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The 2018 FireKeepers Casino 400 was a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race held on June 10, 2018 at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Michigan. Contested over 133 of the scheduled 200 laps on the two-mile (3.2 km) D-shaped oval, it was the 15th race of the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season.
| Race details[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 15 of 36 in the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series | |||
 | |||
| Date | June 10, 2018 | ||
| Location | Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Michigan | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 2.0 mi (3.2 km) | ||
| Distance | 133 laps, 266 mi (425.6 km) | ||
| Scheduled Distance | 200 laps, 400 mi (640 km) | ||
| Average speed | 132.723 miles per hour (213.597 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Stewart-Haas Racing | ||
| Time | 35.405 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | |
| Laps | 49 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 14 | Clint Bowyer | Stewart-Haas Racing | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | FOX | ||
| Announcers | Mike Joy, Jeff Gordon and Darrell Waltrip | ||
| Nielsen Ratings | 2.2 (Overnight)[10] | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | MRN | ||
| Booth Announcers | Joe Moore, Jeff Striegle and Rusty Wallace | ||
| Turn Announcers | Dave Moody (1–2) and Buddy Long (3–4) | ||
This race was the 10th and final win for Clint Bowyer, who retired after the 2020 season.
Background
The race was held at Michigan International Speedway, a two-mile (3.2 km) moderate-banked D-shaped speedway located in Brooklyn, 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. 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).
Entry list
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Ryan Blaney was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 35.535 seconds and a speed of 202.617 mph (326.080 km/h).[11]
| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 35.535 | 202.617 |
| 2 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 35.655 | 201.935 |
| 3 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 35.667 | 201.867 |
| Official first practice results | ||||||
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Kurt Busch scored the pole for the race with a time of 35.405 and a speed of 203.361 mph (327.278 km/h).[12]
Qualifying results
Second practice
Kevin Harvick was the fastest in the second practice session with a time of 35.871 seconds and a speed of 200.719 mph (323.026 km/h).[13]
| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 35.871 | 200.719 |
| 2 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 35.985 | 200.083 |
| 3 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 36.036 | 199.800 |
| Official second practice results | ||||||
Final practice
Final practice session for Saturday was cancelled due to rain.
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Stage Results
Stage 1 Laps: 60
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 10 |
| 2 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 9 |
| 3 | 14 | Clint Bowyer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 8 |
| 4 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 7 |
| 5 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 6 |
| 6 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 5 |
| 7 | 41 | Kurt Busch | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 4 |
| 8 | 24 | William Byron (R) | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 3 |
| 9 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 2 |
| 10 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 1 |
| Official stage one results | |||||
Stage 2 Laps: 60
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 10 |
| 2 | 14 | Clint Bowyer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 9 |
| 3 | 41 | Kurt Busch | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 8 |
| 4 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 7 |
| 5 | 21 | Paul Menard | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 6 |
| 6 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 5 |
| 7 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 4 |
| 8 | 1 | Jamie McMurray | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 3 |
| 9 | 20 | Erik Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 2 |
| 10 | 24 | William Byron (R) | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 1 |
| Official stage two results | |||||
Final Stage Results
Stage 3 Laps: 80
| Pos | Grid | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Laps | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 12 | 14 | Clint Bowyer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 133 | 57 |
| 2 | 4 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 133 | 52 |
| 3 | 1 | 41 | Kurt Busch | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 133 | 46 |
| 4 | 3 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 133 | 40 |
| 5 | 15 | 21 | Paul Menard | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 133 | 38 |
| 6 | 2 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 133 | 40 |
| 7 | 5 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 133 | 38 |
| 8 | 9 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 133 | 44 |
| 9 | 13 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 133 | 28 |
| 10 | 24 | 1 | Jamie McMurray | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 133 | 30 |
| 11 | 6 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 133 | 27 |
| 12 | 10 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 133 | 31 |
| 13 | 14 | 24 | William Byron (R) | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 133 | 28 |
| 14 | 16 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 133 | 23 |
| 15 | 8 | 20 | Erik Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 133 | 24 |
| 16 | 21 | 88 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 133 | 21 |
| 17 | 25 | 47 | A. J. Allmendinger | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 133 | 20 |
| 18 | 17 | 78 | Martin Truex Jr. | Furniture Row Racing | Toyota | 133 | 19 |
| 19 | 28 | 43 | Darrell Wallace Jr. (R) | Richard Petty Motorsports | Chevrolet | 133 | 18 |
| 20 | 20 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 133 | 17 |
| 21 | 31 | 13 | Ty Dillon | Germain Racing | Chevrolet | 133 | 16 |
| 22 | 11 | 31 | Ryan Newman | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 133 | 15 |
| 23 | 29 | 95 | Kasey Kahne | Leavine Family Racing | Chevrolet | 133 | 14 |
| 24 | 18 | 37 | Chris Buescher | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 133 | 13 |
| 25 | 23 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 133 | 12 |
| 26 | 33 | 15 | Ross Chastain (i) | Premium Motorsports | Chevrolet | 133 | 0 |
| 27 | 32 | 72 | Corey LaJoie | TriStar Motorsports | Chevrolet | 133 | 10 |
| 28 | 26 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 133 | 18 |
| 29 | 7 | 17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 133 | 8 |
| 30 | 22 | 19 | Daniel Suárez | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 132 | 7 |
| 31 | 34 | 23 | Gray Gaulding | BK Racing | Toyota | 132 | 6 |
| 32 | 36 | 00 | Landon Cassill | StarCom Racing | Chevrolet | 132 | 5 |
| 33 | 19 | 6 | Matt Kenseth | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 132 | 4 |
| 34 | 37 | 7 | D. J. Kennington | Premium Motorsports | Chevrolet | 132 | 3 |
| 35 | 38 | 66 | Timmy Hill (i) | MBM Motorsports | Toyota | 132 | 0 |
| 36 | 30 | 32 | Matt DiBenedetto | Go Fas Racing | Ford | 131 | 1 |
| 37 | 35 | 51 | B. J. McLeod (i) | Rick Ware Racing | Chevrolet | 131 | 0 |
| 38 | 27 | 38 | David Ragan | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 35 | 1 |
| 39 | 39 | 99 | Garrett Smithley (i) | StarCom Racing | Chevrolet | 1 | 0 |
| Official race results | |||||||
Race statistics
- Lead changes: 7 among different drivers
- Cautions/Laps: 8 for 30
- Red flags: 1
- Time of race: 2 hours, 00 minutes and 15 seconds
- Average speed: 132.723 miles per hour (213.597 km/h)
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Television
Fox NASCAR televised the race in the United States on FOX for the seventh time at Michigan. Mike Joy was the lap-by-lap announcer, while three-time Michigan winner, Jeff Gordon and two-time winner Darrell Waltrip were the color commentators. Jamie Little, Regan Smith and Matt Yocum reported from pit lane during the race.
| FOX Television | |
|---|---|
| Booth announcers | Pit reporters |
| Lap-by-lap: Mike Joy Color-commentator: Jeff Gordon Color commentator: Darrell Waltrip | Jamie Little Regan Smith Matt Yocum |
Radio
Radio coverage of the race was broadcast by Motor Racing Network (MRN) and simulcasted on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio. Joe Moore, Jeff Striegle and five-time Michigan winner Rusty Wallace announced the race in the booth while the field is racing on the front stretch. Dave Moody called the race from a billboard outside of turn 2 when the field was racing through turns 1 and 2. Mike Bagley called the race from a platform outside of turn 3 when the field was racing through turns 3 and 4. Alex Hayden, Winston Kelley and Steve Post reported from pit lane during the race.
| MRN | ||
|---|---|---|
| Booth announcers | Turn announcers | Pit reporters |
| Lead announcer: Joe Moore Announcer: Jeff Striegle Announcer: Rusty Wallace | Turns 1 & 2: Dave Moody Turns 3 & 4: Buddy Long | Alex Hayden Winston Kelley Steve Post |
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