The Monster Energy Cup Series caps off the 2018 racing season and an exciting Championship weekend with the Ford EcoBoost 400. The Championship Four – Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick, Joey Logano, and Martin Truex Jr – will battle it out for the title of 2018 Champion.
After three rounds of qualifying with a time of 31.05 seconds around the track, Denny Hamlin takes the pole and will lead the field to the green flag.
The starting lineup for the Ford EcoBoost 400:
Denny Hamlin
Kyle Busch
Martin Truex Jr
Brad Keselowski
Joey Logano
Kurt Busch
Erik Jones
Ryan Newman
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
Aric Almirola
Kyle Larson
Kevin Harvick
Alex Bowman
Chase Elliott
Ran Blaney
Austin Dillon
Matt Kenseth
Daniel Suarez
Jimmie Johnson
AJ Allmendinger
Jamie McMurray
Paul Menard
Bubba Wallace
Michael McDowell
David Ragan
Clint Bowyer
Chris Buescher
William Byron
Matt DiBenedetto
Regan Smith
Ty Dillon
Landon Cassill
J.J. Yeley
Corey Lajoie
Kyle Weatherman
BJ McLeod
Tanner Berryhill
Timmy Hill
Ross Chastain – did not make a qualifying run
Stages one and two of the race are 80 laps each with stage three lasting 107 laps for a total of 267 laps around the mile and a half track.
As a part of the pre-race ceremonies the sky divers scheduled to land in the grass, ended up in the fence on this windy Sunday afternoon and delays the start of the race.
After a rousing command to start the engines, the engines are fired for the final time in 2018 and the cars get moving as they prepare to run the final race.
Alex Bowman starts the race not feeling well and has Xfinity Series driver Justin Allgaier on standby in case he cannot complete the race. The drivers cannot complete any of the stages without making a pit stop for fuel.
On the pace laps, Regan Smith gets black flagged for dropping oil on the track and has to bring his car down pit road for unscheduled repairs.
Pole sitter Denny Hamlin brings the field down for the green flag start of the race and edges out in front of Kyle Busch to take the lead of the race.
As with the end of every season, pit road is filled with stories of drivers and team members moving on, retiring, and even shutting down. Along with the tension of running and crewing the perfect race, there is the high emotions of change.
Lap three, Denny Hamlin is in the lead with Kyle Busch in second and Joey Logano in third; Brad Keselowski and Martin Truex Jr round out the top five.
Only five laps into the race and Kyle Larson has already moved up to the top of the track to run along the wall.
Lap eight, Denny Hamlin has a one second lead on Kyle Busch with Joey Logano nearly two seconds back.
Lap 10, half of the drivers are running along the bottom of the track, while the other half has already moved up to the top line.
Lap eleven, Denny Hamlin continues to lead the race with Kyle Busch, Joey Logano, Brad Keselowski, and Martin Truex Jr rounding out the top five.
Race leader Denny Hamlin has pulled out to a lead of nearly three seconds on Kyle Busch and is hoping for a big birthday present by winning the race.
Brad Keselowski makes contact with Kyle Weatherman but the track stays green.
Lap 20, Denny Hamlin now has a three second lead on Kyle Busch; joey Logano, martin Truex jr, and Brad Keselowski round out the top five.
Lap 23, there are 32 cars on the lead lap.
The top five are Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch, Joey Logano, Kevin Harvick, and Martin Truex Jr.
Regan Smith returns to the track 26 laps down after making repairs for leaking oil.
Lap 32, Denny Hamlin continues to lead the race and is three seconds ahead of Kyle Busch; Joey Logano, Kevin Harvick, and Martin Truex Jr round out the top five.
Lap 34, Denny Hamlin dominates the lead with Kyle Busch in second, but Kevin Harvick is moving through the field and is now in third place with Joey Logano in fourth and Martin Truex Jr in fifth.
Lap 36, Kyle Larson is the first driver to make a green flag pit stop. Riding the top of the track, Kyle Larson was running some of the fastest speeds on the track before making his pit stop.
Other drivers are beginning to make their green flag pit stops; including the championship four.
With Denny Hamlin making his pit stop, Martin Truex Jr takes over the lead of the race.
Martin Truex Jr makes his pit stop and give the lead over to Michael McDowell.
After pit stops cycle through, Denny Hamlin resumes the lead of the race.
Lap 43, Kevin Harvick passes Denny Hamlin to take the lead of the race and is pulling away from the field.
The top five are Kevin Harvick, Denny Hamlin over two seconds back, Kyle Busch, Joey Logano, and Kyle Larson. Martin Truex Jr is in ninth place.
Lap 50, there are 23 cars on the lead lap.
Lap 53, Kevin Harvick has a lead of over two seconds on Denny Hamlin with Kyle Busch in third nearly three seconds back.
Lap 55, Kevin Harvick leads with Denny Hamlin in second; Kyle Busch, Joey Logano and Kyle Larson round out the top five.
Lap 58, Kevin Harvick leads by nearly three seconds on Denny Hamlin with Kyle Busch in third.
Denny Hamlin and Jimmie Johns have consecutive win records on the line for winning at least one race several years in a row. Neither driver has won a race this season.
Lap 65, Kevin Harvick leads with Kyle Busch in second and Joey Logano in third but Rim riding Kyle Larson is coming on hard.
Lap 67, the top five are Kevin Harvick by over four seconds, Kyle Busch, Kyle Larson, Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin.
Lap 69, there are only 18 cars on the lead lap.
Lap 70, Kyle passes Kyle as Kyle Larson is running speeds faster than leader Kevin Harvick.
Lap 71, Kevin Harvick is in the lead but the gap back to second place Kyle Larson down to less than four seconds with Kyle Busch in third and Joey Logano in fourth. Martin Truex Jr is in sixth place.
Lap 74, Kyle Larson has closed the gap on leader Kevin Harvick to less than three seconds.
Lap 77, Kevin Harvick is just over two seconds ahead of Kyle Larson with Kyle Busch in third; Joey Logano and Martin Truex Jr round out the top five.
Kevin Harvick wins stage one.
The top 10 at the end of stage one:
Kevin Harvick
Kyle Larson
Kyle Busch
Joey Logano
Martin Truex Jr
Denny Hamlin
Aric Almirola
Erik Jones
Brad Keselowski
Kurt Busch
Kevin Harvick wins the race off of pit road but Kyle Busch loses six spots and falls to ninth place.
Kevin Harvick brings the field down for the green flag start of stage two on lap 87 but it is Kyle Larson who gets out in front for the lead.
The top five are Kyle Larson, Joey Logano Kevin Harvick, Kurt Busch, and Martin Truex Jr.
Lap 90, Kyle Larson has a lead of only two tenths of a second on Joey Logano; Kevin Harvick, Kurt Busch, and Martin Truex Jr round out the top five.
Joey Logano challenges Kyle Larson for the lead. Kevin Harvick joins the battle as Joey Logano gets out in front for the lead with Harvick and Larson side by side.
Kevin Harvick gets around Kyle Larson to take second place.
Lap 93, the top five are Joey Logano Kevin Harvick Kyle Larson.
Kyle Larson passes Kevin Harvick to take second place with Joey Logano out in front for the lead. There are 19 cars on the lead lap.
Lap 98, Joey Logano is out in front with Kyle Larson less than a second back in second.
Lap 102, Kyle Larson has once again found his way to the top of the track and is less than half a second behind lead Joey Logano.
Lap 104, Kyle Larson gets around Joey Logano for the lead; Kevin Harvick is in third.
Lap 107, Kyle Larson leads the race with Kevin Harvick now in second place and Joey Logano in third.
Lap 109, the top five are Kyle Larson, Kevin Harvick, Joey Logano, Martin Truex Jr, and Aric Almirola.
Lap 116, Kyle Larson has a lead of nearly two seconds on Kevin Harvick with Martin Truex Jr, Joey Logano, and Aric Almirola rounding out the top five. All 39 cars are still on the track.
Lap 119, Kyle Larson is the first driver to make a green flag pit stop and gives the lead over to Kevin Harvick.
Lap 121 Kevin Harvick makes his pit stop and gives the lead over to Martin Truex Jr.
Denny Hamlin is the new leader when Martin Truex Jr makes his pit stop.
Once green flag pit stops have cycled through, Kyle Larson resumes the lead of the race.
Lap 128, the top five are Kyle Larson, Kevin Harvick, Martin Truex Jr, Joey Logano, and Aric Almirola. Kyle Busch is in seventh place.
Lap 130, Kyle Larson has a lead of nearly four seconds on Kevin Harvick with 18 cars on the lead lap.
Lap 134, Kyle Larson continues to lead the race riding up along the wall with Kevin Harvick, Martin Truex Jr, Joey Logano, and Aric Almirola rounding out the top five.
Lap 138,the top five are Kyle Larson, Kevin Harvick, Martin Truex Jr, Joey Logano, and Aric Almirola with Kyle Busch in sixth place.
For the first time all weekend the first caution flag of the race for an on track incident comes out on lap 140 for debris on the field after Erik Jones gets into the wall.
Leaders bring their cars down pit road for fresh tires and service.
Kyle Larson wins the race off of pit road with Kevin Harvick in second.
Kyle Larson brings the field down for the green flag restart on lap 145 and jumps out in front for the lead from the inside lane.
The top five are Kyle Larson, Kevin Harvick, Joey Logano, Kyle Busch, and Martin Truex Jr.
As night approaches, the lights have come on around the track.
Lap 147, Kevin Harvick goes nose to nose with Kyle Larson before passing for the lead of the race.
Only 10 laps remain in stage two; the championship four are all in the top five with Kyle Larson in second.
Lap 151, Kevin Harvick has pulled out to a lead of over half a second on Kyle Larson.
Martin Truex Jr gets around Kyle Busch to take over fourth.
The top five are Kevin Harvick, Kyle Larson, Joey Logano, Martin Truex Jr, and Kyle Busch.
With five laps remaining in stage two, all 39 cars are still on the track.
Lap 156, Kevin Harvick has a lead of over half a second on Kyle Larson as Larson slowly closes the gap to Harvick.
Kyle Larson edges out Kevin Harvick to win stage two.
The top 10 at the end of stage two:
Kyle Larson
Kevin Harvick
Joey Logano
Martin Truex Jr
Aric Almirola
Kyle Busch
Kurt Bust
Denny Hamlin
Jimmie Johnson
Clint Bowyer
Joey Logano wins the race off of pit road with Kevin Harvick in second. Kyle Larson comes out in fifth.
Joey Logano brings the field down for the green flag start of stage three on lap 167 but it is Kevin Harvick that gets out in front for the lead.
Lap 168, Joey Logano gets round Kevin Harvick for the lead; Martin Truex Jr also passes Harvick to take over second place.
The top five are Joey Logano, Martin Truex, Jr, Kevin Harvick, Kyle Larson, and Kyle Busch.
Lap 172, Joey Logano has a second lead on Martin Truex Jr; Kevin Harvick, Kyle Larson, and Kyle Busch round out the top five.
Lap 177 Joey Logano holds on to the lead with Martin Truex Jr in second.
Lap 182,, Kyle Larson is on the move again and has passed Kevin Harvick to take over third place.
Lap 183, Joey Logano has a lead of nearly a second and a half over Martin Truex Jr. with Kyle Larson in third, Kevin Harvick in fourth, and Kyle Busch in fifth.
After Kyle Larson had to move down the track to get around slower traffic, Kevin Harvick passes Larson to take third place.
Kevin Harvick is reporting that he doesn’t have any rear grip.
Lap 189, Kyle Larson has retaken third and now passes Martin Truex Jr for second with Joey Logano in the lead.
The caution flag comes out on lap 194 when Kyle Larson having to come down pit road with a flat tire after getting too close to the wall.
Joey Logano wins the race off of pit road. Kyle Busch loses four spots on pit road after the air gun got caught under the car during the pit stop.
Joey Logano brings the field down for the green flag restart on lap 200 and gets out in front for the lead but Martin Truex Jr catch up to him and goes nose to nose for the lead. Joey Logano finally gets out in front for the lead.
The top five are Joey Logano, Martin Truex Jr, Kevin Harvick, Denny Hamlin, and Kyle Busch.
During the battle for the lead, Martin Truex Jr makes contact with Joey Logano, but there is only slight damage to the cars.
There are 21 cars on the lead lap with all 39 cars on the track.
Lap 206, the top five are Joey Logano, Martin Truex Jr, Kevin Harvick, Denny Hamlin, and Kyle Busch.
Kyle Busch gets past Denny Hamlin to take fourth place.
Lap 212, Joey Logano continues to lead the race with Martin Truex Jr in second, Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch, and Denny Hamlin round out the top five.
Kevin Harvick reports that the balance in his car still isn’t quite right.
Lap 217, Martin Truex Jr has caught up to leader Joey Logano and is challenging for the lead. Lap 281, Logano and Truex are nose to nose. Lap 219, Martin Truex Jr finally gets around Joey Logano for the lead.
Erik Jones has a flat tire and brings his car down pit road, the track stays green.
Lap 221, Martin Truex Jr has a half second lead on Joey Logano, with Kevin Harvick, Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch ronding out the top five.
Lap 222, Joey Logano’s team tells him to start working his way to the top of the track.
The drivers have to make one more pit stop to make it to the end of the race.
Lap 226, the top five remains the same – Martin Truex Jr, Joey Logano, Kevin Harvick, Denny Hamlin, and Kyle Busch.
Chris Buescher brings his car down pit road with a flat tire but the track stays green.
Chase Elliott brings his car down pit road on lap 229 to begins the final round of green flag pit stops.
Denny Hamlin reports a tight racing condition; adding that he has a car capable of winning the race.
Kevin Harvick is the first of the championship four to come down pit road.
Kyle Busch takes the lead of the race after Martin Truex Jr and Joey Logano make their pit stops.
Joey Logano beats Martin Truex Jr off of pit road. After stopping first, Kevin Harvick beats out Logano and Truex.
Kyle Busch is in the lead with Kevin Harvick in second; Joey Logano and Martin Truex Jr follow.
Joey Logano challenges Kevin Harvick for second but has so far failed to make the pass.
Lap 238, the top five are Kyle Busch (still needs to make a pit stop), Matt Kenseth, Jimmie Johnson, Kevin Harvick, and Joey Logano.
The top three divers – Kyle Busch, Matt Kenseth, and Jimmie Johnson – have yet to make pit stops.
With only 2 laps remaining in the race, Kyle Busch is still the leader with a lead of over five seconds on Matt Kenseth. Martin Truex Jr is catching up to Kevin Harvick and Joey Logano.
Lap 246, Martin Truex Jr has caught up to Joey Logano and the two battle for the position with Truex getting around Logano for fourth.
With 20 laps remaining in the race, the top five are Kyle Busch, Matt Kenseth, Kevin Harvick, Martin Truex Jr, and Joey Logano.
The caution flag comes out on lap 247 when Daniel Suarez gets hit and blows a tire, spreading debris on the track.
Kyle Busch wins the race off of pit road.
When the green flag flies, the championship four will be 1-2-3-4.
Kyle Busch brings the field down for the green flag restart on lap 252 with Martin Truex Jr alongside. Martin Truex Jr gets out in front for the lead with Kyle Busch in second, Joey Logano in third, and Kevin Harvick in fourth.
Lap 253, Joey Logano gets around Kyle Busch for second with Martin Truex Jr in front.
Lap 254Joey Logano has caught up to Martin Truex Jr and on lap 255, Logano gets around Truex for the lead.
The top four are Joey Logano, Martin Truex Jr, Kevin Harvick, and Kyle Busch.
Ten to go, Joey Logano is three tenths faster than Martin Truex Jr.
Joey Logano has pulled out to a led of a second on Martin Truex Jr with Kevin Harvick over two seconds back and Kyle Busch over three seconds behind.
With only eight laps remaining in the race, Joey Logano holds on to his one second lead on Martin Truex Jr.
Five to go, Joey Logano has increased his lead to nearly a second and a half over Martin Truex Jr. Of the championship four, Joey Logano is the only driver who has not yet won a championship title.
Last week at the race at Phoenix, Joey Logano proclaimed that he was the only driver guaranteed a spot in the final four and the favourite to win the title.
Only two laps remain before Logano’s claims could come true.
With a lead of nearly two seconds, Joey Logano takes the white flag.
Joey Logano wins the race…and his first championship title as the crew on pit road cheers and jumps up and down.
Logano’s car disappears I a cloud of smoke as he celebrates with a massive burnout while holding the championship flag high. He is the 33rd driver in the history of NASCAR to win a championship.
The unofficial results of the Ford EcoBoost 400:
Joey Logano
Martin Truex Jr
Kevin Harvick
Kyle Busch
Brad Keselowski
Matt Kenseth
Chase Elliott
Clint Bowyer
Aric Almirola
Kurt Busch
Austin Dillon
Denny Hamlin
Kyle Larson
Jimmie Johnson
Ryan Newman
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
Ryan Blaney
Jamie McMurray
AJ Allmendinger
David Ragan
Bubba Wallace
Ty Dillon
Chris Buescher
William Byron
Paul Menard
Matt DiBenedetto
Erik Jones
Michael McDowell
Alex Bowman
Daniel Suarez
Landon Cassill
J.J. Yeley
Ross Chastain
Corey LaJoie
BJ Mceod
Kyle Weatherman
Timmy Hill
Tanner Berryhill
Regan Smith