2018 STP 500

Race details[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9]
Race 6 of 36 in the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
2018 STP 500 program cover
Date	March 26, 2018 (2018-03-26)
Location	Martinsville Speedway in Ridgeway, Virginia
Course	Permanent racing facility 0.526 mi (0.847 km)
Distance	500 laps, 263 mi (423.5 km)
Average speed	81.663 miles per hour (131.424 km/h)
Pole position
Driver	Martin Truex Jr.	Furniture Row Racing
Time	N/A
Most laps led
Driver	Clint Bowyer	Stewart-Haas Racing
Laps	215
Winner
No. 14	Clint Bowyer	Stewart-Haas Racing
Television in the United States
Network	FS1
Announcers	Mike Joy, Jeff Gordon and Darrell Waltrip
Radio in the United States
Radio	MRN
Booth Announcers	Joe Moore, Jeff Striegle and Rusty Wallace
Turn Announcers	Dave Moody (Backstretch)

The 2018 STP 500 was a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race held on March 26, 2018, at Martinsville Speedway in Ridgeway, Virginia. Contested over 500 laps on the .526 mile (.847 km) paperclip-shaped short track, it was sixth race of the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season. The race was postponed from Sunday, March 25 to Monday, March 26 due to snow accumulation in Martinsville.

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 0.526 miles (0.847 km) in length, it is the shortest track in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. The track was also one of the first paved oval tracks in NASCAR, being built in 1947 by H. Clay Earles. It is also the only remaining race track that has been on the NASCAR circuit from its beginning in 1948.

Entry list

Practice

First practice

Martin Truex Jr. was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 19.776 seconds and a speed of 95.752 mph (154.098 km/h).^[10]

Final practice

Martin Truex Jr. was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 19.846 seconds and a speed of 95.415 mph (153.556 km/h).^[11]

Qualifying

Qualifying for Saturday was cancelled due to snow and Martin Truex Jr., the point leader, was awarded the pole as a result.^[12]

Starting Lineup

Race

Stage Results

Stage One Laps: 130

Stage Two Laps: 130

Final Stage Results

Stage Three Laps: 240

Race statistics

• Lead changes: 6 among different drivers
• Cautions/Laps: 4 for 33
• Red flags: 0
• Time of race: 3 hours, 13 minutes and 14 seconds
• Average speed: 81.663 miles per hour (131.424 km/h)

Media

Television

Fox Sports was covering their 18th race at the Martinsville Speedway. Mike Joy, nine-time Martinsville winner Jeff Gordon and 11-time Martinsville winner Darrell Waltrip called in the booth for the race. Jamie Little, Vince Welch and Matt Yocum handled pit road duties for the entire race.

Radio

MRN had the radio call for the race which would also be simulcasted on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio. Joe Moore, Jeff Striegle and seven-time Martinsville winner Rusty Wallace called the race in the booth as the cars were on the frontstretch. Dave Moody called the race from atop the turn 3 stands as the field is racing down the backstretch. Alex Hayden, Winston Kelley and Steve Post worked pit road for the radio side.

Standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 1 Kyle Busch 257 1 2 Martin Truex Jr. 249 (–8) 2 3 Ryan Blaney 233 (–24) 1 4 Joey Logano 232 (–25) 1 5 Brad Keselowski 226 (–31) 6 Denny Hamlin 217 (–40) 1 7 Kevin Harvick 212 (–45) 1 8 Clint Bowyer 210 (–47) 2 9 Kyle Larson 195 (–62) 1 10 Kurt Busch 177 (–80) 1 11 Aric Almirola 171 (–86) 1 12 Erik Jones 152 (–105) 1 13 Austin Dillon 148 (–109) 2 14 Alex Bowman 145 (–112) 15 Paul Menard 139 (–118) 2 16 Ryan Newman 135 (–122) Official driver's standings

Manufacturers' Championship standings Pos Manufacturer Points 1 Ford 218 2 Toyota 212 (–6) 3 Chevrolet 193 (–25) Official manufacturers' standings Note: Only the first 16 positions are included for the driver standings.