NASCAR Cup Series: 2018 Monster Energy All-Star Race at Charlotte results – Kevin Harvick wins
By Asher Fair
Kevin Harvick walked away with $1,000,000 after winning NASCAR’s Monster Energy All-Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Stewart-Haas Racing’s Kevin Harvick had won five of the 12 points paying races in the 2018 NASCAR Cup Series season coming into the Monster Energy All-Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Saturday night.
While this race around the four-turn, 1.5-mile Charlotte Motor Speedway quad oval in Concord, North Carolina did not pay any points, it did pay $1,000,000 to the winner. That winner was none other than Kevin Harvick.
Harvick won the race, which was scheduled for 80 laps but lasted for 93 laps thanks to caution flag periods that extended the third and fourth stages, in his #4 Ford after fending off a late charge by Joe Gibbs Racing’s Daniel Suarez, who qualified for the event by winning the second stage of the Monster Energy Open earlier in the night at the track.
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Harvick held off Suarez in second place by 0.325 seconds to take the victory.
The race featured a total of 12 lead changes among seven leaders. Other than Harvick, six drivers led at least one lap of the race. Those drivers were Denny Hamlin, Kyle Larson, Kyle Busch, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Martin Truex Jr., and Brad Keselowski. Polesitter Matt Kenseth did not lead any laps of the race and was never really a factor at the front. Harvick won stage one and stage three of the race in addition to the race itself, and Kyle Busch won stage two.
The race also featured eight caution flag periods, with five taking place as a result of on-track incidents and three taking place as a result of the end of stage one, stage two and stage three. Of the 21 drivers who started the race, five failed to finish it as a result of their involvement in late wrecks. Those five drivers were Martin Truex Jr., Kurt Busch, Clint Bowyer, Brad Keselowski and Alex Bowman.
Here are the full race results of the 2018 Monster Energy All-Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
| Rank | Driver | Car, Team, Manufacturer |
| 1 | Kevin Harvick | #4, Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford |
| 2 | Daniel Suarez | #19, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota |
| 3 | Joey Logano | #22, Team Penske, Ford |
| 4 | Denny Hamlin | #11, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota |
| 5 | Chase Elliott | #9, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet |
| 6 | Jimmie Johnson | #48, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet |
| 7 | Kyle Larson | #42, Chip Ganassi Racing, Chevrolet |
| 8 | A.J. Allmendinger | #47, JTG Daugherty Racing, Chevrolet |
| 9 | Kyle Busch | #18, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota |
| 10 | Kasey Kahne | #95, Leavine Family Racing, Chevrolet |
| 11 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | #17, Roush Fenway Racing, Ford |
| 12 | Austin Dillon | #3, Richard Childress Racing, Chevrolet |
| 13 | Jamie McMurray | #1, Chip Ganassi Racing, Chevrolet |
| 14 | Matt Kenseth | #6, Roush Fenway Racing, Ford |
| 15 | Ryan Blaney | #12, Team Penske, Ford |
| 16 | Ryan Newman | #31, Richard Childress Racing, Chevrolet |
| 17 | Martin Truex Jr. | #78, Furniture Row Racing, Toyota |
| 18 | Kurt Busch | #41, Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford |
| 19 | Clint Bowyer | #14, Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford |
| 20 | Brad Keselowski | #2, Team Penske, Ford |
| 21 | Alex Bowman | #88, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet |
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The next race of the 2018 NASCAR Cup Series season is a points paying race, and it is also set to be held at Charlotte Motor Speedway. That race, the Coca-Cola 600, is set to take place next Sunday, May 27. It is set to be broadcast live on Fox starting at 6:00 p.m. ET.