The 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series finale took place yesterday (11/18) at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Joey Logano found his way to Victory Lane in the Ford EcoBoost 400 and won his first Cup Series Championship!
The race began with four drivers racing for the 2018 championship. Joey, Kevin Harvick, Martin Truex Jr. and Kyle Busch all knew that if they could beat the other three Championship Four drivers to the finish they would win the 2018 title.
The other 35 drivers were racing to win the final race of the season. Two of those drivers (Jimmie Johnson and Denny Hamlin) needed to win the race to keep their streak of years with at least one win alive. Obviously both drivers had their respective streaks end this year.
The race was somewhat tame when it came to accidents. There were only five caution periods. Two of those came at the end of the first two stages of the race. Kevin Harvick won stage one while Kyle Larson won stage two.
The excitement in the race was provided by seven drivers exchanging the lead 22 times. Through most of the race it appeared that the race might come down to four drivers, but not the Championship Four. Joey and Kevin looked strong among the championship contenders. However, Kyle Larson and Denny Hamlin were in the mix at the front often. These four drivers combined to lead 224 of the 267 laps in the race.
Following the race’s final re-start Martin Truex Jr. was able to get out in the lead. However, four laps later Joey Logano was able to take that lead from Martin. Joey held the top position for the final 12 laps to give him the win in the Ford EcoBoost 400. The win was Joey’s first win at Homestead-Miami Speedway in NASCAR’s top division.
Martin Truex Jr. came across the finish line in second place. Kevin Harvick finished in third place and Kyle Busch claimed fourth place. Brad Keselowski rounded out the top five. See the complete race results for the Ford EcoBoost 400 here.
Along with winning his first race at Homestead-Miami Speedway for Joey Logano came his first ever Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Championship. Martin Truex Jr. followed his 2017 Championship with a 2018 runner-up finish. Kevin Harvick ends the season third in the point standings while Kyle Busch ends in fourth place. Aric Almirola rounds out the top five in the year end point standings. See the complete 2018 final Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series point standings here.
Congratulations to Joey Logano on his 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Championship! Now the countdown to the 2019 Daytona 500 begins.
By: Buck Stevens
