2018 Gander Outdoors 400


The 2018 Gander Outdoors 400 was a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race held on July 29, 2018, at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. Contested over 164 laps – extended from 160 laps due to an overtime finish – on the superspeedway, it was the 21st race of the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season.
Leading a race-high 52 laps, Joe Gibbs Racing driver Kyle Busch took his 6th victory of the season, leading home teammate and polesitter Daniel Suárez in a 1–2 finish.

Report

Background

Pocono Raceway is a superspeedway that is located in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania in Long Pond. It has also hosted races in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, the ARCA Menards Series and the IndyCar Series.
Pocono is one of a very few NASCAR tracks that is not owned by either Speedway Motorsports, Inc. or International Speedway Corporation, the dominant track owners in NASCAR. It is run by the Igdalsky siblings Brandon and Nicholas, both of whom are third-generation members of the family-owned Mattco Inc., started by Joseph II and Rose Mattioli. Mattco also owns South Boston Speedway in South Boston, Virginia.
In addition to NASCAR races, Pocono is used throughout the year by the Sports Car Club of America and motorcycle clubs as well as racing schools.
The triangular oval also has three separate infield sections of racetrack – North Course, East Course and South Course. Each of these infield sections use a separate portion of the tri-oval to complete the track. During regular non-race weekends, multiple clubs can use the track by running on different infield sections. Several of the infield sections can also be run in either direction, or multiple infield sections can be put together, running the North Course and the South Course and using the tri-oval to connect the two.

Practice

First practice

Kevin Harvick was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 51.439 seconds and a speed of.

Final practice

Joey Logano was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 51.029 seconds and a speed of.

Qualifying

Daniel Suárez scored the pole for the race with a time of 50.851 and a speed of after Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch were both disqualified after failing post-qualifying inspection.

Race

Stage results

Stage 1
Laps: 50
Stage 2
Laps: 50

Final stage results

Stage 3
Laps: 60

Race statistics

  • Lead changes: 13 among 10 different drivers
  • Cautions/Laps: 7 for 29 laps
  • Red flags: 1 for 10 minutes and 10 seconds
  • Time of race: 3 hours, 5 minutes and 43 seconds
  • Average speed:

Media

Television

NBC Sports covered the race on the television side. Rick Allen, Jeff Burton, Steve Letarte and two-time Pocono winner Dale Earnhardt Jr. called the race from the broadcast booth, while Dave Burns, Marty Snider and Kelli Stavast reported from pit lane.

Radio

Motor Racing Network had the radio call for the race, which was simulcast on Sirius XM's NASCAR Radio channel.

Standings after the race

;Drivers' Championship standings
;Manufacturers' Championship standings