# 2018 First Data 500

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The **2018 First Data 500** was a [Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series](/source/NASCAR_Cup_Series) [race](/source/Xfinity_500) held on October 28, 2018, at [Martinsville Speedway](/source/Martinsville_Speedway) in [Ridgeway, Virginia](/source/Ridgeway,_Virginia). Contested over 500 laps on the .526 mile (.847 km) short track (extended from 500 laps), it was the 33rd race of the [2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series](/source/2018_Monster_Energy_NASCAR_Cup_Series) season, seventh race of the Playoffs, and first race of the Round of 8.

## Report

### Background

**Martinsville Speedway** is an [International Speedway Corporation](/source/International_Speedway_Corporation)-owned [NASCAR](/source/NASCAR) stock car racing track located in [Ridgeway, Virginia](/source/Ridgeway,_Virginia). At 0.526 miles (0.847 km) in length, it is the shortest track in the NASCAR [Monster Energy Cup Series](/source/NASCAR_Cup_Series). The track is also one of the first paved [oval tracks](/source/Oval_track_racing) in NASCAR, being built in 1947 by [H. Clay Earles](/source/H._Clay_Earles). It is also the only race track that has been on the NASCAR circuit from its beginning in 1948. Along with this, Martinsville is the only NASCAR oval track on the entire NASCAR track circuit to have asphalt surfaces on the straightaways, then concrete to cover the turns.

#### Entry list

No. Driver Team Manufacturer 00 Joey Gase (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 Matt Kenseth Roush–Fenway Racing Ford 7 Hermie Sadler 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 Bubba Wallace (R) Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet 47 A. J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 51 Jeb Burton (i) Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet 66 Timmy Hill (i) MBM Motorsports Toyota 72 Cole Whitt 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 D. J. Kennington (i) Gaunt Brothers Racing Toyota 99 Landon Cassill (i) StarCom Racing Chevrolet Official entry list

## Practice

### First practice

[Brad Keselowski](/source/Brad_Keselowski) was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 19.784 seconds and a speed of 95.714 mph (154.037 km/h).[11]

Pos No. Driver Team Manufacturer Time Speed 1 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 19.784 95.714 2 41 Kurt Busch Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 19.798 95.646 3 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 19.809 95.593 Official first practice results

### Final practice

[Ryan Newman](/source/Ryan_Newman_(racing_driver)) was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 19.785 seconds and a speed of 95.709 mph (154.029 km/h).[12]

Pos No. Driver Team Manufacturer Time Speed 1 31 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 19.785 95.709 2 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 19.951 94.913 3 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 19.978 94.784 Official final practice results

## Qualifying

[Kyle Busch](/source/Kyle_Busch) scored the pole for the race with a time of 19.673 and a speed of 96.254 mph (154.906 km/h).[13]

### Qualifying results

Pos No. Driver Team Manufacturer R1 R2 R3 1 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 19.795 19.711 19.673 2 14 Clint Bowyer Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 19.694 19.716 19.700 3 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 19.738 19.715 19.702 4 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 19.660 19.761 19.706 5 10 Aric Almirola Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 19.717 19.722 19.713 6 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Toyota 19.858 19.751 19.739 7 41 Kurt Busch Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 19.719 19.692 19.692 8 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 19.831 19.780 19.770 9 19 Daniel Suárez Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 19.792 19.731 19.786 10 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 19.763 19.741 19.806 11 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 19.730 19.802 19.825 12 24 William Byron (R) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 19.836 19.762 19.877 13 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 19.836 19.822 — 14 38 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 19.796 19.796 — 15 37 Chris Buescher JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 19.795 19.795 — 16 88 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 19.863 19.842 — 17 47 A. J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 19.756 19.756 — 18 31 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 19.763 19.763 — 19 1 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 19.740 19.740 — 20 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush–Fenway Racing Ford 19.832 19.832 — 21 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 19.891 19.891 — 22 34 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 19.879 19.879 — 23 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 19.881 19.881 — 24 20 Erik Jones Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 19.802 19.802 — 25 15 Ross Chastain (i) Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 19.898 — — 26 13 Ty Dillon Germain Racing Chevrolet 19.905 — — 27 6 Matt Kenseth Roush–Fenway Racing Ford 19.913 — — 28 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 19.916 — — 29 32 Matt DiBenedetto Go Fas Racing Ford 19.918 — — 30 95 Regan Smith Leavine Family Racing Chevrolet 19.941 — — 31 72 Cole Whitt TriStar Motorsports Chevrolet 20.057 — — 32 43 Bubba Wallace (R) Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet 20.062 — — 33 96 D. J. Kennington (i) Gaunt Brothers Racing Toyota 20.162 — — 34 23 J. J. Yeley (i) BK Racing Toyota 20.205 — — 35 00 Joey Gase (i) StarCom Racing Chevrolet 20.342 — — 36 51 Jeb Burton (i) Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet 20.388 — — 37 66 Timmy Hill (i) MBM Motorsports Toyota 20.432 — — 38 7 Hermie Sadler Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 20.472 — — 39 21 Paul Menard Wood Brothers Racing Ford 21.040 — — 40 99 Landon Cassill (i) StarCom Racing Chevrolet 0.000 — — Official qualifying results

## Race

### Stage Results

**Stage 1** *Laps:* 130

Pos No Driver Team Manufacturer Points 1 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 10 2 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 9 3 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 8 4 14 Clint Bowyer Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 7 5 41 Kurt Busch Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 6 6 31 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 5 7 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Toyota 4 8 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 3 9 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 2 10 10 Aric Almirola Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 1 Official stage one results

**Stage 2** *Laps:* 130

Pos No Driver Team Manufacturer Points 1 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 10 2 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 9 3 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 8 4 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Toyota 7 5 41 Kurt Busch Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 6 6 31 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 5 7 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 4 8 14 Clint Bowyer Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 3 9 47 A. J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 2 10 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 1 Official stage two results

### Final Stage Results

**Stage 3** *Laps:* 240

Pos Grid No Driver Team Manufacturer Laps Points 1 11 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 500 59 2 3 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 500 54 3 6 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Toyota 500 45 4 1 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 500 49 5 8 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 500 33 6 7 41 Kurt Busch Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 500 43 7 21 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 500 34 8 18 31 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 500 39 9 9 19 Daniel Suárez Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 500 28 10 13 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 500 29 11 5 10 Aric Almirola Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 500 27 12 23 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 500 25 13 15 37 Chris Buescher JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 500 24 14 17 47 A. J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 500 25 15 26 13 Ty Dillon Germain Racing Chevrolet 500 22 16 19 1 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 500 21 17 16 88 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 500 20 18 14 38 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 500 19 19 20 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush–Fenway Racing Ford 500 18 20 4 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 500 20 21 2 14 Clint Bowyer Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 499 26 22 39 21 Paul Menard Wood Brothers Racing Ford 499 15 23 27 6 Matt Kenseth Roush–Fenway Racing Ford 499 14 24 31 72 Cole Whitt TriStar Motorsports Chevrolet 498 13 25 22 34 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 497 12 26 24 20 Erik Jones Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 494 11 27 33 96 D. J. Kennington (i) Gaunt Brothers Racing Toyota 493 0 28 30 95 Regan Smith Leavine Family Racing Chevrolet 492 9 29 25 15 Ross Chastain (i) Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 492 0 30 28 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 491 7 31 34 23 J. J. Yeley (i) BK Racing Toyota 491 0 32 40 99 Landon Cassill (i) StarCom Racing Chevrolet 490 0 33 36 51 Jeb Burton (i) Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet 489 0 34 32 43 Bubba Wallace (R) Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet 488 3 35 35 00 Joey Gase (i) StarCom Racing Chevrolet 467 0 36 29 32 Matt DiBenedetto Go Fas Racing Ford 451 1 37 10 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 393 1 38 37 66 Timmy Hill (i) MBM Motorsports Toyota 368 0 39 12 24 William Byron (R) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 364 1 40 38 7 Hermie Sadler Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 230 1 Official race results

### Race statistics

- Lead changes: 6 among different drivers
- Cautions/Laps: 8 for 68
- Red flags: 0
- Time of race: 3 hours, 29 minutes and 32 seconds
- Average speed: 75.310 miles per hour (121.200 km/h)

## Media

### Television

[NBC Sports](/source/NASCAR_on_NBC) covered the race on the television side. [Rick Allen](/source/Rick_Allen_(sportscaster)), 1997 race winner [Jeff Burton](/source/Jeff_Burton), [Steve Letarte](/source/Steve_Letarte) and 2014 race winner [Dale Earnhardt Jr.](/source/Dale_Earnhardt_Jr.) had the call in the booth for the race. [Dave Burns](/source/Dave_Burns_(sportscaster)), [Parker Kligerman](/source/Parker_Kligerman), Marty Snider and [Kelli Stavast](/source/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 Parker Kligerman Marty Snider Kelli Stavast

### Radio

[MRN](/source/Motor_Racing_Network) covered the radio call for the race, which was simulcast on [SiriusXM](/source/SiriusXM) NASCAR Radio.

MRN Booth announcers Turn announcers Pit reporters Lead announcer: Joe Moore Announcer: Jeff Striegle Announcer: Rusty Wallace Backstretch: Dave Moody Alex Hayden Winston Kelley Steve Post Kim Coon

## Standings after the race

Pos Driver Points 1 Kyle Busch 4,104 1 2 Martin Truex Jr. 4,083 (–21) 1 3 Kevin Harvick 4,083 (–21) 2 4 Joey Logano 4,074 (–30) 2 5 Kurt Busch 4,058 (–46) 2 6 Chase Elliott 4,052 (–52) 2 7 Clint Bowyer 4,041 (–63) 8 Aric Almirola 4,033 (–71) 9 Ryan Blaney 2,232 (–1,872) 10 Brad Keselowski 2,227 (–1,877) 1 11 Denny Hamlin 2,213 (–1,891) 1 12 Kyle Larson 2,179 (–1,925) 2 13 Jimmie Johnson 2,173 (–1,931) 2 14 Alex Bowman 2,164 (–1,940) 1 15 Erik Jones 2,159 (–1,949) 3 16 Austin Dillon 2,157 (–1,947) Official driver's standings

**Manufacturers' Championship standings**

Pos Manufacturer Points 1 Ford 1,195 2 Toyota 1,178 (–17) 3 Chevrolet 1,091 (–104) Official manufacturers' standings

- **Note**: Only the first 16 positions are included for the driver standings.

## References

1. ["2018 schedule"](https://web.archive.org/web/20171224004109/http://www.jayski.com/news/pages/story/_/page/2018-NASCAR-Cup-Schedule). *Jayski.com*. [Jayski's Silly Season Site](/source/Jayski's_Silly_Season_Site). May 5, 2017. Archived from [the original](https://www.jayski.com/news/pages/story/_/page/2018-NASCAR-Cup-Schedule) on December 24, 2017. Retrieved September 17, 2018.

1. ["Martinsville Speedway"](https://web.archive.org/web/20170425205616/https://www.nascar.com/en_us/nascar-tracks/martinsville-speedway.html). *NASCAR.com*. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. January 3, 2013. Archived from [the original](https://www.nascar.com/en_us/nascar-tracks/martinsville-speedway.html) on April 25, 2017. Retrieved September 17, 2018.

1. ["Entry List"](https://www.mrn.com/2018/10/23/first-data-500-entry-list/). *MRN.com*. [Motor Racing Network](/source/Motor_Racing_Network). October 23, 2018. Retrieved October 23, 2018.

1. ["First Practice Results"](https://www.mrn.com/2018/10/27/first-data-500-first-practice-speeds/). *MRN.com*. [Motor Racing Network](/source/Motor_Racing_Network). October 27, 2018. Retrieved October 27, 2018.

1. ["Final Practice Results"](https://www.mrn.com/2018/10/27/first-data-500-final-practice-speeds/). *MRN.com*. [Motor Racing Network](/source/Motor_Racing_Network). October 27, 2018. Retrieved October 27, 2018.

1. ["Starting Lineup"](https://www.mrn.com/2018/10/27/first-data-500-lineup/). *MRN.com*. [Motor Racing Network](/source/Motor_Racing_Network). October 27, 2018. Retrieved October 27, 2018.

1. ["First Data 500 Results"](https://www.mrn.com/2018/10/28/first-data-500-results-martinsville/). *MRN.com*. [Motor Racing Network](/source/Motor_Racing_Network). October 28, 2018. Retrieved October 28, 2018.

1. ["Points standings"](https://web.archive.org/web/20181123115004/http://www.jayski.com/stats/2018/pdfs/33mar2018racereport.pdf). *Jayski.com*. [Jayski's Silly Season Site](/source/Jayski's_Silly_Season_Site). October 29, 2018. Archived from [the original](http://www.jayski.com/stats/2018/pdfs/33mar2018racereport.pdf) on November 23, 2018. Retrieved October 29, 2018.

1. ["Manufacturer standings"](https://web.archive.org/web/20181123115004/http://www.jayski.com/stats/2018/pdfs/33mar2018racereport.pdf). *Jayski.com*. [Jayski's Silly Season Site](/source/Jayski's_Silly_Season_Site). October 29, 2018. Archived from [the original](http://www.jayski.com/stats/2018/pdfs/33mar2018racereport.pdf) on November 23, 2018. Retrieved October 29, 2018.

1. ["Martinsville final TV ratings"](http://www.espn.com/jayski/cup/2018/story/_/id/25119301/martinsville-tv-ratings). *[Jayski's Silly Season Site](/source/Jayski's_Silly_Season_Site)*. [ESPN](/source/ESPN). Retrieved 20 November 2018.

1. Utter, Jim (October 27, 2018). ["Brad Keselowski tops two playoffs drivers in Saturday's first practice"](https://www.motorsport.com/us/nascar-cup/news/nascar-brad-keselowski-leads-practice/3203657/). *[Motorsport.com](/source/Motorsport.com)*. [Ridgeway, Virginia](/source/Ridgeway,_Virginia): [Motorsport Network](/source/Motorsport_Network). Retrieved October 27, 2018.

1. Utter, Jim (October 27, 2018). ["Ryan Newman fastest in final practice at Martinsville"](https://www.motorsport.com/us/nascar-cup/news/ryan-newman-fastest-in-saturdays-final-practice-at-martinsville/3203787/). *[Motorsport.com](/source/Motorsport.com)*. [Ridgeway, Virginia](/source/Ridgeway,_Virginia): [Motorsport Network](/source/Motorsport_Network). Retrieved October 27, 2018.

1. ["Kyle Busch to lead next round of NASCAR's playoffs"](https://web.archive.org/web/20181028073736/https://racing.ap.org/article/kyle-busch-lead-next-round-nascars-playoffs). *Associated Press*. [Ridgeway, Virginia](/source/Ridgeway,_Virginia): AP Sports. [Associated Press](/source/Associated_Press). October 27, 2018. Archived from [the original](https://racing.ap.org/article/kyle-busch-lead-next-round-nascars-playoffs) on October 28, 2018. Retrieved October 27, 2018.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [2018 First Data 500](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_First_Data_500) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_First_Data_500?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.