2018 TicketGuardian 500

Race details[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10]
Race 4 of 36 in the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
The 2018 TicketGuardian 500 program cover.
Date	March 11, 2018 (2018-03-11)
Location	ISM Raceway in Avondale, Arizona
Course	Permanent racing facility 1 mi (1.6 km)
Distance	312 laps, 312 mi (499.2 km)
Average speed	108.073 miles per hour (173.927 km/h)
Pole position
Driver	Martin Truex Jr.	Furniture Row Racing
Time	26.288
Most laps led
Driver	Kyle Busch	Joe Gibbs Racing
Laps	128
Winner
No. 4	Kevin Harvick	Stewart-Haas Racing
Television in the United States
Network	Fox
Announcers	Mike Joy, Jeff Gordon and Darrell Waltrip
Nielsen Ratings	2.9/2.8 (Overnight)[11]
Radio in the United States
Radio	MRN
Booth Announcers	Joe Moore, Jeff Striegle and Rusty Wallace
Turn Announcers	Dan Hubbard (1 & 2) and Kyle Rickey (3 & 4)

The 2018 TicketGuardian 500 was a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race held on March 11, 2018, at ISM Raceway in Avondale, Arizona. Contested over 312 laps on the one-mile (1.6 km) oval, it was the fourth race of the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season. It would also be the last Phoenix race to be using the 2011 reconfiguration as the start/finish line will be moved to the back-straightaway just past turn two for the November race.

Report

Background

ISM Raceway, is a one-mile, low-banked tri-oval race track located in Avondale, Arizona. The motorsport track opened in 1964 and currently hosts two NASCAR race weekends annually. PIR has also hosted the IndyCar Series, CART, USAC and the Rolex Sports Car Series. The raceway is currently owned and operated by International Speedway Corporation.

Entry list

First practice

Kyle Larson was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 26.034 seconds and a speed of 138.281 mph (222.542 km/h).^[12]

Qualifying

Martin Truex Jr. scored the pole for the race with a time of 26.288 and a speed of 136.945 mph (220.392 km/h).^[13]

Qualifying results

Practice (post-qualifying)

Second practice

Kevin Harvick was the fastest in the second practice session with a time of 26.705 seconds and a speed of 134.806 mph (216.949 km/h).^[14]

Final practice

Kevin Harvick was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 26.757 seconds and a speed of 134.544 mph (216.528 km/h).^[15]

Race

First stage

Start

Martin Truex Jr.led the field to the green flag at 3:44 p.m. The afternoon's first caution flew when the engine in Corey LaJoie’s car blew on lap 25. NASCAR had planned to have a competition caution on lap 35 but blended it into the lap-25 yellow.

The race restarted on lap 34. Kyle Larson took the lead on the same lap and led 24 laps, but then Kyle Busch took the lead and scored his first stage win of the season, leading at lap 75. Following in the top 10 were Kevin Harvick, Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin, Martin Truex Jr., Chase Elliott, Brad Keselowski, Kurt Busch, Joey Logano and Erik Jones. The second caution flew for conclusion of the first stage.

Second stage

The race restarted on lap 84 and it remained green for 39 laps, until Kyle Larson lost control of his car on lap 121, slid through turn four and brought out the race’s third caution. Larson’s rear tires had been shaking before the incident.

The race restarted on lap 12. Kyle Busch took the lead on lap 129 and led 19 laps. A blown right front tire sent Chris Buescher’s car into the fourth-turn wall on lap 147, causing the fourth caution.

The race restarted on lap 150. The second stage ended with a one-lap dash because of a restart. Kurt Busch held off Brad Keselowski to win. Also in the top 10 were Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Kyle Busch, Michael McDowell, Ty Dillon, Kevin Harvick, Martin Truex Jr., Kasey Kahne and Clint Bowyer. The fifth caution flew for conclusion of the second stage.

Final stage

The race restarted on lap 159 and remained green for 33 laps. The sixth caution flew when Paul Menard, who had reported brake issues, slid in turn two and backed hard into the outside wall, crushing the car’s rear end.

The race restarted on lap 199. Kevin Harvick held off Kyle Busch and Harvick scored his third career victory of 2018.^[16]

Post race

“This weekend felt like a playoff moment for us,” Harvick said. “When you have all the guys and everybody looking at the race car and the determination for every last detail. There's a lot going on in the world, but our team is very good at setting those things aside for 10 weeks during the playoffs. It felt more important to win a race this week than to win a race at Homestead for the championship.

“Actions speak a whole lot louder than words.”

Stage Results

Stage 1 Laps: 75

Stage 2 Laps: 75

Final Stage Results

Stage 3 Laps: 162

Race statistics

• Lead changes: 9 among different drivers
• Cautions/Laps: 6 for 36
• Red flags: 0
• Time of race: 2 hours, 53 minutes and 13 seconds
• Average speed: 107.617 miles per hour (173.193 km/h)

Media

Television

Fox Sports covered their 14th race at the Phoenix International Raceway. Mike Joy, two-time Phoenix winner Jeff Gordon and Darrell Waltrip had the call in the booth for the race. Jamie Little, Vince Welch and Matt Yocum handled the pit road duties for the television side.

Radio

MRN had the radio call for the race which also was simulcasted on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio.

Standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 2 1 Kevin Harvick 168 3 2 Kyle Busch 156 (–12) 1 3 Martin Truex Jr. 156 (–12) 3 4 Joey Logano 152 (–16) 3 5 Ryan Blaney 152 (–16) 2 6 Denny Hamlin 137 (–31) 7 Brad Keselowski 134 (–34) 2 8 Kyle Larson 131 (–37) 2 9 Clint Bowyer 125 (–43) 2 10 Aric Almirola 123 (–45) 2 11 Kurt Busch 117 (–51) 2 12 Austin Dillon 114 (–54) 1 13 Ryan Newman 101 (–67) 5 14 Paul Menard 97 (–71) 4 15 Erik Jones 93 (–75) 5 16 Chase Elliott 91 (–77) Official driver's standings

Manufacturers' Championship standings Pos Manufacturer Points 1 Ford 145 1 2 Toyota 137 (–8) 1 3 Chevrolet 136 (–9) Official manufacturers' standings Note: Only the first 16 positions are included for the driver standings.