2018 Ford EcoBoost 200
The 2018 Ford EcoBoost 200 was the 23rd and final stock car race of the 2018 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, the championship race of the season, and the 23rd iteration of the event. The race was held on Friday, November 16, 2018, in Homestead, Florida at Homestead–Miami Speedway, a 1.5 miles (2.4 km) permanent oval-shaped racetrack. The race took the scheduled 134 laps to complete. At race's end, Brett Moffitt, driving for underfunded team Hattori Racing Enterprises, dominated the late stages of the race to win his first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship.[1] The win was also Moffitt's seventh career NASCAR Camping World Truck Series win and his sixth and final win of the season. To fill out the podium, Grant Enfinger of ThorSport Racing and Noah Gragson of Kyle Busch Motorsports finished second and third, respectively.
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 23 of 23 of the 2018 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series | |||
| Date | November 16, 2018 | ||
| Official name | 23rd Annual Ford EcoBoost 200 | ||
| Location | Homestead, Florida, Homestead-Miami Speedway | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 1.5 mi (2.41 km) | ||
| Distance | 134 laps, 201 mi (323.478 km) | ||
| Scheduled Distance | 134 laps, 201 mi (323.478 km) | ||
| Average speed | 133.684 miles per hour (215.144 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | ThorSport Racing | ||
| Time | 31.887 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Brett Moffitt | Hattori Racing Enterprises | |
| Laps | 59 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 16 | Brett Moffitt | Hattori Racing Enterprises | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | Fox Sports 1 | ||
| Announcers | Vince Welch, Phil Parsons, Michael Waltrip | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | Motor Racing Network | ||
Background
Homestead-Miami Speedway is a motor racing track located in Homestead, Florida. The track, which has several configurations, has promoted several series of racing, including NASCAR, the Verizon IndyCar Series, the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series and the Championship Cup Series.
Since 2002, Homestead-Miami Speedway has hosted the final race of the season in all three of NASCAR's series: the Sprint Cup Series, Xfinity Series and Gander Outdoors Truck Series. Ford Motor Company sponsors all three of the season-ending races; the races have the names Ford EcoBoost 400, Ford EcoBoost 300 and Ford EcoBoost 200, respectively, and the weekend is marketed as Ford Championship Weekend. The Xfinity Series (then known as the Busch Series) has held its season-ending races at Homestead since 1995 and held it until 2020, when it was moved to Phoenix Raceway, along with NASCAR's other two series.
Championship drivers
- Noah Gragson: Advanced by virtue of points.[2]
- Justin Haley: Advanced by winning the 2018 JAG Metals 350.[3]
- Brett Moffitt: Advanced by winning the 2018 Lucas Oil 150.[4]
- Johnny Sauter: Advanced by winning the 2018 Texas Roadhouse 200.[5]
Entry list
- (R) denotes rookie driver.
- (i) denotes driver who is ineligible for series driver points.
- (CC) denotes Championship Contender.
*Driver changed to Camden Murphy.[6]
**Withdrew due to wrecking in first practice.[6]
Practice
First practice
The first practice session was held on Friday, November 16, at 8:35 AM EST, and would last for 50 minutes.[7] Johnny Sauter of GMS Racing would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 31.678 and an average speed of 170.465 miles per hour (274.337 km/h).[8]
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 21 | Johnny Sauter | GMS Racing | Chevrolet | 31.678 | 170.465 |
| 2 | 98 | Grant Enfinger | ThorSport Racing | Ford | 31.737 | 170.148 |
| 3 | 16 | Brett Moffitt | Hattori Racing Enterprises | Toyota | 32.253 | 167.426 |
| Full first practice results | ||||||
Second and final practice
The second and final practice session, sometimes referred to as Happy Hour, was held on Friday, November 16, at 10:05 AM EST, and would last for 50 minutes.[7] Justin Haley of GMS Racing would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 32.308 and an average speed of 167.141 miles per hour (268.987 km/h).[8]
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 24 | Justin Haley | GMS Racing | Chevrolet | 32.308 | 167.141 |
| 2 | 18 | Noah Gragson | Kyle Busch Motorsports | Toyota | 32.355 | 166.898 |
| 3 | 51 | Harrison Burton | Kyle Busch Motorsports | Toyota | 32.541 | 165.945 |
| Full Happy Hour practice results | ||||||
Qualifying
Qualifying was held on Friday, November 16, at 3:45 PM EST.[7] Since Homestead–Miami Speedway is at least a 1.5 miles (2.4 km) racetrack, the qualifying system was a single car, single lap, two round system where in the first round, everyone would set a time to determine positions 13–32. Then, the fastest 12 qualifiers would move on to the second round to determine positions 1–12.[9]
Grant Enfinger of ThorSport Racing would win the pole, setting a lap of 31.887 and an average speed of 169.348 miles per hour (272.539 km/h) in the second round.[10]
No drivers would fail to qualify.
Full qualifying results
Race results
- Note: Noah Gragson, Justin Haley, Brett Moffitt, and Johnny Sauter are not eligible for stage points because of their participation in the Championship 4.
Stage 1 Laps: 30
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 98 | Grant Enfinger | ThorSport Racing | Ford | 10 |
| 2 | 18 | Noah Gragson | Kyle Busch Motorsports | Toyota | 0 |
| 3 | 16 | Brett Moffitt | Hattori Racing Enterprises | Toyota | 0 |
| 4 | 8 | John Hunter Nemechek | NEMCO Motorsports | Chevrolet | 0 |
| 5 | 88 | Matt Crafton | ThorSport Racing | Ford | 5 |
| 6 | 24 | Justin Haley | GMS Racing | Chevrolet | 0 |
| 7 | 52 | Stewart Friesen | Halmar Friesen Racing | Chevrolet | 4 |
| 8 | 97 | Jesse Little | JJL Motorsports | Ford | 3 |
| 9 | 41 | Ben Rhodes | ThorSport Racing | Ford | 2 |
| 10 | 2 | Sheldon Creed | GMS Racing | Chevrolet | 1 |
Stage 2 Laps: 30
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 16 | Brett Moffitt | Hattori Racing Enterprises | Toyota | 0 |
| 2 | 18 | Noah Gragson | Kyle Busch Motorsports | Toyota | 0 |
| 3 | 98 | Grant Enfinger | ThorSport Racing | Ford | 8 |
| 4 | 88 | Matt Crafton | ThorSport Racing | Ford | 7 |
| 5 | 8 | John Hunter Nemechek | NEMCO Motorsports | Chevrolet | 0 |
| 6 | 52 | Stewart Friesen | Halmar Friesen Racing | Chevrolet | 5 |
| 7 | 97 | Jesse Little | JJL Motorsports | Ford | 4 |
| 8 | 24 | Justin Haley | GMS Racing | Chevrolet | 0 |
| 9 | 2 | Sheldon Creed | GMS Racing | Chevrolet | 2 |
| 10 | 21 | Johnny Sauter | GMS Racing | Chevrolet | 0 |
Stage 3 Laps: 74
References
- "Moffitt wins Truck Series Championship; Snider wins Rookie of the Year". Jayski's NASCAR Silly Season Site. 2018-11-16. Retrieved 2022-02-09.
- "Championship 4 set for Camping World Truck Series | NASCAR.com". Official Site Of NASCAR. 2018-11-10. Retrieved 2022-02-09.
- Spencer, Reid (2018-11-03). "Justin Haley wins at Texas to advance to Championship 4". Official Site Of NASCAR. Retrieved 2022-02-08.
- "Brett Moffitt clinches Championship 4 berth with dramatic win at Phoenix". ESPN.com. 2018-11-10. Retrieved 2022-02-09.
- Henderson, Amy. "Johnny Sauter wins at Martinsville to earn a shot at Truck Series title". accesswdun.com. Archived from the original on 2022-01-08. Retrieved 2022-01-08.
- Beard, Brock. "TRUCKS: Camden Murphy's late entry and driver swap result in an early exit at Homestead". Retrieved 2022-02-09.
- "2018 NASCAR Truck Series Homestead Race Page". Jayski's NASCAR Silly Season Site. Retrieved 2022-02-09.
- "Homestead Truck Practice Results: November 16, 2018". Racing News. 2018-11-16. Retrieved 2022-02-09.
- "NASCAR Qualifying Rules". ESPN.com. 2018-02-07. Retrieved 2021-11-10.
- Beaver, Dan (2018-11-16). "Grant Enfinger wins truck pole at Miami, playoff contenders start nose to tail". NASCAR Talk | NBC Sports. Retrieved 2022-02-09.
- "2018 Ford EcoBoost 200 - The Third Turn". www.thethirdturn.com. Retrieved 2022-02-09.