NASCAR announces competition updates, stage lengths ahead of 2018 season

February 7, 2018 Greg Engle Main Page, NASCAR News Top Story, Top Stories 0

AVONDALE, AZ - MARCH 19: Kyle Busch, driver of the #18 Skittles Toyota, pits during the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Camping World 500 at Phoenix International Raceway on March 19, 2017 in Avondale, Arizona. (Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images)
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While there haven’t been many radical changes ahead of the NASCAR season, there will be a few minor changes. NASCAR announced Wednesday that there will be a few tweaks this season.

The biggest changes include an adjustment of the damaged vehicle clock. Last season NASCAR allowed teams only five minutes to make repairs on pit road after damage in a race; that time has been bumped up to six minutes.  In addition, if a team sends too many crewmembers over the wall, they will be given a two-lap penalty as opposed to a disqualification.

Qualifying also received some minor changes. For intermediate and short track qualifying, the first round will not be 15 minutes instead of 20. The hope is that a shortened first round will tighten the window for cars to get on-track, increasing the on-track activity for fans.

Stage lengths for the Monster Energy Cup series will remain the same with the stage lengths for the October road course event at Charlotte to be announced later.  For the Xfinity series, NASCAR said that following feedback from NASCAR Xfinity Series race teams, there will be slight updates to the stage lengths at both ISM Raceway in Phoenix and Dover International Speedway. At both Phoenix races, the stages will end at Lap 45, Lap 90 and Lap 200. For the Dover events, the stages will end on Lap 45, Lap 90 and Lap 20.

For the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, both Las Vegas Motor Speedway races are scheduled for 134 laps, with stage lengths set to end at Lap 40, Lap 80 and Lap 134.

Finally, the Air Titan will have new wrap this season featuring the current NASCAR brand mark.

 

2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Stage Lengths
Track Stage 1 Stage 2 Final Stage
(ends on lap) (ends on lap) (ends on lap)
Daytona International Speedway 60 120 200
Atlanta Motor Speedway 85 170 325
Las Vegas Motor Speedway 80 160 267
ISM Raceway 75 150 312
Auto Club Speedway 60 120 200
Martinsville Speedway 130 260 500
Texas Motor Speedway 85 170 334
Bristol Motor Speedway 125 250 500
Richmond Raceway 100 200 400
Talladega Superspeedway 55 110 188
Dover International Speedway 120 240 400
Kansas Speedway 80 160 267
Charlotte Motor Speedway Stage 1 – 100, Stage 2 – 200,

Stage 3 – 300, Final Stage – 400
Pocono Raceway 50 100 160
Michigan International Speedway 60 120 200
Sonoma Raceway 25 50 110
Chicagoland Speedway 80 160 267
Daytona International Speedway 2 40 80 160
Kentucky Speedway 80 160 267
New Hampshire Motor Speedway 75 150 301
Pocono Raceway 50 100 160
Watkins Glen International 20 40 90
Michigan International Speedway 2 60 120 200
Bristol Motor Speedway 2 125 250 500
Darlington Raceway 100 200 367
Indianapolis Motor Speedway 50 100 160
Las Vegas Motor Speedway 2 80 160 267
Richmond Raceway 2 100 200 400
Charlotte Motor Speedway 2 TBD TBD TBD
Dover International Speedway 2 120 240 400
Talladega Superspeedway 2 55 110 188
Kansas Speedway 2 80 160 267
Martinsville Speedway 2 130 260 500
Texas Motor Speedway 2 85 170 334
ISM Raceway 2 75 150 312
Homestead-Miami Speedway 80 160 267
2018 NASCAR Xfinity Series Stage Lengths
Track Stage 1 Stage 2 Final Stage
(ends on lap) (ends on lap) (ends on lap)
Daytona International Speedway 30 60 120
Atlanta Motor Speedway 40 80 163
Las Vegas Motor Speedway 45 90 200
ISM Raceway 45 90 200
Auto Club Speedway 35 70 150
Texas Motor Speedway 45 90 200
Bristol Motor Speedway 85 170 300
Richmond Raceway 75 150 250
Talladega Superspeedway 25 50 113
Dover International Speedway 45 90 200
Charlotte Motor Speedway 45 90 200
Pocono Raceway 25 50 100
Michigan International Speedway 30 60 125
Iowa Speedway 60 120 250
Chicagoland Speedway 45 90 200
Daytona International Speedway 30 60 100
Kentucky Speedway 45 90 200
New Hampshire Motor Speedway 45 90 200
Iowa Speedway 60 120 250
Watkins Glen International 20 40 82
Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course 20 40 75
Bristol Motor Speedway 85 170 300
Road America 10 20 45
Darlington Raceway 45 90 147
Indianapolis Motor Speedway 30 60 100
Las Vegas Motor Speedway 2 45 90 200
Richmond International Raceway 75 150 250
Charlotte Motor Speedway TBD TBD TBD
Dover International Speedway 45 90 200
Kansas Speedway 45 90 200
Texas Motor Speedway 45 90 200
ISM Raceway 2 45 90 200
Homestead-Miami Speedway 45 90 200
2018 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Stage Lengths
Track Stage 1 Stage 2 Final Stage
(ends on lap) (ends on lap) (ends on lap)
Daytona International Speedway 20 40 100
Atlanta Motor Speedway 40 80 130
Las Vegas Motor Speedway 40 80 134
Martinsville Speedway 70 140 250
Dover International Speedway 45 90 200
Kansas Speedway 40 80 167
Charlotte Motor Speedway 40 80 134
Texas Motor Speedway 40 80 167
Iowa Speedway 60 120 200
Gateway Motorsports Park 35 70 160
Chicagoland Speedway 35 70 150
Kentucky Speedway 35 70 150
Eldora Speedway 40 90 150
Pocono Raceway 15 30 60
Michigan International Speedway 30 60 100
Bristol Motor Speedway 55 110 200
Canadian Tire Motorsport Park 20 40 64
Las Vegas Motor Speedway 2 40 80 134
Talladega Superspeedway 20 40 94
Martinsville Speedway 2 50 100 200
Texas Motor Speedway 2 35 70 147
ISM Raceway 40 80 150
Homestead-Miami Speedway 40 80 134
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Greg is a published award winning sportswriter who spent 23 years combined active and active reserve military service, much of that in and around the Special Operations community. Greg is the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers' Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing" and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.