The KC Masterpiece 400 was a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race held on May 12, 2018, at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Kansas. Contested over 267 laps on the 1.5 mile (2.4 km) asphalt speedway, it was the 12th race of the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season.
Report
Background
Kansas Speedway is a 1.5-mile (2.4 km) tri-oval race track in Kansas City, Kansas. It was built in 2001 and hosts two annual NASCAR race weekends. The Verizon IndyCar Series also raced at here until 2011. The speedway is owned and operated by the International Speedway Corporation.
Entry list
Matt Kenseth, who last raced in the 2017 Ford EcoBoost 400, made his first Cup series return, in the No. 6 for Roush Fenway Racing, doing so part-time. This was also the first Cup race since the 2014 Quicken Loans Race for Heroes 500 where Trevor Bayne did not participate.
Final Practice
Kevin Harvick was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 29.009 seconds and a speed of 186.149 mph (299.578 km/h).1
| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 29.009 | 186.149 |
| 2 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 29.035 | 185.982 |
| 3 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 29.163 | 185.166 |
| Official final practice results | ||||||
Qualifying
Kevin Harvick scored the pole for the race with a time of 28.600 and a speed of 188.811 mph (303.862 km/h).2
Qualifying results
Race
Stage Results
Stage 1 Laps: 80
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 10 |
| 2 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 9 |
| 3 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 8 |
| 4 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 7 |
| 5 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 6 |
| 6 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 5 |
| 7 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 4 |
| 8 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 3 |
| 9 | 41 | Kurt Busch | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 2 |
| 10 | 14 | Clint Bowyer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 1 |
| Official stage one results | |||||
Stage 2 Laps: 80
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 10 |
| 2 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 9 |
| 3 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 8 |
| 4 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 7 |
| 5 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 6 |
| 6 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 5 |
| 7 | 41 | Kurt Busch | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 4 |
| 8 | 14 | Clint Bowyer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 3 |
| 9 | 20 | Erik Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 2 |
| 10 | 78 | Martin Truex Jr. | Furniture Row Racing | Toyota | 1 |
| Official stage two results | |||||
Final Stage Results
Stage 3 Laps: 107
| Pos | Grid | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Laps | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 267 | 58 |
| 2 | 7 | 78 | Martin Truex Jr. | Furniture Row Racing | Toyota | 267 | 36 |
| 3 | 9 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 267 | 47 |
| 4 | 22 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 267 | 49 |
| 5 | 6 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 267 | 36 |
| 6 | 11 | 21 | Paul Menard | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 267 | 31 |
| 7 | 12 | 20 | Erik Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 267 | 32 |
| 8 | 8 | 41 | Kurt Busch | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 267 | 35 |
| 9 | 4 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 267 | 38 |
| 10 | 3 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 267 | 37 |
| 11 | 16 | 17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 267 | 26 |
| 12 | 17 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 267 | 25 |
| 13 | 20 | 38 | David Ragan | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 267 | 24 |
| 14 | 5 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 267 | 31 |
| 15 | 33 | 14 | Clint Bowyer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 267 | 26 |
| 16 | 18 | 47 | A. J. Allmendinger | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 266 | 21 |
| 17 | 25 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 266 | 20 |
| 18 | 19 | 88 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 266 | 19 |
| 19 | 23 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 265 | 18 |
| 20 | 36 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 265 | 17 |
| 21 | 34 | 95 | Kasey Kahne | Leavine Family Racing | Chevrolet | 264 | 16 |
| 22 | 37 | 32 | Matt DiBenedetto | Go Fas Racing | Ford | 263 | 15 |
| 23 | 21 | 43 | Darrell Wallace Jr. (R) | Richard Petty Motorsports | Chevrolet | 262 | 14 |
| 24 | 27 | 72 | Corey LaJoie | TriStar Motorsports | Chevrolet | 262 | 13 |
| 25 | 31 | 00 | Landon Cassill | StarCom Racing | Chevrolet | 260 | 12 |
| 26 | 28 | 15 | Ross Chastain (i) | Premium Motorsports | Chevrolet | 259 | 0 |
| 27 | 30 | 55 | Reed Sorenson | Premium Motorsports | Chevrolet | 259 | 10 |
| 28 | 14 | 19 | Daniel Suárez | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 258 | 9 |
| 29 | 29 | 23 | Gray Gaulding | BK Racing | Toyota | 257 | 8 |
| 30 | 15 | 31 | Ryan Newman | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 253 | 7 |
| 31 | 24 | 1 | Jamie McMurray | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 253 | 6 |
| 32 | 38 | 66 | Timmy Hill (i) | MBM Motorsports | Toyota | 253 | 0 |
| 33 | 13 | 24 | William Byron (R) | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 252 | 4 |
| 34 | 10 | 37 | Chris Buescher | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 252 | 3 |
| 35 | 32 | 51 | B. J. McLeod (i) | Rick Ware Racing | Chevrolet | 251 | 0 |
| 36 | 35 | 6 | Matt Kenseth | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 250 | 1 |
| 37 | 2 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 247 | 19 |
| 38 | 26 | 13 | Ty Dillon | Germain Racing | Chevrolet | 247 | 1 |
| Official race results | |||||||
Race statistics
- Lead changes: 7 among different drivers
- Cautions/Laps: 6 for 31
- Red flags: 1 for 13 minutes and 13 seconds
- Time of race: 2 hours, 53 minutes and 38 seconds
- Average speed: 128.395 miles per hour (206.632 km/h)
Media
Television
Fox Sports covered their eighth race at the Kansas Speedway. Mike Joy, three-time Kansas winner Jeff Gordon and Darrell Waltrip called in the booth for the race. Jamie Little, Vince Welch and Matt Yocum handled the action on pit road for the television side.
| FS1 | |
|---|---|
| Booth announcers | Pit reporters |
| Lap-by-lap: Mike JoyColor-commentator: Jeff GordonColor commentator: Darrell Waltrip | Jamie LittleVince WelchMatt Yocum |
Radio
MRN had the radio call for the race which was also simulcasted on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio. Alex Hayden, Jeff Striegle and Rusty Wallace called the race in the booth when the field raced through the tri-oval. Dave Moody covered the race from the Sunoco spotters stand outside turn 2 when the field is racing through turns 1 and 2. Mike Bagley called the race from a platform outside turn 4. Pete Pistone, Kim Coon, and Steve Post worked pit road for the radio side.
| MRN Radio | ||
|---|---|---|
| Booth announcers | Turn announcers | Pit reporters |
| Lead announcer: Jeff StriegleAnnouncer: Alex HaydenAnnouncer: Rusty Wallace | Turns 1 & 2: Dave MoodyTurns 3 & 4: Mike Bagley | Pete PistoneKim CoonSteve Post |
Standings after the race
Drivers' Championship standings
| Manufacturers' Championship standings
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References
Utter, Jim (May 11, 2018). "Kevin Harvick fastest in Kansas Cup practice delayed by weepers". Motorsport.com. Kansas City, Kansas: Motorsport Network. Retrieved May 11, 2018. https://www.motorsport.com/nascar-cup/news/kevin-harvick-fastest-in-kansas-cup-practice-delayed-by-weepers-1036198/ ↩
Skretta, Dave (May 11, 2018). "Harvick keeps hot streak going with pole at Kansas". Associated Press. Kansas City, Kansas: AP Sports. Associated Press. Archived from the original on May 12, 2018. Retrieved May 11, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180512112614/https://racing.ap.org/article/harvick-keeps-hot-streak-going-pole-kansas ↩