2018 AAA Texas 500
# 2018 AAA Texas 500

The 2018 AAA Texas 500 was a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race that was held on November 4, 2018, at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas. Contested over 337 laps – extended from 334 laps due to an overtime finish, on the 1.5 mile (2.4 km) intermediate quad-oval, it is the 34th race of the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season, eighth race of the Playoffs, and second race of the Round of 8.

## Report

### Background

Texas Motor Speedway is a speedway located in the northernmost portion of the U.S. city of Fort Worth, Texas – the portion located in Denton County, Texas. The track measures 1.5 miles (2.4 km) around and is banked 24 degrees in the turns, and is of the oval design, where the front straightaway juts outward slightly. The track layout is similar to Atlanta Motor Speedway and Charlotte Motor Speedway (formerly Lowe's Motor Speedway). The track is owned by Speedway Motorsports, Inc., the same company that owns Atlanta and Charlotte Motor Speedways, as well as the short-track Bristol Motor Speedway.

**Entry list**

| No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer |
| - | - | - | - |
| 00 | Landon Cassill (i) | StarCom Racing | Chevrolet |
| 1 | Jamie McMurray | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet |
| 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford |
| 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet |
| 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford |
| 6 | Trevor Bayne | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford |
| 7 | Reed Sorenson (i) | Premium Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 10 | Aric Almirola | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford |
| 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
| 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford |
| 13 | Ty Dillon | Germain Racing | Chevrolet |
| 14 | Clint Bowyer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford |
| 15 | Ross Chastain (i) | Premium Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford |
| 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
| 19 | Daniel Suárez | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
| 20 | Erik Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
| 21 | Paul Menard | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford |
| 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford |
| 23 | J. J. Yeley (i) | BK Racing | Toyota |
| 24 | William Byron (R) | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 31 | Ryan Newman | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet |
| 32 | Matt DiBenedetto | Go Fas Racing | Ford |
| 34 | Michael McDowell | Front Row Motorsports | Ford |
| 37 | Chris Buescher | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet |
| 38 | David Ragan | Front Row Motorsports | Ford |
| 41 | Kurt Busch | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford |
| 42 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet |
| 43 | Darrell Wallace Jr. (R) | Richard Petty Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 47 | A. J. Allmendinger | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet |
| 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 51 | Joey Gase (i) | Rick Ware Racing | Ford |
| 66 | Timmy Hill (i) | MBM Motorsports | Toyota |
| 72 | Corey LaJoie | TriStar Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 78 | Martin Truex Jr. | Furniture Row Racing | Toyota |
| 88 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 95 | Regan Smith | Leavine Family Racing | Chevrolet |
| 96 | Parker Kligerman (i) | Gaunt Brothers Racing | Toyota |
| 97 | David Starr (i) | Obaika Racing | Toyota |
| 99 | Kyle Weatherman | StarCom Racing | Chevrolet |
| Official entry list ||||

## First practice

Ryan Blaney was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 27.139 seconds and a speed of 198.976 mph (320.221 km/h).

| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Time | Speed |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 27.139 | 198.976 |
| 2 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 27.210 | 198.456 |
| 3 | 41 | Kurt Busch | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 27.254 | 198.136 |
| Official first practice results |||||||

## Qualifying

Ryan Blaney scored the pole for the race with a time of 26.932 and a speed of 200.505 mph (322.682 km/h).

### Qualifying results

| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | R1 | R2 | R3 |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 27.043 | 27.182 | 26.932 |
| 2 | 14 | Clint Bowyer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 27.220 | 27.188 | 26.969 |
| 3 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 27.115 | 27.068 | 27.008 |
| 4 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 27.251 | 27.277 | 27.030 |
| 5 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 27.361 | 27.273 | 27.064 |
| 6 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 27.488 | 27.162 | 27.101 |
| 7 | 41 | Kurt Busch | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 27.201 | 27.070 | 27.070 |
| 8 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 27.302 | 26.964 | 26.964 |
| 9 | 24 | William Byron (R) | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 27.273 | 27.181 | 27.126 |
| 10 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 27.187 | 27.142 | 27.142 |
| 11 | 21 | Paul Menard | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 27.428 | 27.262 | 27.262 |
| 12 | 20 | Erik Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 27.276 | 27.130 | 27.130 |
| 13 | 78 | Martin Truex Jr. | Furniture Row Racing | Toyota | 27.396 | 27.278 | — |
| 14 | 31 | Ryan Newman | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 27.451 | 27.283 | — |
| 15 | 6 | Trevor Bayne | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 27.544 | 27.312 | — |
| 16 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 27.506 | 27.316 | — |
| 17 | 17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 27.425 | 27.329 | — |
| 18 | 88 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 27.505 | 27.336 | — |
| 19 | 19 | Daniel Suárez | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 27.441 | 27.356 | — |
| 20 | 1 | Jamie McMurray | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 27.313 | 27.358 | — |
| 21 | 37 | Chris Buescher | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 27.364 | 27.399 | — |
| 22 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 27.538 | 27.437 | — |
| 23 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 27.418 | 27.449 | — |
| 24 | 13 | Ty Dillon | Germain Racing | Chevrolet | 27.519 | 27.479 | — |
| 25 | 47 | A. J. Allmendinger | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 27.550 | — | — |
| 26 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 27.646 | — | — |
| 27 | 38 | David Ragan | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 27.661 | — | — |
| 28 | 95 | Regan Smith | Leavine Family Racing | Chevrolet | 27.728 | — | — |
| 29 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 27.767 | — | — |
| 30 | 43 | Darrell Wallace Jr. (R) | Richard Petty Motorsports | Chevrolet | 27.778 | — | — |
| 31 | 32 | Matt DiBenedetto | Go Fas Racing | Ford | 28.066 | — | — |
| 32 | 00 | Landon Cassill (i) | StarCom Racing | Chevrolet | 28.148 | — | — |
| 33 | 15 | Ross Chastain (i) | Premium Motorsports | Chevrolet | 28.228 | — | — |
| 34 | 96 | Parker Kligerman (i) | Gaunt Brothers Racing | Toyota | 28.256 | — | — |
| 35 | 23 | J. J. Yeley (i) | BK Racing | Toyota | 28.381 | — | — |
| 36 | 99 | Kyle Weatherman | StarCom Racing | Chevrolet | 28.598 | — | — |
| 37 | 72 | Corey LaJoie | TriStar Motorsports | Chevrolet | 28.598 | — | — |
| 38 | 7 | Reed Sorenson (i) | Premium Motorsports | Chevrolet | 28.785 | — | — |
| 39 | 51 | Joey Gase (i) | Rick Ware Racing | Ford | 29.496 | — | — |
| 40 | 97 | David Starr (i) | Obaika Racing | Toyota | 29.784 | — | — |
| Did not qualify ||||||||
| 41 | 66 | Timmy Hill (i) | MBM Motorsports | Toyota | 0.000 | — | — |
| Official qualifying results ||||||||

## Practice (post-qualifying)

### Second practice

Aric Almirola was the fastest in the second practice session with a time of 27.856 seconds and a speed of 193.854 mph (311.978 km/h).

| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Time | Speed |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 27.856 | 193.854 |
| 2 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 27.863 | 193.805 |
| 3 | 14 | Clint Bowyer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 27.868 | 193.771 |
| Official second practice results |||||||

### Final practice

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 28.074 seconds and a speed of 192.349 mph (309.556 km/h).

| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Time | Speed |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 28.074 | 192.349 |
| 2 | 41 | Kurt Busch | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 28.114 | 192.075 |
| 3 | 78 | Martin Truex Jr. | Furniture Row Racing | Toyota | 28.142 | 191.884 |
| Official final practice results |||||||

## Race

### Stage Results

Stage 1 Laps: 85

| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Points |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 10 |
| 2 | 41 | Kurt Busch | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 9 |
| 3 | 20 | Erik Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 8 |
| 4 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 7 |
| 5 | 78 | Martin Truex Jr. | Furniture Row Racing | Toyota | 6 |
| 6 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 5 |
| 7 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 4 |
| 8 | 21 | Paul Menard | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 3 |
| 9 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 2 |
| 10 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 1 |
| Official stage one results ||||||

Stage 2 Laps: 85

| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Points |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 10 |
| 2 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 9 |
| 3 | 78 | Martin Truex Jr. | Furniture Row Racing | Toyota | 8 |
| 4 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 7 |
| 5 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 6 |
| 6 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 5 |
| 7 | 20 | Erik Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 4 |
| 8 | 41 | Kurt Busch | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 3 |
| 9 | 19 | Daniel Suárez | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 2 |
| 10 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 1 |
| Official stage two results ||||||

### Final Stage Results

Stage 3 Laps: 164

| Pos | Grid | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Laps | Points |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 3 | 4 | Kevin Harvick† | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 337 | 20 |
| 2 | 1 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 337 | 31 |
| 3 | 8 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 337 | 45 |
| 4 | 12 | 20 | Erik Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 337 | 25 |
| 5 | 22 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 337 | 32 |
| 6 | 16 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 337 | 34 |
| 7 | 7 | 41 | Kurt Busch | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 337 | 42 |
| 8 | 4 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 337 | 35 |
| 9 | 13 | 78 | Martin Truex Jr. | Furniture Row Racing | Toyota | 337 | 42 |
| 10 | 26 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 337 | 27 |
| 11 | 17 | 17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 337 | 26 |
| 12 | 5 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 337 | 32 |
| 13 | 11 | 21 | Paul Menard | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 337 | 27 |
| 14 | 18 | 88 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 337 | 23 |
| 15 | 23 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 337 | 22 |
| 16 | 9 | 24 | William Byron (R) | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 337 | 21 |
| 17 | 10 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 337 | 24 |
| 18 | 14 | 31 | Ryan Newman | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 335 | 19 |
| 19 | 20 | 1 | Jamie McMurray | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 335 | 18 |
| 20 | 25 | 47 | A. J. Allmendinger | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 335 | 17 |
| 21 | 15 | 6 | Trevor Bayne | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 335 | 16 |
| 22 | 24 | 13 | Ty Dillon | Germain Racing | Chevrolet | 335 | 15 |
| 23 | 21 | 37 | Chris Buescher | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 335 | 14 |
| 24 | 27 | 38 | David Ragan | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 335 | 13 |
| 25 | 30 | 43 | Darrell Wallace Jr. (R) | Richard Petty Motorsports | Chevrolet | 335 | 12 |
| 26 | 2 | 14 | Clint Bowyer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 334 | 11 |
| 27 | 28 | 95 | Regan Smith | Leavine Family Racing | Chevrolet | 332 | 10 |
| 28 | 19 | 19 | Daniel Suárez | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 332 | 11 |
| 29 | 29 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 331 | 8 |
| 30 | 6 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 331 | 7 |
| 31 | 34 | 96 | Parker Kligerman (i) | Gaunt Brothers Racing | Toyota | 329 | 0 |
| 32 | 33 | 15 | Ross Chastain (i) | Premium Motorsports | Chevrolet | 326 | 0 |
| 33 | 38 | 7 | Reed Sorenson (i) | Premium Motorsports | Chevrolet | 326 | 0 |
| 34 | 36 | 99 | Kyle Weatherman | StarCom Racing | Chevrolet | 323 | 3 |
| 35 | 32 | 00 | Landon Cassill (i) | StarCom Racing | Chevrolet | 321 | 0 |
| 36 | 35 | 23 | J. J. Yeley (i) | BK Racing | Toyota | 321 | 0 |
| 37 | 39 | 51 | Joey Gase (i) | Rick Ware Racing | Ford | 317 | 0 |
| 38 | 31 | 32 | Matt DiBenedetto | Go Fas Racing | Ford | 300 | 1 |
| 39 | 40 | 97 | David Starr (i) | Obaika Racing | Toyota | 287 | 0 |
| 40 | 37 | 72 | Corey LaJoie | TriStar Motorsports | Chevrolet | 269 | 1 |
| Official race results ||||||||

† Kevin Harvick was penalized 40 points and the win is encumbered due to a spoiler infraction post-race.

### Race statistics

* Lead changes: 16 among different drivers
* Cautions/Laps: 8 for 37
* Red flags: 0
* Time of race: 3 hours, 21 minutes and 27 seconds
* Average speed: 150.558 miles per hour (242.300 km/h)

## Media

### Television

NBC Sports covered the race on the television side. Rick Allen, Two–time Texas winner Jeff Burton, Steve Letarte and 2000 Texas winner Dale Earnhardt Jr. had the call in the booth for the race. Dave Burns, Marty Snider and Kelli Stavast reported from pit lane during the race.

NBCSN :

| Booth announcers | Pit reporters |
| - | - |
| Lap-by-lap: Rick Allen Color-commentator: Jeff Burton Color-commentator: Steve Letarte Color-commentator: Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Dave Burns Marty Snider Kelli Stavast |

### Radio

PRN had the radio call for the race, which was simulcast on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio.

PRN :

| Booth announcers | Turn announcers | Pit reporters |
| - | - | - |
| Lead announcer: Doug Rice Announcer: Mark Garrow | Turns 1 & 2: Rob Albright Turns 3 & 4: Pat Patterson | Brad Gillie Brett McMillan Wendy Venturini Steve Richards |

## Standings after the race

| | Pos | Driver | Points |
| - | - | - | - |
| | 1 | Kyle Busch | 4,128 |
| | 2 | Martin Truex Jr. | 4,125 (−3) |
| 1 | 3 | Joey Logano | 4,119 (−6) |
| 1 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | 4,103 (−25) |
| | 5 | Kurt Busch | 4,100 (−28) |
| | 6 | Chase Elliott | 4,086 (−42) |
| 1 | 7 | Aric Almirola | 4,068 (−60) |
| 1 | 8 | Clint Bowyer | 4,052 (−76) |
| | 9 | Ryan Blaney | 2,283 (−1,845) |
| | 10 | Brad Keselowski | 2,259 (−1,869) |
| | 11 | Denny Hamlin | 2,220 (−1,908) |
| | 12 | Kyle Larson | 2,211 (−1,917) |
| 2 | 13 | Erik Jones | 2,204 (−1,924) |
| 1 | 14 | Jimmie Johnson | 2,195 (−1,933) |
| 1 | 15 | Alex Bowman | 2,187 (−1,941) |
| | 16 | Austin Dillon | 2,184 (−1,944) |
| Official driver's standings ||||
| | Pos | Manufacturer | Points |
| | 1 | Ford | 1,235 |
| | 2 | Toyota | 1,211 (−24) |
| | 3 | Chevrolet | 1,123 (−112) |
| Official manufacturers' standings ||||

* After the race Kevin Harvick was issued a L1 penalty after the race, his win will not count and he is deducted 40 points as well as his crew and car chief were suspended.
