2018 Federated Auto Parts 400

The 2018 Federated Auto Parts 400 was a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race that was held on September 22, 2018, at Richmond Raceway in Richmond, Virginia. Contested over 400 laps on the .75 mi D-shaped short track, it was the 28th race of the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season, second race of the Playoffs and second race of the Round of 16.

Background
Richmond Raceway (RR), formerly known as Richmond International Raceway (RIR), is a 3/4-mile (1.2 km), D-shaped, asphalt race track located just outside Richmond, Virginia in Henrico County. It hosts the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and Xfinity Series. Known as "America's premier short track", it formerly hosted a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race, an IndyCar Series race and two USAC sprint car races.

First practice
Kyle Busch was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 22.279 seconds and a speed of 121.190 mph.

Final practice
Brad Keselowski was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 22.458 seconds and a speed of 120.224 mph.

Qualifying
Kevin Harvick scored the pole for the race with a time of 22.153 and a speed of 121.880 mph.

Qualifying results

 * Kyle Busch, Daniel Suárez, Regan Smith, and David Ragan all started from the rear after failing inspection.

Stage 1
Harvick drove to the lead and led the first 40 laps of the race. Truex Jr. took over the top spot but could not drive away from Harvick.

Some drivers opted to split the first stage in half and pit early. Although not a title contender, Ricky Stenhouse Jr.(17) choose that strategy. With fresh Goodyears, Stenhouse could easily pass cars running on worn tires. He misjudged his closing rate on Hamlin and spun the 11 car sideways coming out of turn 4. Somehow Hamlin managed to save the car and straighten it out. However, the slide damaged his tires and he was forced into the stop at halfway pit cycle.

Truex Jr. held off several charges by Harvick and went on to win the Stage. Keselowski worked his way into 3rd. Hamlin recovered to finish in 9th place. All 100 laps in the stage were run under the green flag.

Stage 2
Truex Jr., Harvick, and Aric Almirola(10) exited the pits 1-2-3. Keselowski had trouble with the right front tire change and dropped out of the top 10. Jones crew dropped the rear jack screw adjustment tool. He was forced to restart from the rear of the field in 24th place.

With no cautions in Stage 2, it was line up and drive. The Stage ended the same way it started with Truex Jr. getting his 2nd Stage win of the evening.

The Final Stage
During the Stage ending pit stops, Truex Jr.’s crew had an uncontrolled tire. The penalty sent him to the tail end of the field. Truex Jr. restarted in the 20th position. Elliott led the field off pit road and led when the race went back to green. Keselowski overcame his earlier pit issues and took the lead on Lap 214.

On Lap 287, Kyle Busch took the lead. It took Busch that long to work his way from the rear of the pack at the start to the top spot. Busch drove out to a 4-second lead and lapped all but 12 cars as green flag pit stops approached.

On Lap 325, Jeffrey Earnhardt spun exiting Turn 2 and brought out the caution for the first on-track incident of the night. The yellow flag allowed the leaders to pit under caution and everyone get fresh tires and enough fuel to finish the race.

The race restarted with 68 laps to go. Kyle Busch led Harvick, Keselowski, Elliott, and Almirola to the green flag. With 58 laps to go, Keselowski drove around Kyle Busch to take the lead. Four in a row, at this time of the year, would be an unbelievable accomplishment.

Kyle Busch hung to the rear bumper of Keselowski. He repeatedly drove up beside the winner of 3 in a row until he was able to regain the lead with 37 laps to go. Busch’s car seemed to come alive as the laps mounted. Keselowski’s car began to fade and Harvick passed him with 29 laps to go. By the time Harvick moved into 2nd he was over 1.5 seconds behind Kyle Busch.

With 20 laps to go the margin from 1st to 2nd remained consistent. Keselowski continued to fade and Truex Jr. moved into 3rd. The “Big 3” were the top 3. Working through lapped traffic Harvick cut the deficit to under a second. But, he could never get to the rear bumper of Busch who scored his 7th victory of the season to match Harvick. More importantly, Busch punched his ticket into the next round of the playoffs.

Playoff Picture
The top 12 finishers were all Playoff drivers. Kyle Busch and Keselowski are on to the next round with wins. So is Truex Jr. based on points. Harvick is virtually assured to move on and should easily clinch next week. Everyone else is potentially in danger. Ryan Blaney(12) sits on the cut line, 4 points ahead of Clint Bowyer(14). Alex Bowman is only 1 point clear of Blaney, Elliott and Austin Dillon(3) sit tied 10 points out of the final Playoff spot.

Bowyer, 4 points back, and Johnson, 6 back, both have a realistic chance of racing themselves into Round 2 on points. Jones, 21 back, and Hamlin, 29 back, will likely need a win to move forward. Jones had a decent run, finishing 11th, and still lost 2 points to the cut line. That is how competitive the Playoffs are

Stage Results
Stage 1 Laps: 100

Stage 2 Laps: 100

Final Stage Results
Stage 3 Laps: 200

Race statistics

 * Lead changes: 8 among different drivers
 * Cautions/Laps: 3 for 23
 * Red flags: 0
 * Time of race: 2 hours, 54 minutes and 30 seconds
 * Average speed: 103.152 mph

Television
NBC Sports covered the race on the television side. Rick Allen, Jeff Burton, Steve Letarte and three-time Richmond winner Dale Earnhardt Jr. had the call in the booth for the race. Dave Burns, Marty Snider and Kelli Stavast will report from pit lane during the race.

Radio
The Motor Racing Network 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.