The 2018 Drive for the Cure 200 presented by Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina was the 28th stock car race of the 2018 NASCAR Xfinity Series season, the second race in the Round of 12, and the 37th iteration of the event. The race was held on Saturday, September 29, 2018, in Concord, North Carolina at the Charlotte Motor Speedway roval, a permanent 2.28 miles (3.67 km) road course, using part of the oval and part of the infield road course. The race took the scheduled 55 laps to complete. At race's end, Chase Briscoe of Stewart-Haas Racing with Biagi-DenBeste would dominate the late stages of the race to win his first ever career NASCAR Xfinity Series win and his first and only win of the season.[1] To fill out the podium, Justin Marks of Chip Ganassi Racing and Austin Cindric of Team Penske would finish second and third, respectively.
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 28 of 33 of the 2018 NASCAR Xfinity Series | |||
 | |||
| Date | September 29, 2018 | ||
| Official name | 37th Annual Drive for the Cure 200 presented by Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina | ||
| Location | Concord, North Carolina, Charlotte Motor Speedway | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 2.28 mi (3.67 km) | ||
| Distance | 55 laps, 125.4 mi (201.812 km) | ||
| Scheduled Distance | 55 laps, 125.4 mi (201.812 km) | ||
| Average speed | 81.267 miles per hour (130.787 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Team Penske | ||
| Time | 1:17.781 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Chase Briscoe | Stewart-Haas Racing with Biagi-DenBeste | |
| Laps | 33 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 98 | Chase Briscoe | Stewart-Haas Racing with Biagi-DenBeste | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | NBCSN | ||
| Announcers | Rick Allen, Jeff Burton, Steve Letarte, Dale Earnhardt Jr. | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | Performance Racing Network | ||
Background
edit
For 2018, deviating from past NASCAR events at Charlotte, the race would utilize a road course configuration of Charlotte Motor Speedway, promoted and trademarked as the "Roval". The course is 2.28 miles (3.67 km) in length and features 17 turns, utilizing the infield road course and portions of the oval track. The race would be contested over a scheduled distance of 55 laps, 201.812 kilometres (125.400 mi).[2][3][4]
During July 2018 tests on the road course, concerns were raised over drivers "cheating" designated chicanes on the course. The chicanes were modified with additional tire barriers and rumble strips in order to encourage drivers to properly drive through them, and NASCAR will enforce drive-through penalties on drivers who illegally "short-cut" parts of the course. The chicanes will not be used during pace laps, nor will they be used during restarts.[5][6]
Entry list
editPractice
editFirst practice
editThe first practice session would occur on Thursday, September 27, at 11:00 AM EST and would last for two hours.[7] Austin Cindric of Team Penske would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 1:19.998 and an average speed of 102.603 miles per hour (165.124 km/h).[8]
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 22 | Austin Cindric | Team Penske | Ford | 1:19.998 | 102.603 |
| 2 | 21 | Daniel Hemric | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 1:20.871 | 101.495 |
| 3 | 11 | Ryan Truex | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 1:21.156 | 101.139 |
| Full first practice results | ||||||
Second practice
editThe second practice session would occur on Thursday, September 27, at 2:00 PM EST and would last for two hours.[7] Cole Custer of Stewart-Haas Racing with Biagi-DenBeste would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 1:19.517 and an average speed of 103.223 miles per hour (166.121 km/h).[8]
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 00 | Cole Custer | Stewart-Haas Racing with Biagi-DenBeste | Ford | 1:19.517 | 103.223 |
| 2 | 22 | Austin Cindric | Team Penske | Ford | 1:19.770 | 102.896 |
| 3 | 9 | Tyler Reddick | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 1:19.771 | 102.895 |
| Full second practice results | ||||||
Third practice
editThe third practice session would occur on Friday, September 28, at 1:05 PM EST and would last for 50 minutes.[7] Austin Cindric of Team Penske would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 1:18.443 and an average speed of 104.636 miles per hour (168.395 km/h).[9]
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 22 | Austin Cindric | Team Penske | Ford | 1:18.443 | 104.636 |
| 2 | 21 | Daniel Hemric | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 1:18.561 | 104.479 |
| 3 | 36 | Alex Labbé | DGM Racing | Chevrolet | 1:18.885 | 104.050 |
| Official third practice results | ||||||
Fourth and final practice
editThe fourth and final practice session, sometimes referred to as Happy Hour, would occur on Friday, September 28, at 3:05 PM EST and would last for 50 minutes.[7] Daniel Hemric of Richard Childress Racing would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 1:18.197 and an average speed of 104.966 miles per hour (168.926 km/h).[9]
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 21 | Daniel Hemric | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 1:18.197 | 104.966 |
| 2 | 11 | Ryan Truex | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 1:19.184 | 103.657 |
| 3 | 00 | Cole Custer | Stewart-Haas Racing with Biagi-DenBeste | Ford | 1:19.458 | 103.300 |
| Official Happy Hour practice results | ||||||
Qualifying
editQualifying would occur on Saturday, September 29, at 12:10 PM EST. Since the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval is a road course, the qualifying system was a multi-car system that included two rounds. The first round was 25 minutes, where every driver would be able to set a lap within the 25 minutes. Then, the second round would consist of the fastest 12 cars in Round 1, and drivers would have 10 minutes to set a lap. Whoever set the fastest time in Round 2 would win the pole.[10]
Austin Cindric of Team Penske would win the pole, setting a time of 1:17.781 and an average speed of 105.527 miles per hour (169.829 km/h) in the second round.[11]
Tanner Berryhill of Obaika Racing would be the only driver to fail to qualify, not making a lap in the qualifying session.
Full qualifying results
editRace results
editStage 1 Laps: 15
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 21 | Daniel Hemric | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 10 |
| 2 | 00 | Cole Custer | Stewart-Haas Racing with Biagi-DenBeste | Ford | 9 |
| 3 | 9 | Tyler Reddick | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 8 |
| 4 | 22 | Austin Cindric | Team Penske | Ford | 7 |
| 5 | 42 | Justin Marks | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 6 |
| 6 | 18 | Ryan Preece | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 5 |
| 7 | 2 | Matt Tifft | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 4 |
| 8 | 3 | Brendan Gaughan | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 3 |
| 9 | 7 | Justin Allgaier | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 2 |
| 10 | 61 | Kaz Grala | Fury Race Cars | Ford | 1 |
Stage 2 Laps: 15
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 10 |
| 2 | 00 | Cole Custer | Stewart-Haas Racing with Biagi-DenBeste | Ford | 9 |
| 3 | 9 | Tyler Reddick | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 8 |
| 4 | 18 | Ryan Preece | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 7 |
| 5 | 1 | Elliott Sadler | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 6 |
| 6 | 90 | Andy Lally | DGM Racing | Chevrolet | 5 |
| 7 | 61 | Kaz Grala | Fury Race Cars | Ford | 4 |
| 8 | 23 | Spencer Gallagher | GMS Racing | Chevrolet | 3 |
| 9 | 98 | Chase Briscoe | Stewart-Haas Racing with Biagi-DenBeste | Ford | 2 |
| 10 | 01 | Lawson Aschenbach | JD Motorsports | Chevrolet | 1 |
Stage 3 Laps: 20
References
edit- ^ "Briscoe wins Xfinity race on Charlotte's roval". ESPN.com. 2018-09-29. Retrieved 2021-12-08.
- ^ "New layout for Charlotte Motor Speedway road course". NASCAR.com. 2018-01-22. Retrieved 2018-09-28.
- ^ "Everything to know for Sunday's race on the Charlotte roval". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2018-09-28.
- ^ "NASCAR Cup race on Charlotte Roval to see length reduced". Retrieved July 8, 2018.
- ^ "No more shortcut: NASCAR's Roval tests to resume on course altered to stop 'cheating'". Charlotte Observer. Retrieved 2018-09-28.
- ^ "Charlotte road course 101: What you need to know". NASCAR.com. 2018-09-26. Retrieved 2018-09-28.
- ^ a b c d "2018 NASCAR XFINITY Charlotte Race Page". ESPN.com. 2018-10-01. Retrieved 2021-12-08.
- ^ a b Long, Dustin (2018-09-27). "Xfinity practice report at Charlotte Roval". NASCAR Talk | NBC Sports. Retrieved 2021-12-08.
- ^ a b "Charlotte Roval Xfinity Practice Results: September 28, 2018". Racing News. 2018-09-28. Retrieved 2021-12-08.
- ^ "NASCAR Qualifying Rules". ESPN.com. 2018-02-07. Retrieved 2021-12-08.
- ^ McFadin, Daniel (2018-09-29). "Austin Cindric wins pole for Xfinity Roval race". NASCAR Talk | NBC Sports. Retrieved 2021-12-08.
- ^ "2018 Drive for the Cure 200 - The Third Turn". www.thethirdturn.com. Retrieved 2021-12-07.