads the way in final practice at Chicagoland. Motorsport.com. Motorsport Network. June 30, 2018. Joliet, Illinois. June 30, 2018.
13. News: Paul Menard wins pole for NASCAR Cup Series race. June 30, 2018. Associated Press. Associated Press. AP Sports. June 30, 2018. Joliet, Illinois. https://web.archive.org/web/20180701031049/https://racing.ap.org/article/paul-menard-wins-pole-nascar-cup-series-race. July 1, 2018. dead.