2018 Monster Energy NASCAR All-Star Race
The 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR All-Star Race (XXXIV) was a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series stock car exhibition race held on May 19, 2018 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina. Contested over 93 laps -- extended from 80 laps due to an overtime finish, it was the second exhibition race of the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season.
| Race details[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9] | |
|---|---|
| Date | May 19, 2018 |
| Location | Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina |
| Course | Permanent racing facility 1.5 mi (2.4 km) |
| Distance | Open: 50 laps, 75 mi (121 km) All-Star Race: 93 laps, 139.5 mi (224.5 km) |
| Avg Speed | Open: 98.720 mph (158.874 km/h) All-Star Race: 84.688 mph (136.292 km/h) |
| Monster Energy Open | |
| Pole | Aric Almirola (Stewart-Haas Racing) |
| Time | N/A |
| Winner (segment 1) | Alex Bowman (Hendrick Motorsports) |
| Winner (segment 2) | Daniel Suárez (Joe Gibbs Racing) |
| Winner (segment 3) | A. J. Allmendinger (JTG Daugherty Racing) |
| Fan Vote winners | Chase Elliott (Hendrick Motorsports) |
| Monster Energy NASCAR All-Star Race | |
| Pole | Matt Kenseth (Roush Fenway Racing) |
| Time | 127.644 |
| Most laps led | Kevin Harvick (Stewart-Haas Racing) |
| Laps led | 36 |
| Winner | Kevin Harvick (Stewart-Haas Racing) |
| Television | |
| Network | FS1 |
| Announcers | Mike Joy, Jeff Gordon and Darrell Waltrip |
| Nielsen ratings | 1.5 (Overnight)[10] |
| Radio | |
| Network | Motor Racing Network |
| Announcers | Joe Moore, Jeff Striegle and Rusty Wallace (Booth) Dave Moody (1 & 2) Kyle Rickey (3 & 4) (Turns) |
Report
Background
The All-Star Race was open to race winners from last season through the 2018 KC Masterpiece 400 at Kansas Speedway and all previous All-Star race winners and Monster Race NASCAR Cup champions who had attempted to qualify for every race in 2018 were eligible to compete in the All-Star Race.
Monster Energy Open
Monster Energy NASCAR All-Star Race
Monster Energy Open/All-Star practice
Kevin Harvick was the fastest in the Open/All-Star practice session with a time of 31.689 seconds and a speed of 170.406 mph (274.242 km/h).[11]
| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 31.689 | 170.406 |
| 2 | 41 | Kurt Busch | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 31.858 | 169.502 |
| 3 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 31.872 | 169.428 |
| Official Monster Energy Open/All-Star practice results | ||||||
Qualifying (Open)
Open qualifying for Friday was cancelled due to weather and Aric Almirola was awarded the pole as a result.
Starting Lineup (Open)
Qualifying (All-Star Race)
Matt Kenseth scored the pole for the race with a time of 127.644 and a speed of 126.915 mph (204.250 km/h).[12]
All-Star Race qualifying results
| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | Matt Kenseth | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 127.644 |
| 2 | 17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 128.137 |
| 3 | 14 | Clint Bowyer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 128.334 |
| 4 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 128.741 |
| 5 | 78 | Martin Truex Jr. | Furniture Row Racing | Toyota | 128.944 |
| 6 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 129.072 |
| 7 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 129.159 |
| 8 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 129.639 |
| 9 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 129.872 |
| 10 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 130.501 |
| 11 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 131.043 |
| 12 | 1 | Jamie McMurray | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 131.595 |
| 13 | 31 | Ryan Newman | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 133.850 |
| 14 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 135.866 |
| 15 | 41 | Kurt Busch | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 135.996 |
| 16 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 137.776 |
| 17 | 95 | Kasey Kahne | Leavine Family Racing | Chevrolet | 145.643 |
| Official All-Star qualifying results | |||||
Monster Energy Open
Monster Energy Open results
| Pos | Grid | No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 9 | 47 | A. J. Allmendinger | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 50 |
| 2 | 2 | 20 | Erik Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 50 |
| 3 | 4 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 50 |
| 4 | 5 | 21 | Paul Menard | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 50 |
| 5 | 11 | 37 | Chris Buescher | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 50 |
| 6 | 1 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 50 |
| 7 | 6 | 24 | William Byron (R) | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 50 |
| 8 | 14 | 13 | Ty Dillon | Germain Racing | Chevrolet | 50 |
| 9 | 10 | 38 | David Ragan | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 50 |
| 10 | 12 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 50 |
| 11 | 8 | 43 | Bubba Wallace (R) | Richard Petty Motorsports | Chevrolet | 50 |
| 12 | 13 | 32 | Matt DiBenedetto | Go Fas Racing | Ford | 50 |
| 13 | 17 | 00 | Landon Cassill | StarCom Racing | Chevrolet | 50 |
| 14 | 18 | 23 | Gray Gaulding | BK Racing | Toyota | 50 |
| 15 | 15 | 72 | Corey LaJoie | TriStar Motorsports | Chevrolet | 50 |
| 16 | 19 | 51 | B. J. McLeod (i) | Rick Ware Racing | Chevrolet | 50 |
| 17 | 16 | 15 | Ross Chastain (i) | Premium Motorsports | Chevrolet | 50 |
| 18 | 21 | 66 | Timmy Hill (i) | MBM Motorsports | Toyota | 50 |
| 19 | 20 | 55 | Reed Sorenson | Premium Motorsports | Chevrolet | 50 |
| 20 | 7 | 19 | Daniel Suárez | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 40a |
| 21 | 3 | 88 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 20b |
| ^a Winner of the second segment. ^b Winner of the first segment. | ||||||
| Monster Energy Open race results | ||||||
All-Star Race
All-Star Race results
| Pos | Grid | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 93 |
| 2 | 19 | 19 | Daniel Suárez | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 93 |
| 3 | 10 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 93 |
| 4 | 14 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 93 |
| 5 | 21 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 93 |
| 6 | 11 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 93 |
| 7 | 16 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 93 |
| 8 | 20 | 47 | A. J. Allmendinger | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 93 |
| 9 | 7 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 93 |
| 10 | 17 | 95 | Kasey Kahne | Leavine Family Racing | Chevrolet | 93 |
| 11 | 2 | 17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 93 |
| 12 | 9 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 93 |
| 13 | 12 | 1 | Jamie McMurray | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 93 |
| 14 | 1 | 6 | Matt Kenseth | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 93 |
| 15 | 6 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 93 |
| 16 | 13 | 31 | Ryan Newman | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 93 |
| 17 | 5 | 78 | Martin Truex Jr. | Furniture Row Racing | Toyota | 75 |
| 18 | 15 | 41 | Kurt Busch | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 74 |
| 19 | 3 | 14 | Clint Bowyer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 74 |
| 20 | 8 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 74 |
| 21 | 18 | 88 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 68 |
| Monster Energy NASCAR All-Star Race results | ||||||
Media
Television
Fox Sports was the television broadcaster of the race in the United States. Lap-by-lap announcer, Mike Joy, was accompanied on the broadcast by retired NASCAR drivers, Jeff Gordon and Darrell Waltrip. Jamie Little, Vince Welch, and Matt Yocum reported from pit lane.
| 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
Motor Racing Network (MRN) continued their longstanding relationship with the track to broadcast the race on radio. The lead announcers for the race's broadcast were Mike Bagley, Jeff Striegle and Rusty Wallace. The network also implemented two announcers on each side of the track: Dave Moody in turns 1 and 2 and Kyle Rickey in turns 3 and 4. Alex Hayden, Winston Kelly, Kim Coon, and Steve Post were the network's pit lane reporters. The network's broadcast was also simulcasted on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio.
| MRN Radio | ||
|---|---|---|
| Booth announcers | Turn announcers | Pit reporters |
| Lead announcer: Mike Bagley Announcer: Jeff Striegle Announcer: Rusty Wallace | Turns 1 & 2: Dave Moody Turns 3 & 4: Dillon Welch | Alex Hayden Winston Kelly Kim Coon Steve Post |
References
- "2018 schedule". Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. May 5, 2017. Archived from the original on December 24, 2017. Retrieved April 22, 2018.
- "Charlotte Motor Speedway". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. January 3, 2013. Retrieved April 23, 2018.
- "Open Entry List". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. May 14, 2018. Retrieved May 14, 2018.
- "All Star Race Entry List". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. May 14, 2018. Retrieved May 14, 2018.
- "Open Starting Lineup". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. May 18, 2018. Retrieved May 18, 2018.
- "Open/All-Star Practice Results". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. May 18, 2018. Retrieved May 18, 2018.
- "All-Star Qualifying Results". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. May 18, 2018. Retrieved May 18, 2018.
- "Monster Energy Open Results". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. May 19, 2018. Retrieved May 19, 2018.
- "Monster Energy NASCAR All Star Race Results". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. May 19, 2018. Retrieved May 19, 2018.
- "All-Star Race TV ratings". Jayski's Silly Season Site. ESPN. 20 May 2018. Retrieved 23 May 2018.
- Utter, Jim (May 18, 2018). "Kevin Harvick fastest in very short All-Star Race practice". Motorsport.com. Charlotte, North Carolina: Motorsport Network. Retrieved May 18, 2018.
- Reed, Steve (May 18, 2018). "He's back: Kenseth returns to capture pole for All-Star race". Associated Press. Charlotte, North Carolina: AP Sports. Associated Press. Archived from the original on May 19, 2018. Retrieved May 18, 2018.