The 2018 Pocono Green 250 Recycled by J. P. Mascaro & Sons was the 12th stock car race of the 2018 NASCAR Xfinity Series season and the third iteration of the event. The race was held on Saturday, June 2, 2018 in Long Pond, Pennsylvania, at Pocono Raceway, a 2.5 miles (4.0 km) triangular permanent course. The race took the scheduled 100 laps to complete. At race's end, Kyle Busch of Joe Gibbs Racing would dominate and win his 92nd career NASCAR Xfinity Series win and his first of the season.[1] To fill out the podium, Chase Elliott of GMS Racing and Daniel Hemric of Richard Childress Racing would finish second and third, respectively.
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 12 of 33 of the 2018 NASCAR Xfinity Series | |||
| Date | June 2, 2018 | ||
| Official name | 3rd Annual Pocono Green 250 Recycled by J. P. Mascaro & Sons | ||
| Location | Long Pond, Pennsylvania, Pocono Raceway | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 2.5 mi (4.0 km) | ||
| Distance | 100 laps, 250 mi (402.336 km) | ||
| Scheduled Distance | 100 laps, 250 mi (402.336 km) | ||
| Average speed | 127.137 miles per hour (204.607 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Stewart-Haas Racing with Biagi-DenBeste | ||
| Time | 55.754 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | |
| Laps | 64 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | Fox Sports 1 | ||
| Announcers | Adam Alexander, Michael Waltrip, Jamie McMurray | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | Motor Racing Network | ||
Background
edit
The race was held at Pocono Raceway, which is a three-turn superspeedway located in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. The track hosts two annual NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races, as well as one Xfinity Series and Camping World Truck Series event. Until 2019, the track also hosted an IndyCar Series race.
Pocono Raceway is one of a very few NASCAR tracks not owned by either Speedway Motorsports, Inc. or International Speedway Corporation. It is operated by the Igdalsky siblings Brandon, Nicholas, and sister Ashley, and cousins Joseph IV and Chase Mattioli, all of whom are third-generation members of the family-owned Mattco Inc, started by Joseph II and Rose Mattioli.
Outside of the NASCAR races, the track is used throughout the year by Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) and motorcycle clubs as well as racing schools and an IndyCar race. The triangular oval also has three separate infield sections of racetrack – North Course, East Course and South Course. Each of these infield sections use a separate portion of the tri-oval to complete the track. During regular non-race weekends, multiple clubs can use the track by running on different infield sections. Also some of the infield sections can be run in either direction, or multiple infield sections can be put together – such as running the North Course and the South Course and using the tri-oval to connect the two.
Entry list
editPractice
editFirst practice
editThe first 50-minute practice session would occur on Friday, June 1, at 1:05 PM EST.[2] Kyle Busch of Joe Gibbs Racing would set the fastest time in the session, with a time of 56.425 and an average speed of 159.504 miles per hour (256.697 km/h).[3]
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 56.425 | 159.504 |
| 2 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 56.665 | 158.828 |
| 3 | 19 | Brandon Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 56.717 | 158.683 |
| Full first practice results | ||||||
Second and final practice
editThe last 50-minute practice session, sometimes referred to as Happy Hour, would occur on Friday, June 1, at 3:05 PM EST.[2] Kyle Busch of Joe Gibbs Racing would set the fastest time in the session, with a time of 56.424 and an average speed of 159.507 miles per hour (256.702 km/h).[3]
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 56.424 | 159.507 |
| 2 | 23 | Chase Elliott | GMS Racing | Chevrolet | 56.515 | 159.250 |
| 3 | 12 | Austin Cindric | Team Penske | Ford | 56.573 | 159.086 |
| Full Happy Hour practice results | ||||||
Qualifying
editQualifying was held on Saturday, June 2, at 9:35 AM EST.[2] Since Pocono Raceway is 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]
Cole Custer of Stewart-Haas Racing with Biagi-DenBeste would win the pole, setting a time of 55.754 and an average speed of 161.423 miles per hour (259.785 km/h) in the second round.[5]
One driver would fail to qualify: Morgan Shepherd.
Full qualifying results
editRace results
editStage 1 Laps: 25
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 0 |
| 2 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 9 |
| 3 | 12 | Austin Cindric | Team Penske | Ford | 8 |
| 4 | 1 | Elliott Sadler | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 7 |
| 5 | 19 | Brandon Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 6 |
| 6 | 42 | John Hunter Nemechek | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 5 |
| 7 | 23 | Chase Elliott | GMS Racing | Chevrolet | 0 |
| 8 | 22 | Paul Menard | Team Penske | Ford | 0 |
| 9 | 9 | Tyler Reddick | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 2 |
| 10 | 21 | Daniel Hemric | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 1 |
Stage 2 Laps: 25
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 22 | Paul Menard | Team Penske | Ford | 0 |
| 2 | 00 | Cole Custer | Stewart-Haas Racing with Biagi-DenBeste | Ford | 9 |
| 3 | 7 | Justin Allgaier | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 8 |
| 4 | 12 | Austin Cindric | Team Penske | Ford | 7 |
| 5 | 42 | John Hunter Nemechek | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 6 |
| 6 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 0 |
| 7 | 23 | Chase Elliott | GMS Racing | Chevrolet | 0 |
| 8 | 1 | Elliott Sadler | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 3 |
| 9 | 9 | Tyler Reddick | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 2 |
| 10 | 11 | Ryan Truex | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 1 |
Stage 3 Laps: 50
References
edit- ^ McFadin, Daniel (2018-06-02). "Kyle Busch wins Xfinity race at Pocono". NASCAR Talk | NBC Sports. Retrieved 2021-12-10.
- ^ a b c "2018 NASCAR XFINITY Pocono Race Page". ESPN.com. 2018-06-04. Retrieved 2021-12-10.
- ^ a b McFadin, Daniel (2018-06-01). "Xfinity practice report from Pocono Raceway". NASCAR Talk | NBC Sports. Retrieved 2021-12-10.
- ^ "NASCAR Qualifying Rules". ESPN.com. 2018-02-07. Retrieved 2021-11-01.
- ^ McFadin, Daniel (2018-06-02). "Cole Custer wins pole for Xfinity race at Pocono". NASCAR Talk | NBC Sports. Retrieved 2021-12-10.
- ^ "2018 Pocono Green 250 - The Third Turn". www.thethirdturn.com. Retrieved 2021-12-10.