| Race details[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 34 of 36 in the2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series | |||
| Date | November 4, 2018 (2018-11-04) | ||
| Location | Texas Motor Speedway inFort Worth, Texas | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||
| Course length | 1.5 miles (2.4 km) | ||
| Distance | 337 laps, 505.5 mi (808.8 km) | ||
| Scheduled distance | 334 laps, 501 mi (801.6 km) | ||
| Average speed | 150.558 miles per hour (242.300 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Team Penske | ||
| Time | 26.932 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | |
| Laps | 177 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | NBCSN | ||
| Announcers | Rick Allen,Jeff Burton,Steve Letarte andDale Earnhardt Jr. | ||
| Nielsen ratings | 1.4/1.5 (Overnight)[11] | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | PRN | ||
| Booth announcers | Doug Rice and Mark Garrow | ||
| Turn announcers | Rob Albright (1 & 2) and Pat Patterson (3 & 4) | ||
The2018 AAA Texas 500 was aMonster Energy NASCAR Cup Seriesrace that was held on November 4, 2018, atTexas Motor Speedway inFort Worth, Texas. Contested over 337 laps – extended from 334 laps due to anovertime finish, on the 1.5 mile (2.4 km) intermediate quad-oval, it was the 34th race of the2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season, the eighth race of the Playoffs, and the second race of the Round of 8.
As of 2024, this isTrevor Bayne's most recentNASCAR Cup Series start.

Texas Motor Speedway is aspeedway located in the northernmost portion of theU.S. city ofFort Worth, Texas – the portion located inDenton County, Texas. The track measures 1.5 miles (2.4 km) 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 toAtlanta Motor Speedway andCharlotte Motor Speedway (formerly Lowe's Motor Speedway). The track is owned bySpeedway Motorsports, Inc., the same company that owns Atlanta and Charlotte Motor Speedways, as well as the short-trackBristol Motor Speedway.
Ryan Blaney was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 27.139 seconds and a speed of 198.976 mph (320.221 km/h).[12]
| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 27.139 | 198.976 |
| 2 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 27.210 | 198.456 |
| 3 | 41 | Kurt Busch | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 27.254 | 198.136 |
| Official first practice results | ||||||

Ryan Blaney scored the pole for the race with a time of 26.932 and a speed of 200.505 mph (322.682 km/h).[13]
Aric Almirola was the fastest in the second practice session with a time of 27.856 seconds and a speed of 193.854 mph (311.978 km/h).[14]
| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 27.856 | 193.854 |
| 2 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 27.863 | 193.805 |
| 3 | 14 | Clint Bowyer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 27.868 | 193.771 |
| Official second practice results | ||||||
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 28.074 seconds and a speed of 192.349 mph (309.556 km/h).[15]
| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 28.074 | 192.349 |
| 2 | 41 | Kurt Busch | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 28.114 | 192.075 |
| 3 | 78 | Martin Truex Jr. | Furniture Row Racing | Toyota | 28.142 | 191.884 |
| Official final practice results | ||||||

Stage 1Laps: 85
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 10 |
| 2 | 41 | Kurt Busch | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 9 |
| 3 | 20 | Erik Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 8 |
| 4 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 7 |
| 5 | 78 | Martin Truex Jr. | Furniture Row Racing | Toyota | 6 |
| 6 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 5 |
| 7 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 4 |
| 8 | 21 | Paul Menard | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 3 |
| 9 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 2 |
| 10 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 1 |
| Official stage one results | |||||
Stage 2Laps: 85
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 10 |
| 2 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 9 |
| 3 | 78 | Martin Truex Jr. | Furniture Row Racing | Toyota | 8 |
| 4 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 7 |
| 5 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 6 |
| 6 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 5 |
| 7 | 20 | Erik Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 4 |
| 8 | 41 | Kurt Busch | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 3 |
| 9 | 19 | Daniel Suárez | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 2 |
| 10 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 1 |
| Official stage two results | |||||
Stage 3Laps: 164
| Pos | Grid | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Laps | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | 4 | Kevin Harvick† | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 337 | 20 |
| 2 | 1 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 337 | 31 |
| 3 | 8 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 337 | 45 |
| 4 | 12 | 20 | Erik Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 337 | 25 |
| 5 | 22 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 337 | 32 |
| 6 | 16 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 337 | 34 |
| 7 | 7 | 41 | Kurt Busch | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 337 | 42 |
| 8 | 4 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 337 | 35 |
| 9 | 13 | 78 | Martin Truex Jr. | Furniture Row Racing | Toyota | 337 | 42 |
| 10 | 26 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 337 | 27 |
| 11 | 17 | 17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 337 | 26 |
| 12 | 5 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 337 | 32 |
| 13 | 11 | 21 | Paul Menard | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 337 | 27 |
| 14 | 18 | 88 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 337 | 23 |
| 15 | 23 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 337 | 22 |
| 16 | 9 | 24 | William Byron(R) | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 337 | 21 |
| 17 | 10 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 337 | 24 |
| 18 | 14 | 31 | Ryan Newman | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 335 | 19 |
| 19 | 20 | 1 | Jamie McMurray | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 335 | 18 |
| 20 | 25 | 47 | A. J. Allmendinger | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 335 | 17 |
| 21 | 15 | 6 | Trevor Bayne | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 335 | 16 |
| 22 | 24 | 13 | Ty Dillon | Germain Racing | Chevrolet | 335 | 15 |
| 23 | 21 | 37 | Chris Buescher | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 335 | 14 |
| 24 | 27 | 38 | David Ragan | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 335 | 13 |
| 25 | 30 | 43 | Darrell Wallace Jr.(R) | Richard Petty Motorsports | Chevrolet | 335 | 12 |
| 26 | 2 | 14 | Clint Bowyer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 334 | 11 |
| 27 | 28 | 95 | Regan Smith | Leavine Family Racing | Chevrolet | 332 | 10 |
| 28 | 19 | 19 | Daniel Suárez | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 332 | 11 |
| 29 | 29 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 331 | 8 |
| 30 | 6 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 331 | 7 |
| 31 | 34 | 96 | Parker Kligerman(i) | Gaunt Brothers Racing | Toyota | 329 | 0 |
| 32 | 33 | 15 | Ross Chastain(i) | Premium Motorsports | Chevrolet | 326 | 0 |
| 33 | 38 | 7 | Reed Sorenson(i) | Premium Motorsports | Chevrolet | 326 | 0 |
| 34 | 36 | 99 | Kyle Weatherman | StarCom Racing | Chevrolet | 323 | 3 |
| 35 | 32 | 00 | Landon Cassill(i) | StarCom Racing | Chevrolet | 321 | 0 |
| 36 | 35 | 23 | J. J. Yeley(i) | BK Racing | Toyota | 321 | 0 |
| 37 | 39 | 51 | Joey Gase(i) | Rick Ware Racing | Ford | 317 | 0 |
| 38 | 31 | 32 | Matt DiBenedetto | Go Fas Racing | Ford | 300 | 1 |
| 39 | 40 | 97 | David Starr(i) | Obaika Racing | Toyota | 287 | 0 |
| 40 | 37 | 72 | Corey LaJoie | TriStar Motorsports | Chevrolet | 269 | 1 |
| Official race results | |||||||
† Kevin Harvick was penalized 40 points and the win is encumbered due to a spoiler infraction post-race.[16]
NBC Sports covered the race on the television side.Rick Allen, Two–time Texas winnerJeff Burton,Steve Letarte and 2000 Texas winnerDale Earnhardt Jr. had the call in the booth for the race.Dave Burns, Marty Snider andKelli Stavast reported from pit lane during the race.
| NBCSN | |
|---|---|
| Booth announcers | Pit reporters |
| Lap-by-lap:Rick Allen Color-commentator:Jeff Burton Color-commentator:Steve Letarte Color-commentator:Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Dave Burns Marty Snider Kelli Stavast |
PRN had the radio call for the race, which was simulcast onSirius XM NASCAR Radio.
| PRN | ||
|---|---|---|
| Booth announcers | Turn announcers | Pit reporters |
| Lead announcer: Doug Rice Announcer: Mark Garrow | Turns 1 & 2: Rob Albright Turns 3 & 4: Pat Patterson | Brad Gillie Brett McMillan Wendy Venturini Steve Richards |
|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Previous race: 2018 First Data 500 | Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series 2018 season | Next race: 2018 Can-Am 500 |