2018 STP 500

Race details[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9]
Race 6 of 36 in the2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
2018 STP 500 program cover
Date	March 26, 2018 (2018-03-26)
Location	Martinsville Speedway inRidgeway, Virginia
Course	Permanent racing facility
Course length	0.847 km (0.526 miles)
Distance	500 laps, 263 mi (423.5 km)
Average speed	81.663 miles per hour (131.424 km/h)
Pole position
Driver	Martin Truex Jr.	Furniture Row Racing
Time	N/A
Most laps led
Driver	Clint Bowyer	Stewart-Haas Racing
Laps	215
Winner
No. 14	Clint Bowyer	Stewart-Haas Racing
Television in the United States
Network	FS1
Announcers	Mike Joy,Jeff Gordon andDarrell Waltrip
Radio in the United States
Radio	MRN
Booth announcers	Joe Moore, Jeff Striegle andRusty Wallace
Turn announcers	Dave Moody (Backstretch)

The2018 STP 500 was aMonster Energy NASCAR Cup Seriesrace held on March 26, 2018, atMartinsville Speedway inRidgeway, Virginia. Contested over 500 laps on the .526 mile (.847 km) paperclip-shaped short track, it was sixth race of the2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season. The race was postponed from Sunday, March 25 to Monday, March 26 due to snow accumulation in Martinsville.

Martinsville Speedway is anInternational Speedway Corporation-ownedNASCAR stock car racing track located inHenry County, inRidgeway, Virginia, just to the south ofMartinsville. At 0.526 miles (0.847 km) in length, it is the shortest track in theMonster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. The track was also one of the first pavedoval tracks in NASCAR, being built in 1947 byH. Clay Earles. It is also the only remaining race track that has been on the NASCAR circuit from its beginning in 1948.

Martin Truex Jr. was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 19.776 seconds and a speed of 95.752 mph (154.098 km/h).^[10]

Martin Truex Jr. was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 19.846 seconds and a speed of 95.415 mph (153.556 km/h).^[11]

Qualifying for Saturday was cancelled due to snow andMartin Truex Jr., the point leader, was awarded the pole as a result.^[12]

Stage OneLaps: 130

Stage TwoLaps: 130

Stage ThreeLaps: 240

• Lead changes: 6 among different drivers
• Cautions/Laps: 4 for 33
• Red flags: 0
• Time of race: 3 hours, 13 minutes and 14 seconds
• Average speed: 81.663 miles per hour (131.424 km/h)

Fox Sports was covering their 18th race at theMartinsville Speedway.Mike Joy, nine-time Martinsville winnerJeff Gordon and 11-time Martinsville winnerDarrell Waltrip called in the booth for the race.Jamie Little,Vince Welch andMatt Yocum handled pit road duties for the entire race.

MRN had the radio call for the race which would also be simulcasted onSirius XMNASCAR Radio. Joe Moore, Jeff Striegle and seven-time Martinsville winnerRusty Wallace called the race in the booth as the cars were on the frontstretch.Dave Moody called the race from atop the turn 3 stands as the field is racing down the backstretch. Alex Hayden, Winston Kelley and Steve Post worked pit road for the radio side.

Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 1 Kyle Busch 257 1 2 Martin Truex Jr. 249 (–8) 2 3 Ryan Blaney 233 (–24) 1 4 Joey Logano 232 (–25) 1 5 Brad Keselowski 226 (–31) 6 Denny Hamlin 217 (–40) 1 7 Kevin Harvick 212 (–45) 1 8 Clint Bowyer 210 (–47) 2 9 Kyle Larson 195 (–62) 1 10 Kurt Busch 177 (–80) 1 11 Aric Almirola 171 (–86) 1 12 Erik Jones 152 (–105) 1 13 Austin Dillon 148 (–109) 2 14 Alex Bowman 145 (–112) 15 Paul Menard 139 (–118) 2 16 Ryan Newman 135 (–122) Official driver's standings

Manufacturers' Championship standings Pos Manufacturer Points 1 Ford 218 2 Toyota 212 (–6) 3 Chevrolet 193 (–25) Official manufacturers' standings Note: Only the first 16 positions are included for the driver standings.

• 2018 in sports in Virginia
• 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
• March 2018 sports events in the United States
• NASCAR races at Martinsville Speedway

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