Photo: Stewart Haas Racing
Date: May 19, 2018
Event: Monster Energy NASCAR All-Star Race (non-points event)
Series: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
Location: Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway (1.5-mile oval)
Format: 80 laps, broken into four stages (30 laps/20 laps/20 laps/10 laps)
Start/Finish: 15th/18th (Accident, completed 74 of 93 laps)
Race Winner: Kevin Harvick of Stewart-Haas Racing (Ford)
Stage 1 Winner: Kevin Harvick of Stewart-Haas Racing (Ford)
Stage 2 Winner: Kyle Busch of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
Stage 3 Winner: Kevin Harvick of Stewart-Haas Racing (Ford)
Stage 1 Recap:
● Busch started 15th, but a spin on just the second lap sent him backward into the turn four wall. He finished the stage in 21st.
● The impact caused minor rear-end damage to the No. 41 Monster Energy Ford Fusion.
● Repairs were made on pit road during the subsequent caution, allowing Busch to complete the stage.
● Busch finished one lap down, but took the wave-around and earned his lap back before pitting.
Stage 2 Recap:
● Busch started 21st and finished 20th.
● Busch radioed that his No. 41 Monster Energy Ford Fusion was “still pretty loose” as the stage drew to a close.
● Crew chief Billy Scott called for significant changes during the four-tire pit stop at the end of the stage, one of which was a massive left-rear wedge adjustment.
Stage 3 Recap:
● Busch started 20th and finished 18th after getting collected in a multicar accident.
● A caution period on lap 57 allowed Busch to pit for four tires and fuel with another series of chassis adjustments.
● When the race returned to green on lap 59, Busch remained in 20th, but climbed to 12th before another caution flag waved.
● While others used the caution to pit, Busch stayed out to gain track position. He was eighth for the restart.
● The well-earned track position went for naught when Busch was collected in a crash three laps from the end of the stage.
● With his No. 41 Monster Energy Ford Fusion too damaged to continue, Busch was forced to the garage.
Notes:
● This was Busch’s 17th career start in the Monster Energy NASCAR All-Star Race. Harvick and Matt Kenseth are the only active drivers with more All-Star Race starts.
● Busch won the All-Star Race in 2010.
● Harvick’s victory in the All-Star Race marked the 50th overall win for SHR. It was the organization’s third non-points victory in the NASCAR Cup Series to go along with its 45 points-paying NASCAR Cup Series wins and two NASCAR Xfinity Series wins.
● This was SHR’s second All-Star Race win. SHR’s first All-Star Race victory came in 2009 when Tony Stewart took the first win of any kind for SHR along with his first win in the All-Star Race.
● Twenty-one drivers comprised the field, which consisted of drivers who won a points-paying race in 2017 or 2018, fulltime drivers who have previously won the All-Star Race, fulltime drivers who have won a NASCAR Cup Series championship, and drivers who advanced from the undercard Monster Energy Open.
Next Up:
The next event on the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Coca-Cola 600 on Sunday, May 27 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The race starts at 6 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by FOX beginning at 5:30 p.m.
