NASCAR Cup Series: Kyle Busch wins 2018 Can-Am 500

Kyle Busch closed out the 2018 NASCAR Cup Series round of 8 with his second victory of the playoffs, a victory in the Can-Am 500 at ISM Raceway.

Joe Gibbs Racing’s Kyle Busch locked himself into the 2018 NASCAR Cup Series Championship 4 during the final race of the round of 8, the Can-Am 500, at ISM Raceway as a result of the fact that other round of 8 drivers crashed.

But that didn’t stop the driver of the #18 Toyota from earning his second victory in the first nine races of the 10-race playoffs and his eighth victory in the first 35 races of the 36-race season.

Busch won the 312-lap race around the four-turn, 1.022-mile (1.645-kilometer) ISM Raceway oval in Avondale, Arizona by 0.501 seconds over Team Penske’s Brad Keselowski, who was the highest finishing non-round of 8 driver in second place in his #2 Ford.

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Chip Ganassi Racing’s Kyle Larson, another non-round of 8 driver, was the highest finishing Chevrolet driver of the race. He finished in third place in his #42 Chevrolet. Stewart-Haas Racing teammates Aric Almirola and Kevin Harvick, who were both round of 8 drivers, rounded out the top five by finishing in fourth and fifth in their #10 Ford and #4 Ford, respectively. Harvick advanced to the Championship 4 while Almirola did not.

Chip Ganassi Racing’s Jamie McMurray, Roush Fenway Racing’s Matt Kenseth, Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Dillon, Hendrick Motorsports’ William Byron and Richard Petty Motorsports’ Darrell Wallace Jr. rounded out the top 10 by finishing in sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth and 10th place in their #1 Chevrolet, #6 Ford, #3 Chevrolet, #24 Chevrolet and #43 Chevrolet, respectively.

None of these five drivers and none of the rest of the drivers who finished in the top 13 were round of 8 drivers. The five other round of 8 drivers, of whom two are set to compete in the Championship 4 at Homestead-Miami Speedway next Sunday, November 18 along with Busch and Harvick, all finished in 14th place or lower.

Furniture Row Racing’s Martin Truex Jr., who is set to compete in the Championship 4, is the only one of these five round of 8 drivers who was not involved in some kind of incident or incidents throughout the race. He finished in 14th place in his #78 Toyota.

Of the other four round of 8 drivers, only Team Penske’s Joey Logano is set to compete in the Championship 4. While he wrecked early and finished in 37th place in his #22 Ford, which was the lowest finishing position among the finishing positions of all eight of the round of 8 drivers, his victory in the opening race of the round of 8 at Martinsville Speedway locked him into the Championship 4.

Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott as well as Stewart-Haas Racing teammates Kurt Busch and Clint Bowyer were also involved in wrecks that ended their championship hopes for 2018.

The race featured a total of 15 lead changes among eight drivers. Aside of Kyle Busch, who led more laps than anybody else in the field with 117 laps led after he started in sixth place, seven other drivers led at least one lap of the race. Those drivers were Keselowski, Harvick, Truex Jr., Erik Jones, Elliott, Kurt Busch and Ryan Blaney. Elliott won stage one before Kyle Busch won stage two.

The race also featured a total of 10 caution flag periods for 61 laps. Of these 10 caution flag periods, eight took place as a result of on-track incidents while the usual two took place as a result of the endings of stages one and two. Of the 40 drivers who started the race, 29 finished it. Of the 29 drivers who finished it, 15 finished it on the lead lap.

Here are the full race results of the 2018 Can-Am 500 at ISM Raceway.

Race Results
1st – Kyle Busch
2nd – Brad Keselowski
3rd – Kyle Larson
4th – Aric Almirola
5th – Kevin Harvick
6th – Jamie McMurray
7th – Matt Kenseth
8th – Austin Dillon
9th – William Byron
10th – Darrell Wallace Jr.
11th – Ryan Newman
12th – A.J. Allmendinger
13th – Denny Hamlin
14th – Martin Truex Jr.
15th – Jimmie Johnson
16th – Michael McDowell
17th – Erik Jones
18th – Chris Buescher
19th – Ty Dillon
20th – David Ragan
21st – Matt DiBenedetto
22nd – Regan Smith
23rd – Chase Elliott
24th – Ross Chastain
25th – Cole Whitt
26th – Landon Cassill
27th – D.J. Kennington
28th – Cody Ware
29th – Paul Menard
30th – Alex Bowman
31st – Tanner Berryhill
32nd – Kurt Busch
33rd – Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
34th – Ryan Blaney
35th – Clint Bowyer
36th – Daniel Suarez
37th – Joey Logano
38th – J.J. Yeley
39th – Timmy Hill

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The 2018 NASCAR Cup Series Championship 4 race is the Ford EcoBoost 400. This race is scheduled to take place on Sunday, November 18, and it is set to be broadcast live from Homestead-Miami Speedway in Homestead, Florida beginning at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBC, so be sure not to miss it.

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