Event Recap: 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Statistics from Phoenix (March 11, 2018)

Event statistics following the fourth race of the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season, the Ticket Guardian 500 at ISM Raceway in Avondale, Arizona.

Kevin Harvick scored his third consecutive series victory and ninth at ISM Raceway, defeating Kyle Busch and Chase Elliott. It marked the first time in his career he earned three straight wins.

Race Statistics

Ticket Guardian 500

ISM Raceway – Avondale, Arizona

- Winner (starting position): Kevin Harvick (10th)

- Top Five: Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch, Chase Elliott, Denny Hamlin, Martin Truex Jr.

- Full Results: Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch, Chase Elliott, Denny Hamlin, Martin Truex Jr., Clint Bowyer, Aric Almirola, Daniel Suarez, Erik Jones, Kurt Busch, Ryan Newman, William Byron, Alex Bowman, Jimmie Johnson, Brad Keselowski, Ryan Blaney, Austin Dillon, Kyle Larson, Joey Logano, Trevor Bayne, A.J. Allmendinger, David Ragan, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Kasey Kahne, Matt DiBenedetto, Jamie McMurray, Ross Chastain, Darrell Wallace Jr., Chris Buescher, Ty Dillon, D.J. Kennington, Michael McDowell, Timmy Hill, Gray Gaulding, Jeffrey Earnhardt, Paul Menard, Corey LaJoie

- Laps Completed: 312

- Race Leaders: 9

- Laps Led: Kyle Busch (128), Kyle Larson (54), Kevin Harvick (38), Denny Hamlin (33), Ryan Newman (23), William Byron (15), Brad Keselowski (12), Kurt Busch (6), Martin Truex Jr. (3)

- Pole Position: Martin Truex Jr. (136.945 mph; 26.288 seconds)

- Hard Charger: Aric Almirola (+15; 22nd to 7th)

- Margin of Victory: 0.774 seconds

- Car Count: 37

- Cars Entered: 37

- Cars Running at Finish: 35 (of 37; or 95 percent of the field)

- Drivers to Finish on Lead Lap: 15

- Cautions: 6 for 36 laps

- Average Speed: 108.073 mph

- Lead Changes: 15

- Stage Winners: Kyle Busch (1), Kurt Busch (2)

- Weather at Start of Race: 70 degrees Fahrenheit, partly cloudy, winds W 1 mph

- Weather at End of Race: 75 degrees Fahrenheit, partly cloudy, winds 0 mph

- Manufacturer Breakdown: Chevrolet (17); Ford (13); Toyota (7)

Notes of Interest – Race/Weekend Recap

- This is Kevin Harvick’s third Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory of the season and the 40th of his career, tying him for 18th all-time with Mark Martin. It marks his ninth career victory at the Phoenix track, the most all-time, and his first since the 2016 spring race.

- This is the first time in his career Harvick has won three consecutive races. The last driver to win three straight Cup Series races was Joey Logano, in the 2015 playoff races at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Kansas speedway and Talladega Superspeedway.

- Overall, this is Harvick’s 14th NASCAR national victory at Phoenix (nine in Cup Series, one in Xfinity Series and four in Camping World Truck Series).

- Harvick has led 13 races at Phoenix for a total of 1,522 laps, both series bests at the track. He led 38 laps in Sunday’s race.

- Harvick is the first driver since 1992 to win three of the first four races (Bill Elliott won the second, third, fourth and fifth races that season).

- Harvick is the first driver over the age of 40 since Harry Gant to win at least three consecutive races in the Cup Series (Gant won four consecutive races in 1991).

- Overall, Harvick has won four of the last seven races.

- This is Harvick’s 12th victory on a one-mile track. He has nine victories at Phoenix, two at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon and one at Dover International Speedway in Delaware.

- This is Harvick’s 101st career NASCAR national victory. He now has 40 Cup Series wins, 47 in the Xfinity Series and 14 in the Truck Series.

- Harvick has already surpassed his victory total of two during the 2016 and 2017 seasons (two wins each year). Harvick has won at least three or more races in eight seasons. He has won at least one race in 15 seasons and nine straight.

- This is Harvick’s 17th victory with Stewart-Haas Racing. He has now surpassed team owner Tony Stewart with the most team victories. Stewart-Haas Racing now has 42 MENSC wins.

- Harvick has now led 433 laps in the last three weekends, which has consisted of 904 laps (spent 47.9 percent of the laps in the lead).

- This is the first time in his career Harvick has won from the 10th starting position. Harvick has 23 victories after starting inside the top 10.

- This marks the first time a driver has won a race from the 10th starting position since Tony Stewart won at Sonoma Raceway in California in 2016. The last time a driver won from 10th on an oval was Matt Kenseth in the spring race at Dover International Speedway, also in 2016.

- Kasey Kahne was the only other driver to win from the 10th starting position at Phoenix, in the 2011 fall race.

- This is Ford’s 16th Cup Series victory at Phoenix.

- Kyle Busch finished second for the second consecutive race, and drove the highest-finishing Toyota. He led a race-high 128 laps (had only led 19 laps combined in two races led this season). It marks the 22nd time a driver led the most laps at Phoenix and didn’t win.

- Busch holds the record for most laps led by a driver that did not win the race – 237 laps in the 2012 fall race (finished third).
- This is Busch's 600th career top-10 finish in a national NASCAR race. He now has 244 top 10s in the MENCS, 245 in the NXS and 111 in the NCWTS.

- Chase Elliott, in the highest-finishing Chevrolet, recorded his first top-five finish of the season with a third-place result. It marked Elliott’s 23rd career top-five finish and second consecutive top-three finish at Phoenix (was second in 2017 fall race). It was the best finish for a Hendrick Motorsports car this season.

- Denny Hamlin finished fourth for the second time in three races (Atlanta Motor Speedway), and earned his third top-five finish this season (tied with Kevin Harvick and Martin Truex Jr. for most among all drivers). It was Hamlin’s best finish at Phoenix since he was third in the 2016 spring race, and his 11th top-five finish overall. Overall, his seventh-place average finish in 2018 is the best among all drivers that have competed.

- Martin Truex Jr. finished fifth, his third top-five of the season. Truex also extended his streak of consecutive races led to a series-high five (led three laps; hasn’t led more than six laps in a race this season, and a total of 14 in four races). It was Truex’s second consecutive top-five and third overall at Phoenix.

- Truex notched the pole earlier in the weekend, the 16th of his career, first of the season and second at Phoenix (was also the polesitter in the 2009 fall race, which also produced a fifth-place finish).

- Clint Bowyer was sixth, Aric Almirola seventh and Kurt Busch 10th, giving Stewart Haas Racing four cars in the top 10.

- Bowyer’s sixth-place finish was his first top-10 finish at Phoenix since another sixth-place result in the 2013 spring race.

- Almirola earned a season-best seventh and his second consecutive top-10 effort. It was also the third race this season he has advanced the most positions in a race.

- Kurt Busch was 10th in his second top-10 finish of 2018.

- Daniel Suarez finished eighth, his first top-10 finish of the season. It marked the first time this season Suarez has completed every lap of a race.

- Erik Jones notched ninth, his second consecutive top-10 finish of 2018.

- William Byron recorded his career-best finish, 12th, after leading 15 laps. It marked the first laps he’s led in Cup Series competition. It was also the first time Byron had completed every lap of a race in his career.
- Byron's teammates Alex Bowman and Jimmie Johnson finished just behind in 13th and 14th respectively, with Bowman’s finish a season-best for the Tucson native. Johnson has now gone 10 consecutive races without a top 10 and 27 straight races without a victory – the longest such streaks of his career.

- Brad Keselowski, the winner of the weekend’s Xfinity Series race, lead 12 laps and was the final driver one lap down, in 15th position.

- Keselowski’s teammates, Ryan Blaney and Joey Logano, finished 16th and 19th respectively, both one lap down. It marked the first race of the season either driver failed to complete every lap, and the worst finish for both drivers this season (and first finish outside the top 10 for Logano, the only driver that entered Phoenix with three top 10s in 2018). It also marked the first race this season Logano didn't lead a lap.

- Kyle Larson, who finished 18th, led the second most laps – 54 (first race led this season). He was involved in an incident midway through the race, which forced him a lap behind the leader.

- Others earning their season-best finishes included: David Ragan (22nd); Ross Chastain (27th); and Timmy Hill (33rd; made season debut).

- Michael McDowell, of nearby Glendale, finished 32nd.

- Only two cars failed to finish the race: Paul Menard (crash) and Corey LaJoie (engine). Menard failed to finish for the first time in 17 races; he had only failed to finish a single lap this season before Phoenix (completed 189 of 312 laps Sunday). LaJoie has finished last in both of his races this season (finished 40th in Daytona 500).

- A total of 19 drivers improved on their starting position in the race, which was a season-high.

- This is the first race this season in which no driver led at least half of the race’s laps.

- The next race will be Sunday, March 18, with the Auto Club 400 at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California.