2018 Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500
# 2018 Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500

The 2018 Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 was a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race held on February 25, 2018, at Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Georgia. Contested over 325 laps on the 1.54-mile-long (2.48 km) asphalt quad-oval intermediate speedway, it was the second race of the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season.

## Report

### Background

Atlanta Motor Speedway (formerly Atlanta International Raceway) is a track in Hampton, Georgia, 20 miles (32 km) south of Atlanta. It is a 1.54-mile (2.48 km) quad-oval track with a seating capacity of 111,000. It opened in 1960 as a 1.5-mile (2.4 km) standard oval. In 1994, 46 condominiums were built over the northeastern side of the track. In 1997, to standardize the track with Speedway Motorsports' other two 1.5-mile (2.4 km) ovals, the entire track was almost completely rebuilt. The frontstretch and backstretch were swapped, and the configuration of the track was changed from oval to quad-oval. The project made the track one of the fastest on the NASCAR circuit.

**Entry list**

| No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer |
| - | - | - | - |
| 00 | Jeffrey Earnhardt | 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 |
| 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 | Gray Gaulding | 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 | Harrison Rhodes | Rick Ware Racing | Chevrolet |
| 72 | Cole Whitt | TriStar Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 78 | Martin Truex Jr. | Furniture Row Racing | Toyota |
| 88 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 95 | Kasey Kahne | Leavine Family Racing | Chevrolet |
| Official entry list ||||

## First practice

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 29.745 seconds and a speed of 186.384 mph (299.956 km/h).

| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Time | Speed |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 29.745 | 186.384 |
| 2 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 29.820 | 185.915 |
| 3 | 43 | Darrell Wallace Jr. (R) | Richard Petty Motorsports | Chevrolet | 29.833 | 185.834 |
| Official first practice results |||||||

## Qualifying

Kyle Busch scored the pole for the race with a time of 30.024 and a speed of 184.652 mph (297.169 km/h).

### Qualifying results

| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | R1 | R2 | R3 |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 30.140 | 30.178 | 30.024 |
| 2 | 31 | Ryan Newman | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 30.091 | 30.218 | 30.062 |
| 3 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 29.869 | 30.043 | 30.067 |
| 4 | 19 | Daniel Suárez | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 30.075 | 30.084 | 30.093 |
| 5 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 29.737 | 30.152 | 30.154 |
| 6 | 17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 30.132 | 30.212 | 30.176 |
| 7 | 41 | Kurt Busch | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 30.126 | 30.155 | 30.215 |
| 8 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 30.025 | 30.101 | 30.221 |
| 9 | 14 | Clint Bowyer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 29.988 | 30.248 | 30.414 |
| 10 | 20 | Erik Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 30.299 | 30.292 | 30.621 |
| 11 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 30.251 | 30.224 | 0.000 |
| 12 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 30.240 | 30.303 | 0.000 |
| 13 | 1 | Jamie McMurray | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 30.025 | 30.324 | — |
| 14 | 95 | Kasey Kahne | Leavine Family Racing | Chevrolet | 30.433 | 30.377 | — |
| 15 | 21 | Paul Menard | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 30.242 | 30.384 | — |
| 16 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 30.117 | 30.440 | — |
| 17 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 30.475 | 30.469 | — |
| 18 | 88 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 30.146 | 30.523 | — |
| 19 | 43 | Darrell Wallace Jr. (R) | Richard Petty Motorsports | Chevrolet | 30.439 | 30.551 | — |
| 20 | 6 | Trevor Bayne | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 30.350 | 30.578 | — |
| 21 | 47 | A. J. Allmendinger | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 30.433 | 30.588 | — |
| 22 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 30.194 | 30.590 | — |
| 23 | 24 | William Byron (R) | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 30.088 | 30.663 | — |
| 24 | 37 | Chris Buescher | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 30.488 | 0.000 | — |
| 25 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 30.503 | — | — |
| 26 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 30.537 | — | — |
| 27 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 30.616 | — | — |
| 28 | 13 | Ty Dillon | Germain Racing | Chevrolet | 30.750 | — | — |
| 29 | 38 | David Ragan | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 30.780 | — | — |
| 30 | 32 | Matt DiBenedetto | Go Fas Racing | Ford | 30.987 | — | — |
| 31 | 23 | Gray Gaulding | BK Racing | Toyota | 31.099 | — | — |
| 32 | 72 | Cole Whitt | TriStar Motorsports | Chevrolet | 31.314 | — | — |
| 33 | 00 | Jeffrey Earnhardt | StarCom Racing | Chevrolet | 31.671 | — | — |
| 34 | 15 | Ross Chastain (i) | Premium Motorsports | Chevrolet | 31.796 | — | — |
| 35 | 78 | Martin Truex Jr. | Furniture Row Racing | Toyota | 0.000 | — | — |
| 36 | 51 | Harrison Rhodes | Rick Ware Racing | Chevrolet | 0.000 | — | — |
| Official qualifying results ||||||||

## Final practice

Ryan Newman was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 29.989 seconds and a speed of 184.868 mph (297.516 km/h).

| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Time | Speed |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 31 | Ryan Newman | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 29.989 | 184.868 |
| 2 | 78 | Martin Truex Jr. | Furniture Row Racing | Toyota | 30.033 | 184.597 |
| 3 | 21 | Paul Menard | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 30.038 | 184.566 |
| Official final practice results |||||||

## Race

Morning rain delayed the start of the race by 2.5 hours, The race was originally to start at 2:00 p.m. but the race was pushed to 1:00 p.m. because of rain, Track drying allowed the start of the race to begin at 3:30 pm EST. Because of track lights they were able to complete the race in its entirety.

### Stage 1

**Start**

Once racing began, Kyle Busch led the field to the green flag, but Ryan Newman took the lead on lap 1 and led 17 laps, but then Kyle Busch took the lead from Newman on lap 18 and led 2 laps, but then Kevin Harvick took the lead on lap 21 and led 11 laps, but then the first caution of the race flew on lap 32 for a scheduled competition caution for rain, so Kyle Busch retook the lead once the caution came out and led one lap and Kevin Harvick took the lead of the race on lap 33.

Racing resumed on lap 35.

Kevin Harvick led 64 laps en route to his stage one victory, finishing 6.5 seconds in front of second place Clint Bowyer. Also in the top five was Brad Keselowski, Martin Truex Jr., and Aric Almirola. The second caution of the race came out on lap 87 for conclusion of the first stage, and Martin Truex Jr. took the lead on lap 89 and led one lap, but then Brad Keselowski took the lead from Truex on lap 90.

### Stage 2

Back to green on lap 93. Kurt Busch took the lead on lap 101 and led 25 laps and Kevin Harvick took the lead on lap 126 and led two laps, and Kyle Busch took the lead on lap 127.

Caution flew for the third time on lap 160 for a single car spin in turn 2. Jimmie Johnson got through the second turn and spun out. He was lapped by leader Kevin Harvick.

Racing restarted on lap 164.

Brad Keselowski outran Kurt Busch to win the second stage. Following were Kyle Busch, Joey Logano and Kevin Harvick.

Caution #4 flew on lap 172 for conclusion of the second stage.

### Final stage

Back to green on lap 178.

Brad Keselowski took the lead with 101 laps to go and rain threatened to end the race with about 100 laps to go, as three drivers including Kevin Harvick, Brad Keselowski and Kurt Busch wrestled to take the lead. Crew chiefs were concerned about watching the weather.

The final stage developed in strategies as the teams of Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano ran in green flag pit stops than other leaders, attempting to use one less stop as the other cars.

With 27 laps to go, the fifth caution of the race came out when Trevor Bayne blew an engine in Turn 2, creating a plume of smoke behind him. Darrell Wallace Jr. slammed in the back of Ricky Stenhouse Jr. which caused damage to Wallace Jr.'s car.

Racing restarted with 20 laps to go, and Kevin Harvick led 173 of 325 laps and drove on to score his second career Atlanta victory since 2001.

### Post race

"To be able to pay tribute to Dale Earnhardt was cool, been waiting a long time to do that" Harvick said.

### Stage Results

Stage 1 Laps: 85

| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Points |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 10 |
| 2 | 14 | Clint Bowyer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 9 |
| 3 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 8 |
| 4 | 78 | Martin Truex Jr. | Furniture Row Racing | Toyota | 7 |
| 5 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 6 |
| 6 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 5 |
| 7 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 4 |
| 8 | 41 | Kurt Busch | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 3 |
| 9 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 2 |
| 10 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 1 |
| Official stage one results ||||||

Stage 2 Laps: 85

| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Points |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 10 |
| 2 | 41 | Kurt Busch | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 9 |
| 3 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 8 |
| 4 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 7 |
| 5 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 6 |
| 6 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 5 |
| 7 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 4 |
| 8 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 3 |
| 9 | 14 | Clint Bowyer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 2 |
| 10 | 19 | Daniel Suárez | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 1 |
| Official stage two results ||||||

### Final Stage Results

Stage 3 Laps: 155

| Pos | Grid | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Laps | Points |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 3 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 325 | 56 |
| 2 | 5 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 325 | 53 |
| 3 | 9 | 14 | Clint Bowyer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 325 | 45 |
| 4 | 12 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 325 | 40 |
| 5 | 35 | 78 | Martin Truex Jr. | Furniture Row Racing | Toyota | 325 | 39 |
| 6 | 16 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 325 | 39 |
| 7 | 1 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 325 | 43 |
| 8 | 7 | 41 | Kurt Busch | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 325 | 41 |
| 9 | 8 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 325 | 36 |
| 10 | 27 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 325 | 27 |
| 11 | 10 | 20 | Erik Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 325 | 26 |
| 12 | 26 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 325 | 25 |
| 13 | 11 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 325 | 33 |
| 14 | 25 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 324 | 23 |
| 15 | 4 | 19 | Daniel Suárez | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 324 | 23 |
| 16 | 6 | 17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 324 | 21 |
| 17 | 15 | 21 | Paul Menard | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 324 | 20 |
| 18 | 23 | 24 | William Byron (R) | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 323 | 19 |
| 19 | 13 | 1 | Jamie McMurray | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 323 | 18 |
| 20 | 18 | 88 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 322 | 17 |
| 21 | 14 | 95 | Kasey Kahne | Leavine Family Racing | Chevrolet | 322 | 16 |
| 22 | 2 | 31 | Ryan Newman | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 322 | 15 |
| 23 | 29 | 38 | David Ragan | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 321 | 14 |
| 24 | 17 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 321 | 13 |
| 25 | 24 | 37 | Chris Buescher | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 321 | 12 |
| 26 | 28 | 13 | Ty Dillon | Germain Racing | Chevrolet | 321 | 11 |
| 27 | 22 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 321 | 10 |
| 28 | 32 | 72 | Cole Whitt | TriStar Motorsports | Chevrolet | 320 | 9 |
| 29 | 21 | 47 | A. J. Allmendinger | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 320 | 8 |
| 30 | 34 | 15 | Ross Chastain (i) | Premium Motorsports | Chevrolet | 319 | 0 |
| 31 | 30 | 32 | Matt DiBenedetto | Go Fas Racing | Ford | 319 | 6 |
| 32 | 19 | 43 | Darrell Wallace Jr. (R) | Richard Petty Motorsports | Chevrolet | 319 | 5 |
| 33 | 36 | 51 | Harrison Rhodes | Rick Ware Racing | Chevrolet | 310 | 4 |
| 34 | 33 | 00 | Jeffrey Earnhardt | StarCom Racing | Chevrolet | 305 | 3 |
| 35 | 20 | 6 | Trevor Bayne | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 292 | 2 |
| 36 | 31 | 23 | Gray Gaulding | BK Racing | Toyota | 99 | 1 |
| Official race results ||||||||

### Race statistics

* 24 lead changes among 8 drivers
* 5 cautions for 28 laps
* Time of race: 3 hours, 29 minutes and 54 seconds
* Average speed: 143.071 miles per hour (230.250 km/h)
* Margin of victory: 2.690 seconds

## Media

### Television

The Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 was carried by Fox in the United States. Mike Joy, five-time Atlanta winner Jeff Gordon and three-time Atlanta winner Darrell Waltrip worked the race from the booth. Pit road was manned by Jamie Little, Vince Welch and Matt Yocum.

Fox :

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

### Radio

The race was broadcast on radio by the Performance Racing Network and simulcast on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio. Doug Rice, Mark Garrow and Wendy Venturini called the race from the booth when the field raced down the front stretch. Rob Albright called the race from atop a billboard outside of 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. On pit road, PRN was manned by Brad Gillie, Brett McMillan, Jim Noble and Doug Turnbull.

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 Doug Turnbull |

## Standings after the race

| | Pos | Driver | Points |
| - | - | - | - |
| 3 | 1 | Joey Logano | 89 |
| 1 | 2 | Ryan Blaney | 83 (–6) |
| 4 | 3 | Denny Hamlin | 77 (–12) |
| 15 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | 75 (–14) |
| 10 | 5 | Clint Bowyer | 74 (–15) |
| 4 | 6 | Austin Dillon | 70 (–19) |
| 5 | 7 | Martin Truex Jr. | 69 (–20) |
| 8 | 8 | Kurt Busch | 68 (–21) |
| 6 | 9 | Paul Menard | 66 (–23) |
| 2 | 10 | Aric Almirola | 66 (–23) |
| 10 | 11 | Kyle Busch | 61 (–28) |
| 20 | 12 | Brad Keselowski | 58 (–31) |
| 7 | 13 | Kyle Larson | 54 (–35) |
| 9 | 14 | Darrell Wallace Jr. | 52 (–37) |
| 9 | 15 | Michael McDowell | 52 (–37) |
| 5 | 16 | Ryan Newman | 49 (–40) |
| Official driver's standings ||||
| | Pos | Manufacturer | Points |
| 2 | 1 | Ford | 73 |
| 1 | 2 | Chevrolet | 68 (–5) |
| 1 | 3 | Toyota | 67 (–6) |
| Official manufacturers' standings ||||
