2018 Overton's 400

Race details[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9]
Race 17 of 36 in the2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
The 2018 Overton's 400 program cover, featuringMartin Truex Jr.
Date	July 1, 2018 (2018-07-01)
Location	Chicagoland Speedway inJoliet, Illinois
Course	Permanent racing facility
Course length	1.5 miles (2.4 km)
Distance	267 laps, 400.5 mi (640.8 km)
Average speed	140.636 miles per hour (226.332 km/h)
Pole position
Driver	Paul Menard	Wood Brothers Racing
Time	29.998
Most laps led
Driver	Aric Almirola	Stewart-Haas Racing
Laps	70
Winner
No. 18	Kyle Busch	Joe Gibbs Racing
Television in the United States
Network	NBCSN
Announcers	Rick Allen,Jeff Burton,Steve Letarte andDale Earnhardt Jr.
Nielsen ratings	1.6 (Overnight)[10]
Radio in the United States
Radio	MRN
Booth announcers	Joe Moore, Jeff Striegle andRusty Wallace
Turn announcers	Dave Moody (1 & 2) andMike Bagley (3 & 4)

The2018 Overton's 400 was aMonster Energy NASCAR Cup Seriesrace that was held on July 1, 2018 atChicagoland Speedway inJoliet, Illinois. Contested over 267 laps on the 1.5-mile (2.4 km) intermediate speedway, it was the 17th race of the2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season. The race would become best known for its intense finish, and for producing arguably one of the best finishes in NASCAR history, asKyle Busch andKyle Larson dueled in the closing laps of the race for the win.

Chicagoland Speedway is a 1.5 miles (2.4 km) tri-oval speedway inJoliet, Illinois, southwest ofChicago. The speedway opened in 2001 and currently hostsNASCAR racing. Until 2011, the speedway also hosted theIndyCar Series, recording numerous close finishes including the closest finish in IndyCar history. The speedway is owned and operated byInternational Speedway Corporation and located adjacent toRoute 66 Raceway.

Ryan Blaney was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 30.169 seconds and a speed of 178.992 mph (288.060 km/h).^[11]

Brad Keselowski was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 29.863 seconds and a speed of 180.826 mph (291.011 km/h).^[12]

Paul Menard scored the pole for the race with a time of 29.998 and a speed of 180.012 mph (289.701 km/h).^[13]

† The cars of Martin Truex Jr., Denny Hamlin, Jimmie Johnson, and Chris Buescher all started in the rear of the field after failing post-qualifying inspection.

Stage 1Laps: 80

Stage 2Laps: 80

With 4 laps to go, Kyle Busch built a full second lead over Kyle Larson but Larson was closing the gap fast. With 3 to go, Busch and Larson had to navigate through lapped traffic with a total of 4 lapped cars bunched together all around them making it difficult for them to pass the cars. On the final lap, Larson had closed the gap to 0.35 seconds and attempted to pass Busch on the inside in turn one trying to use the slide job but failed to get in front of Busch. The two made contact with Larson putting Busch in the wall in turn 2. Down the backstretch, Larson took the lead from Busch heading into turn 3. Busch sent the car hard into turn 3 hitting Larson in the rear hard causing Larson to go sideways trying to save his car and Busch hit the wall again by driving his car deep into the corner. Busch ended up taking the win over Larson in one of the most memorable finishes in NASCAR history.

Stage 3Laps: 107

• Lead changes: 10 among different drivers
• Cautions/Laps: 5 for 23
• Red flags: 0
• Time of race: 2 hours, 50 minutes and 52 seconds
• Average speed: 140.636 miles per hour (226.332 km/h)

NBC Sports covered the race on the television side.Rick Allen,Jeff Burton,Steve Letarte, and 2005 race winnerDale Earnhardt Jr., in his debut as a color commentator for NASCAR on NBC, had the call in the booth for the race.Dave Burns, Marty Snider andKelli Stavast reported from pit lane during the race.

TheMotor Racing Network had the radio call for the race, which was simulcast on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio.

Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 Kyle Busch 736 2 Kevin Harvick 674 (–62) 3 Joey Logano 617 (–119) 1 4 Martin Truex Jr. 594 (–142) 1 5 Brad Keselowski 592 (–144) 6 Clint Bowyer 579 (–157) 7 Kurt Busch 560 (–176) 8 Denny Hamlin 537 (–199) 9 Kyle Larson 524 (–212) 1 10 Ryan Blaney 495 (–241) 1 11 Aric Almirola 493 (–243) 12 Jimmie Johnson 442 (–294) 13 Chase Elliott 435 (–301) 14 Erik Jones 408 (–328) 15 Alex Bowman 390 (–346) 16 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 367 (–369) Official driver's standings

Manufacturers' Championship standings Pos Manufacturer Points 1 1 Toyota 620 1 2 Ford 614 (–6) 3 Chevrolet 547 (–73) 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 Illinois
• 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
• NASCAR races at Chicagoland Speedway
• July 2018 sports events in the United States

• Use mdy dates from February 2025
• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata