The 2018 DC Solar 300 was the 26th stock car race of the 2018 NASCAR Xfinity Series season, the final race of the regular season, and the inaugural iteration of the event. The race was held on Saturday, September 15, 2018, in North Las Vegas, Nevada at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, a 1.5 miles (2.4 km) permanent D-shaped oval racetrack. The race took the scheduled 200 laps to complete. At race's end, Ross Chastain of Chip Ganassi Racing would dominate, redeeming himself from the 2018 Sport Clips Haircuts VFW 200 to win his first ever NASCAR Xfinity Series career win and his first and only win of the season.[1] To fill out the podium, Justin Allgaier of JR Motorsports and Cole Custer of Stewart-Haas Racing with Biagi-DenBeste would finish second and third, respectively.
Background
Las Vegas Motor Speedway, located in Clark County, Nevada outside the Las Vegas city limits and about 15 miles northeast of the Las Vegas Strip, is a 1,200-acre (490 ha) complex of multiple tracks for motorsports racing. The complex is owned by Speedway Motorsports, Inc., which is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Entry list
Practice
First practice
The first practice session would occur on Friday, September 14, at 12:05 PM PST, and would last for 40 minutes.[2] Matt Tifft of Richard Childress Racing would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 30.403 and an average speed of 177.614 miles per hour (285.842 km/h).[3]
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | Matt Tifft | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 30.403 | 177.614 |
| 2 | 1 | Elliott Sadler | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 30.489 | 177.113 |
| 3 | 7 | Justin Allgaier | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 30.581 | 176.580 |
| Full first practice results | ||||||
Second and final practice
The second and final practice session, sometimes referred to as Happy Hour, would occur on Friday, September 14, at 2:05 PM PST, and would last for 45 minutes.[2] Tyler Reddick of JR Motorsports would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 30.561 and an average speed of 176.696 miles per hour (284.365 km/h).[3]
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 9 | Tyler Reddick | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 30.561 | 176.696 |
| 2 | 42 | Ross Chastain | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 30.661 | 176.120 |
| 3 | 00 | Cole Custer | Stewart-Haas Racing with Biagi-DenBeste | Ford | 30.690 | 175.953 |
| Full final practice results | ||||||
Qualifying
Qualifying would take place on Saturday, March 3, at 10:05 AM PST. Since Las Vegas Motor Speedway is under 2 miles (3.2 km), the qualifying system was a multi-car system that included three rounds. The first round was 15 minutes, where every driver would be able to set a lap within the 15 minutes. Then, the second round would consist of the fastest 24 cars in Round 1, and drivers would have 10 minutes to set a lap. Round 3 consisted of the fastest 12 drivers from Round 2, and the drivers would have 5 minutes to set a time. Whoever was fastest in Round 3 would win the pole.[4]
Cole Custer of Stewart-Haas Racing with Biagi-DenBeste would win the pole, advancing through both preliminary rounds and setting a time of 30.118 and an average speed of 179.295 miles per hour (288.547 km/h) in the third round.[5]
No drivers would fail to qualify.
Full qualifying results
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time (R1) | Speed (R1) | Time (R2) | Speed (R2) | Time (R3) | Speed (R3) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 00 | Cole Custer | Stewart-Haas Racing with Biagi-DenBeste | Ford | 30.503 | 177.032 | 30.268 | 178.406 | 30.118 | 179.295 |
| 2 | 22 | Austin Cindric | Team Penske | Ford | 30.879 | 174.876 | 30.366 | 177.830 | 30.360 | 177.866 |
| 3 | 1 | Elliott Sadler | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 30.684 | 175.987 | 30.648 | 176.194 | 30.367 | 177.825 |
| 4 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 30.662 | 176.114 | 30.445 | 177.369 | 30.387 | 177.708 |
| 5 | 42 | Ross Chastain | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 31.009 | 174.143 | 30.305 | 178.188 | 30.454 | 177.317 |
| 6 | 3 | Shane Lee | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 30.690 | 175.953 | 30.713 | 175.821 | 30.456 | 177.305 |
| 7 | 9 | Tyler Reddick | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 30.621 | 176.350 | 30.422 | 177.503 | 30.545 | 176.788 |
| 8 | 7 | Justin Allgaier | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 30.561 | 176.696 | 30.570 | 176.644 | 30.577 | 176.603 |
| 9 | 5 | Michael Annett | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 31.557 | 171.119 | 30.748 | 175.621 | 30.839 | 175.103 |
| 10 | 39 | Ryan Sieg | RSS Racing | Chevrolet | 30.737 | 175.684 | 30.750 | 175.610 | 30.858 | 174.995 |
| 11 | 16 | Ryan Reed | Roush-Fenway Racing | Ford | 30.728 | 175.735 | 30.535 | 176.846 | 30.922 | 174.633 |
| 12 | 51 | Jeremy Clements | Jeremy Clements Racing | Chevrolet | 30.787 | 175.399 | 30.664 | 176.102 | — | — |
| Eliminated in Round 2 | ||||||||||
| 13 | 60 | Chase Briscoe | Roush-Fenway Racing | Ford | 30.872 | 174.916 | 30.755 | 175.581 | — | — |
| 14 | 23 | Spencer Gallagher | GMS Racing | Chevrolet | 30.973 | 174.345 | 30.967 | 174.379 | — | — |
| 15 | 36 | Alex Labbé | DGM Racing | Chevrolet | 31.401 | 171.969 | 31.036 | 173.991 | — | — |
| 16 | 4 | Landon Cassill | JD Motorsports | Chevrolet | 31.270 | 172.689 | 31.209 | 173.027 | — | — |
| 17 | 35 | Joey Gase | Go Green Racing with SS-Green Light Racing | Chevrolet | 31.178 | 173.199 | 31.345 | 172.276 | — | — |
| 18 | 38 | J. J. Yeley | RSS Racing | Chevrolet | 31.395 | 172.002 | 31.438 | 171.767 | — | — |
| 19 | 55 | Bayley Currey | JP Motorsports | Toyota | 31.975 | 168.882 | 32.173 | 167.843 | — | — |
| 20 | 26 | Max Tullman | Tullman-Walker Racing | Ford | 31.873 | 169.422 | 32.823 | 164.519 | — | — |
| 21 | 8 | Ray Black Jr. | B. J. McLeod Motorsports | Chevrolet | 31.704 | 170.326 | — | — | — | — |
| 22 | 78 | Cole Rouse | B. J. McLeod Motorsports | Chevrolet | 31.717 | 170.256 | — | — | — | — |
| 23 | 15 | B. J. McLeod | JD Motorsports | Chevrolet | 31.751 | 170.073 | — | — | — | — |
| 24 | 52 | David Starr | Jimmy Means Racing | Chevrolet | 32.057 | 168.450 | — | — | — | — |
| Eliminated in Round 1 | ||||||||||
| 25 | 66 | Timmy Hill | MBM Motorsports | Dodge | 32.211 | 167.645 | — | — | — | — |
| 26 | 45 | Josh Bilicki | JP Motorsports | Toyota | 32.391 | 166.713 | — | — | — | — |
| 27 | 76 | Spencer Boyd | SS-Green Light Racing | Chevrolet | 32.431 | 166.507 | — | — | — | — |
| 28 | 74 | Mike Harmon | Mike Harmon Racing | Chevrolet | 32.447 | 166.425 | — | — | — | — |
| 29 | 40 | Chad Finchum | MBM Motorsports | Toyota | 32.512 | 166.093 | — | — | — | — |
| 30 | 93 | Jeff Green | RSS Racing | Chevrolet | 32.549 | 165.904 | — | — | — | — |
| 31 | 90 | Josh Williams | DGM Racing | Chevrolet | 32.734 | 164.966 | — | — | — | — |
| 32 | 72 | John Jackson | MBM Motorsports | Toyota | 32.847 | 164.399 | — | — | — | — |
| 33 | 01 | Vinnie Miller | JD Motorsports | Chevrolet | 33.253 | 162.391 | — | — | — | — |
| Qualified by owner's points | ||||||||||
| 34 | 18 | Ryan Preece | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 35 | 21 | Daniel Hemric | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 36 | 19 | Brandon Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 37 | 2 | Matt Tifft | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 38 | 11 | Ryan Truex | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 39 | 0 | Garrett Smithley | JD Motorsports | Chevrolet | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 40 | 13 | Stan Mullis | MBM Motorsports | Toyota | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Official qualifying results | ||||||||||
| Official starting lineup | ||||||||||
Race results
Stage 1 Laps: 45
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 42 | Ross Chastain | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 10 |
| 2 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 9 |
| 3 | 1 | Elliott Sadler | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 8 |
| 4 | 00 | Cole Custer | Stewart-Haas Racing with Biagi-DenBeste | Ford | 7 |
| 5 | 21 | Daniel Hemric | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 6 |
| 6 | 22 | Austin Cindric | Team Penske | Ford | 5 |
| 7 | 7 | Justin Allgaier | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 4 |
| 8 | 11 | Ryan Truex | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 3 |
| 9 | 60 | Chase Briscoe | Roush-Fenway Racing | Ford | 2 |
| 10 | 19 | Brandon Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 1 |
Stage 2 Laps: 45
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 42 | Ross Chastain | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 10 |
| 2 | 00 | Cole Custer | Stewart-Haas Racing with Biagi-DenBeste | Ford | 9 |
| 3 | 21 | Daniel Hemric | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 8 |
| 4 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 7 |
| 5 | 7 | Justin Allgaier | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 6 |
| 6 | 1 | Elliott Sadler | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 5 |
| 7 | 19 | Brandon Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 4 |
| 8 | 22 | Austin Cindric | Team Penske | Ford | 3 |
| 9 | 9 | Tyler Reddick | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 2 |
| 10 | 60 | Chase Briscoe | Roush-Fenway Racing | Ford | 1 |
Stage 3 Laps: 110
References
- ^ Kantowski, Ron (September 16, 2018). "Watermelon farmer Ross Chastain wins Las Vegas Xfinity race". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Archived from the original on September 16, 2018. Retrieved December 5, 2021.
- ^ a b "2018 NASCAR XFINITY Las Vegas Race Page". ESPN.com. September 17, 2018. Retrieved December 5, 2021.
- ^ a b Ryan, Nate (September 14, 2018). "Tyler Reddick paces final Xfinity practice at Las Vegas". NASCAR Talk | NBC Sports. Retrieved December 5, 2021.
- ^ "NASCAR Qualifying Rules". ESPN.com. February 7, 2018. Retrieved December 5, 2021.
- ^ McFadin, Daniel (September 15, 2018). "Cole Custer wins Las Vegas Xfinity pole". NASCAR Talk | NBC Sports. Retrieved December 5, 2021.
- ^ "2018 DC Solar 300 - The Third Turn". www.thethirdturn.com. Retrieved December 5, 2021.
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