2018 PPG 400
The 2018 PPG 400 was the 8th stock car race of the 2018 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season and the 22nd iteration of the event. The race was held on Friday, June 8, 2018, in Fort Worth, Texas at Texas Motor Speedway, a 1.5 miles (2.4 km) permanent quad-oval racetrack. The race took the scheduled 167 laps to complete. At race's end, Johnny Sauter of GMS Racing would hold off Stewart Friesen to win the race, the 21st NASCAR Camping World Truck Series win of his career and the 4th of the season.[1] To fill out the podium, Stewart Friesen of Halmar Friesen Racing and Justin Haley of GMS Racing finished 2nd and 3rd, respectively.
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 8 of 23 of the 2018 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series | |||
| Date | June 8, 2018 | ||
| Official name | PPG 400 | ||
| Location | Fort Worth, Texas, Texas Motor Speedway | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 1.5 mi (2.41 km) | ||
| Distance | 167 laps, 250.5 mi (403.14 km) | ||
| Scheduled Distance | 167 laps, 250.5 mi (403.14 km) | ||
| Average speed | 115.66 miles per hour (186.14 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Halmar Friesen Racing | ||
| Time | 29.173 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Todd Gilliland | Kyle Busch Motorsports | |
| Laps | 62 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 21 | Johnny Sauter | GMS Racing | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | Fox Sports 1 | ||
| Announcers | Vince Welch, Phil Parsons, Todd Bodine | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | Motor Racing Network | ||
Background
Texas Motor Speedway is a speedway located in the northernmost portion of the U.S. city of Fort Worth, Texas – the portion located in Denton County, Texas. The track measures 1.5 miles (2.4 km) around and is banked 24 degrees in the turns, and is of the oval design, where the front straightaway juts outward slightly. The track layout is similar to Atlanta Motor Speedway and Charlotte Motor Speedway (formerly Lowe's Motor Speedway). The track is owned by Speedway Motorsports, Inc., the same company that owns Atlanta and Charlotte Motor Speedway, as well as the short-track Bristol Motor Speedway.
Entry list
Practice
Initially, two practice sessions were scheduled for the event- however, second practice would be rained out, meaning that second practice was canceled.[2]
First and final practice
The first and final practice took place on 3:05 PM CST. Chris Eggleston of DGR-Crosley would set the fastest time in practice with a 29.853 and an average speed of 180.886 miles per hour (291.108 km/h).[2]
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 54 | Chris Eggleston | DGR-Crosley | Toyota | 29.853 | 180.886 |
| 2 | 18 | Noah Gragson | Kyle Busch Motorsports | Toyota | 29.909 | 180.548 |
| 3 | 21 | Johnny Sauter | GMS Racing | Chevrolet | 29.926 | 180.445 |
| Full final practice results | ||||||
Qualifying
Qualifying would take place on Friday, June 8 on 4:45 CST. Since Texas Motor 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.[3]
Stewart Friesen of Halmar Friesen Racing would win the pole, advancing to Round 2 and setting the fastest time in Round 2 with a time of 29.173 and an average speed of 185.103 miles per hour (297.894 km/h).[4] Mike Harmon of Mike Harmon Racing would be the only driver not to qualify.
Race results
Stage 1 Laps: 40
| Fin | # | Driver | Team | Make | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 52 | Stewart Friesen | Halmar Friesen Racing | Chevrolet | 10 |
| 2 | 88 | Matt Crafton | ThorSport Racing | Ford | 9 |
| 3 | 13 | Myatt Snider | ThorSport Racing | Ford | 8 |
| 4 | 21 | Johnny Sauter | GMS Racing | Chevrolet | 7 |
| 5 | 2 | Cody Coughlin | GMS Racing | Chevrolet | 6 |
| 6 | 22 | Austin Wayne Self | Niece Motorsports | Chevrolet | 5 |
| 7 | 51 | Spencer Davis | Kyle Busch Motorsports | Toyota | 4 |
| 8 | 24 | Justin Haley | GMS Racing | Chevrolet | 3 |
| 9 | 4 | Todd Gilliland | Kyle Busch Motorsports | Toyota | 2 |
| 10 | 17 | Bo LeMastus | DGR-Crosley | Toyota | 1 |
Stage 2 Laps: 40
| Fin | # | Driver | Team | Make | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 98 | Grant Enfinger | ThorSport Racing | Ford | 10 |
| 2 | 52 | Stewart Friesen | Halmar Friesen Racing | Chevrolet | 9 |
| 3 | 24 | Justin Haley | GMS Racing | Chevrolet | 8 |
| 4 | 02 | Austin Hill | Young's Motorsports | Chevrolet | 7 |
| 5 | 4 | Todd Gilliland | Kyle Busch Motorsports | Toyota | 6 |
| 6 | 18 | Noah Gragson | Kyle Busch Motorsports | Toyota | 5 |
| 7 | 20 | Tyler Young | Young's Motorsports | Chevrolet | 4 |
| 8 | 13 | Myatt Snider | ThorSport Racing | Ford | 3 |
| 9 | 21 | Johnny Sauter | GMS Racing | Chevrolet | 2 |
| 10 | 88 | Matt Crafton | ThorSport Racing | Ford | 1 |
Stage 3 Laps: 87
References
- Beaver, Dan (2018-06-09). "Johnny Sauter wins Truck Series race at Texas". NASCAR Talk | NBC Sports. Retrieved 2021-10-17.
- McFadin, Daniel (2018-06-07). "Truck Series practice report from Texas Motor Speedway". NASCAR Talk | NBC Sports. Retrieved 2021-10-17.
- "NASCAR Qualifying Rules". ESPN.com. 2018-02-07. Retrieved 2021-10-16.
- Beaver, Dan (2018-06-08). "Stewart Friesen wins Texas Truck pole". NASCAR Talk | NBC Sports. Retrieved 2021-10-16.
- "2018 PPG 400 - The Third Turn". www.thethirdturn.com. Retrieved 2021-10-17.