2018 GEICO 500

Race details[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9]
Race 10 of 36 in the2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
Date	April 29, 2018 (2018-04-29)
Location	Talladega Superspeedway inLincoln, Alabama
Course	Permanent racing facility
Course length	2.66 miles (4.28 km)
Distance	188 laps, 500.08 mi (804.64 km)
Average speed	152.489 miles per hour (245.407 km/h)
Pole position
Driver	Kevin Harvick	Stewart-Haas Racing
Time	49.247
Most laps led
Driver	Joey Logano	Team Penske
Laps	70
Winner
No. 22	Joey Logano	Team Penske
Television in the United States
Network	Fox
Announcers	Mike Joy,Jeff Gordon andDarrell Waltrip
Nielsen ratings	2.9/2.8 (Overnight)[10]
Radio in the United States
Radio	MRN
Booth announcers	Joe Moore, Jeff Striegle andRusty Wallace
Turn announcers	Dave Moody (1 & 2),Mike Bagley (Backstretch) and Kyle Rickey (3 & 4)

The2018 GEICO 500 was aMonster Energy NASCAR Cup Seriesrace held on April 29, 2018, atTalladega Superspeedway inLincoln, Alabama. Contested over 188 laps on the 2.66 mile (4.28 km) superspeedway, it was the 10th race of the2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season.

Talladega Superspeedway, formerly known as Alabama International Motor Speedway, is a motorsports complex located north ofTalladega, Alabama. It is located on the formerAnniston Air Force Base in the small city of Lincoln. A tri-oval, the track was constructed in 1969 by theInternational Speedway Corporation, a business controlled by theFrance family. Talladega is most known for its steep banking. The track currently hosts NASCAR'sMonster Energy NASCAR Cup Series,Xfinity Series andCamping World Truck Series. Talladega is the longest NASCAR oval with a length of 2.66-mile-long (4.28 km) tri-oval like theDaytona International Speedway, which is a 2.5-mile-long (4.0 km).

Ty Dillon was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 47.182 seconds and a speed of 202.959 mph (326.631 km/h).^[11]

Jamie McMurray was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 46.947 seconds and a speed of 203.975 mph (328.266 km/h).^[12] The practice was marred by a three-car crash on the back-straightaway that resulted in McMurray barrel rolling several times into the inside catchfence whileTy Dillon andRyan Newman were also involved. “When I realized I was going to flip, I actually shut my eyes because I don't really want to see what's getting ready to happen,” McMurray said. “And then it just kept, it seemed like forever. I opened my eyes a couple times and I couldn't, I'm like I don't know if I'm going up or down or where it's going to hit next. So I was just thankful when it finally ... a couple of times I thought it was going to stop and it just kind of kept going.” McMurray's accident led to NASCAR reducing the restrictor plates from 7/8th to 55/64th of an inch.^[13]

Kevin Harvick scored the pole for the race with a time of 49.247 and a speed of 194.448 mph (312.934 km/h).^[14]

Stage 1Laps: 55

Stage 2Laps: 55

Stage 3Laps: 78

• Lead changes: 16 among different drivers
• Cautions/Laps: 6 for 29
• Red flags: 0
• Time of race: 3 hours, 16 minutes and 46 seconds
• Average speed: 152.489 miles per hour (245.407 km/h)

Fox Sports covered their 18th race at theTalladega Superspeedway.Mike Joy, six-time Talladega winner – and all-time restrictor plate race wins record holder –Jeff Gordon and four-time Talladega winnerDarrell Waltrip called the race in the booth for the race.Jamie Little,Vince Welch andMatt Yocum handled the action on pit road for the television side.

MRN had the radio call for the race which was also simulcast onSirius XMNASCAR Radio. Joe Moore, Jeff Striegle andRusty Wallace called the race in the booth when the field raced through the tri-oval.Dave Moody called the race from the Sunoco spotters stand outside turn 2 when the field raced through turns 1 and 2.Mike Bagley called the race from a platform inside the backstretch when the field raced down the backstretch. Kyle Rickey called the race from the Sunoco spotters stand outside turn 4 when the field raced through turns 3 and 4. Alex Hayden, Winston Kelley, Kim Coon, and Steve Post worked pit road for the radio side.

Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 Kyle Busch 447 2 Joey Logano 417 (–30) 1 3 Kevin Harvick 366 (–81) 1 4 Clint Bowyer 335 (–112) 4 5 Kurt Busch 320 (–127) 1 6 Brad Keselowski 317 (–130) 1 7 Denny Hamlin 314 (–133) 8 Ryan Blaney 313 (–134) 2 9 Martin Truex Jr. 303 (–144) 10 Kyle Larson 280 (–167) 11 Aric Almirola 278 (–169) 1 12 Alex Bowman 238 (–209) 1 13 Erik Jones 234 (–213) 1 14 Jimmie Johnson 230 (–217) 4 15 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 217 (–230) 1 16 Ryan Newman 214 (–233) Official driver's standings

Manufacturers' Championship standings Pos Manufacturer Points 1 1 Ford 359 1 2 Toyota 359 (–0) 3 Chevrolet 331 (–28) Official manufacturers' standings Note: Only the first 16 positions are included for the driver standings. . – Driver has clinched a position in theMonster Energy NASCAR Cup Series playoffs.

• 2018 in sports in Alabama
• 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
• April 2018 sports events in the United States
• NASCAR races at Talladega Superspeedway

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