NASCAR Cup Series: 2018 TicketGuardian 500 at Phoenix results
By Asher Fair
For the third consecutive NASCAR Cup Series race, Kevin Harvick took the checkered flag in the 2018 TicketGuardian 500 at ISM Raceway.
After crashing and finishing in 31st place in the Daytona 500, Kevin Harvick hadn’t finished lower than 1st place in a NASCAR Cup Series race since coming into today’s TicketGuardian 500 at ISM Raceway in Avondale, Arizona, a track at which he had previously won eight times.
That did not change today, as Harvick won his third consecutive race despite the fact that he led only 36 of the race’s 312 laps and was not nearly as dominant as he was in the last two races at Atlanta and Phoenix. The win is the ninth of his career at Phoenix, and it is is 40th career Cup Series victory.
The win gives him more victories in the last three races than he had in the entire 2017 season, and it gives Stewart-Haas Racing their third win of the season as well, which matches their total from the entire 2017 season.
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Harvick drives the #4 Ford for Stewart-Haas Racing. The top Toyota finisher was Kyle Busch in 2nd place in his #18 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing, and the top Chevrolet finisher was Chase Elliott in 3rd in his #9 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports.
The race featured a total of six caution flag periods, with one being a competition caution early on the in the race and two more being the caution flag periods to end stages one and two. The race featured only three cautions for on-track incidents involving Corey Lajoie, Kyle Larson and Paul Menard.
The race featured a total of 15 lead changes among nine different leaders. Kyle Busch led the most laps, as he led 124 of the race’s 312. Harvick, Denny Hamlin, Martin Truex Jr., Kurt Busch, Ryan Newman, William Byron, Brad Keselowski and Kyle Larson also led laps throughout the race, with Kyle Busch winning stage one and Kurt Busch winning stage two.
Here are the full results from the 2018 TicketGuardian 500.
| Rank | Driver | Car, Team, Manufacturer |
| 1 | Kevin Harvick | #4, Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford |
| 2 | Kyle Busch | #18, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota |
| 3 | Chase Elliott | #9, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet |
| 4 | Denny Hamlin | #11, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota |
| 5 | Martin Truex Jr. | #78, Furniture Row Racing, Toyota |
| 6 | Clint Bowyer | #14, Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford |
| 7 | Aric Almirola | #10, Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford |
| 8 | Daniel Suarez | #19, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota |
| 9 | Erik Jones | #20, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota |
| 10 | Kurt Busch | #41, Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford |
| 11 | Ryan Newman | #31, Richard Childress Racing, Chevrolet |
| 12 | William Byron | #24, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet |
| 13 | Alex Bowman | #88, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet |
| 14 | Jimmie Johnson | #48, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet |
| 15 | Brad Keselowski | #2, Team Penske, Ford |
| 16 | Ryan Blaney | #12, Team Penske, Ford |
| 17 | Austin Dillon | #3, Richard Childress Racing, Chevrolet |
| 18 | Kyle Larson | #42, Chip Ganassi Racing, Chevrolet |
| 19 | Joey Logano | #22, Team Penske, Ford |
| 20 | Trevor Bayne | #6, Roush Fenway Racing, Ford |
| 21 | A.J. Allmendinger | #47, JTG Daugherty Racing, Chevrolet |
| 22 | David Ragan | #38, Front Row Motorsports, Ford |
| 23 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | #17, Roush Fenway Racing, Ford |
| 24 | Kasey Kahne | #95, Leavine Family Racing, Chevrolet |
| 25 | Matt DiBenedetto | #32, Go Fas Racing, Ford |
| 26 | Jamie McMurray | #1, Chip Ganassi Racing, Chevrolet |
| 27 | Ross Chastain | #15, Premium Motorsports, Chevrolet |
| 28 | Darrell Wallace Jr. | #43, Richard Petty Motorsports, Chevrolet |
| 29 | Chris Buescher | #37, JTG Daugherty Racing, Chevrolet |
| 30 | Ty Dillon | #13, Germain Racing, Chevrolet |
| 31 | D.J. Kennington | #96, Gaunt Brothers Racing, Toyota |
| 32 | Michael McDowell | #34, Front Row Motorsports, Ford |
| 33 | Timmy Hill | #51, Rick Ware Racing, Chevrolet |
| 34 | Gray Gaulding | #23, BK Racing, Toyota |
| 35 | Jeffrey Earnhardt | #00, StarCom Racing, Chevrolet |
| 36 | Paul Menard | #21, Wood Brothers Racing, Ford |
| 37 | Corey Lajoie | #72, TriStar Motorsports, Chevrolet |
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Tune in to next Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race, the Auto Club 400 at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California. Kyle Larson won last year’s event. Can Kevin Harvick win his fourth straight race? That race is set to be broadcast live on Fox starting at 3:30 pm ET on Sunday, March 18th.