2018 Sparks Energy 300

2018 Sparks Energy 300
Race details
Race 9 of 33 of the 2018 NASCAR Xfinity Series
Date April 28, 2018
Official name 27th Annual Sparks Energy 300
Location Lincoln, Alabama, Talladega Superspeedway
Course Permanent racing facility
2.66 mi (4.28 km)
Distance 115 laps, 305.9 mi (492.298 km)
Scheduled Distance 113 laps, 300.58 mi (483.736 km)
Average speed 133.258 miles per hour (214.458 km/h)
Pole position
Driver Richard Childress Racing
Time 50.559
Most laps led
Driver Daniel Hemric Richard Childress Racing
Laps 39
Winner
No. 23 Spencer Gallagher GMS Racing
Television in the United States
Network FOX
Announcers Kevin Harvick, Clint Bowyer, Joey Logano
Radio in the United States
Radio Motor Racing Network

The 2018 Sparks Energy 300 was the ninth stock car race of the 2018 NASCAR Xfinity Series season, and the 27th iteration of the event. The race was held on Saturday, April 28, 2018, in Lincoln, Alabama at Talladega Superspeedway, a 2.66 miles (4.28 km) permanent triangle-shaped superspeedway. The race was extended from the scheduled 113 laps to 115 due to a NASCAR overtime finish. At race's end, Spencer Gallagher of GMS Racing would make a last lap pass on Tyler Reddick and fend off the field to win a shocker, winning his first and so far final NASCAR Xfinity Series win of his career and his first and only win of the season.[1] To fill out the podium, Brandon Jones of Joe Gibbs Racing and Justin Allgaier of JR Motorsports would finish second and third, respectively.

Background

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Talladega Superspeedway, originally known as Alabama International Motor Superspeedway (AIMS), is a motorsports complex located north of Talladega, Alabama. It is located on the former Anniston Air Force Base in the small city of Lincoln. The track is a tri-oval and was constructed in the 1960s by the International Speedway Corporation, a business controlled by the France family. Talladega is most known for its steep banking and the unique location of the start/finish line that's located just past the exit to pit road. The track currently hosts the NASCAR series such as the NASCAR Cup Series, Xfinity Series and the Camping World Truck Series. Talladega is the longest NASCAR oval with a length of 2.66-mile-long (4.28 km) tri-oval like the Daytona International Speedway, which also is a 2.5-mile-long (4 km) tri-oval.

Entry list

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# Driver Team Make Sponsor
0 Garrett Smithley JD Motorsports Chevrolet FAME USA
00 Cole Custer Stewart-Haas Racing with Biagi-DenBeste Ford Haas Automation
1 Elliott Sadler JR Motorsports Chevrolet OneMain Financial "Lending Done Human"
01 Vinnie Miller JD Motorsports Chevrolet JAS Expedited Trucking
2 Matt Tifft Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet KC Motorgroup
3 Shane Lee Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet Childress Vineyards
4 Ross Chastain JD Motorsports Chevrolet Flex Seal
5 Michael Annett JR Motorsports Chevrolet Pilot Flying J
7 Justin Allgaier JR Motorsports Chevrolet TradeMark Nitrogen
8 Tommy Joe Martins B. J. McLeod Motorsports Chevrolet B. J. McLeod Motorsports
9 Tyler Reddick JR Motorsports Chevrolet Armour Chili
11 Ryan Truex Kaulig Racing Chevrolet Bar Harbor
15 Joe Nemechek JD Motorsports Chevrolet Fleetwing
16 Ryan Reed Roush Fenway Racing Ford DriveDownA1C.com
18 Noah Gragson Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Switch "Motivated By Invention. Driven By Perfection."
19 Brandon Jones Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota XYO Network
20 Christopher Bell Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Rheem
21 Daniel Hemric Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet South Point Hotel, Casino & Spa
22 Austin Cindric Team Penske Ford Fitzgerald Glider Kits
23 Spencer Gallagher GMS Racing Chevrolet Allegiant Air
24 Kaz Grala JGL Racing Ford Nettts
28 Dylan Lupton JGL Racing Ford ThinQ Technology Partners
35 Joey Gase Go Green Racing with SS-Green Light Racing Chevrolet Sparks Energy, Donate Life Alabama
36 Alex Labbé DGM Racing Chevrolet Wholey's, Can-Am
38 J. J. Yeley RSS Racing Chevrolet Josh Roberts Trucking
39 Ryan Sieg RSS Racing Chevrolet Alabama Soda & Abrasive Blasting
40 Chad Finchum MBM Motorsports Toyota Smithbilt Homes
42 John Hunter Nemechek Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet Fire Alarm Services
45 Josh Bilicki JP Motorsports Toyota Prevagen
51 Jeremy Clements Jeremy Clements Racing Chevrolet RepairableVehicles.com
52 David Starr Jimmy Means Racing Chevrolet Whataburger
54 ?* NXT Motorsports Toyota VS1 Racing
55 Jennifer Jo Cobb JP Motorsports Toyota Jani-King "The King of Clean", Swampdaddy Crawfish
60 Ty Majeski Roush Fenway Racing Ford Ford
66 Timmy Hill MBM Motorsports Toyota CrashClaimsR.Us[permanent dead link], VS1 Racing
74 Mike Harmon Mike Harmon Racing Dodge Shadow Warriors Project, Horizon Transport
76 Spencer Boyd SS-Green Light Racing Chevrolet Grunt Style "This We'll Defend"
78 B. J. McLeod B. J. McLeod Motorsports Chevrolet B. J. McLeod Motorsports
89 Morgan Shepherd Shepherd Racing Ventures Chevrolet Visone RV
90 Josh Williams DGM Racing Chevrolet Sleep Well Sleep Disorder Specialists, StarTron
93 Jeff Green RSS Racing Chevrolet C2 Freight Resources
98 Chase Briscoe Stewart-Haas Racing with Biagi-DenBeste Ford Ford
Official entry list

Practice

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First practice

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The first practice session would occur on Friday, April 27, at 10:35 AM EST, and would last for 50 minutes.[2] Cole Custer of Stewart-Haas Racing with Biagi-DenBeste would set the fastest time in the session, with a time of 49.329 and an average speed of 194.125 miles per hour (312.414 km/h).[3]

Pos. # Driver Team Make Time Speed
1 00 Cole Custer Stewart-Haas Racing with Biagi-DenBeste Ford 49.329 194.125
2 23 Spencer Gallagher GMS Racing Chevrolet 49.366 193.980
3 11 Ryan Truex Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 49.373 193.952
Full first practice results

Second and final practice

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The second and final practice session, sometimes referred to as Happy Hour, would occur on Friday, April 27, at 12:35 PM EST, and would last for 50 minutes.[2] Shane Lee of Richard Childress Racing would set the fastest time in the session, with a time of 50.953 and an average speed of 187.938 miles per hour (302.457 km/h).[3]

Pos. # Driver Team Make Time Speed
1 3 Shane Lee Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 50.953 187.938
2 11 Ryan Truex Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 51.389 186.343
3 16 Ryan Reed Roush Fenway Racing Ford 51.443 186.148
Full Happy Hour practice results

Qualifying

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Qualifying would occur on Saturday, April 28, at 10:00 AM EST.[2] Since Talladega Superspeedway at least 2 miles (3.2 km), 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 13-40. Then, the fastest 12 qualifiers would move on to the second round to determine positions 1-12.[4]

Daniel Hemric of Richard Childress Racing would win the pole, setting a time of 50.559 and an average speed of 189.402 miles per hour (304.813 km/h) in the second round.[5]

One driver would fail to qualify: Morgan Shepherd.

Pos. # Driver Team Make Time (R1) Speed (R1) Time (R2) Speed (R2)
1 21 Daniel Hemric Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 50.640 189.100 50.559 189.402
2 1 Elliott Sadler JR Motorsports Chevrolet 50.794 188.526 50.727 188.775
3 23 Spencer Gallagher GMS Racing Chevrolet 50.842 188.348 50.762 188.645
4 42 John Hunter Nemechek Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 50.940 187.986 50.810 188.467
5 5 Michael Annett JR Motorsports Chevrolet 50.848 188.326 50.814 188.452
6 7 Justin Allgaier JR Motorsports Chevrolet 50.793 188.530 50.885 188.189
7 3 Shane Lee Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 51.044 187.603 50.914 188.082
8 9 Tyler Reddick JR Motorsports Chevrolet 50.999 187.768 50.929 188.026
9 11 Ryan Truex Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 51.039 187.621 51.030 187.654
10 2 Matt Tifft Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 51.033 187.643 51.106 187.375
11 22 Austin Cindric Team Penske Ford 50.959 187.916 51.123 187.313
12 00 Cole Custer Stewart-Haas Racing with Biagi-DenBeste Ford 51.260 186.812 51.322 186.587
Eliminated in Round 1
13 20 Christopher Bell Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 51.283 186.729
14 60 Ty Majeski Roush Fenway Racing Ford 51.309 186.634
15 19 Brandon Jones Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 51.322 186.587
16 98 Chase Briscoe Stewart-Haas Racing with Biagi-DenBeste Ford 51.341 186.518
17 28 Dylan Lupton JGL Racing Ford 51.411 186.264
18 35 Joey Gase Go Green Racing with SS-Green Light Racing Chevrolet 51.452 186.115
19 16 Ryan Reed Roush Fenway Racing Ford 51.549 185.765
20 18 Noah Gragson Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 51.653 185.391
21 36 Alex Labbé DGM Racing Chevrolet 51.699 185.226
22 39 Ryan Sieg RSS Racing Chevrolet 51.733 185.104
23 15 Joe Nemechek JD Motorsports Chevrolet 51.752 185.036
24 51 Jeremy Clements Jeremy Clements Racing Chevrolet 51.844 184.708
25 01 Vinnie Miller JD Motorsports Chevrolet 51.946 184.345
26 4 Ross Chastain JD Motorsports Chevrolet 51.989 184.193
27 38 J. J. Yeley RSS Racing Chevrolet 52.002 184.147
28 8 Tommy Joe Martins B. J. McLeod Motorsports Toyota 52.036 184.026
29 78 B. J. McLeod B. J. McLeod Motorsports Toyota 52.090 183.836
30 76 Spencer Boyd SS-Green Light Racing Chevrolet 52.195 183.466
31 90 Josh Williams DGM Racing Chevrolet 52.216 183.392
32 45 Josh Bilicki JP Motorsports Toyota 52.276 183.182
33 24 Kaz Grala JGL Racing Ford 52.300 183.098
Qualified by owner's points
34 0 Garrett Smithley JD Motorsports Chevrolet 52.353 182.912
35 93 Jeff Green RSS Racing Chevrolet 52.359 182.891
36 40 Chad Finchum MBM Motorsports Toyota 52.619 181.987
37 52 David Starr Jimmy Means Racing Chevrolet 52.632 181.943
38 66 Timmy Hill MBM Motorsports Toyota 53.250 179.831
39 55 Jennifer Jo Cobb JP Motorsports Toyota 53.312 179.622
40 74 Mike Harmon Mike Harmon Racing Dodge 53.491 179.021
Failed to qualify or withdrew
41 89 Morgan Shepherd Shepherd Racing Ventures Chevrolet 52.504 182.386
WD 54 ? NXT Motorsports Toyota
Official qualifying results
Official starting lineup

Race results

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Stage 1 Laps: 25

Pos. # Driver Team Make Pts
1 21 Daniel Hemric Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 10
2 7 Justin Allgaier JR Motorsports Chevrolet 9
3 11 Ryan Truex Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 8
4 19 Brandon Jones Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 7
5 42 John Hunter Nemechek Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 6
6 2 Matt Tifft Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 5
7 00 Cole Custer Stewart-Haas Racing with Biagi-DenBeste Ford 4
8 1 Elliott Sadler JR Motorsports Chevrolet 3
9 3 Shane Lee Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 2
10 9 Tyler Reddick JR Motorsports Chevrolet 1

Stage 2 Laps: 25

Pos. # Driver Team Make Pts
1 1 Elliott Sadler JR Motorsports Chevrolet 10
2 23 Spencer Gallagher GMS Racing Chevrolet 9
3 16 Ryan Reed Roush Fenway Racing Ford 8
4 5 Michael Annett JR Motorsports Chevrolet 7
5 9 Tyler Reddick JR Motorsports Chevrolet 6
6 2 Matt Tifft Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 5
7 00 Cole Custer Stewart-Haas Racing with Biagi-DenBeste Ford 4
8 7 Justin Allgaier JR Motorsports Chevrolet 3
9 35 Joey Gase Go Green Racing with SS-Green Light Racing Chevrolet 2
10 42 John Hunter Nemechek Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 1

Stage 3 Laps: 65

Fin[6] St # Driver Team Make Laps Led Status Pts
1 3 23 Spencer Gallagher GMS Racing Chevrolet 115 1 running 49
2 15 19 Brandon Jones Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 115 0 running 42
3 6 7 Justin Allgaier JR Motorsports Chevrolet 115 35 running 46
4 20 18 Noah Gragson Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 115 0 running 0
5 2 1 Elliott Sadler JR Motorsports Chevrolet 115 30 running 45
6 22 39 Ryan Sieg RSS Racing Chevrolet 115 1 running 31
7 4 42 John Hunter Nemechek Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 115 0 running 37
8 8 9 Tyler Reddick JR Motorsports Chevrolet 115 2 running 36
9 12 00 Cole Custer Stewart-Haas Racing with Biagi-DenBeste Ford 115 0 running 36
10 34 0 Garrett Smithley JD Motorsports Chevrolet 115 0 running 27
11 27 38 J. J. Yeley RSS Racing Chevrolet 115 0 running 26
12 13 20 Christopher Bell Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 115 1 running 25
13 35 93 Jeff Green RSS Racing Chevrolet 115 1 running 24
14 5 5 Michael Annett JR Motorsports Chevrolet 115 0 running 30
15 7 3 Shane Lee Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 115 0 running 24
16 16 98 Chase Briscoe Stewart-Haas Racing with Biagi-DenBeste Ford 115 0 running 21
17 25 01 Vinnie Miller JD Motorsports Chevrolet 115 0 running 20
18 28 8 Tommy Joe Martins B. J. McLeod Motorsports Toyota 115 0 running 19
19 29 78 B. J. McLeod B. J. McLeod Motorsports Toyota 115 0 running 18
20 33 24 Kaz Grala JGL Racing Ford 114 0 running 17
21 18 35 Joey Gase Go Green Racing with SS-Green Light Racing Chevrolet 114 0 running 18
22 19 16 Ryan Reed Roush Fenway Racing Ford 114 1 running 23
23 1 21 Daniel Hemric Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 114 39 running 24
24 21 36 Alex Labbé DGM Racing Chevrolet 114 0 running 13
25 10 2 Matt Tifft Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 114 0 running 22
26 31 90 Josh Williams DGM Racing Chevrolet 114 0 running 11
27 38 66 Timmy Hill MBM Motorsports Toyota 114 0 running 10
28 32 45 Josh Bilicki JP Motorsports Toyota 114 0 running 9
29 39 55 Jennifer Jo Cobb JP Motorsports Toyota 114 0 running 0
30 11 22 Austin Cindric Team Penske Ford 114 3 running 7
31 23 15 Joe Nemechek JD Motorsports Chevrolet 113 0 running 0
32 37 52 David Starr Jimmy Means Racing Chevrolet 112 0 running 5
33 40 74 Mike Harmon Mike Harmon Racing Dodge 112 1 running 4
34 26 4 Ross Chastain JD Motorsports Chevrolet 78 0 suspension 3
35 24 51 Jeremy Clements Jeremy Clements Racing Chevrolet 53 0 fuel pump 2
36 17 28 Dylan Lupton JGL Racing Ford 32 0 crash 1
37 14 60 Ty Majeski Roush Fenway Racing Ford 32 0 crash 1
38 9 11 Ryan Truex Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 32 0 crash 9
39 36 40 Chad Finchum MBM Motorsports Toyota 32 0 crash 1
40 30 76 Spencer Boyd SS-Green Light Racing Chevrolet 32 0 crash 1
Failed to qualify or withdrew
41 89 Morgan Shepherd Shepherd Racing Ventures Chevrolet
WD 54 ? NXT Motorsports Toyota
Official race results

References

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  1. ^ Reid, Spencer (2018-04-28). "Spencer Gallagher earns first Xfinity win at Talladega". Official Site Of NASCAR. Archived from the original on 2018-05-01. Retrieved 2021-12-14.
  2. ^ a b c "2018 NASCAR XFINITY Talladega Race Page". ESPN.com. 2018-04-30. Retrieved 2021-12-14.
  3. ^ a b Beaver, Dan (2018-04-27). "Xfinity practice report at Talladega". NASCAR Talk | NBC Sports. Retrieved 2021-12-14.
  4. ^ "NASCAR Qualifying Rules". ESPN.com. 2018-02-07. Retrieved 2021-11-01.
  5. ^ McFadin, Daniel (2018-04-28). "Daniel Hemric wins Xfinity pole at Talladega". NASCAR Talk | NBC Sports. Retrieved 2021-12-14.
  6. ^ "2018 Sparks Energy 300 - The Third Turn". www.thethirdturn.com. Retrieved 2021-12-13.
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