Monster Energy NASCAR Cup 2018

The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup 2018 season started on February 11, 2018 with the Daytona Speedweeks at Daytona International Speedway . The first race is the invitation race Advance Auto Parts Clash which was held on February 11, 2018, followed by the two Can-Am Duels . The duels are the qualifying races for the Daytona 500 , in which pole position and starting position 2 are determined.

The Daytona 500 , the first point race of the season, took place on February 18, 2018. The Chase for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup will begin on September 17, 2018 with the South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway . The season finale will be held on November 18th with the Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway .

All races take place in the United States . The races at Sonoma Raceway and Watkins Glen International are the only ones that are not held on oval courses .

Racing calendar

No.	date	run (Route)	winner	Second	Third	Pole position	Most lead laps	Overall leader
0x	February 11th	Advance Auto Parts Clash ( Daytona International Speedway )	Brad Keselowski ( Ford )	Joey Logano ( Ford )	Kurt Busch ( Ford )	Austin Dillon ( Chevrolet )	Brad Keselowski ( Ford )
0x	February 15th	Can-Am Duel 1 ( Daytona International Speedway )	Ryan Blaney ( Ford )	Joey Logano ( Ford )	Darrell Wallace Jr. ( Chevrolet )	Alex Bowman ( Chevrolet )	Joey Logano ( Ford )
0x	February 15th	Can-Am Duel 2 ( Daytona International Speedway )	Chase Elliott ( Chevrolet )	Kevin Harvick ( Ford )	Erik Jones ( Toyota )	Denny Hamlin ( Toyota )	Chase Elliott ( Chevrolet )
01	February 18	Daytona 500 ( Daytona International Speedway )	Austin Dillon ( Chevrolet )	Darrell Wallace Jr. ( Chevrolet )	Denny Hamlin ( Toyota )	Alex Bowman ( Chevrolet )	Ryan Blaney ( Ford )	Ryan Blaney ( Ford )
02	February 25	Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 ( Atlanta Motor Speedway )	Kevin Harvick ( Ford )	Brad Keselowski ( Ford )	Clint Bowyer ( Ford )	Kyle Busch ( Toyota )	Kevin Harvick ( Ford )	Joey Logano ( Ford )
03	04th of March	Pennzoil 400 presented by Jiffy Lube ( Las Vegas Motor Speedway )	Kevin Harvick ( Ford )	Kyle Busch ( Toyota )	Kyle Larson ( Chevrolet )	Ryan Blaney ( Ford )	Kevin Harvick ( Ford )	Kevin Harvick ( Ford )
04th	March 11	Guardian 500 Ticket ( Phoenix International Raceway )	Kevin Harvick ( Ford )	Kyle Busch ( Toyota )	Chase Elliott ( Chevrolet )	Martin Truex Jr. ( Toyota )	Kyle Busch ( Toyota )
05	March 18th	Auto Club 400 ( Auto Club Speedway )	Martin Truex Jr. ( Toyota )	Kyle Larson ( Chevrolet )	Kyle Busch ( Toyota )	Martin Truex Jr. ( Toyota )	Martin Truex Jr. ( Toyota )	Martin Truex Jr. ( Toyota )
06th	25th March	STP 500 ( Martinsville Speedway )	Clint Bowyer ( Ford )	Kyle Busch ( Toyota )	Ryan Blaney ( Ford )	Martin Truex Jr. ( Toyota )	Clint Bowyer ( Ford )	Kyle Busch ( Toyota )
07th	0April 8th	O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 ( Texas Motor Speedway )	Kyle Busch ( Toyota )	Kevin Harvick ( Ford )	Jamie McMurray ( Chevrolet )	Kurt Busch ( Ford )	Kyle Busch ( Toyota )
08th	April 15th	Food City 500 ( Bristol Motor Speedway )	Kyle Busch ( Toyota )	Kyle Larson ( Chevrolet )	Jimmie Johnson ( Chevrolet )	Kyle Busch ( Toyota )	Kyle Larson ( Chevrolet )
09	April 21	Toyota Owners 400 ( Richmond Raceway )	Kyle Busch ( Toyota )	Chase Elliott ( Chevrolet )	Denny Hamlin ( Toyota )	Martin Truex Jr. ( Toyota )	Martin Truex Jr. ( Toyota )
10	April 29	GEICO 500 ( Talladega Superspeedway )	Joey Logano ( Ford )	Kurt Busch ( Ford )	Chase Elliott ( Chevrolet )	Kevin Harvick ( Ford )	Joey Logano ( Ford )
11	0May 6th	AAA 400 Drive for Autism ( Dover International Speedway )	Kevin Harvick ( Ford )	Clint Bowyer ( Ford )	Daniel Suarez ( Toyota )	Kyle Larson ( Chevrolet )	Kevin Harvick ( Ford )
12	12th of May	Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Race at Kansas ( Kansas Speedway )	Kevin Harvick ( Ford )	Martin Truex Jr. ( Toyota )	Joey Logano ( Ford )	Kevin Harvick ( Ford )	Kyle Larson ( Chevrolet )
0x	May 19th	Sprint Showdown ( Charlotte Motor Speedway )	AJ Allmendinger ( Chevrolet )	Erik Jones ( Toyota )	Chase Elliott ( Chevrolet )	Aric Almirola ( Ford )	Daniel Suarez ( Toyota )
0x	May 19th	NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race ( Charlotte Motor Speedway )	Kevin Harvick ( Ford )	Daniel Suarez ( Toyota )	Joey Logano ( Ford )	Matt Kenseth ( Ford )	Kevin Harvick ( Ford )
13	May 27th	Coca-Cola 600 ( Charlotte Motor Speedway )	Kyle Busch ( Toyota )	Martin Truex Jr. ( Toyota )	Denny Hamlin ( Toyota )	Kyle Busch ( Toyota )	Kyle Busch ( Toyota )	Kyle Busch ( Toyota )
14th	03rd of June	Pocono 400 ( Pocono Raceway )	Martin Truex Jr. ( Toyota )	Kyle Larson ( Chevrolet )	Kyle Busch ( Toyota )	Ryan Blaney ( Ford )	Kevin Harvick ( Ford )
15th	June 10th	FireKeepers Casino 400 ( Michigan International Speedway )	Clint Bowyer ( Ford )	Kevin Harvick ( Ford )	Kurt Busch ( Ford )	Kurt Busch ( Ford )	Kevin Harvick ( Ford )
16	June 24th	Toyota / Save Mart 350 ( Sonoma Raceway )	Martin Truex Jr. ( Toyota )	Kevin Harvick ( Ford )	Clint Bowyer ( Ford )	Kyle Larson ( Chevrolet )	Martin Truex Jr. ( Toyota )
17th	0July 1	Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Race at Chicagoland ( Chicagoland Speedway )	Kyle Busch ( Toyota )	Kyle Larson ( Chevrolet )	Kevin Harvick ( Ford )	Paul Menard ( Ford )	Aric Almirola ( Ford )
18th	07th of July	Coke Zero 400 ( Daytona International Speedway )	Erik Jones ( Toyota )	Martin Truex Jr. ( Toyota )	AJ Allmendinger ( Chevrolet )	Chase Elliott ( Chevrolet )	Ricky Stenhouse junior ( Ford )
19th	July 14th	Quaker State 400 ( Kentucky Speedway )	Martin Truex Jr. ( Toyota )	Ryan Blaney ( Ford )	Brad Keselowski ( Ford )	Martin Truex Jr. ( Toyota )	Martin Truex Jr. ( Toyota )
20th	22nd of July	New Hampshire 301 ( New Hampshire Motor Speedway )	Kevin Harvick ( Ford )	Kyle Busch ( Toyota )	Aric Almirola ( Ford )	Kurt Busch ( Ford )	Kurt Busch ( Ford )
21st	29th of July	Overton's 400 ( Pocono Raceway )	Kyle Busch ( Toyota )	Daniel Suarez ( Toyota )	Alex Bowman ( Chevrolet )	Daniel Suarez ( Toyota )	Kyle Busch ( Toyota )
22nd	05th of August	Cheez-It 355 at The Glen ( Watkins Glen International )	Chase Elliott ( Chevrolet )	Martin Truex Jr. ( Toyota )	Kyle Busch ( Toyota )	Denny Hamlin ( Toyota )	Chase Elliott ( Chevrolet )
23	12. August	Pure Michigan 400 ( Michigan International Speedway )	Kevin Harvick ( Ford )	Brad Keselowski ( Ford )	Kyle Busch ( Toyota )	Denny Hamlin ( Toyota )	Kevin Harvick ( Ford )
24	18th of August	Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race ( Bristol Motor Speedway )	Kurt Busch ( Ford )	Kyle Larson ( Chevrolet )	Chase Elliott ( Chevrolet )	Kyle Larson ( Chevrolet )	Ryan Blaney ( Ford )
25th	0September 2nd	Bojangles' Southern 500 ( Darlington Raceway )	Brad Keselowski ( Ford )	Joey Logano ( Ford )	Kyle Larson ( Chevrolet )	Denny Hamlin ( Toyota )	Kyle Larson ( Chevrolet )
26th	0the 9th of September	Brickyard 400 ( Indianapolis Motor Speedway )	Brad Keselowski ( Ford )	Erik Jones ( Toyota )	Denny Hamlin ( Toyota )	Kyle Busch ( Toyota )	Denny Hamlin ( Toyota ) Clint Bowyer ( Ford )
Playoffs for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup
Round of 16
27	16th September	South Point 400 ( Las Vegas Motor Speedway )	Brad Keselowski ( Ford )	Kyle Larson ( Chevrolet )	Martin Truex Jr. ( Toyota )	Erik Jones ( Toyota )	Martin Truex Jr. ( Toyota )	Martin Truex Jr. ( Toyota )
28	September 22	Federated Auto Parts 400 ( Richmond Raceway )	Kyle Busch ( Toyota )	Kevin Harvick ( Ford )	Martin Truex Jr. ( Toyota )	Kevin Harvick ( Ford )	Martin Truex Jr. ( Toyota )
29	30. September	Bank of America 500 ( Charlotte Motor Speedway )	Ryan Blaney ( Ford )	Jamie McMurray ( Chevrolet )	Clint Bowyer ( Ford )	Kurt Busch ( Ford )	Kyle Larson ( Chevrolet )	Kyle Busch ( Toyota )
Round of 12
30th	0October 7th	Dover Fall Race ( Dover International Speedway )	Chase Elliott ( Chevrolet )	Denny Hamlin ( Toyota )	Joey Logano ( Ford )	Kyle Busch ( Toyota )	Kevin Harvick ( Ford )	Kevin Harvick ( Ford )
31	October 14th	Alabama 500 ( Talladega Superspeedway )	Aric Almirola ( Ford )	Clint Bowyer ( Ford )	Ricky Stenhouse junior ( Ford )	Kurt Busch ( Ford )	Kurt Busch ( Ford )
32	October 21	Hollywood Casino 400 ( Kansas Speedway )	Chase Elliott ( Chevrolet )	Kyle Busch ( Toyota )	Kyle Larson ( Chevrolet )	Joey Logano ( Ford )	Joey Logano ( Ford )	Kyle Busch ( Toyota )
Round of 8
33	28th of October	First Data 500 ( Martinsville Speedway )	Joey Logano ( Ford )	Denny Hamlin ( Toyota )	Martin Truex Jr. ( Toyota )	Kyle Busch ( Toyota )	Joey Logano ( Ford )	Kyle Busch ( Toyota )
34	0November 4th	AAA Texas 500 ( Texas Motor Speedway )	Kevin Harvick † ( Ford )	Ryan Blaney ( Ford )	Joey Logano ( Ford )	Ryan Blaney ( Ford )	Kevin Harvick ( Ford )
35	November 11th	Can-Am 500 ( Phoenix International Raceway )	Kyle Busch ( Toyota )	Brad Keselowski ( Ford )	Kyle Larson ( Chevrolet )	Kevin Harvick ( Ford )	Kyle Busch ( Toyota )	Joey Logano ( Ford )
Championship 4
36	November 18	Ford EcoBoost 400 ( Homestead )	Joey Logano ( Ford )	Martin Truex Jr. ( Toyota )	Kevin Harvick ( Ford )	Denny Hamlin ( Toyota )	Joey Logano ( Ford )	Joey Logano ( Ford )

Remarks

x = race in which no points are awarded † = penalty: victory denied

Background color	meaning
	Race on an oval course
	Race on a street circuit

Playoffs for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup

The Playoffs for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup consists of 10 races and is divided into 4 rounds.

A total of 16 riders take part in the first round, the Round of 16. It takes place on the following routes:

September 16, 2018 * Las Vegas Motor Speedway * Las Vegas, Nevada

September 22, 2018 * Richmond Raceway * Richmond, Virginia

September 30, 2018 * Charlotte Motor Speedway * Concord, North Carolina

In the second round, the Round of 12, the 12 best drivers from the first playoff round take part. It takes place on the following routes:

0October 7, 2018 * Dover International Speedway * Dover, Delaware

October 14, 2018 * Talladega Superspeedway * Talladega, Alabama

October 21, 2018 * Kansas Speedway * Kansas City, Kansas

In the third round, the Round of 8, the 8 best drivers from the second playoff round take part. It takes place on the following routes:

October 28, 2018 * Martinsville Speedway * Martinsville, Virginia

0November 4, 2018 * Texas Motor Speedway * Fort Worth, Texas

November 11, 2018 * Phoenix International Raceway * Avondale, Arizona

In the fourth round, Championship 4, the 4 best drivers from the third playoff round take part. The fourth lap consists of a race. The driver with the best placement in this race is the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Champion. It will be held on the following route:

November 18, 2018 * Homestead-Miami Speedway * Homestead, Florida

Playoffs for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup
Challenger Round	Contender Round	Eliminator Round	Championship Round	Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Champion 2018
Kyle Busch
Kevin Harvick
Martin Truex Jr.	Kyle Busch
Brad Keselowski	Kevin Harvick
Clint Bowyer	Martin Truex Jr.	Kyle Busch
Joey Logano	Brad Keselowski	Kevin Harvick
Kurt Busch	Clint Bowyer	Martin Truex Jr.	Joey Logano
Chase Elliott	Joey Logano	Chase Elliott	Kyle Busch	Joey Logano
Ryan Blaney	Kurt Busch	Clint Bowyer	Martin Truex Jr.
Erik Jones	Ryan Blaney	Joey Logano	Kevin Harvick
Austin Dillon	Chase Elliott	Kurt Busch
Kyle Larson	Kyle Larson	Aric Almirola
Denny Hamlin	Aric Almirola
Aric Almirola	Alex Bowman
Jimmie Johnson
Alex Bowman