2018 UNOH 200

The 2018 UNOH 200 was the 16th stock car race of the 2018 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season, the last regular season race of the year, and the 21st iteration of the event. The race was held on Thursday, August 16, 2018, a 0.533 miles (0.858 km) permanent oval-shaped racetrack. The race took the scheduled 200 laps to complete. GMS Racing driver Johnny Sauter would pass an ailing NEMCO Motorsports driver, John Hunter Nemechek and hold off Halmar Friesen Racing driver Stewart Friesen to win his 22nd career NASCAR Camping World Truck Series win, his fifth of the season, and would clinch the regular season championship. Friesen and Nemechek would finish second and third, respectively.

Background

The Bristol Motor Speedway, formerly known as Bristol International Raceway and Bristol Raceway, is a NASCAR short track venue located in Bristol, Tennessee. Constructed in 1960, it held its first NASCAR race on July 30, 1961. Despite its short length, Bristol is among the most popular tracks on the NASCAR schedule because of its distinct features, which include extraordinarily steep banking, an all concrete surface, two pit roads, and stadium-like seating. It has also been named one of the loudest NASCAR tracks.

Entry list

Practice

First practice

The first practice session would occur on Thursday, August 16, at 9:05 AM EST, and would last for 50 minutes. Myatt Snider of ThorSport Racing would set the fastest time in the session, with a time of 15.304 and an average speed of 125.379 miles per hour (201.778 km/h).

Second practice

The second and final practice session, sometimes referred to as Happy Hour, would occur on Thursday, August 16, at 11:05 AM EST, and would last for 50 minutes. Stewart Friesen of Halmar Friesen Racing would set the fastest time in the session, with a time of 15.263 and an average speed of 125.716 miles per hour (202.320 km/h).

Qualifying

Qualifying was held on Thursday, August 16, at 4:10 PM EST. Since Bristol Motor Speedway is under 1.5 miles (2.4 km), the qualifying system was a multi-car system that included three rounds. The first round was 15 minutes, where every driver would be able to set a lap within the 15 minutes. Then, the second round would consist of the fastest 24 cars in Round 1, and drivers would have 10 minutes to set a lap. Round 3 consisted of the fastest 12 drivers from Round 2, and the drivers would have 5 minutes to set a time. Whoever was fastest in Round 3 would win the pole.

Christopher Bell of Kyle Busch Motorsports would set the fastest time in Round 3 and win the pole with a 15.248 and an average speed of 125.839 miles per hour (202.518 km/h).

Five drivers failed to qualify: Gray Gaulding, Timothy Peters, B. J. McLeod, Norm Benning, and Jennifer Jo Cobb.