2018 AAA Texas 500


The 2018 AAA Texas 500 was a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series AAA [Texas 500|race] that was held on November 4, 2018, at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas. Contested over 337 laps – extended from 334 laps due to an overtime finish – on the intermediate quad-oval, it was the 34th race of the 2018 [Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series] season, the eighth race of the Playoffs, and the second race of the Round of 8.
Leading 177 laps during the race, Stewart-Haas Racing driver Kevin Harvick took his 8th victory of the season, which was initially thought to advance him to the Championship 4. However, Harvick's car was found to have a non-conforming spoiler during post-race technical checks, and as a result, lost his automatic qualification to the Championship 4.

Report

Background

Texas Motor Speedway is a speedway located in the northernmost portion of the U.S. city of Fort Worth, Texas – the portion located in Denton County, Texas. The track measures around and is banked 24 degrees in the turns, and is of the oval design, where the front straightaway juts outward slightly. The track layout is similar to Atlanta Motor Speedway and Charlotte Motor Speedway. The track is owned by Speedway Motorsports, Inc., the same company that owns Atlanta and Charlotte Motor Speedways, as well as the short-track Bristol Motor Speedway.

Entry list


First practice

was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 27.139 seconds and a speed of.

Qualifying

scored the pole for the race with a time of 26.932 and a speed of.

Practice (post-qualifying)

Second practice

was the fastest in the second practice session with a time of 27.856 seconds and a speed of.

Final practice

was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 28.074 seconds and a speed of.

Race

Stage results

Stage 1
Laps: 85
Stage 2
Laps: 85

Final stage results

Stage 3
Laps: 164

Race statistics

  • Lead changes: 16 among 7 different drivers
  • Cautions/Laps: 8 for 37 laps
  • Red flags: 0
  • Time of race: 3 hours, 21 minutes and 27 seconds
  • Average speed:

Media

Television

covered the race on the television side. Rick Allen, two-time Texas winner Jeff Burton, Steve Letarte and 2000 Texas winner Dale Earnhardt Jr. called the race from the broadcast booth, while Dave [Burns (sportscaster)|Dave Burns], Marty Snider and Kelli Stavast reported from pit lane.

Radio

had the radio call for the race, which was simulcast on SiriusXM's NASCAR Radio channel.

Standings after the race

;Manufacturers' Championship standings
  • Note: Only the first 16 positions are included for the driver standings.