2018 NASCAR Cup Series Head-to-Head Playoff Results

Originally published on Apr. 12, 2025

By Zane Miller

First round

(8) #14 Clint Bowyer v. (1) #18 Kyle Busch

(7) #42 Kyle Larson v. (2) #4 Kevin Harvick

(6) #2 Brad Keselowski v. (3) #78 Martin Truex Jr.

(5) #22 Joey Logano v. (4) #41 Kurt Busch

For the first time since 1998, the playoffs got started at Richmond Raceway. This worked out well for the #1-seeded Kyle Busch, who led the final 37 laps on the way to the race win. Clint Bowyer nabbed the 10^th spot, but still found himself at an early deficit in the series. Harvick scored the runner-up spot behind Busch, holding off Kyle Larson in seventh. Also having a strong performance was Martin Truex Jr., as he started what would be the final postseason appearance for Furniture Row Racing with a bang, placing third while Brad Keselowski fell to ninth after Busch passed him for the eventual victory. Joey Logano did not have as good of a showing, ending the evening in 14^th, but Kurt Busch couldn’t take advantage as he finished two laps down in 18^th.

In the first-ever Cup race on Charlotte Motor Speedway’s “Roval” configuration, Bowyer was able to navigate the uncharted territory to an impressive third-place finish, as Kyle Busch did not fare as well after crashing out in a massive late-race pileup and was credited with 32^nd. The melee started when Keselowski smacked into the turn one wall, ending his day with a 31^st-place result to allow Truex Jr. to advance to the semifinals despite a last-lap accident of his own leaving him in 14^th. Harvick tiptoed his way through the chaos to finish ninth, eliminating Larson, who finished 25^th after sustaining damage in the same incident as Busch and Keselowski. The tightest battle came between Kurt Busch and Logano, as Busch joined his Stewart-Haas Racing teammate Bowyer the top-five with a fifth-place run. Logano nabbed the 10^th spot, but it wouldn’t be enough to continue his fight for a second Cup championship.

With only one first round series remaining at Dover, Kyle Busch made his case by starting from the pole while Bowyer looked to pull off the massive upset. However, this was not meant to be as the Kansas native blew a tire and crashed with 10 laps to go after already going two laps down, concluding a frustrating day in 35^th. With the pressure now officially off, Busch secured an eighth-place run to move on.

Semifinal

(4) #41 Kurt Busch v. (1) #18 Kyle Busch

(3) #4 Kevin Harvick v. (2) #78 Martin Truex Jr.

For the second time in three years, the Busch brothers would face each other in the semifinal round. Kurt would get the better of Kyle at Talladega Superspeedway, as despite running out of fuel on the last lap he would still get 14^th whereas Kyle was well behind in 26^th. In the other series, both Truex Jr. and Harvick struggled late (though Harvick did lead 46 laps early), but Truex came out on top in 23^rd while Harvick could only muster a 28th-place result.

Kyle Busch quickly rebounded at Kansas, scoring the runner-up spot while Kurt ended up a lap down in 18^th. Harvick again showed that he had speed, leading the way for 76 laps, but was unable to carry over that pace to the finish. The quest for his first career Cup Series championship came to another heartbreaking end, finishing 12^th while Truex Jr. punched his finals ticket with a fifth-place run.

At Martinsville, Kyle Busch started from the pole and led exactly 100 laps in the early going, though Kurt was not far behind for the majority of the race, hanging around the top-five all night long. On the final restart with 37 laps to go, Kyle was in second with Kurt in seventh. Kyle was later passed by both Keselowski and Truex Jr., but Kurt was only able to gain one position after the restart. When the checkered flag dropped, Kyle held down the fourth spot with Kurt a couple car lengths back in sixth.

Final

(3) #78 Martin Truex Jr. v. (1) #18 Kyle Busch

Throughout the finals’ opening race at Texas, Busch was unable to find speed and eventually finished 17^th, enabling Truex Jr. to grab the early advantage with a solid ninth-place run. However, Phoenix would be a completely different story for Busch, who led the final 36 laps of the event to score his eighth race win of the year. Despite being competitive at points during the race, Truex Jr. took the checkers in 14^th as the championship would be decided at the Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Truex was no stranger to success at Homestead, as he won the previous season’s championship there as well as the NASCAR Busch Series (now NASCAR Xfinity Series) title in 2005. Building off of this good fortune, Truex finished inside the top-five in both stages, though Busch remained in close proximity. Truex took the lead with less than 50 laps to go, but Busch got by the 78 ride just 10 laps later. A late caution set up a 15-lap dash to the finish, with Busch leading and Truex Jr. in second. Truex jumped back out in the lead on the restart, as Busch was under attack from Logano and others. While Logano eventually got around Truex for the race win, Truex won the war, claiming the runner-up spot with Busch in fourth to earn his second consecutive Cup Series championship.

Martin Truex Jr.’s stats for 2018 were four wins, 20 top-fives and 21 top-10s, finishing second in the real-life standings to champion Joey Logano.