The 2018 STP 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
Race, RACE or "The Race" may refer to:
* Race (biology), an informal taxonomic classification within a species, generally within a sub-species
* Race (human categorization), classification of humans into groups based on physical traits, and/or s ...
held on March 26, 2018, at
Martinsville Speedway
Martinsville Speedway is a NASCAR-owned stock car racing short track in Ridgeway, Virginia, just south of Martinsville. At in length, it is the shortest track in the NASCAR Cup Series. The track was also one of the first paved oval tracks in ...
in
Ridgeway, Virginia
Ridgeway is a town in Henry County, Virginia, United States. The population was 742 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Martinsville Micropolitan Statistical Area. Martinsville Speedway, a NASCAR racetrack, is located between Ridgeway and ...
. Contested over 500 laps on the .526 mile (.847 km) paperclip-shaped short track, it was sixth 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. The race was postponed from Sunday, March 25 to Monday, March 26 due to snow accumulation in Martinsville.
Report
Background

Martinsville Speedway is an
International Speedway Corporation
International Speedway Corporation (ISC) was a corporation whose primary business is the ownership and management of motorsports race tracks. ISC was founded by NASCAR founder Bill France Sr. in 1953 for the construction of Daytona International S ...
-owned
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 ...
stock car racing track located in
Henry County, in
Ridgeway, Virginia
Ridgeway is a town in Henry County, Virginia, United States. The population was 742 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Martinsville Micropolitan Statistical Area. Martinsville Speedway, a NASCAR racetrack, is located between Ridgeway and ...
, just to the south of
Martinsville. At in length, it is the shortest track in the
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. ...
. The track was also one of the first paved
oval tracks in NASCAR, being built in 1947 by
H. Clay Earles. It is also the only remaining race track that has been on the NASCAR circuit from its beginning in 1948.
Entry list
Practice
First practice
Martin Truex Jr.
Martin Lee Truex Jr. (born June 29, 1980) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 19 Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing. He is the 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Serie ...
was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 19.776 seconds and a speed of .
Final practice
Martin Truex Jr.
Martin Lee Truex Jr. (born June 29, 1980) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 19 Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing. He is the 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Serie ...
was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 19.846 seconds and a speed of .
Qualifying
Qualifying for Saturday was cancelled due to snow and
Martin Truex Jr.
Martin Lee Truex Jr. (born June 29, 1980) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 19 Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing. He is the 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Serie ...
, the point leader, was awarded the pole as a result.
Starting Lineup
Race

Stage Results
Stage One
''Laps:'' 130
Stage Two
''Laps:'' 130
Final Stage Results
Stage Three
''Laps:'' 240
Race statistics
* Lead changes: 6 among different drivers
* Cautions/Laps: 4 for 33
* Red flags: 0
* Time of race: 3 hours, 13 minutes and 14 seconds
* Average speed:
Media
Television
Fox Sports
Fox Sports is the brand name for a number of sports channels, broadcast divisions, programming, and other media around the world.
The ''Fox Sports'' name has since been used for other sports media assets. These assets are held mainly by the F ...
was covering their 18th race at the
Martinsville Speedway
Martinsville Speedway is a NASCAR-owned stock car racing short track in Ridgeway, Virginia, just south of Martinsville. At in length, it is the shortest track in the NASCAR Cup Series. The track was also one of the first paved oval tracks in ...
.
Mike Joy
Michael Joy (born November 25, 1949) is an American TV sports announcer and who currently serves as the lap-by-lap voice of Fox Sports' coverage of NASCAR. His color analyst is Clint Bowyer. Counting 2022, Joy has been part of the live broadca ...
, nine-time Martinsville winner
Jeff Gordon
Jeffery Michael Gordon (born August 4, 1971) is an American former professional stock car racing driver, who is the Vice Chairman for Hendrick Motorsports. He raced full-time from 1993 to 2015, driving the No. 24 Chevrolet for Hendrick Moto ...
and 11-time Martinsville winner
Darrell Waltrip
Darrell Lee Waltrip (born February 5, 1947) is an American motorsports analyst, author, former national television broadcaster, and stock car driver. He raced from 1972 to 2000 in the NASCAR Cup Series (known as the NASCAR Winston Cup Series dur ...
called in the booth for the race.
Jamie Little
Jamie Little (born April 9, 1978) is an American pit reporter for NASCAR coverage on Fox. Little is a former pit reporter for ESPN/ABC coverage of the Indy Racing League, although she returned to her pit reporting duty for the 2007 and 2008 Ind ...
,
Vince Welch
Vincent Welch (born August 4, 1964) is an American radio and television personality most recently for Fox Sports. Until 2022, Welch was the play-by-play commentator for NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, and occasionally, a pit reporter for FOX ...
and
Matt Yocum
Matthew Yocum (born April 8, 1968) is a long-standing reporter in motorsports, best known for being a NASCAR pit reporter. He works for CBS as a pit reporter to cover the Superstar Racing Experience (SRX) as of 2021. He most recently worked in th ...
handled pit road duties for the entire race.
Radio
MRN had the radio call for the race which would also be simulcasted on
Sirius XM
Sirius XM Holdings Inc. is an American broadcasting company headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City that provides satellite radio and online radio services operating in the United States. It was formed by the 2008 merger of Sirius Sat ...
NASCAR Radio. Joe Moore, Jeff Striegle and seven-time Martinsville winner
Rusty Wallace
Russell William "Rusty" Wallace Jr. (born August 14, 1956) is an American former NASCAR racing driver. He has won the 1984 NASCAR Cup series Rookie of the Year and the 1989 NASCAR Winston Cup Championship. Over the course of his successful car ...
called the race in the booth as the cars were on the frontstretch.
Dave Moody called the race from atop the turn 3 stands as the field is racing down the backstretch. Alex Hayden, Winston Kelley and Steve Post worked pit road for the radio side.
Standings after the race
;Drivers' Championship standings
;Manufacturers' Championship standings
*
Note: Only the first 16 positions are included for the driver standings.
References
{{2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup
STP 500
The Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 400 is an annual 400-lap NASCAR Cup Series stock car race held at the Martinsville Speedway in Ridgeway, Virginia. It had no name from 1950 to 1955, before taking the name Virginia 500 in 1956. It is the first ...
STP 500
The Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 400 is an annual 400-lap NASCAR Cup Series stock car race held at the Martinsville Speedway in Ridgeway, Virginia. It had no name from 1950 to 1955, before taking the name Virginia 500 in 1956. It is the first ...
STP 500
The Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 400 is an annual 400-lap NASCAR Cup Series stock car race held at the Martinsville Speedway in Ridgeway, Virginia. It had no name from 1950 to 1955, before taking the name Virginia 500 in 1956. It is the first ...
NASCAR races at Martinsville Speedway