2018 Consumers Energy 400

The 2018 Consumers Energy 400 is a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race held on August 12, 2018 at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Michigan. Contested over 200 laps on the 2 mi D-shaped oval, it is the 23rd race of the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season.

Background
Michigan International Speedway (MIS) is a 2 mi moderate-banked D-shaped speedway located off U.S. Highway 12 on more than 1400 acre approximately 4 mi south of the village of Brooklyn, in the scenic Irish Hills area of southeastern Michigan. The track is used primarily for NASCAR events. It is sometimes known as a "sister track" to Texas World Speedway, and was used as the basis of Auto Club Speedway. The track is owned by International Speedway Corporation (ISC). Michigan International Speedway is recognized as one of motorsports' premier facilities because of its wide racing surface and high banking (by open-wheel standards; the 18-degree banking is modest by stock car standards). Michigan is the fastest track in NASCAR due to its wide, sweeping corners and long straightaways; typical qualifying speeds are in excess of 200 mph and corner entry speeds are anywhere from 215 to 220 mph after the 2012 repaving of the track.

First practice
Denny Hamlin was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 35.603 seconds and a speed of 202.230 mph.

Qualifying
Denny Hamlin scored the pole for the race with a time of 35.504 and a speed of 202.794 mph.

Qualifying results

 * Reed Sorenson practiced and qualified the No. 15 for Ross Chastain who was in Ohio for the Xfinity Series race.

Second practice
Erik Jones was the fastest in the second practice session with a time of 35.973 seconds and a speed of 200.150 mph.

Final practice
Joey Logano was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 36.441 seconds and a speed of 197.580 mph.

Stage 1
Hamlin drove away from Kyle Busch at the start. Erik Jones(20) complained of an ill-handling race car and things went wrong quickly. Jones spun exiting Turn 4 on Lap 8 bringing out the caution. He lost a lap nursing his car back to pit road with 2 flat tires.

Just after going back to green, William Byron(24), ran into Martin Truex Jr.(78) off Turn 2. Both cars spun and brought out another caution. Byron’s car suffered enough damage to cause him to lose 2 laps making repairs. Truex Jr. had only minor body dents and was able to stay on the lead lap.

The incident was good news for Jones who got his lap back courtesy of the free pass. Due to the rain last night NASCAR had told teams they would wave a competition caution at Lap 25. Almost the whole field pitted. Chase Elliott’s(9) crew lost control of a tire that escaped their pit. Elliott was penalized and sent to the rear of the field for the restart.

Back to green and another contender, Kyle Larson(42), returned to the pits with a loose tire. The same issue brought Elliott in for an unscheduled pit stop. Both drivers went a lap down.

After the early race excitement, things settled down for the remainder of Stage 1. Harvick moved to the front and drove away from the rest of the pack.

Stage 2
The Stage ending pit stops swapped some positions at the front of the field. Jimmie Johnson(48) exited the pits in 1st. Kyle Busch, Ryan Blaney(12), Hamlin, and Harvick made up the top 5.

AJ Allmendinger swapped directions on the track as he spun entering his pits. Completely in his pit box, just facing the wrong way, the crew was able to service his car. Allmendinger turned the car around after pit road cleared.

Ryan Newman(31) cut a tire and spun. Bringing out the caution for the 5th time on lap 74. Most of the field, having reached their pit window for fuel, opted to come in for service. On lap 83, Erik Jones spun again. This time going around in turn two. The ensuing caution allowed the rest of the field to pit for enough fuel to finish the Stage.

After the restart and positions at the front settled down, the contenders were the “Big Three.” Truex Jr. led, Harvick, ran second, and Kyle Busch held down the 3rd spot. Harvick eventually moved to the front and held on to win Stage 2. Capturing another vital playoff point, his second of the day.

In a rare miscalculation, the Truex Jr. team ran out of fuel with 2 laps to go. The pits had been closed for the end of the Stage and Truex faced a penalty for an illegal pit stop. He also lost a lap to the leaders slowing down while getting back to pit road.

The Final Stage
On Lap 131, Ty Dillon(13) hits some debris on the track. It was speculated that a battery may have been the object. Whatever it was, the damage took Dillon out of the race ripping through oil lines and steering linkage.

The Dillon caution allowed Truex Jr. to get back on the lead lap courtesy of the free pass. But, he was no longer in a position to contend for the win.

After a long clean-up delay, the race restarted on Lap 144. Outside of the fuel window, meaning a fuel stop would be required to finish the 200 laps. Harvick showed his dominance driving away from the field during the final segment of the race.

With all teams needing to come to pit road for a splash of gas the only drama remaining was if a mistake would cost a contender a shot at the win. Harvick’s stop was flawless. By Lap 190 everyone had cycled through the pits and Harvick held a big lead over 2nd place Austin Dillon(3).

Dillon, the Daytona 500 winner, looked like he would post a runner-up top-5 finish. Then he reported a tire going flat coming to the white flag. Dillon was able to hold on for 4th place. Harvick won by 3+ seconds over Brad Keselowski(2), with Kyle Busch 3rd and Blaney in the 5th spot.

Kevin Harvick shared a great family moment with the crowd bringing his son Keelan out to the start/finish line to join in the victory celebration. Keelan ran across the track to grab the checkered flag for his Dad. He then rode in the passenger side of the car waving the flag out the window. They drove past the grandstand and into victory lane with Keelan as the co-pilot.

The good times continued with Keelan in Victory Lane and in the media room for the winner’s interview. Keelan even took a few questions from the press.

Playoff Status
Harvick’s Stage sweep and 7th Victory give him 40 playoff points in the bank. Kyle Busch has 35 and Truex Jr. has 27. Busch leads Harvick by 62 points in the season-long points race. With 3 races left before the start of the playoffs, Kyle is almost assured of capturing the regular season Championship.

Alex Bowman(88), the man on the playoff bubble in 16th position leads Ricky Stenhouse Jr.(17) by the same 62 point margin. Bowman will likely enter the playoffs on points. Unless a non-winner outside of the top 16 wins at Bristol, Darlington, or Indy. Given the difficulty of racing at those tracks, it’s a possibility.

Stage Results
Stage 1 Laps: 60

Stage 2 Laps: 60

Final Stage Results
Stage 3 Laps: 80

Race statistics

 * Lead changes: 9 among different drivers
 * Cautions/Laps: 8 for 37
 * Red flags: 0
 * Time of race: 2 hours, 50 minutes and 51 seconds
 * Average speed: 140.474 mph

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

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

Standings after the race

 * Drivers' Championship standings


 * Manufacturers' Championship standings


 * Note: Only the first 16 positions are included for the driver standings.
 * . – Driver has clinched a position in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series playoffs.