Matt Kenseth took advantage when the field in front of him pitted late in Stage 2 to take fresh tires and fuel, pulling away in the No. 6 Roush Fenway Racing Ford to win Stage 2 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It’s the first stage win of the year for the veteran.
Chase Elliott cruised into second place behind Kenseth, followed by Erik Jones, Joey Logano and Kurt Busch to complete the top five. Complete results for the Top 10 are listed below.
Clint Bowyer appeared set to take the Stage 2 win after winning Stage 1, but he pitted two laps before the stage ended in order to be in an optimal position for the start of the final stage.
| Finish | Driver | Team | Race Points |
| 1 | Matt Kenseth | Roush Fenway Racing | 10 |
| 2 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | 9 |
| 3 | Erik Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | 8 |
| 4 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | 7 |
| 5 | Kurt Busch | Stewart-Haas Racing | 6 |
| 6 | Daniel Suarez | Joe Gibbs Racing | 5 |
| 7 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | 4 |
| 8 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | 3 |
| 9 | Ryan Newman | Richard Childress Racing | 2 |
| 10 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | 1 |
Pit strategy from his No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing team and excellent execution on a late restart powered Clint Bowyer to a Stage 1 win in Monday’s rain-delayed Big Machine Vodka 400 at the Brickyard.
Bowyer took two tires following a competition caution on Lap 30, then recovered from a bobble on a Lap 44 restart to power in front of teammate Kurt Busch into the preferred groove at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
RELATED: Stage 1 results
It was Bowyer’s first stage win of 2018, and it came with the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs starting next week in Las Vegas.
Busch finished second to Bowyer, with Denny Hamlin, Kyle Larson and Kyle Busch rounding out the top five. Top 10 Stage 1 results are below.
Teams had two chances to hit pit road for tires and adjustments in Stage 1. Due to persistent rainfall over the previous three days, NASCAR issued competition cautions at Lap 10 and Lap 30.
| Finish | Driver | Team | Race Points |
| 1 | Clint Bowyer | Stewart-Haas Racing | 10 |
| 2 | Kurt Busch | Stewart-Haas Racing | 9 |
| 3 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | 8 |
| 4 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | 7 |
| 5 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | 6 |
| 6 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | 5 |
| 7 | Aric Almirola | Stewart-Haas Racing | 4 |
| 8 | Paul Menard | Wood Brothers Racing | 3 |
| 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | 2 |
| 10 | Erik Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | 1 |