The 2018 Rinnai 250 was the 2nd stock car race of the

2018 NASCAR Xfinity Series The 2018 NASCAR Xfinity Series was the 37th season of the NASCAR Xfinity Series, a stock car racing series sanctioned by NASCAR in the United States. William Byron won the 2017 championship with JR Motorsports, but moved up to the Monster En ...

season, and the 27th iteration of the

event Event may refer to: Gatherings of people * Ceremony, an event of ritual significance, performed on a special occasion * Convention (meeting), a gathering of individuals engaged in some common interest * Event management, the organization of ev ...

. The race was held on Saturday, February 24, 2018 in

Hampton, Georgia Hampton is a city in southwestern Henry County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 6,987, up from 3,857 at the 2000 census. By 2018 the estimated population was 7,922. "Hampton" mailing addresses outside t ...

Atlanta Motor Speedway Atlanta Motor Speedway (formerly known Atlanta International Raceway from 1960 to 1990) is a 1.54-mile entertainment facility in Hampton, Georgia, United States, 20 miles (32 km) south of Atlanta. It has annually hosted NASCAR Cup Series s ...

, a 1.54 miles (2.48 km) permanent asphalt quad-oval intermediate speedway. The race took the scheduled 163 laps to complete. At race's end,

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 ...

driving for

Stewart-Haas Racing Stewart-Haas Racing is an American professional stock car racing team that currently competes in the NASCAR Cup Series, the NASCAR Xfinity Series, and eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series. The team is co-owned by three-time NASCAR Cup Series champ ...

with Biagi-DenBeste would dominate the race and win his 1st and only win of the season driving a part-time schedule. The win was the 47th, and so far as of 2021, final win of his

NASCAR Xfinity Series The NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) is a stock car racing series organized by NASCAR. It is promoted as NASCAR's second-tier circuit to the organization's top level Cup Series. NXS events are frequently held as a support race on the day prior to ...

career. To fill out the podium,

Joey Logano Joseph Thomas Logano (born May 24, 1990), is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 22 Ford Mustang for Team Penske, and part-time in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Serie ...

Team Penske Team Penske (formerly Penske Racing) is an American professional auto racing organization, competing in the NTT IndyCar Series, NASCAR Cup Series, and the FIA World Endurance Championship. Debuting at the 1966 24 Hours of Daytona, the organiza ...

and Christopher Bell of

Joe Gibbs Racing Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) is an American professional stock car racing organization owned and operated by former Washington Redskins (today the Washington Commanders) coach Joe Gibbs, which first started racing on the NASCAR circuit in 1991. His ...

would finish second and third, respectively.

Background

Atlanta Motor Speedway (formerly Atlanta International Raceway) is a track in

, 20 miles (32 km) south of

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,71 ...

. It is a 1.54-mile (2.48 km) quad-oval track with a

seating capacity Seating capacity is the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, in terms of both the physical space available, and limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile th ...

of 111,000. It opened in 1960 as a 1.5-mile (2.4 km) standard oval. In 1994, 46

condominiums A condominium or condo is a type of living space similar to an apartment. Condominium or condo may also refer to: * Condominium (international law), a political territory * ''Condominium'' (film), a 1980 American TV film **''Condominium'', a nov ...

were built over the northeastern side of the track. In 1997, to standardize the track with Speedway Motorsports' other two 1.5-mile (2.4 km) ovals, the entire track was almost completely rebuilt. The frontstretch and backstretch were swapped, and the configuration of the track was changed from oval to quad-oval. The project made the track one of the fastest on the

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 ...

circuit.

Entry list

*Withdrew.

Practice

First practice

First practice was held on Friday, February 23 at 1:05 PM EST. Christopher Bell of

would set the fastest lap in the session with a 31.068 and an average speed of .

Second and final practice

The second and final practice was held on Friday, February 23 at 3:05 PM EST.

John Hunter Nemechek John Hunter Nemechek (born June 11, 1997) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He currently competes full time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 20 Toyota Supra for Joe Gibbs Racing. He is the son of NASCAR driver Joe ...

Chip Ganassi Racing Chip Ganassi Racing, LLC (CGR), also sometimes branded as Chip Ganassi Racing Teams, is an American auto racing organization with teams competing in the NTT IndyCar Series, IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, FIA World Endurance Championship ...

would set the fastest time in the session with a 31.056 and an average speed of .

Qualifying

Qualifying would take place on Saturday, February 24, at 9:10 AM EST. Since

is under , 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. Christopher Bell of

would win the pole after setting a fast enough time in the first two rounds to advance to the next, with Bell achieving a lap in Round 3 with a time of 30.600 and an average speed of . Two drivers would fail to qualify:

Josh Bilicki Joshua M. Bilicki (born June 3, 1995) is an American professional stock car racing driver who competes part-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 78 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Live Fast Motorsports. He has also previously competed in the ...

and

Mike Harmon Michael Joseph Harmon (born January 24, 1958) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He currently competes part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 47 Chevrolet Camaro for Mike Harmon Racing. In the past, he drove ...

Full qualifying results

Race results

Stage 1 Laps: 40 Stage 2 Laps: 40 Stage 3 Laps: 83

References

{{2018 NASCAR Xfinity Series 2018 NASCAR Xfinity Series NASCAR races at Atlanta Motor Speedway February 2018 sports events in the United States 2018 in sports in Georgia (U.S. state)