2018 Pocono 400
# 2018 Pocono 400

The 2018 Pocono 400 was a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race held on June 3, 2018 at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. Contested over 160 laps on the 2.5-mile (4.0 km) triangular racecourse, it was the 14th race of the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season.

## Report

### Background

The race was held at Pocono Raceway, which is a three-turn superspeedway located in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. The track hosts two annual Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races: the Pocono 400 and the Gander Outdoors 400, as well as one Xfinity Series and Camping World Truck Series event. Since 2013, the track is also host to a Verizon IndyCar Series race.

Pocono Raceway is one of a very few NASCAR tracks not owned by either Speedway Motorsports, Inc. or International Speedway Corporation. It is operated by the Igdalsky siblings Brandon, Nicholas, and sister Ashley, and cousins Joseph IV and Chase Mattioli, all of whom are third-generation members of the family-owned Mattco Inc, started by Joseph II and Rose Mattioli.

Outside of the NASCAR races, the track is used throughout the year by Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) and motorcycle clubs as well as racing schools and an IndyCar race. The triangular oval also has three separate infield sections of racetrack – North Course, East Course and South Course. Each of these infield sections use a separate portion of the tri-oval to complete the track. During regular non-race weekends, multiple clubs can use the track by running on different infield sections. Also some of the infield sections can be run in either direction, or multiple infield sections can be put together – such as running the North Course and the South Course and using the tri-oval to connect the two.

**Entry list**

| No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Sponsor |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| 00 | Landon Cassill | StarCom Racing | Chevrolet | TW Cable, LLC |
| 1 | Jamie McMurray | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | GEARWRENCH |
| 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | Wurth |
| 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | Dow |
| 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | Busch Beer |
| 6 | Matt Kenseth | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | Ford |
| 7 | J. J. Yeley (i) | Premium Motorsports | Chevrolet | Steakhouse Elite |
| 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | NAPA Auto Parts |
| 10 | Aric Almirola | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | Smithfield |
| 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | FedEx Office |
| 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | Menards/Duracell |
| 13 | Ty Dillon | Germain Racing | Chevrolet | GEICO |
| 14 | Clint Bowyer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | Busch Light/Haas 30 Years of the VF1 |
| 15 | Ross Chastain (i) | Premium Motorsports | Chevrolet | Premium Motorsports |
| 17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | Little Hug Fruit Barrels |
| 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | M&M’s Red, White and Blue |
| 19 | Daniel Suárez | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | ARRIS |
| 20 | Erik Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | DeWalt |
| 21 | Paul Menard | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | Motorcraft/Quick Lane |
| 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | Shell Pennzoil |
| 23 | Gray Gaulding | BK Racing | Toyota | BK Racing |
| 24 | William Byron (R) | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | Unifirst |
| 31 | Ryan Newman | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | Kalahari Resorts and Conventions |
| 32 | Matt DiBenedetto | Go Fas Racing | Ford | Zynga Poker |
| 34 | Michael McDowell | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | Dockside Logistics |
| 37 | Chris Buescher | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | Louisiana Hot Sauce |
| 38 | David Ragan | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | MDS Transport |
| 41 | Kurt Busch | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | Monster Energy/Haas Automation |
| 42 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | DC Solar |
| 43 | Darrell Wallace Jr. (R) | Richard Petty Motorsports | Chevrolet | Weis Markets |
| 47 | A. J. Allmendinger | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | Kroger ClickList |
| 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | Lowe's for Pros |
| 51 | Cole Custer (i) | Rick Ware Racing | Ford | HAAS CNC/Prefund Capital |
| 72 | Cole Whitt | TriStar Motorsports | Chevrolet | Tri-Star Motorsports |
| 78 | Martin Truex Jr. | Furniture Row Racing | Toyota | Bass Pro Shops/5-hour ENERGY |
| 88 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | Nationwide |
| 95 | Kasey Kahne | Leavine Family Racing | Chevrolet | FDNY Foundation |
| 99 | Derrike Cope | StarCom Racing | Chevrolet | StarCom Fiber |
| Official entry list |||||

## First practice

Kyle Busch was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 50.865 seconds and a speed of 176.939 mph (284.756 km/h).

| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Time | Speed |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 50.865 | 176.939 |
| 2 | 88 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 51.285 | 175.490 |
| 3 | 14 | Clint Bowyer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 51.286 | 175.486 |
| Official first practice results |||||||

## Qualifying

Ryan Blaney scored the pole for the race with a time of 50.877 and a speed of 176.897 mph (284.688 km/h).

### Qualifying results

| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | R1 | R2 | R3 |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 51.369 | 51.217 | 50.877 |
| 2 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 51.151 | 51.068 | 50.903 |
| 3 | 1 | Jamie McMurray | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 51.473 | 51.300 | 50.955 |
| 4 | 78 | Martin Truex Jr. | Furniture Row Racing | Toyota | 51.384 | 51.272 | 50.987 |
| 5 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 51.532 | 51.132 | 50.998 |
| 6 | 41 | Kurt Busch | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 51.366 | 51.290 | 51.076 |
| 7 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 51.738 | 51.388 | 51.083 |
| 8 | 31 | Ryan Newman | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 51.688 | 51.241 | 51.176 |
| 9 | 14 | Clint Bowyer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 51.402 | 51.457 | 51.195 |
| 10 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 51.345 | 51.327 | 51.197 |
| 11 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 51.404 | 51.256 | 51.361 |
| 12 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 51.921 | 51.497 | 51.520 |
| 13 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 51.193 | 51.524 | — |
| 14 | 88 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 51.494 | 51.579 | — |
| 15 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 51.487 | 51.616 | — |
| 16 | 24 | William Byron (R) | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 51.460 | 51.649 | — |
| 17 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 51.642 | 51.661 | — |
| 18 | 19 | Daniel Suárez | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 51.565 | 51.690 | — |
| 19 | 43 | Darrell Wallace Jr. (R) | Richard Petty Motorsports | Chevrolet | 51.726 | 51.811 | — |
| 20 | 21 | Paul Menard | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 51.650 | 51.833 | — |
| 21 | 38 | David Ragan | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 51.929 | 51.934 | — |
| 22 | 95 | Kasey Kahne | Leavine Family Racing | Chevrolet | 51.766 | 52.024 | — |
| 23 | 17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 51.972 | 52.182 | — |
| 24 | 47 | A. J. Allmendinger | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 52.007 | 0.000 | — |
| 25 | 20 | Erik Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 52.081 | — | — |
| 26 | 6 | Matt Kenseth | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 52.140 | — | — |
| 27 | 37 | Chris Buescher | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 52.187 | — | — |
| 28 | 51 | Cole Custer (i) | Rick Ware Racing | Ford | 52.197 | — | — |
| 29 | 13 | Ty Dillon | Germain Racing | Chevrolet | 52.658 | — | — |
| 30 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 52.703 | — | — |
| 31 | 15 | Ross Chastain (i) | Premium Motorsports | Chevrolet | 52.908 | — | — |
| 32 | 32 | Matt DiBenedetto | Go Fas Racing | Ford | 53.354 | — | — |
| 33 | 00 | Landon Cassill | StarCom Racing | Chevrolet | 53.477 | — | — |
| 34 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 53.855 | — | — |
| 35 | 72 | Cole Whitt | TriStar Motorsports | Chevrolet | 53.882 | — | — |
| 36 | 23 | Gray Gaulding | BK Racing | Toyota | 53.927 | — | — |
| 37 | 7 | J. J. Yeley (i) | Premium Motorsports | Chevrolet | 53.935 | — | — |
| 38 | 99 | Derrike Cope | StarCom Racing | Chevrolet | 54.753 | — | — |
| Official qualifying results ||||||||

## Final practice

Kyle Busch was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 51.550 seconds and a speed of 174.588 mph (280.972 km/h).

| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Time | Speed |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 51.550 | 174.588 |
| 2 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 51.690 | 174.115 |
| 3 | 78 | Martin Truex Jr. | Furniture Row Racing | Toyota | 51.738 | 173.953 |
| Official final practice results |||||||

## Race

### Stage Results

Stage 1 Laps: 50

| 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 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 8 |
| 4 | 14 | Clint Bowyer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 7 |
| 5 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 6 |
| 6 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 5 |
| 7 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 4 |
| 8 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 3 |
| 9 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 2 |
| 10 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 1 |
| Official stage one results ||||||

Stage 2 Laps: 50

| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Points |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 10 |
| 2 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 9 |
| 3 | 14 | Clint Bowyer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 8 |
| 4 | 78 | Martin Truex Jr. | Furniture Row Racing | Toyota | 7 |
| 5 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 6 |
| 6 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 5 |
| 7 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 4 |
| 8 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 3 |
| 9 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 2 |
| 10 | 88 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 1 |
| Official stage two results ||||||

### Final Stage Results

Stage 3 Laps: 60

| Pos | Grid | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Laps | Points |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 4 | 78 | Martin Truex Jr. | Furniture Row Racing | Toyota | 160 | 57 |
| 2 | 13 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 160 | 43 |
| 3 | 5 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 160 | 51 |
| 4 | 2 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 160 | 52 |
| 5 | 17 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 160 | 37 |
| 6 | 1 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 160 | 38 |
| 7 | 34 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 160 | 30 |
| 8 | 15 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 160 | 33 |
| 9 | 7 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 160 | 28 |
| 10 | 11 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 160 | 38 |
| 11 | 20 | 21 | Paul Menard | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 160 | 26 |
| 12 | 12 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 160 | 25 |
| 13 | 26 | 6 | Matt Kenseth | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 160 | 24 |
| 14 | 23 | 17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 160 | 23 |
| 15 | 3 | 1 | Jamie McMurray | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 160 | 22 |
| 16 | 21 | 38 | David Ragan | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 160 | 21 |
| 17 | 27 | 37 | Chris Buescher | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 160 | 20 |
| 18 | 16 | 24 | William Byron (R) | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 160 | 19 |
| 19 | 6 | 41 | Kurt Busch | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 160 | 18 |
| 20 | 9 | 14 | Clint Bowyer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 160 | 32 |
| 21 | 30 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 160 | 16 |
| 22 | 24 | 47 | A. J. Allmendinger | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 160 | 15 |
| 23 | 29 | 13 | Ty Dillon | Germain Racing | Chevrolet | 160 | 14 |
| 24 | 18 | 19 | Daniel Suárez | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 160 | 13 |
| 25 | 8 | 31 | Ryan Newman | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 160 | 12 |
| 26 | 28 | 51 | Cole Custer (i) | Rick Ware Racing | Ford | 160 | 0 |
| 27 | 14 | 88 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 160 | 11 |
| 28 | 31 | 15 | Ross Chastain (i) | Premium Motorsports | Chevrolet | 159 | 0 |
| 29 | 25 | 20 | Erik Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 159 | 8 |
| 30 | 35 | 72 | Cole Whitt | TriStar Motorsports | Chevrolet | 158 | 7 |
| 31 | 33 | 00 | Landon Cassill | StarCom Racing | Chevrolet | 157 | 6 |
| 32 | 37 | 7 | J. J. Yeley (i) | Premium Motorsports | Chevrolet | 157 | 0 |
| 33 | 36 | 23 | Gray Gaulding | BK Racing | Toyota | 157 | 4 |
| 34 | 38 | 99 | Derrike Cope | StarCom Racing | Chevrolet | 152 | 3 |
| 35 | 10 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 146 | 8 |
| 36 | 22 | 95 | Kasey Kahne | Leavine Family Racing | Chevrolet | 120 | 1 |
| 37 | 32 | 32 | Matt DiBenedetto | Go Fas Racing | Ford | 113 | 1 |
| 38 | 19 | 43 | Darrell Wallace Jr. (R) | Richard Petty Motorsports | Chevrolet | 108 | 1 |
| Official race results ||||||||

### Race statistics

* Lead changes: 7 among different drivers
* Cautions/Laps: 6 for 23
* Red flags: 0
* Time of race: 2 hours, 52 minutes and 0 seconds
* Average speed: 139.535 miles per hour (224.560 km/h)

## Media

### Television

Fox NASCAR televised the race in the United States on FS1 for the fourth consecutive year. Mike Joy was the lap-by-lap announcer, while six-time Pocono winner, Jeff Gordon and four-time winner Darrell Waltrip were the color commentators. Jamie Little, Vince Welch and Matt Yocum reported from pit lane during the race.

FS1 Television :

| Booth announcers | Pit reporters |
| - | - |
| Lap-by-lap: Mike Joy Color-commentator: Jeff Gordon Color commentator: Darrell Waltrip | Jamie Little Vince Welch Matt Yocum |

### Radio

Radio coverage of the race was broadcast by Motor Racing Network (MRN) and simulcasted on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio. Joe Moore, Jeff Striegle and four-time Pocono winner Rusty Wallace announced the race in the booth while the field was racing on the front stretch. Dave Moody called the race from atop a billboard outside of turn 1 when the field was racing through turn 1 while Mike Bagley called the race from a billboard outside turn 2 when the field was racing through turn 2. Kurt Becker reported the race from a billboard outside turn 3 when the field was racing through turn 3. Alex Hayden, Winston Kelley and Steve Post reported from pit lane during the race.

MRN :

| Booth announcers | Turn announcers | Pit reporters |
| - | - | - |
| Lead announcer: Joe Moore Announcer: Jeff Striegle Announcer: Rusty Wallace | Turn 1: Dave Moody Turn 2: Mike Bagley Turn 3: Kurt Becker | Alex Hayden Winston Kelley Steve Post |

## Standings after the race

| | Pos | Driver | Points |
| - | - | - | - |
| | 1 | Kyle Busch | 624 |
| 1 | 2 | Kevin Harvick | 537 (–87) |
| 1 | 3 | Joey Logano | 534 (–90) |
| 1 | 4 | Martin Truex Jr. | 487 (–137) |
| 1 | 5 | Brad Keselowski | 474 (–150) |
| 2 | 6 | Clint Bowyer | 453 (–171) |
| 1 | 7 | Kurt Busch | 447 (–177) |
| 1 | 8 | Denny Hamlin | 437 (–187) |
| | 9 | Kyle Larson | 425 (–199) |
| 1 | 10 | Ryan Blaney | 413 (–211) |
| 1 | 11 | Aric Almirola | 406 (–218) |
| | 12 | Jimmie Johnson | 360 (–264) |
| 2 | 13 | Chase Elliott | 334 (–290) |
| 1 | 14 | Erik Jones | 322 (–302) |
| 1 | 15 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 319 (–305) |
| 2 | 16 | Alex Bowman | 310 (–314) |
| Official driver's standings ||||
| | Pos | Manufacturer | Points |
| 1 | 1 | Toyota | 507 |
| 1 | 2 | Ford | 505 (–2) |
| | 3 | Chevrolet | 451 (–56) |
| Official manufacturers' standings ||||
