The 2018 Boyd Gaming 300 was the 3rd stock car race of the 2018 NASCAR Xfinity Series season, and the 22nd iteration of the event. The race was held on Saturday, March 3, 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, Kyle Larson of Chip Ganassi Racing would dominate and hold off the field on the final restart with 6 to go to win the race, the 9th NASCAR Xfinity Series win of his career and the 1st of his part-time season.[1] To fill out the podium, Christopher Bell for Joe Gibbs Racing and Justin Allgaier of JR Motorsports would finish second and third, respectively.
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 3 of 33 of the 2018 NASCAR Xfinity Series | |||
| Date | March 3, 2018 | ||
| Official name | Boyd Gaming 300 | ||
| Location | North Las Vegas, Nevada, Las Vegas Motor Speedway | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 1.5 mi (2.41 km) | ||
| Distance | 200 laps, 300 mi (482.803 km) | ||
| Scheduled Distance | 200 laps, 300 mi (482.803 km) | ||
| Average speed | 131.884 miles per hour (212.247 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Joe Gibbs Racing | ||
| Time | 29.398 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | |
| Laps | 142 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 42 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | Fox Sports 1 | ||
| Announcers | Adam Alexander, Michael Waltrip, Brad Keselowski | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | Performance Racing Network | ||
Background
edit
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
editPractice
editFirst practice
editThe first practice was held on Friday, March 2 at 12:05 PM PST. Kyle Larson of Chip Ganassi Racing would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 30.070 and an average speed of 179.581 miles per hour (289.008 km/h).[2]
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 30.070 | 179.581 |
| 2 | 22 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 30.115 | 179.313 |
| 3 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 30.169 | 178.992 |
| Full first practice results | ||||||
Second and final practice
editThe second and final practice was held on Friday, March 2 at 2:05 PM PST. Kyle Larson of Chip Ganassi Racing would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 30.002 and an average speed of 179.988 miles per hour (289.663 km/h).[2]
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 30.002 | 179.988 |
| 2 | 22 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 30.136 | 179.188 |
| 3 | 9 | Tyler Reddick | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 30.147 | 179.122 |
| Full final practice results | ||||||
Qualifying
editQualifying 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.[3]
Christopher Bell of Joe Gibbs Racing would win the pole after advancing from both preliminary rounds and setting the fastest lap in Round 3, with a time of 29.398 and an average speed of 183.686 miles per hour (295.614 km/h).[4]
No drivers would fail to qualify.
Full qualifying results
edit| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time (R1) | Speed (R1) | Time (R2) | Speed (R2) | Time (R3) | Speed (R3) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 30.377 | 177.766 | 29.580 | 182.556 | 29.398 | 183.686 |
| 2 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 29.617 | 182.328 | 29.467 | 183.256 | 29.442 | 183.411 |
| 3 | 21 | Daniel Hemric | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 29.930 | 180.421 | 29.806 | 181.172 | 29.497 | 183.069 |
| 4 | 00 | Cole Custer | Stewart-Haas Racing with Biagi-DenBeste | Ford | 30.141 | 179.158 | 29.797 | 181.226 | 29.538 | 182.815 |
| 5 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 29.902 | 180.590 | 29.565 | 182.648 | 29.561 | 182.673 |
| 6 | 1 | Elliott Sadler | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 30.466 | 177.247 | 29.710 | 181.757 | 29.640 | 182.186 |
| 7 | 9 | Tyler Reddick | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 30.080 | 179.521 | 29.718 | 181.708 | 29.656 | 182.088 |
| 8 | 22 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 29.787 | 181.287 | 29.688 | 181.892 | 29.680 | 181.941 |
| 9 | 2 | Matt Tifft | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 30.289 | 178.283 | 29.883 | 180.705 | 29.743 | 181.555 |
| 10 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 30.215 | 178.719 | 29.895 | 180.632 | 29.809 | 181.153 |
| 11 | 23 | Spencer Gallagher | GMS Racing | Chevrolet | 30.115 | 179.313 | 29.930 | 180.421 | 29.918 | 180.493 |
| 12 | 7 | Justin Allgaier | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 30.427 | 177.474 | 29.865 | 180.814 | 30.003 | 179.982 |
| Eliminated in Round 2 | ||||||||||
| 13 | 16 | Ryan Reed | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 30.311 | 178.153 | 29.986 | 180.084 | — | — |
| 14 | 4 | Ross Chastain | JD Motorsports | Chevrolet | 30.081 | 179.515 | 29.987 | 180.078 | — | — |
| 15 | 60 | Austin Cindric | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 30.117 | 179.301 | 29.987 | 180.078 | — | — |
| 16 | 19 | Brandon Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 30.476 | 177.189 | 30.022 | 179.868 | — | — |
| 17 | 11 | Ryan Truex | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 30.461 | 177.276 | 30.105 | 179.372 | — | — |
| 18 | 24 | Kaz Grala | JGL Racing | Ford | 30.724 | 175.758 | 30.107 | 179.360 | — | — |
| 19 | 5 | Michael Annett | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 30.554 | 176.736 | 30.155 | 179.075 | — | — |
| 20 | 51 | Jeremy Clements | Jeremy Clements Racing | Chevrolet | 30.368 | 177.819 | 30.290 | 178.277 | — | — |
| 21 | 39 | Ryan Sieg | RSS Racing | Chevrolet | 30.289 | 178.283 | 30.305 | 178.188 | — | — |
| 22 | 28 | Dylan Lupton | JGL Racing | Ford | 30.734 | 175.701 | 30.319 | 178.106 | — | — |
| 23 | 35 | Joey Gase | Go Green Racing with SS-Green Light Racing | Chevrolet | 30.382 | 177.737 | 30.386 | 177.713 | — | — |
| 24 | 36 | Alex Labbé | DGM Racing | Chevrolet | 30.368 | 177.819 | 30.440 | 177.398 | — | — |
| Eliminated in Round 1 | ||||||||||
| 25 | 66 | Timmy Hill | MBM Motorsports | Dodge | 30.778 | 175.450 | — | — | — | — |
| 26 | 15 | Garrett Smithley | JD Motorsports | Chevrolet | 30.790 | 175.382 | — | — | — | — |
| 27 | 0 | Matt Mills | JD Motorsports | Chevrolet | 31.085 | 173.717 | — | — | — | — |
| 28 | 93 | J. J. Yeley | RSS Racing | Chevrolet | 31.121 | 173.516 | — | — | — | — |
| 29 | 90 | Josh Williams | DGM Racing | Chevrolet | 31.223 | 172.949 | — | — | — | — |
| 30 | 40 | Chad Finchum | MBM Motorsports | Toyota | 31.233 | 172.894 | — | — | — | — |
| 31 | 76 | Spencer Boyd | SS-Green Light Racing | Chevrolet | 31.285 | 172.607 | — | — | — | — |
| 32 | 38 | Jeff Green | RSS Racing | Chevrolet | 31.320 | 172.414 | — | — | — | — |
| 33 | 8 | Tommy Joe Martins | B. J. McLeod Motorsports | Chevrolet | 31.323 | 172.397 | — | — | — | — |
| Qualified by owner's points | ||||||||||
| 34 | 78 | B. J. McLeod | B. J. McLeod Motorsports | Chevrolet | 31.523 | 171.303 | — | — | — | — |
| 35 | 52 | David Starr | Jimmy Means Racing | Chevrolet | 31.787 | 169.881 | — | — | — | — |
| 36 | 89 | Morgan Shepherd | Shepherd Racing Ventures | Chevrolet | 31.934 | 169.099 | — | — | — | — |
| 37 | 01 | Vinnie Miller | JD Motorsports | Chevrolet | 31.993 | 168.787 | — | — | — | — |
| 38 | 74 | Mike Harmon | Mike Harmon Racing | Chevrolet | 32.080 | 168.329 | — | — | — | — |
| 39 | 45 | Josh Bilicki | JP Motorsports | Toyota | 32.448 | 166.420 | — | — | — | — |
| 40 | 55 | Stephen Leicht | JP Motorsports | Toyota | 32.474 | 166.287 | — | — | — | — |
| Withdrew | ||||||||||
| WD | 99 | ? | B. J. McLeod Motorsports | Chevrolet | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Official qualifying results | ||||||||||
| Official starting lineup | ||||||||||
Race results
editStage 1 Laps: 45
| Fin | # | Driver | Team | Make | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 10 |
| 2 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 0 |
| 3 | 9 | Tyler Reddick | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 8 |
| 4 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 0 |
| 5 | 22 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 0 |
| 6 | 19 | Brandon Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 5 |
| 7 | 21 | Daniel Hemric | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 4 |
| 8 | 00 | Cole Custer | Stewart-Haas Racing with Biagi-DenBeste | Ford | 3 |
| 9 | 1 | Elliott Sadler | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 2 |
| 10 | 7 | Justin Allgaier | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 1 |
Stage 2 Laps: 45
| Fin | # | Driver | Team | Make | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 0 |
| 2 | 22 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 0 |
| 3 | 7 | Justin Allgaier | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 8 |
| 4 | 00 | Cole Custer | Stewart-Haas Racing with Biagi-DenBeste | Ford | 7 |
| 5 | 9 | Tyler Reddick | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 6 |
| 6 | 1 | Elliott Sadler | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 5 |
| 7 | 19 | Brandon Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 4 |
| 8 | 21 | Daniel Hemric | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 3 |
| 9 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 2 |
| 10 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 0 |
Stage 3 Laps: 110
References
edit- ^ Ryan, Nate (2018-03-03). "Kyle Larson scores first Xfinity triumph at Las Vegas". NASCAR Talk | NBC Sports. Retrieved 2021-11-03.
- ^ a b McFadin, Daniel (2018-03-02). "Kyle Larson tops both Xfinity Series practice sessions at Las Vegas". NASCAR Talk | NBC Sports. Retrieved 2021-11-03.
- ^ "NASCAR Qualifying Rules". ESPN.com. 2018-02-07. Retrieved 2021-11-03.
- ^ Ryan, Nate (2018-03-03). "Christopher Bell will start on pole for second consecutive Xfinity race". NASCAR Talk | NBC Sports. Retrieved 2021-11-03.
- ^ "2018 Boyd Gaming 300 - The Third Turn". www.thethirdturn.com. Retrieved 2021-11-03.