2018 Pennzoil 400


The 2018 Pennzoil 400 was a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race held on March 4, 2018, at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Las Vegas. Contested over 267 laps on the asphalt intermediate speedway, it was the third race of the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season.

First practice

Kyle Larson was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 28.323 seconds and a speed of.

Qualifying

Ryan Blaney scored the pole for the race with a time of 28.200 and a speed of.

Practice (post-qualifying)

Second practice

Kyle Larson was the fastest in the second practice session with a time of 28.791 seconds and a speed of.

Final practice

Ryan Blaney was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 28.963 seconds and a speed of.

Race result

Stage Results

Stage 1
Laps: 80
Stage 2
Laps: 80

Final Stage Results

Stage 3
Laps: 107

Race statistics

  • 11 lead changes among 6 different drivers
  • 4 cautions for 29 laps
  • Time of race: 2 hours, 49 minutes and 31 seconds
  • Average speed:
  • Margin of victory: 2.906 seconds

Media

Television

Fox Sports covered their 18th race at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Mike Joy, 2001 race winner Jeff Gordon and Darrell Waltrip called from the booth for the race. Jamie Little, Vince Welch and Matt Yocum handled the pit road duties for the television side.

Radio

PRN covered the radio call for the race which was also simulcasted on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio. Doug Rice, Mark Garrow and Wendy Venturini called the race in the booth when the field raced through the tri-oval. Rob Albright called the race from a billboard in turn 2 when the field raced through turns 1 and 2. Pat Patterson called the race from a billboard outside of turn 3 when the field raced through turns 3 and 4. Brad Gillie, Brett McMillan, Jim Noble and Steve Richards worked pit road for the radio side.

Penalties

On March 7, 2018, NASCAR assessed the Stewart–Haas Racing No. 4 Ford an L1 penalty for violating sections 20.4.8.1 and 20.4.18. A brace that supports the rear window failed and did not meet specifications for keeping the rear window glass rigid in all directions, at all times. Additionally, the rocker panel extension was not aluminum. The team would be docked 20 driver and owner points, the win would not count toward playoffs, crew chief Rodney Childers was fined $50,000 and car chief Robert Smith would be suspended for the next two races.
Additionally, the No. 55 team was penalized for a loose lug nut during inspection and crew chief Todd Parrott was fined $10,000.

Standings after the race

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