The 2018 Can-Am 500 was a

Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the NASCAR, National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR). The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, and from 1950 to 1970 it was known as the Grand National Division. ...

race that was held on November 11, 2018, at ISM Raceway in

Avondale, Arizona Avondale is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, adjacent to Phoenix. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 89,334, up from 76,238 in 2010 and 35,883 in 2000. Avondale, incorporated in 1946, has experienced rap ...

. Contested over 312 laps on the one mile (1.6 km) oval, it was the 35th race of the

2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series The 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series was the 70th season of NASCAR professional stock car racing in the United States, and the 47th modern-era Cup series season. The season began at Daytona International Speedway with the Advance Auto ...

season, ninth race of the Playoffs, and final race of the Round of 8.

Report

Background

Phoenix International Raceway, November 2011

ISM Raceway – also known as PIR – is a one-mile, low-banked

tri-oval A tri-oval is a shape which derives its name from the two other shapes it most resembles, a triangle and an oval. Rather than meeting at sharp, definable angles as the sides of a triangle do, in a tri-oval these angles are instead rounded into s ...

race track located in

. It is named after the nearby metropolitan area of Phoenix. The motorsport track opened in 1964 and currently hosts two

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and h ...

race weekends annually. PIR has also hosted the

IndyCar Series The IndyCar Series, currently known as the NTT IndyCar Series under sponsorship, is the highest class of regional North American open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars in the United States, which has been conducted under the auspices o ...

CART A cart or dray (Australia and New Zealand) is a vehicle designed for transport, using two wheels and normally pulled by one or a pair of draught animals. A handcart is pulled or pushed by one or more people. It is different from the flatbed tr ...

, USAC and the

Rolex Sports Car Series The Rolex Sports Car Series was the premier series run by the Grand American Road Racing Association. It was a North American-based sports car series founded in 2000 under the name Grand American Road Racing Championship to replace the failed ...

. The raceway is currently owned and operated by International Speedway Corporation. The raceway was originally constructed with a road course that ran both inside and outside of the main tri-oval. In 1991 the track was reconfigured with the current interior layout. PIR has an estimated grandstand seating capacity of around 67,000. Lights were installed around the track in 2004 following the addition of a second annual NASCAR race weekend. ISM Raceway is home to two annual NASCAR race weekends, one of 13 facilities on the NASCAR schedule to host more than one race weekend a year. The track is both the first and last stop in the western United States, as well as the fourth and penultimate track on the schedule.

Entry list

First practice

Erik Jones was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 26.113 seconds and a speed of .

Qualifying

Kevin Harvick Kevin Michael Harvick (born December 8, 1975) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 4 Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing. Harvick is the 2014 Cup Series champi ...

scored the pole for the race with a time of 25.836 and a speed of .

Qualifying results

Practice (post-qualifying)

Second practice

was the fastest in the second practice session with a time of 26.724 seconds and a speed of .

Final practice

was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 26.642 seconds and a speed of .

Race

Stage Results

Stage 1 ''Laps:'' 75 Stage 2 ''Laps:'' 75

Final Stage Results

Stage 3 ''Laps:'' 162

Race statistics

* Lead changes: 8 among different drivers * Cautions/Laps: 10 for 61 * Red flags: 1 for 16 minutes and 24 seconds * Time of race: 3 hours, 10 minutes and 20 seconds * Average speed:

Media

Television

NBC Sports NBC Sports is an American programming division of the broadcast network NBC, owned and operated by NBC Sports Group division of NBCUniversal and subsidiary of Comcast. The division is responsible for sports broadcasts on the network, and it ...

covered the race on the television side. Rick Allen, two–time Phoenix winner

Jeff Burton Jeffrey Tyler Burton (born June 29, 1967), nicknamed The Mayor, is an American former professional stock car racing driver and current racing commentator. He scored 21 career victories in the NASCAR Cup Series, including two Coca-Cola 600s in ...

, Steve Letarte and three-time Phoenix winner Dale Earnhardt Jr. had the call in the booth for the race. Dave Burns,

Parker Kligerman Parker L. Kligerman (born August 8, 1990) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series driving the No. 48 Chevrolet Camaro for Big Machine Racing. Kligerman is a former development driver ...

, Marty Snider and Kelli Stavast reported from pit lane during the race.

Radio

MRN had the radio call for the race, which was simulcast on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio.

Standings after the race

;Manufacturers' Championship standings *Note: Only the first 16 positions are included for the driver standings.

References

{{NASCAR on NBC 2018 in sports in Arizona

Can-Am 500 The NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race is a NASCAR Cup Series stock car race held at Phoenix Raceway in Avondale, Arizona. It is one of five NASCAR races run with a length measured in kilometers; the Ruoff Mortgage 500 (the other Cup Series rac ...

NASCAR races at Phoenix Raceway