2018 Coke Zero Sugar 400
Motor car race
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 2018 Coke Zero Sugar 400 was a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race held on July 7, 2018, at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. Contested over 168 laps – extended from 160 laps due to two overtime finish attempts – on the 2.5-mile (4.0-kilometre) superspeedway, it was the 18th race of the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season. Erik Jones scored his first NASCAR Cup Series win, taking the first win for Toyota and Joe Gibbs Racing in a July Daytona race since 2008.
Date
July 7, 2018
Location
Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida
Course
Permanent racing facility
Course length
2.5 miles (4.023 km)
| Race details[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 18 of 36 in the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series | |||
|
| |||
| Date | July 7, 2018 | ||
| Location | Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||
| Course length | 2.5 miles (4.023 km) | ||
| Distance | 168 laps, 420 mi (675.924 km) | ||
| Scheduled distance | 160 laps, 400 mi (643.738 km) | ||
| Average speed | 130.435 miles per hour (209.915 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Hendrick Motorsports | ||
| Time | 46.381 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Roush Fenway Racing | |
| Laps | 51 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 20 | Erik Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | NBC | ||
| Announcers |
Rick Allen, Jeff Burton and Dale Earnhardt Jr. (booth) Mike Tirico and Steve Letarte (NBC Peacock Pitbox) | ||
| Nielsen ratings | 2.7/2.72 (Overnight)[9] | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | MRN | ||
| Booth announcers | Joe Moore, Jeff Striegle and Rusty Wallace | ||
| Turn announcers | Dave Moody (1 & 2), Mike Bagley (Backstretch) and Kurt Becker (3 & 4) | ||
It was the first race in NASCAR Cup Series history to have two female pit members.[10]
Entry list
Practice
First practice
Clint Bowyer was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 44.821 seconds and a speed of 200.799 mph (323.155 km/h).[11]
| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 14 | Clint Bowyer | Stewart–Haas Racing | Ford | 44.821 | 200.799 |
| 2 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Stewart–Haas Racing | Ford | 44.845 | 200.691 |
| 3 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 44.876 | 200.553 |
| Official first practice results | ||||||
Final practice
Final practice session for Thursday was cancelled due to rain.
Qualifying
.jpg)
Chase Elliott scored the pole for the race with a time of 46.381 and a speed of 194.045 mph (312.285 km/h).[12]
Qualifying results
Race results
Stage results
Stage 1 Laps: 40
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 10 |
| 2 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 9 |
| 3 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 8 |
| 4 | 24 | William Byron (R) | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 7 |
| 5 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 6 |
| 6 | 41 | Kurt Busch | Stewart–Haas Racing | Ford | 5 |
| 7 | 31 | Ryan Newman | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 4 |
| 8 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 3 |
| 9 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 2 |
| 10 | 88 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 1 |
| Official stage one results | |||||
Stage 2 Laps: 40
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 10 |
| 2 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 9 |
| 3 | 88 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 8 |
| 4 | 95 | Kasey Kahne | Leavine Family Racing | Chevrolet | 7 |
| 5 | 13 | Ty Dillon | Germain Racing | Chevrolet | 6 |
| 6 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 5 |
| 7 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 4 |
| 8 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 3 |
| 9 | 6 | Trevor Bayne | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 2 |
| 10 | 31 | Ryan Newman | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 1 |
| Official stage two results | |||||
Final stage results
Stage 3 Laps: 80
| Pos | Grid | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Laps | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 29 | 20 | Erik Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 168 | 40 |
| 2 | 13 | 78 | Martin Truex Jr. | Furniture Row Racing | Toyota | 168 | 35 |
| 3 | 24 | 47 | A. J. Allmendinger | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 168 | 34 |
| 4 | 28 | 95 | Kasey Kahne | Leavine Family Racing | Chevrolet | 168 | 40 |
| 5 | 25 | 37 | Chris Buescher | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 168 | 32 |
| 6 | 19 | 13 | Ty Dillon | Germain Racing | Chevrolet | 168 | 37 |
| 7 | 31 | 32 | Matt DiBenedetto | Go Fas Racing | Ford | 168 | 30 |
| 8 | 7 | 31 | Ryan Newman | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 168 | 34 |
| 9 | 10 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 168 | 33 |
| 10 | 2 | 88 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 168 | 36 |
| 11 | 34 | 7 | Jeffrey Earnhardt | Premium Motorsports | Chevrolet | 168 | 26 |
| 12 | 16 | 62 | Brendan Gaughan | Beard Motorsports | Chevrolet | 168 | 25 |
| 13 | 35 | 96 | D. J. Kennington | Gaunt Brothers Racing | Toyota | 168 | 24 |
| 14 | 22 | 43 | Bubba Wallace (R) | Richard Petty Motorsports | Chevrolet | 167 | 23 |
| 15 | 21 | 38 | David Ragan | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 167 | 22 |
| 16 | 39 | 51 | Ray Black Jr. (i) | Rick Ware Racing | Chevrolet | 167 | 0 |
| 17 | 6 | 17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 167 | 40 |
| 18 | 40 | 23 | J. J. Yeley (i) | BK Racing | Toyota | 166 | 0 |
| 19 | 5 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart–Haas Racing | Ford | 162 | 18 |
| 20 | 20 | 6 | Trevor Bayne | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 162 | 19 |
| 21 | 33 | 15 | Ross Chastain (i) | Premium Motorsports | Chevrolet | 162 | 0 |
| 22 | 9 | 14 | Clint Bowyer | Stewart–Haas Racing | Ford | 162 | 15 |
| 23 | 4 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 162 | 19 |
| 24 | 37 | 99 | Landon Cassill | StarCom Racing | Chevrolet | 162 | 13 |
| 25 | 36 | 00 | Joey Gase (i) | StarCom Racing | Chevrolet | 161 | 0 |
| 26 | 8 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 155 | 20 |
| 27 | 26 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Stewart–Haas Racing | Ford | 155 | 10 |
| 28 | 30 | 21 | Paul Menard | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 152 | 9 |
| 29 | 14 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 123 | 20 |
| 30 | 27 | 1 | Jamie McMurray | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 68 | 7 |
| 31 | 38 | 72 | Corey LaJoie | TriStar Motorsports | Chevrolet | 65 | 6 |
| 32 | 18 | 24 | William Byron (R) | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 64 | 12 |
| 33 | 15 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 64 | 13 |
| 34 | 1 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 54 | 9 |
| 35 | 32 | 19 | Daniel Suárez | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 54 | 2 |
| 36 | 3 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 53 | 4 |
| 37 | 23 | 41 | Kurt Busch | Stewart–Haas Racing | Ford | 53 | 6 |
| 38 | 17 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 53 | 1 |
| 39 | 11 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 53 | 1 |
| 40 | 12 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 53 | 1 |
| Official race results | |||||||
Race statistics
- Lead changes: 25 among 16 different drivers
- Cautions/Laps: 10 for 46 laps
- Red flags: 1 for 5 minutes and 1 second
- Time of race: 3 hours, 13 minutes and 12 seconds
- Average speed: 130.435 miles per hour (209.915 km/h)
Media
Television
NBC Sports covered the race on the television side. Rick Allen, 2000 Coke Zero 400 winner Jeff Burton and two-time Coke Zero 400 winner Dale Earnhardt Jr. called the race from the broadcast booth, while Mike Tirico and Steve Letarte called from the NBC Peacock Pit Box on pit road. Dave Burns, Parker Kligerman, Marty Snider and Kelli Stavast reported from pit lane.
| NBC | |
|---|---|
| Booth announcers | Pit reporters |
| Lap-by-lap: Rick Allen Color commentator: Jeff Burton Color commentator: Dale Earnhardt Jr. NBC Peacock Pitbox: Mike Tirico NBC Peacock Pitbox: Steve Letarte | Dave Burns Parker Kligerman Marty Snider Kelli Stavast |
Radio
MRN had the radio call for the race which was also simulcast on SiriusXM's NASCAR Radio channel.
| MRN Radio | ||
|---|---|---|
| Booth announcers | Turn announcers | Pit reporters |
| Lead announcer: Joe Moore Announcer: Jeff Striegle Announcer: Rusty Wallace | Turns 1 & 2: Dave Moody Backstretch: Mike Bagley Turns 3 & 4: Kurt Becker | Alex Hayden Winston Kelley Kim Coon Steve Post |
Standings after the race
|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
