2018 South Point 400
# 2018 South Point 400

The 2018 South Point 400 was a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race held on September 16, 2018 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Las Vegas. Contested over 272 laps—extended from 267 laps due to an overtime finish, on the 1.5 mi (2.4 km) asphalt intermediate speedway, it was the 27th race of the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season, first race of the Playoffs, and the first race of the Round of 16.

## Report

### Background

Las Vegas Motor Speedway, located in Clark County, Nevada outside the Las Vegas city limits and about 15 miles northeast of the Las Vegas Strip, is a 1,200-acre (490 ha) complex of multiple tracks for motorsports racing. The complex is owned by Speedway Motorsports, Inc., which is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina.

**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 | 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 | B. J. McLeod (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 | Jeffrey Earnhardt | Gaunt Brothers Racing | Toyota |
| 99 | Kyle Weatherman | StarCom Racing | Chevrolet |
| Official entry list ||||

## First practice

Joey Logano was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 28.473 seconds and a speed of 189.653 mph (305.217 km/h).

| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Time | Speed |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 28.473 | 189.653 |
| 2 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 28.502 | 189.460 |
| 3 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 28.592 | 188.864 |
| Official first practice results |||||||

## Qualifying

Erik Jones scored the pole for the race with a time of 28.705 and a speed of 188.121 mph (302.751 km/h).

### Qualifying results

| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | R1 | R2 | R3 |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 20 | Erik Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 28.766 | 28.737 | 28.705 |
| 2 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 28.617 | 28.751 | 28.708 |
| 3 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 28.907 | 28.775 | 28.781 |
| 4 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 29.155 | 28.892 | 28.815 |
| 5 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 28.605 | 28.749 | 28.816 |
| 6 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 28.752 | 28.904 | 28.864 |
| 7 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 29.098 | 28.865 | 28.918 |
| 8 | 41 | Kurt Busch | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 28.831 | 28.935 | 28.957 |
| 9 | 88 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 28.684 | 28.915 | 28.974 |
| 10 | 78 | Martin Truex Jr. | Furniture Row Racing | Toyota | 29.072 | 28.891 | 29.017 |
| 11 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 28.725 | 28.846 | 29.040 |
| 12 | 1 | Jamie McMurray | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 29.025 | 28.931 | 29.488 |
| 13 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 28.802 | 28.936 | — |
| 14 | 17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 29.034 | 28.939 | — |
| 15 | 14 | Clint Bowyer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 28.729 | 28.942 | — |
| 16 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 28.735 | 28.947 | — |
| 17 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 28.784 | 28.953 | — |
| 18 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 28.824 | 28.957 | — |
| 19 | 19 | Daniel Suárez | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 28.995 | 28.962 | — |
| 20 | 21 | Paul Menard | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 28.866 | 28.965 | — |
| 21 | 24 | William Byron (R) | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 28.830 | 28.970 | — |
| 22 | 31 | Ryan Newman | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 28.889 | 29.054 | — |
| 23 | 6 | Trevor Bayne | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 28.933 | 29.088 | — |
| 24 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 29.120 | 29.203 | — |
| 25 | 95 | Regan Smith | Leavine Family Racing | Chevrolet | 29.160 | — | — |
| 26 | 32 | Matt DiBenedetto | Go Fas Racing | Ford | 29.199 | — | — |
| 27 | 38 | David Ragan | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 29.233 | — | — |
| 28 | 37 | Chris Buescher | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 29.243 | — | — |
| 29 | 47 | A. J. Allmendinger | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 29.252 | — | — |
| 30 | 13 | Ty Dillon | Germain Racing | Chevrolet | 29.311 | — | — |
| 31 | 43 | Darrell Wallace Jr. (R) | Richard Petty Motorsports | Chevrolet | 29.538 | — | — |
| 32 | 72 | Corey LaJoie | TriStar Motorsports | Chevrolet | 29.890 | — | — |
| 33 | 99 | Kyle Weatherman | StarCom Racing | Chevrolet | 29.903 | — | — |
| 34 | 15 | Ross Chastain (i) | Premium Motorsports | Chevrolet | 29.944 | — | — |
| 35 | 96 | Jeffrey Earnhardt | Gaunt Brothers Racing | Toyota | 30.004 | — | — |
| 36 | 23 | J. J. Yeley (i) | BK Racing | Toyota | 30.095 | — | — |
| 37 | 00 | Landon Cassill (i) | StarCom Racing | Chevrolet | 30.289 | — | — |
| 38 | 51 | B. J. McLeod (i) | Rick Ware Racing | Ford | 30.416 | — | — |
| 39 | 66 | Timmy Hill (i) | MBM Motorsports | Toyota | 30.667 | — | — |
| 40 | 7 | Reed Sorenson | Premium Motorsports | Chevrolet | 0.000 | — | — |
| Official qualifying results ||||||||

## Practice (post-qualifying)

### Second practice

Ryan Newman was the fastest in the second practice session with a time of 29.365 seconds and a speed of 183.892 mph (295.945 km/h).

| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Time | Speed |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 31 | Ryan Newman | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 29.365 | 183.892 |
| 2 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 29.465 | 183.268 |
| 3 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 29.477 | 183.194 |
| Official second practice results |||||||

### Final practice

Erik Jones was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 29.793 seconds and a speed of 181.251 mph (291.695 km/h).

| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Time | Speed |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 20 | Erik Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 29.793 | 181.251 |
| 2 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 29.795 | 181.238 |
| 3 | 88 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 29.801 | 181.202 |
| Official final practice results |||||||

## Race

### Stage Results

Stage 1 Laps: 80

For pre-race ceremonies, Motor Racing Outreach chaplain Billy Maudin would give the invocation and Las Vegas country music singer Sierra Black would sing the anthem. Brendan Gaughan, a former NASCAR driver and the son of the South Point's owner, Michael Gaughan would give out the starting command. Temperatures were nearly 100 degrees at the start of the race. Erik Jones would start from the pole, however he would get passed for the lead on lap 1 by Joey Logano, who would go on to lead the first 34 laps until green flag pit stops occurred. At the end of the pit cycle, Kevin Harvick would lead, but was quickly swallowed up by Martin Truex Jr. on lap 59, who then proceeded to stay in the lead for the rest of the stage and win.

| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Points |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 78 | Martin Truex Jr. | Furniture Row Racing | Toyota | 10 |
| 2 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 9 |
| 3 | 88 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 8 |
| 4 | 41 | Kurt Busch | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 7 |
| 5 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 6 |
| 6 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 5 |
| 7 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 4 |
| 8 | 20 | Erik Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 3 |
| 9 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 2 |
| 10 | 31 | Ryan Newman | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 1 |
| Official stage one results ||||||

Stage 2 Laps: 80

The green flag would come out on lap 87. However, just three laps later NASCAR threw the caution for debris caused by Ricky Stenhouse Jr hitting the wall in turn 3. Truex would go on to lead the first 32 laps in the stage until on lap 112, Ty Dillon would suffer a tire failure. Keselowski would lead on the restart on lap 116. Truex would go back to the lead just 9 laps later. On lap 148, the first major crash happened in the day. Kevin Harvick, who was battling Jimmie Johnson for 7th, would blow a right front and smash his car into the wall. Erik Jones, who was running the high side ran into the back of Harvick, taking both of them out. Keselowski would end up as the leader on the restart, and after a 5 lap shootout would win stage 2.

| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Points |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 10 |
| 2 | 41 | Kurt Busch | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 9 |
| 3 | 78 | Martin Truex Jr. | Furniture Row Racing | Toyota | 8 |
| 4 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 7 |
| 5 | 1 | Jamie McMurray | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 6 |
| 6 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 5 |
| 7 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 4 |
| 8 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 3 |
| 9 | 88 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 2 |
| 10 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 1 |
| Official stage two results ||||||

### Final Stage Results

Stage 3 Laps: 107

Keselowski would lead the field to green, and would battle Kyle Larson until lap 184 when William Byron suffered a flat tire and hit the Turn 3 wall. Truex would take the lead back on lap 202. 10 laps later, Jamie McMurray, who had hit the wall laps earlier, would spin with another tire failure, collecting Chase Elliott, causing both of them to retire. Logano would pull out to the lead on the restart against Keselowski. Kyle Busch then would get loose and spin coming out of turn 4, with the splitter hitting the frontstretch grass. Larson would lead on the restart, then on lap 248 Denny Hamlin would suffer a similar crash to Kyle Busch, this time destroying Hamlin's car and taking him out. The field would restart, but just 2 laps later on lap 253 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. would hit the back stretch wall hard, similar to Jeff Gordon's 2008 crash at the same track. On the restart, Alex Bowman and Jimmie Johnson would suffer tire problems. Due to debris caused by the incidents, NASCAR was forced to throw the caution with 7 to go. With just 2 laps to go, Keselowski would lead the field to green and would battle with Logano. However, a crash started by David Ragan and Michael McDowell would cause the big one of the day, tearing Matt Dibenedetto's right side and massively damaging Kurt Busch's car. NASCAR would throw the red flag due to the accident. The field would attempt a green-white checkered finish, with Brad Keselowski eventually pulling away and winning the inaugural South Point 400.

| Pos | Grid | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Laps | Points |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 13 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 272 | 50 |
| 2 | 11 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 272 | 36 |
| 3 | 10 | 78 | Martin Truex Jr. | Furniture Row Racing | Toyota | 272 | 52 |
| 4 | 2 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 272 | 42 |
| 5 | 6 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 272 | 35 |
| 6 | 16 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 272 | 33 |
| 7 | 4 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 272 | 35 |
| 8 | 19 | 19 | Daniel Suárez | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 272 | 29 |
| 9 | 22 | 31 | Ryan Newman | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 272 | 29 |
| 10 | 20 | 21 | Paul Menard | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 272 | 27 |
| 11 | 18 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 272 | 26 |
| 12 | 25 | 95 | Regan Smith | Leavine Family Racing | Chevrolet | 272 | 25 |
| 13 | 23 | 6 | Trevor Bayne | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 272 | 24 |
| 14 | 29 | 47 | A. J. Allmendinger | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 272 | 23 |
| 15 | 28 | 37 | Chris Buescher | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 272 | 22 |
| 16 | 32 | 72 | Corey LaJoie | TriStar Motorsports | Chevrolet | 272 | 21 |
| 17 | 36 | 23 | J. J. Yeley (i) | BK Racing | Toyota | 272 | 0 |
| 18 | 37 | 00 | Landon Cassill (i) | StarCom Racing | Chevrolet | 272 | 0 |
| 19 | 9 | 88 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 271 | 28 |
| 20 | 34 | 15 | Ross Chastain (i) | Premium Motorsports | Chevrolet | 271 | 0 |
| 21 | 8 | 41 | Kurt Busch | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 271 | 32 |
| 22 | 17 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 270 | 22 |
| 23 | 15 | 14 | Clint Bowyer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 270 | 14 |
| 24 | 26 | 32 | Matt DiBenedetto | Go Fas Racing | Ford | 269 | 13 |
| 25 | 35 | 96 | Jeffrey Earnhardt | Gaunt Brothers Racing | Toyota | 269 | 12 |
| 26 | 33 | 99 | Kyle Weatherman | StarCom Racing | Chevrolet | 269 | 11 |
| 27 | 27 | 38 | David Ragan | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 268 | 10 |
| 28 | 38 | 51 | B. J. McLeod (i) | Rick Ware Racing | Ford | 268 | 0 |
| 29 | 24 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 265 | 8 |
| 30 | 14 | 17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 251 | 7 |
| 31 | 40 | 7 | Reed Sorenson | Premium Motorsports | Chevrolet | 246 | 6 |
| 32 | 3 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 245 | 5 |
| 33 | 39 | 66 | Timmy Hill (i) | MBM Motorsports | Toyota | 231 | 0 |
| 34 | 30 | 13 | Ty Dillon | Germain Racing | Chevrolet | 218 | 3 |
| 35 | 12 | 1 | Jamie McMurray | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 211 | 8 |
| 36 | 7 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 211 | 11 |
| 37 | 21 | 24 | William Byron (R) | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 210 | 1 |
| 38 | 31 | 43 | Darrell Wallace Jr. (R) | Richard Petty Motorsports | Chevrolet | 164 | 1 |
| 39 | 5 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 147 | 10 |
| 40 | 1 | 20 | Erik Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 147 | 4 |
| Official race results ||||||||

### Race statistics

* Lead changes: 9 among different drivers
* Cautions/Laps: 12 for 59
* Red flags: 1 for 10 minutes and 37 seconds
* Time of race: 3 hours, 28 minutes and 15 seconds
* Average speed: 111.849 miles per hour (180.004 km/h)

## Media

### Television

NBC Sports called the race on the television side. Rick Allen, Jeff Burton, Steve Letarte and 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.

NBC :

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

### Radio

PRN covered the radio call for the race which was also simulcast on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio. Doug Rice, Mark Garrow and Wendy Venturini called the race in the booth when the field raced through the tri-oval. Rob Albright called the race from a billboard in turn 2 when the field raced through turns 1 and 2. Pat Patterson called the race from a billboard outside of turn 3 when the field raced through turns 3 and 4. Brad Gillie, Brett McMillan, Jim Noble and Heather DeBeaux worked pit road for the radio side.

PRN :

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

## Standings after the race

| | Pos | Driver | Points |
| - | - | - | - |
| 2 | 1 | Martin Truex Jr. | 2,087 |
| 1 | 2 | Kyle Busch | 2,085 (–2) |
| 1 | 3 | Brad Keselowski | 2,069 (–18) |
| 2 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | 2,060 (–27) |
| 1 | 5 | Joey Logano | 2,056 (–31) |
| 1 | 6 | Kurt Busch | 2,046 (–41) |
| 2 | 7 | Ryan Blaney | 2,042 (–45) |
| 4 | 8 | Kyle Larson | 2,041 (–46) |
| 5 | 9 | Aric Almirola | 2,034 (–53) |
| 1 | 10 | Austin Dillon | 2,031 (–56) |
| 6 | 11 | Clint Bowyer | 2,029 (–58) |
| 4 | 12 | Alex Bowman | 2,028 (–59) |
| 2 | 13 | Jimmie Johnson | 2,022 (–65) |
| 6 | 14 | Chase Elliott | 2,019 (–68) |
| 5 | 15 | Erik Jones | 2,009 (–78) |
| 3 | 16 | Denny Hamlin | 2,008 (–79) |
| Official driver's standings ||||
| | Pos | Manufacturer | Points |
| 1 | 1 | Ford | 975 |
| 1 | 2 | Toyota | 975 (–0) |
| | 3 | Chevrolet | 882 (–93) |
| Official manufacturers' standings ||||
