2018 Minnesota Vikings season, Regular season, Game summaries, Week 1: vs. San Francisco 49ers
The Vikings began the 2018 season with a home game against the San Francisco 49ers, their first home game since the Minneapolis Miracle in the divisional round of the 2017–18 NFL playoffs. The game saw quarterback Kirk Cousins and defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson make their regular season debuts for the Vikings, as well as the return of second-year running back Dalvin Cook, who had torn his ACL early in the 2017 season.


2018 Minnesota Vikings season, Regular season, Game summaries, Week 1: vs. San Francisco 49ers
The two teams traded punts to start the game, before the Vikings put a drive together on their second possession, culminating with a 48-yard field goal by rookie kicker Daniel Carlson. The 49ers then failed to pick up a first down on their next possession, giving the Vikings good field position on their own 47-yard line off the ensuing punt as the first quarter drew to a close.


2018 Minnesota Vikings season, Regular season, Game summaries, Week 1: vs. San Francisco 49ers
Runs by Latavius Murray and a 17-yard pass from Cousins to Cook gave the Vikings a third-and-3 situation on the San Francisco 22-yard-line, from where Cousins threw a 22-yard strike to Stefon Diggs, the 100th touchdown pass of his career.


2018 Minnesota Vikings season, Regular season, Game summaries, Week 1: vs. San Francisco 49ers
On the ensuing San Francisco possession, quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo linked up with tight end George Kittle and wide receiver Trent Taylor to get them into Minnesota territory, before a pass interference penalty against Vikings cornerback Trae Waynes put the 49ers just outside the red zone; however, the Minnesota defense stood firm and allowed just a 42-yard Robbie Gould field goal; however, on the Vikings' next drive, Cook fumbled the ball at the end of a 15-yard run, allowing San Francisco to regain possession.


2018 Minnesota Vikings season, Regular season, Game summaries, Week 1: vs. San Francisco 49ers
They marched down to the Vikings' 1-yard line, only for defensive tackle Linval Joseph to force a fumble from running back Alfred Morris, which safety Harrison Smith subsequently recovered. The Vikings were able to get out from under the shadow of their own goalposts and closed out the half with a 10–3 lead.


2018 Minnesota Vikings season, Regular season, Game summaries, Week 1: vs. San Francisco 49ers
The Vikings defense forced a three-and-out to begin the second half, but only managed one first down on their ensuing possession before having to punt; however, three plays later, with the 49ers at third-and-8 from their own 20-yard line, the Vikings' rookie cornerback Mike Hughes intercepted a pass from Garoppolo and returned it 28 yards for a touchdown to put the Vikings up 17–3. Garoppolo responded immediately, however, completing a 56-yard pass to fullback Kyle Juszczyk to put the 49ers inside the Vikings' 20.


2018 Minnesota Vikings season, Regular season, Game summaries, Week 1: vs. San Francisco 49ers
As in the first half, though, the Minnesota defense held up and limited the 49ers to a 33-yard field goal. Cousins focused his attention on his wide receivers to begin the next Vikings possession, completing passes of 11 and 34 yards to Adam Thielen, the latter being the Vikings' longest completed pass of the day, to get into 49ers territory. Cook continued to run the ball, while Cousins' attention shifted to his tight ends, first completing a nine-yard pass to David Morgan II before an 11-yard completion to Kyle Rudolph for the Vikings' third touchdown of the day.


2018 Minnesota Vikings season, Regular season, Game summaries, Week 1: vs. San Francisco 49ers
A 36-yard completion from Garoppolo to Kittle was the highlight of the subsequent San Francisco drive, which culminated in a 22-yard touchdown pass to rookie wide receiver Dante Pettis with 30 seconds left in the quarter. The Vikings went three-and-out on their next possession; they soon had the ball back, as cornerback Xavier Rhodes intercepted Garoppolo, only to again have to punt, giving San Francisco the ball back at their own 14-yard line.


2018 Minnesota Vikings season, Regular season, Game summaries, Week 1: vs. San Francisco 49ers
A 39-yard pass from Garoppolo to Pettis got the 49ers into the Vikings' half, but a tackle for a five-yard loss by Smith led to another third-down situation for San Francisco; Garoppolo's third-down pass was incomplete, which should have meant them having to punt, only for Richardson to be flagged for roughing the passer, giving the 49ers a 15-yard advantage and an automatic first down.


2018 Minnesota Vikings season, Regular season, Game summaries, Week 1: vs. San Francisco 49ers
They were able to get down to the Vikings' 4-yard line, but were unable to get the ball into the end zone and again had to settle for a field goal, reducing the margin to 8 points. The Vikings again had to punt on their next possession, but a 10-yard sack by Smith on the next series meant San Francisco had to do the same, giving the Vikings the ball back with six minutes left to play.


2018 Minnesota Vikings season, Regular season, Game summaries, Week 1: vs. San Francisco 49ers
A combination of runs from Murray and Cook allowed the Vikings to take three minutes off the clock, but a scramble run from Cousins came up just short of another first down; however, the Vikings were able to draw the 49ers' defense offside, giving them a free five yards and the first down. They were able to take another minute off the clock before punting, giving the 49ers the ball with 1:49 to play. Needing a touchdown to stand a chance of taking the game to overtime, Garoppolo had to go for it, but was intercepted by Smith on the second play of the drive, allowing the Vikings to run out the clock and claim their first win of the season.


2018 Minnesota Vikings season, Regular season, Game summaries, Week 2: at Green Bay Packers
Week 2 saw the Vikings travel to Lambeau Field to take on their archrivals, the Green Bay Packers, against whom Vikings linebacker Anthony Barr effectively ended Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers' 2017 season with a hit that broke Rodgers' collarbone.


2018 Minnesota Vikings season, Regular season, Game summaries, Week 2: at Green Bay Packers
The Packers received the ball first and were forced to punt. On the ensuing drive, the Packers forced the Vikings to go three-and-out, but the punt from the Vikings' Matt Wile was blocked by Geronimo Allison and recovered by the Packers' Josh Jackson for a touchdown. On Minnesota's next drive, quarterback Kirk Cousins led the Vikings on an eight-play, 57-yard touchdown drive to tie the game at 7–7, with the scoring pass going to Laquon Treadwell for 14 yards.


2018 Minnesota Vikings season, Regular season, Game summaries, Week 2: at Green Bay Packers
Green Bay followed that with a nine-yard touchdown pass from Rodgers to Davante Adams early in the second quarter, making the game 14–7. After trading punts and a missed 48-yard field goal for the Vikings by rookie kicker Daniel Carlson, the Packers' Mason Crosby made a 37-yard field goal at the end of the first half to send the Packers to the locker room leading 17–7.


2018 Minnesota Vikings season, Regular season, Game summaries, Week 2: at Green Bay Packers
The Vikings received the ball after halftime, but their drive stalled and were forced to punt. Green Bay followed that up with a 40-yard field goal from Crosby with 6:32 left in the third quarter. After trading punts, the Vikings scored another touchdown on a three-yard pass to Stefon Diggs early in the fourth quarter to reduce the Packers' lead to six points.


2018 Minnesota Vikings season, Regular season, Game summaries, Week 2: at Green Bay Packers
Green Bay followed that up with Crosby's third field goal of the day, this time from 31 yards, but the Vikings responded quickly on their next drive, as Cousins hit Diggs with a 75-yard touchdown pass to make it a 23–21 lead for the Packers. Crosby then made his fourth field goal of the day from 48 yards with 2:13 left in the fourth quarter. Cousins threw an interception on the first play of the Vikings' next drive, leading to a fifth Crosby field goal from 36 yards with 1:45 remaining, putting the Packers up 29–21.


2018 Minnesota Vikings season, Regular season, Game summaries, Week 2: at Green Bay Packers
Cousins then led the Vikings 75 yards in eight plays, resulting in a 22-yard touchdown pass to Adam Thielen, but the Vikings needed a two-point conversion to tie the game. Cousins then connected with Diggs to tie the game at 29–29, with 31 seconds remaining in regulation. Green Bay was able to move down the field and into field goal range, but Crosby's 52-yard attempt missed left and the game went to overtime.


2018 Minnesota Vikings season, Regular season, Game summaries, Week 2: at Green Bay Packers
The Vikings won the overtime coin toss and received the ball. They moved 39 yards in seven plays, but Carlson's 49-yard attempt sailed wide right. Green Bay then was forced to punt after chewing 3:45 off the clock, and the Vikings started their next drive with 3:57 left to play. After moving 63 yards, the Vikings were at the Packers' 17-yard line with four seconds remaining in overtime, but Carlson missed his third field goal attempt of the game, this time from 35 yards, and again wide right. Carlson was waived the next day, replaced by veteran kicker Dan Bailey.


2018 Minnesota Vikings season, Regular season, Game summaries, Week 4: at Los Angeles Rams
This was the first NFL broadcast in history to have an all-female announcing team (accessible only to Amazon Prime viewers).


2018 Minnesota Vikings season, Regular season, Game summaries, Week 5: at Philadelphia Eagles
PHI – Zach Ertz 7-yard pass from Carson Wentz (Jake Elliott kick), 1:09. Vikings 23–21. Drive: 7 plays, 75 yards, 1:38.


2018 Minnesota Vikings season, Regular season, Game summaries, Week 8: vs. New Orleans Saints
This was a rematch of the Minneapolis Miracle from last year's divisional playoff game. There would be no miracle in this one however, as the Saints won 30-20 as the Vikings fell to 4-3-1.


2018 Minnesota Vikings season, Pro Bowl
Four Vikings players were elected to the Pro Bowl when the rosters were announced on December 18, 2018, with both outside linebacker Anthony Barr and safety Harrison Smith named to their fourth Pro Bowls. Wide receiver Adam Thielen was named to his second Pro Bowl, having received his first nomination in 2017, while defensive end Danielle Hunter received his first Pro Bowl selection.


2018 Minnesota elections
A general election was held in the U.S. state of Minnesota on November 6, 2018. All of Minnesota's executive officers were up for election as well as all the seats in the Minnesota House of Representatives, several judicial seats, two United States Senate seats, Minnesota's eight seats in the United States House of Representatives, and several seats for local offices. Special elections were also held for a Minnesota Senate seat and Minnesota's Class 2 U.S. Senate seat. A primary election to nominate Republican and Democratic–Farmer–Labor (DFL) candidates and several judicial and local primary elections were held on August 14, 2018.


2018 Minnesota elections, Background
The DFL has held all of Minnesota's executive offices since 2011 after Mark Dayton was elected governor in the 2010 gubernatorial election. They have held the office of attorney general since 1971 and the offices of secretary of state and state auditor since 2007. The Republicans have controlled the Minnesota House of Representatives since 2015 and the Minnesota Senate since 2017.


2018 Minnesota elections, Background
The DFL has held both of Minnesota's U.S. Senate seats since 2009 when Al Franken defeated Republican incumbent Norm Coleman after a protracted recount following the 2008 election. Lieutenant Governor Tina Smith was appointed in January 2018 to replace Franken after he resigned following sexual harassment allegations. The DFL has held Minnesota's other U.S. Senate seat since 2001, when Mark Dayton defeated Republican incumbent Rod Grams in 2000. Dayton did not seek re-election in the 2006 election and was succeeded by Amy Klobuchar in 2007.


2018 Minnesota elections, Background
The Republican and DFL parties held caucuses on February 6, 2018, in which eligible voters elected delegates that subsequently endorsed candidates at conventions held later in the year. Both parties also held a nonbinding preference ballot for governor.


2018 Minnesota elections, Electoral system
Elections for state and federal offices were held via first-past-the-post voting, each producing a single winner. Nominations for parties with major party status, the Republican and DFL parties, were determined by an open primary election. The candidate that won the most votes in each party became their party's nominee in the general election. If only a single candidate sought the nomination for each party, those candidates were automatically nominated and a primary election for that office was not held. Candidates for major parties had automatic ballot access. Candidates for other parties and independents were nominated by petition.


2018 Minnesota elections, Electoral system
Judicial and local elections were held via the nonpartisan blanket primary. The top-two candidates that won the most votes in the primary election advanced to the general election. If not more than two candidates sought election to the same office, a primary election was not held. In multiple-winner elections, the top number of candidates that won the most votes in the primary election that were twice the number of candidates to be elected advanced to the general election. If not more than twice the number of candidates to be elected sought election, a primary election was not held. Some cities, school districts, and all townships and hospital districts did not hold a primary election, regardless of the number of candidates. Judicial and local elections were nonpartisan.


2018 Minnesota elections, Electoral system
The candidate filing period was from May 22 through June 5, 2018. The filing period for cities, townships, school districts, and hospital districts that do not hold a primary election was from July 31 through August 14, 2018.


2018 Minnesota elections, State elections, Executive elections, Governor
Incumbent DFL Governor Mark Dayton did not seek re-election, but was eligible to do so.


2018 Minnesota elections, State elections, Executive elections, Governor
Hennepin County Commissioner Jeff Johnson was the Republican nominee and U.S. Representative Tim Walz was the DFL nominee. Other candidates included Grassroots-Legalize Cannabis Party candidate Chris Wright and Libertarian Party candidate Josh Welter. Candidates who lost the primary election for the Republican nomination include former Governor Tim Pawlenty and Matt Kruse. Candidates who lost the primary election for the DFL nomination include State Representative Erin Murphy, Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson, Tim Holden, and Olé Savior. Walz won the election.


2018 Minnesota elections, State elections, Executive elections, Secretary of State
Incumbent DFL Secretary of State Steve Simon announced on January 23, 2018, that he would seek re-election. Former State Senator John Howe was the Republican nominee. William Denney sought election as an Independence Party candidate. Simon won re-election to a second term.


2018 Minnesota elections, State elections, Executive elections, State Auditor
Incumbent DFL State Auditor Rebecca Otto announced on January 9, 2017, that she would not seek re-election and would seek election to be governor.


2018 Minnesota elections, State elections, Executive elections, State Auditor
Former State Representative Pam Myhra was the Republican nominee. Julie Blaha was the DFL nominee. Other candidates included Legal Marijuana Now Party candidate Michael Ford and Libertarian Party candidate Chris Dock. Blaha won the election.


2018 Minnesota elections, State elections, Executive elections, Attorney General
Incumbent DFL Attorney General Lori Swanson announced on January 28, 2018, that she would seek re-election. On June 4, 2018, Swanson announced that she would not seek re-election and instead seek election to be governor.


2018 Minnesota elections, State elections, Executive elections, Attorney General
Former State Representative Doug Wardlow was the Republican nominee and U.S. Representative Keith Ellison was the DFL nominee. Noah Johnson sought election as a Grassroots-Legalize Cannabis Party candidate. Candidates who lost the primary election for the Republican nomination include Sharon Anderson and former State Senator Bob Lessard. Candidates who lost the primary election for the DFL nomination include State Representative Debra Hilstrom, former Ramsey County attorney Tom Foley, Matt Pelikan, and former commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Commerce Mike Rothman. Ellison won the election.


2018 Minnesota elections, State elections, Legislative elections, Minnesota Senate (special election)
A special election was held for District 13 in the Minnesota Senate. The special election determined which political party would control the Senate as the vacancy to be filled left the Senate equally divided between the Republicans and the DFL. Jeff Howe, the Republican nominee, won the special election, preserving a one-seat Republican majority.


2018 Minnesota elections, State elections, Legislative elections, Minnesota House of Representatives
All 134 seats in the Minnesota House of Representatives were up for election in 2018. The Republicans held a majority of 77 seats and the DFL held 57 seats prior to the election. The DFL won a majority of 75 seats and the Republicans won 59 seats, ending a four-year Republican majority.


2018 Minnesota elections, State elections, Judicial elections
Four seats on the Minnesota Supreme Court were up for election. Chief Justice Lorie Skjerven Gildea and Justice Barry Anderson both won re-election unopposed. Justices Margaret Chutich and Anne McKeig were both elected in their first election following their appointments. Six seats on the Minnesota Court of Appeals and several seats on the Minnesota District Courts were also up for election.


2018 Minnesota elections, State elections, Judicial elections
Justice Chutich faced a challenge from conservative Michelle MacDonald, whom she beat 55.9% to 43.7%. Court of Appeals Justice Lucinda Ellen Jesson faced a challenge from human-rights lawyer Anthony L. Brown, whom she defeated 62.7% to 37.0%.


2018 Minnesota elections, State elections, Judicial elections
Congressional District Results for Chutich v. MacDonaldChutich:      50–60%      60–70%MacDonald:      50–60%


2018 Minnesota elections, State elections, Judicial elections
Congressional District Results for Jesson v. BrownJesson:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%


2018 Minnesota elections, Federal elections, United States Senate, Class 1
Incumbent DFL Senator Amy Klobuchar sought re-election. State Representative Jim Newberger was the Republican nominee. Other candidates included Green Party candidate Paula Overby and Legal Marijuana Now Party candidate Dennis Schuller. Candidates who lost the primary election for the Republican nomination include Merrill Anderson, Rae Hart Anderson, and Rocky De La Fuente. Candidates who lost the primary election for the DFL nomination include Steve Carlson, Stephen Emery, David Robert Groves, and Leonard Richards. Klobuchar won re-election to a third term.


2018 Minnesota elections, Federal elections, United States Senate, Class 2 (special election)
On December 7, 2017, incumbent DFL Senator Al Franken announced he would resign. On December 13, DFL Governor Mark Dayton announced that he would appoint Lieutenant Governor Tina Smith to replace Franken, assuming office on January 3, 2018.


2018 Minnesota elections, Federal elections, United States Senate, Class 2 (special election)
Smith sought election to the seat in the special election held alongside the general election to serve the remainder of Franken's term, expiring on January 3, 2021. State Senator Karin Housley was the Republican nominee. Other candidates included Legal Marijuana Now Party candidate Sarah Wellington and independent candidate Jerry Trooien. Candidates who lost the primary election for the Republican nomination include Bob Anderson and Nikolay Bey. Candidates who lost the primary election for the DFL nomination include Richard Painter, Ali Chehem Ali, Gregg Iverson, Nick Leonard, and Christopher Seymore. Smith won election to the remaining two years of Franken's original six-year term.


2018 Minnesota elections, Federal elections, United States House of Representatives
Minnesota's eight seats in the United States House of Representatives were up for election. The DFL held five seats and the Republicans held three seats prior to the election. Both parties gained and lost two seats, resulting in no net change in the number of seats held by each party.


2018 Minnesota elections, Local elections
Elections for several subdivisions were held—including elections for counties, municipalities, school districts, and hospital districts.


2018 Minnesota elections, Local elections, Counties
All 87 counties held regular elections. 54 counties held primary elections. Seven counties also held special elections on the day of the general election.


2018 Minnesota elections, Local elections, Counties
Some counties held elections for one or more of the following:


2018 Minnesota elections, Local elections, Municipalities
826 cities and 638 townships held regular elections. 29 cities held primary elections. 118 cities and 49 townships held special elections. Oakdale and Red Wing held special elections on both days of the primary election and general election. Benson and Saint Paul did not have regularly scheduled elections, but each held a special election on the day of the primary election. All other special elections were held on the day of the general election. Minnetonka Beach and Motley each had a ballot question on the day of the primary election. 47 cities and 23 townships had ballot questions on the day of the general election.


2018 Minnesota elections, Local elections, Municipalities
Cities held elections for one or more of the following:


2018 Minnesota elections, Local elections, Municipalities
Townships held elections for one or more of the following:


2018 Minnesota elections, Local elections, School districts
284 school districts held regular elections to elect half of the members of their board of directors. Six school districts held primary elections. Braham, Eden Prairie, and Holdingford did not have regularly scheduled elections, but each held a special election on the day of the general election. 24 other school districts also held special elections on the day of the general election. Five school districts had ballot questions on the day of the primary election. 56 school districts had ballot questions on the day of the general election.


2018 Minnesota elections, Local elections, Hospital districts
16 hospital districts held regular elections to elect half of the members of their board of directors. Six hospital districts also held special elections on the day of the general election.


2018 Minnesota gubernatorial election
The 2018 Minnesota gubernatorial election took place on November 6, to elect the 41st Governor of Minnesota as incumbent Democratic governor Mark Dayton chose not to run for re-election for a third term. The Democratic nominee was congressman Tim Walz from Minnesota's 1st congressional district while the Republicans nominated Hennepin County commissioner Jeff Johnson. The Independence Party of Minnesota didn't field a candidate for the first time since 1994. Going into the election the polls showed Walz ahead and the race was characterized as lean or likely DFL.


2018 Minnesota gubernatorial election
In the end, Walz went on to defeat Johnson by the largest margin for a DFL candidate since 1986. Walz had also received more votes than any gubernatorial candidate in Minnesota's history.


2018 Minnesota gubernatorial election, Democratic–Farmer–Labor primary, Straw poll
On February 6, 2018 the DFL conducted a statewide straw poll among registered Democrats in Minnesota. Caucus-goers were scheduled to elect delegates to their party's Senate district and county conventions, which in turn will elect state convention delegates who will endorse candidates for governor, two U.S. Senate seats, attorney general, state auditor and secretary of state. Congressional district delegates will endorse U.S. House candidates. Since the straw poll the three lowest performing candidates withdrew from the race (Paul Thissen, Chris Coleman, and Tina Liebling).


2018 Minnesota gubernatorial election, General election, Debates
The debate season began only three days after the primaries with Johnson and Walz participating in two debates on Friday, August 17. A third debate was held Friday, August 31.


2018 Minor Counties Championship
The 2018 Minor Counties Championship was the 114th Minor Counties Cricket Championship season, and the fourth under the name 'Unicorn Counties Championship'. It is contested in two divisions. Berkshire were the defending champions and retained their title by defeating Lincolnshire in a repeat of the 2016 and 2017 finals. The final was played in Bodicote, Oxfordshire, with Berkshire winning by an innings and 32 runs.


2018 Minor Counties Championship, Standings, Format
Teams receive 16 points for a win, 8 for a tie and 4 for a draw. In a match reduced to a single innings, teams receive 12 points for a win, 8 for a draw (6 if less than 20 overs per side) and 4 points for losing. For matches abandoned without play, both sides receive 8 points. Bonus points (a maximum of 4 batting points and 4 bowling points) may be scored during the first 90 overs of each team's first innings.


2018 Minor Counties Championship, Final
The final featured the teams which finished with the most points in each Division, Berkshire and Lincolnshire – A repeat of the 2016 and 2017 finals. It began on 16 September 2018 at Banbury with the result being a victory for Berkshire by an innings and 32 Runs. Berkshire retained the title whilst Lincolnshire's most recent victory was in 2003.


2018 Minya bus attack
On November 2, 2018, masked gunmen opened fire on a group of Egyptian Christians traveling by bus through Minya. There was a convoy of three vehicles and two of them managed to escape. The vehicles were carrying Copts traveling from Sohag Governorate and Minya Governorate in Egypt to the Monastery of Saint Samuel the Confessor. At least 7 people from Minya were killed while 12 others were injured. A similar attack near the same place had happened in 2017.


2018 Minya bus attack, Background
Copts have faced growing persecution and sectarian violence in Egypt since the early 2010s, including several in the last two years, all claimed by the Islamic State.


2018 Minya bus attack, Background
A similar attack happened on 26 May 2017, when masked gunman opened fire on a convoy carrying Copts in the same route of this attack, killing 29 people and wounding 22 others.


2018 Minya bus attack, Background
On 29 December 2017, a gunman killed at least 11 people in attacks on a Coptic Orthodox church and a Christian-owned shop near Cairo before he was wounded and arrested.


2018 Minya bus attack, Background
On 9 April 2017, Palm Sunday, terrorists bombed two Coptic churches — St. George's Church in the northern Egyptian city of Tanta on the Nile delta, and Saint Mark's Coptic Orthodox Cathedral, the principal church in Alexandria — killing 47 people and injuring at least 126 others.


2018 Minya bus attack, Background
On 11 December 2016, a suicide bomber killed 29 people and injured 47 others at St. Peter and St. Paul's Church (commonly known as El-Botroseya Church)


2018 Minya bus attack, Response and reactions
Two days later, 19 militants involved in the attack were killed in a shoot-out with the police.


2018 Minya bus attack, Response and reactions
Pope Francis prayed for the victims in his Sunday Angelus Address, subsequent to the killings.


2018 Mishui vehicle attack
On 12 September 2018, a man deliberately drove his SUV into crowds on a square in Mishui near Hengyang in Hunan Province, China. The attack resulted in the deaths of 15 people and injuries to 43 others. The attacker, Yang Zanyun, was sentenced to death and executed.


2018 Mishui vehicle attack, Attack
The attack happened at about 7:35 p.m. when a Land Rover SUV was driven onto a square in Mishui and deliberately struck people. When the vehicle came to a stop, the suspect got out and continued his attack with a shovel and a knife.


2018 Mishui vehicle attack, Suspect and investigation
The suspect was identified as 54-year-old Yang Zanyun, who was living off interest from loans. He has a long criminal record that includes previous convictions for selling drugs, theft and attacking people.


2018 Mishui vehicle attack, Suspect and investigation
The government said Yang wanted to take "revenge on society." Three months after the attack, on December 12, Yang was sentenced to death and deprived of his political rights for the remainder of his life. The sentence was approved by the Supreme People's Court and he was executed on January 29, 2019.


2018 Mississippi College Choctaws football team
The 2018 Mississippi College Choctaws football team represented Mississippi College during the 2018 NCAA Division II football season. They were led by fifth-year head coach John Bland. The Choctaws played their home games at Robinson–Hale Stadium and were members of the Gulf South Conference (GSC).


2018 Mississippi College Choctaws football team, Preseason, Gulf South Conference coaches poll
On August 2, 2018, the Gulf South Conference released their preseason coaches poll with the Choctaws predicted to finish eighth place in the conference.


2018 Mississippi College Choctaws football team, Preseason, Preseason All-Gulf South Conference Team
The Choctaws had one player at one position selected to the preseason all-Gulf South Conference team.


2018 Mississippi College Choctaws football team, Schedule
Mississippi College 2018 football schedule consists of six home and five away games in the regular season. The Choctaws will host GSC foes Valdosta State, West Alabama, West Florida, West Georgia , and will travel to Delta State, Florida Tech, North Greenville, and Shorter.


2018 Mississippi College Choctaws football team, Schedule
The Choctaws will host two of the three non-conference games against Clark Atlanta from the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and Southwest Baptist Bearcats football from the Great Lakes Valley Conference, and will travel to North Alabama, which is a FCS Independent team.


2018 Mississippi College Choctaws football team, Schedule
Two of the eleven games will be broadcast on ESPN3, as part of the Gulf South Conference Game of the Week.


2018 Mississippi State Bulldogs baseball team
The 2018 Mississippi State Bulldogs baseball team represents the Mississippi State University in the 2018 NCAA Division I baseball season. The Bulldogs play their home games at Dudy Noble Field. Due to construction of the new Dudy Noble Field, the first home game was not played until March 6, to give construction crews time to finish the bottom seating of the stadium. The new Dudy Noble Field in its entirety will not be completed until the 2019 season.


2018 Mississippi State Bulldogs baseball team, Schedule and results
† Indicates the game does not count toward the 2018 Southeastern Conference standings. *Rankings are based on the team's current ranking in the Collegiate Baseball poll.


2018 Mississippi State Bulldogs baseball team, Rankings
^ Collegiate Baseball ranks 40 teams in their preseason poll, but only ranks 30 teams weekly during the season. † NCBWA ranks 35 teams in their preseason poll, but only ranks 30 teams weekly during the season. * New poll was not released for this week so for comparison purposes the previous week's ranking is inserted in this week's slot.


2018 Mississippi State Bulldogs baseball team, MLB Draft
†Small, a redshirt sophomore, returns to MSU for the next season. ‡Mangum, a junior, returns to MSU for the next season. Although Mangum had almost exclusively played CF in college and pitched very little, he was drafted as a pitcher.


2018 Mississippi State Bulldogs baseball team, Recruiting
Mississippi State is ranked 8th by Perfect Game for its 2018 recruiting class, in spite of having two players, Carter Stewart and J. T. Ginn, both RHPs, go in the 1st round of the MLB draft and two more, Eric Cerantola and Sam Knowlton, both also RHPs, go in the 33rd and 39th, who did not sign to play professionally after this draft, although there is some speculation that Stewart may go JUCO instead. Stewart does go JUCO and after all teams have defections due to major league signings, Mississippi State is ranked 6th.


2018 Mississippi State Bulldogs baseball team, Recruiting
Perfect Game only covers commitments out of high school. There is also a JUCO player, Gunner Halter, SS, taken in the 26th round who plans to play for Mississippi State. There are also two high schoolers that were not drafted, probably due to difficulty of being signed, who were projected as top 10 rounders, Hayden Jones, C, and Christian McLeod, LHP. In addition to the four RHPs, C, LHP, and JUCO SS mentioned above, high school players also include three OFs, a RHP, two SSs, and a C.


2018 Mississippi State Bulldogs football team
The 2018 Mississippi State Bulldogs football team represented Mississippi State University in the 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Bulldogs played their home games at Davis Wade Stadium in Starkville, Mississippi and competed in the Western Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). They were led by first-year head coach Joe Moorhead. Mississippi State subsequently vacated all eight victories due to NCAA sanctions due to academic misconduct involving 10 players and a tutor in online coursework.


2018 Mississippi State Bulldogs football team, Previous season
The Bulldogs finished the 2017 season 9–4, 4–4 in SEC play to finish in a tie for fourth  place in the Western Division. They were invited to the TaxSlayer Bowl where they beat Louisville.


2018 Mississippi State Bulldogs football team, Previous season
Head coach Dan Mullen resigned at the end of last season to become the head coach at Florida. Running backs coach Greg Knox served as interim head coach for the TaxSlayer Bowl. On November 28, Penn State offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead was hired as their new head coach, beginning in the 2018 season.


2018 Mississippi State Bulldogs football team, Preseason, SEC media poll
The SEC media poll was released on July 20, 2018 with the Bulldogs predicted to finish in third place in the West Division.


2018 Mississippi State Bulldogs football team, Preseason, Preseason All-SEC teams
The Bulldogs had five players selected to the preseason all-SEC teams.


2018 Mississippi State Bulldogs football team, Schedule
All eight victories were subsequently vacated as part of NCAA sanctions due to academic misconduct involving a tutor and online coursework.


2018 Mississippi State Bulldogs football team, Game summaries, at Kansas State
Mississippi State quarterback Nick Fitzgerald made his first appearance on the football fields since November 2017, when a foot injury sidelined him for the season and a 1-game suspension kept him out of the season opener. Fitzgerald threw for 154 yards with two touchdowns and ran for another 159 yards. Mississippi State compiled a total of 538 yards of total offense where Kansas State only managed 213.


2018 Mississippi State Bulldogs football team, Game summaries, at Kansas State
Kansas State continued with its two-quarterback system, switching snaps between Skylar Thompson and Alex Delton. Kansas State running back Alex Barnes managed 75 yards rushing, but the Wildcats fell short to lose the game 31-10.


2018 Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils football team
The 2018 Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils football team represents Mississippi Valley State University in the 2018 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Delta Devils are led by first-year head coach Vincent Dancy and play their home games at Rice–Totten Stadium as members of the East Division of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC).


2018 Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils football team, Previous season
The Delta Devils finished the 2017 season 2–9, 1–6 in SWAC play to finish in last place in the East Division.


2018 Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils football team, Previous season
On November 20, it was announced that head coach Rick Comegy's contract would not be renewed. He finished at Mississippi Valley State with a four-year record of 6–38.


2018 Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils football team, Preseason, SWAC football media day
During the SWAC football media day held in Birmingham, Alabama on July 13, 2018, the Delta Devils were predicted to finish last in the East Division.


2018 Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils football team, Preseason, Presason All-SWAC Team
The Delta Devils had two players selected to Preseason All-SWAC Teams.


2018 Missouri State Auditor election
On November 6, 2018, a general election in the U.S. state of Missouri was held for the post of State Auditor of Missouri. The election for Missouri State Auditor coincided with the U.S. federal midterm elections that were held throughout all 50 states, as well with other state legislative and local races in Missouri. Missouri's Class 1 United States Senate seat was also up for election on November 6, 2018.


2018 Missouri State Auditor election
The primary elections for this race were held on August 7, 2018. The Democrats nominated incumbent Missouri State Auditor Nicole Galloway, while the Republicans nominated attorney Saundra McDowell.


2018 Missouri State Auditor election
Galloway won election to a full term. Prior to this, Galloway had been appointed to the post by former Governor Jay Nixon in 2015, following the death of Tom Schweich.


2018 Missouri State Auditor election
Following the Republican victories in the elections on November 8, 2016 for Governor of Missouri, U.S. Senate, Lieutenant Governor, Missouri State Treasurer, Attorney General, and Secretary of State, Galloway and U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill became the only two remaining Democratic statewide officeholders in Missouri. McCaskill's failed re-election campaign in 2018 made Galloway the state's only Democratic statewide officeholder and only female statewide elected official. Her victory also marks the only Democratic win in a statewide election in Missouri since 2012.


2018 Missouri State Bears football team
The 2018 Missouri State Bears football team represented Missouri State University in the 2018 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by fourth-year head coach Dave Steckel and played their home games at the Robert W. Plaster Stadium. They were a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference. They finished the season 4–7, 2–6 in MVFC play to finish in ninth place.


2018 Missouri State Bears football team, Previous season
The Bears finished the 2017 season 3–8, 2–6 in MVFC play to finish in a tie for eighth place.


2018 Missouri State Bears football team, Preseason, Preseason MVFC poll
The MVFC released their preseason poll on July 29, 2018, with the Bears predicted to finish in ninth place.


2018 Missouri State Bears football team, Preseason, Preseason All-MVFC Teams
The Bears placed three players on the preseason all-MVFC teams.


2018 Missouri State Senate election
The 2018 Missouri State Senate elections were held on November 6, 2018, to elect the seventeen Missouri State Senators to the Missouri State Senate. Half of the Senate's thirty-four seats are up for election every two years, with each Senator serving four-year terms. The next time that these seats will be up is the 2022 Missouri State Senate election.


2018 Missouri State Senate election, Results Summary, District
Results of the 2018 Missouri State Senate elections by district:


2018 Missouri Tigers football team
The 2018 Missouri Tigers football team represented the University of Missouri in the 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Tigers  played their home games at Faurot Field as members of the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference. They were led by third-year head coach Barry Odom.


2018 Missouri Tigers football team, Previous season
The Tigers finished the 2017 season 7–6, 4–4 in SEC play to finish in a tie for third place in the Eastern Division. They were invited to the Texas Bowl where they lost to Texas.


2018 Missouri Tigers football team, Previous season
On November 24, quarterback Drew Lock broke the SEC passing record for touchdowns in a season with 43, in a 48–45 win over Arkansas.


2018 Missouri Tigers football team, Preseason, SEC media poll
The SEC media poll was released on July 20, 2018 with the Tigers predicted to finish in fourth place in the East Division.


2018 Missouri Tigers football team, Preseason, Preseason All-SEC teams
The Tigers had five players selected to the preseason all-SEC teams.


2018 Missouri Valley Conference Baseball Tournament
The 2018 Missouri Valley Conference Baseball Tournament was held from May 23–26. All eight baseball-sponsoring schools in the conference participated in the double-elimination tournament that was held at Dallas Baptist's Horner Ballpark in Dallas, Texas. The winner of the tournament earned the conference's automatic bid to the 2018 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament.


2018 Missouri Valley Conference Baseball Tournament, Seeding and format
The league's eight teams were seeded based on conference winning percentage. The teams played a two bracket, double-elimination format tournament, with the winner of each bracket then playing a single elimination final.


2018 Missouri Valley Conference Men's Basketball Tournament
The 2018 Missouri Valley Conference Men's Basketball Tournament, popularly referred to as "Arch Madness", was the postseason men's basketball tournament that completed the 2017–18 season in the Missouri Valley Conference. The Tournament was held at the Scottrade Center, now known as the Enterprise Center, in St. Louis, Missouri from March 1–4, 2018.


2018 Missouri Valley Conference Men's Basketball Tournament
The Tournament marked the first tournament with Valparaiso as a member of the MVC, having replaced Wichita State when the Shockers joined the American Athletic Conference in June 2017.


2018 Missouri Valley Conference Men's Basketball Tournament
The tournament's top seed, Loyola–Chicago defeated the No. 3 seed Illinois State in the championship game to receive the Missouri Valley's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.


2018 Missouri Valley Conference Men's Basketball Tournament, Seeds
Teams were seeded by conference record, with ties broken by overall record in conference games played between the tied teams, then (if necessary) by overall adjusted RPI on the day following the conclusion of the regular season as calculated in Collegiate Basketball News' Men's RPI Report. The top six seeds received opening round byes.


2018 Missouri Valley Conference Men's Basketball Tournament, Seeds
With a win at Southern Illinois on February 21, Loyola–Chicago clinched the outright MVC championship and the No. 1 seed.


2018 Missouri Valley Conference Men's Soccer Tournament
The 2018 Missouri Valley Conference Men's Soccer Tournament was the 29th edition of the competition. The tournament was played from November 7 until November 11, 2018.


2018 Missouri Valley Conference Men's Soccer Tournament
The Central Arkansas Bears won the tournament, defeating Loyola Chicago 2–1 in the final. The win give the UCA their second consecutive MVC men's soccer championship, and a berth into the 2018 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Tournament.


2018 Missouri Valley Conference Men's Soccer Tournament, Background
The 2018 Missouri Valley Conference Men's Soccer Tournament is the culmination of the regular season. The regular season conference matches determine the seeding in the tournament, which determines the conference's automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament. All teams in the Missouri Valley Conference, or MVC, play each other once during the season. Teams play certain teams at home during even number years, and then will play those teams on the road during odd number years. Teams are awarded three points for a win, a point for a draw and no points for a loss.


2018 Missouri Valley Conference Men's Soccer Tournament, Background
In the event that teams are tied on points, the first tiebreaker is head-to-head record. If that tiebreaker is tied, goal differential is applied, followed by goals scored, then away goals, then RPI.


2018 Missouri Valley Conference Men's Soccer Tournament, Background
Central Arkansas won the regular season with a 4–1–1 record.


2018 Missouri Valley Conference Men's Soccer Tournament, Honors and awards, MVC All-Tournament Team
Nacho Miras, ValparaisoSimon Waever, EvansvilleJared Brown, DrakeSteven Enna, DrakeJake Buckle, Missouri StateJake Laird, Missouri StateGrant Stoneman, LoyolaAidan Megally, LoyolaTucker Stephenson, LoyolaNiklas Brodacki, Central ArkansasMarc Olsen, Central ArkansasJake Bates, Central ArkansasDaltyn Knutson, Central Arkansas


2018 Missouri Valley Conference Women's Basketball Tournament
The 2018 Missouri Valley Conference Women's Basketball Tournament (also known as the Hoops in the Heartland Tournament) is part of the 2017–18 NCAA Division I women's basketball season and will be played in Moline, Illinois March 8–11, 2018 at the TaxSlayer Center. The tournament's winner will receive the Missouri Valley Conference's automatic bid to the 2018 NCAA Tournament.


2018 Missouri Valley Conference Women's Soccer Tournament
The 2018 Missouri Valley Conference Women's Soccer Tournament was the postseason women's soccer tournament for the Missouri Valley Conference held from October 28 through November 4, 2018. The opening round matches of the tournament were held at campus sites, while the semifinals and final took place at Loyola Soccer Park in Chicago, Illinois. The six-team single-elimination tournament consisted of three rounds based on seeding from regular season conference play. The defending champions were the Missouri State Lady Bears, but they were eliminated from the 2018 tournament with a 1–0 loss to the Illinois State Redbirds  in the opening round. The Loyola won the tournament with a 3–2 win over Drake in the final. The conference tournament title was the first for the Loyloa women's soccer program and the first for head coach Barry Bimbi.


2018 Missouri elections, United States Senate
This was one of the most hotly contested Senate elections in the entire country in 2018, and that most of the people rating this election saw this as the most close races. Incumbent Claire McKaskil was holding on to her seat as Donald Trump had just won this state by a large margin 2 years ago, even though she won big in the 2012 election.


2018 Mitchelton–Scott (men's team) season
The 2018 season for the Mitchelton–Scott cycling team began in January at the Tour Down Under. As a UCI WorldTeam, they were automatically invited and obligated to send a squad to every event in the UCI World Tour.


2018 Mito HollyHock season, Squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2018 Mito HollyHock season, Squad, Out on loan
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2018 Mitre 10 Cup
The 2018 Mitre 10 Cup season was the thirteenth season of New Zealand's provincial rugby union competition since it turned professional in 2006. The regular season began on August 16, when North Harbour hosted Northland. It involved the top fourteen rugby unions of New Zealand. For sponsorship reasons, the competition was known as the Mitre 10 Cup and it was the third season under the lead sponsor. The winner of the Championship, Waikato was promoted to the Premiership, the seventh placed Premiership team, Taranaki was relegated to the Championship.


2018 Mitre 10 Cup, Format
The Mitre 10 Cup standings were sorted by a competition points system. Four points were awarded to the winning team, a draw equaled two points, whilst a loss amounted to zero points. Unions could also win their side a respectable bonus point. To receive a bonus point, they must have scored four tries or more or lose by seven or fewer points or less. Each team was placed on their total points received. If necessary of a tiebreaker, when two or more teams finish on equal points, the union who defeated the other in a head-to-head got placed higher.


2018 Mitre 10 Cup, Format
In case of a draw between them, the side with the biggest points deferential margin got rights to be ranked above. If they were tied on points difference, it was then decided by a highest scored try count or a coin toss. This seeding format was implemented since the beginning of the 2006 competition.


2018 Mitre 10 Cup, Format
The competition included a promotion-relegation process with the winner of the Championship receiving automatic promotion to the Premiership, replacing the seventh-placed team in the Premiership which was relegated to the Championship for the following year. The regular season consisted of two types of matches. The internal division matches were when each team played the other six unions in their division once, home or away. The cross-division matches were when each team played four teams from the other division, thus missing out on three teams, each from the opposite division.


2018 Mitre 10 Cup, Format
Each union played home or away games against teams from the other division, making a total of ten competition games for each union. The finals format allowed the top four teams from each division move on to the semi-finals. The top two division winners, based on table points, received a home semi-final. In the first round of the finals, the semi-finals, the second division winner hosted the third division winner, and the first division winner hosted the fourth division winner. The final was hosted by the top remaining seed.


2018 Mitre 10 Cup, Regular season
The 2018 Mitre 10 Cup played across nine weeks with every team playing one Wednesday night fixture in a double-up round where they played twice that week. The competition started on Thursday August 16, with North Harbour taking on Northland at QBE Stadium. The opening round saw a repeat of the Premiership final with Tasman against the then current champions Canterbury.


2018 Mitre 10 Cup, Ranfurly Shield, Pre-season challenges
In March 2018, Taranaki accepted Ranfurly Shield challenges from both Heartland Championship unions, Wanganui and Poverty Bay after the regular season draw was confirmed. Tikorangi and Hawera were chosen to host the Ranfurly Shield matches. Taranaki Rugby announced the venues for the pre-season defenses in mid April for July 28 and August 4 at the Tikorangi Domain and TSB Hub.


2018 Mizoram Legislative Assembly election
The legislative assembly election was held on 28 November 2018 to elect members of the 40 constituencies in Mizoram. Mizo National Front won 26 seats in the election. This was the first time that Congress does not have any government in any of the states in Northeast India.


2018 Mizoram Legislative Assembly election, Background
The tenure of Mizoram Legislative Assembly was due to end on 15 December 2018.


2018 Mizoram Legislative Assembly election, Background
Four high-profile leaders of the Congress including the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly in Mizoram defected to the BJP before the polls.


2018 Mizoram Legislative Assembly election, Schedule
The Election Commission of India has announced the poll dates on 6 October 2018. It was held in single phase on 28 November 2018. The result was declared on 11 December 2018.


2018 Mizoram Legislative Assembly election, Quit Notice to CEO
On the eve of the election, Quit notice was given to Chief Election Officer SB Sashank because of two issues, one involving the deployment of central forces around Reang tribals living in Tripura Camps who are voters for Elections in Mizoram. While the State government wanted them to travel to Mizoram, groups representing Reang tribals wanted them to vote from Tripura camps. Secondly the CEO Shashank alleged interference by Principal Secretary (Home) Lalnunmawia Chuaungo in preparations for the polls scheduled on 28 November.


2018 Mizoram Legislative Assembly election, Quit Notice to CEO
He wrote to the EC in the last week of October, mentioning an active role played by the state Home Department in this interference. The Election Commission of India  issued orders to the state government to remove Chuaungo with immediate effect. Over 40,000 people mobilized by a co-ordination committee headed by the  Young Mizo Association compromising Mizo Upa Pawl (Mizo senior citizens association), Mizo Hmeichhe Insuihkhawm Pawl (Mizo women organisation) and two student bodies took to the streets in Aizawl demanding removal of SB Sashank and reinstatement of Lalnunmawia Chaungo. Eventually the Election Commission recalled SB Sashank and appointed Mr Ashish Kundra as the New Chief Election Officer.


2018 Mnet Asian Music Awards
The 2018 Mnet Asian Music Awards ceremony, organized by CJ E&M through its music channel Mnet, took place from December 10 through December 14, 2018 (dubbed as "MAMA Week") in South Korea, Japan and Hong Kong. The ceremony was the first Mnet Asian Music Awards hosted in South Korea in nine years, the 20th ceremony in the show's history, and the second ceremony which took place in three locations. This was also the first ceremony broadcast worldwide online via YouTube. The three days event generated over 50 million messages sent on Twitter.


2018 Mnet Asian Music Awards
Four Grand Prizes (Daesangs) were given throughout the ceremonies; Album of the Year, Artist of the Year, Song of the Year and the addition of Worldwide Icon of the Year.


2018 Mnet Asian Music Awards, Shows
2018 MAMA Premiere in Korea celebrated and honored new artists in both South Korea and other parts of Asia.


2018 Mnet Asian Music Awards, Shows
2018 MAMA Fans' Choice in Japan awarded artists in fan voted categories and also announced the first Worldwide Icon of the Year.


2018 Mnet Asian Music Awards, Shows
2018 MAMA in Hong Kong was the main event and the show's finale. The show gave awards to the artists that made great achievements in 2018.


2018 Mnet Asian Music Awards, Winners and nominees
Online voting opened on the official MAMA' website, the Mwave app, TikTok, and Twitter, on November 1, 2018, one hour after nominees were announced. Voting ended on December 9, 2018.


2018 Mnet Asian Music Awards, Winners and nominees, Multiple nominations
The following artist(s) received seven or more nominations (excluding the special awards):


2018 Mnet Asian Music Awards, Presenters and performers
The following individuals and groups, listed in order of appearance, presented awards or performed musical numbers.


2018 Mnet Asian Music Awards, Broadcast
The red carpet and ceremonies of the 2018 Mnet Asian Music Awards were broadcast worldwide via Mnet, across CJ E&M channels and other international networks and online via Mnet K-pop's YouTube account, V Live, and Mnet's official website.


2018 Mobile Mini Sun Cup
The 2018 Mobile Mini Sun Cup was the eighth edition of the preseason exhibition soccer tournament and the first under its new name and sponsor. It was held from February 3 to February 24 in Tucson and Phoenix, Arizona. The defending champions were the Houston Dynamo.


2018 Molde FK season
The 2018 season was Molde's 11th consecutive year in the top flight, Eliteserien, and their 42nd season in the top flight of Norwegian football. They competed in Eliteserien, the Cup and the 2018–19 UEFA Europa League, which they entered at the First qualifying round stage.


2018 Molde FK season
In the Norwegian Cup, Molde advanced from the first round on 18 April 2018 after Træff was defeated with the score 1–6. Daniel Chima Chukwu scored a hat-trick in the game. Molde were drawn against Brattvåg in the second round. Molde lost the game 0–1 in extra time after 90 goalless minutes.


2018 Molde FK season, Season events
Ahead of the 2018 season, first team coach Mark Dempsey left Molde on 1 December 2017 to become the new head coach of IK Start.


2018 Moldovan "A" Division
The 2018 Moldovan "A" Division (Romanian: Divizia A) was the 28th season of Moldovan football's second-tier league. The season started on 21 April 2018 and ended on 3 November 2018. Victoria Bardar were the defending champions, after winning their first title in the competition in the previous season.


2018 Moldovan "A" Division, Season summary, Results
Teams will play each other twice (once home, once away).


2018 Moldovan "A" Division, Results by round
The following table represents the teams game results in each round.


2018 Moldovan "B" Division
The 2018 Moldovan "B" Division (Romanian: Divizia B) was the 28th season of Moldovan football's third-tier league. The season started on 5 May 2018 and ended on 10 November 2018. The league consisted of three regional groups, Nord (North), Centru (Centre) and Sud (South).


2018 Moldovan "B" Division, North, Results
The schedule consists of two rounds, each team plays each other once home-and-away for a total of 16 matches per team.


2018 Moldovan "B" Division, Centre, Results
The schedule consists of two rounds, each team plays each other once home-and-away for a total of 18 matches per team.


2018 Moldovan "B" Division, South, Results
The schedule consists of two rounds, each team plays each other once home-and-away for a total of 12 matches per team.


2018 Moldovan National Division
The 2018 Moldovan National Division (Romanian: Divizia Națională) was the 28th season of top-tier football in Moldova. The season started on 1 April 2018 and ended on 24 November 2018. Fixtures were announced on 19 March 2018. Sheriff Tiraspol were the defending champions. The winners of the league this season earned a spot in the first qualifying round of the 2019–20 UEFA Champions League, and the second, third and fourth placed clubs earned a place in the first qualifying round of the 2019–20 UEFA Europa League.


2018 Moldovan National Division, Results
Teams will play each other twice (once home, once away).


2018 Moldovan National Division, Results by round
The following table represents the teams game results in each round.


2018 Molise earthquakes
The 2018 Molise earthquake hit the Italian regions of Molise on 15 August at 19:15:00 (UTC).


2018 Molise earthquakes, 25 April 2018
The earthquake measured 4.2 on the Richter scale and its epicentre was around a kilometer from the town of Acquaviva di Collecroce, in the province of Campobasso in Molise.


2018 Molise earthquakes, 15 August 2018
First an earthquake of magnitude 4.7 hit the region. The epicenter was recorded 6 kilometers from Montecilfone, at a depth of 19 kilometers. It is the same epicenter of the shock that took place on 25 April 2018. This is the Acquaviva Collecroce area, 35 kilometers northwest of Campobasso. Then the second shock of 2.3. So much fear among the inhabitants but only slight damage found in Montecilfone. Second magnitude shock 2.3. - The second earthquake of magnitude 2.3 has had an epicenter at 5 km southeast of Palata. It took place a few minutes after that of 4.7 with the epicenter of Montecilfone.


2018 Molise earthquakes, 15 August 2018
In San Giacomo degli Schiavoni people poured into the street. The shock was felt throughout the Molise and throughout the Adriatic coast. But there are no damages, in addition to the slight ones detected at Montecilfone, as the Civil Defense was announced. Even firefighters confirmed: the switchboards have received many calls for information, but no request for action.


2018 Molise earthquakes, 15 August 2018
The earthquake with its epicenter in Molise was also felt in Naples, in several municipalities of the province and in other areas of Campania. Reports were made especially by people who are on the upper floors of housing.


2018 Molise earthquakes, 16 August 2018
On 16 August 2018 at 20.19 a short but intense earthquake of magnitude 5.2 occurred. It was followed by several other minor earthquake of replication, with one at 22:22 of magnitude 4.5. The earthquakes had their epicenter in the Montecilfone area. The depth of the earthquake was at 9 kilometers below the surface, and they were felt throughout central Italy, particularly in Abruzzo, Lazio and the Marche, but also in Apulia and Campania. In Naples, there were many fire alarms, but no damage. Fear took hundreds of people out on onto the streets throughout Abruzzo, from Pescara to Chieti, Teramo, L'Aquila, and Vasto. Slight damage was reported to houses in communes near the epicenter of the earthquake at Montecilfone, namely Guglionesi, Palata, Larino, and Tavenna.


2018 Molise earthquakes, 17 August 2018
On 17 August 2018 at 23:17 an earthquake of magnitude 2.4 occurred. The earthquake had the epicenter of the Guglionesi.


2018 Molise earthquakes, 18 August 2018
On 18 August 2018 at 00:48 an earthquake of magnitude 3.3 occurred. The earthquake had the epicenter of the Montecilfone.


2018 Molise earthquakes, 19 August 2018
The earthquake swarm continued in Molise. On 19 August 2018 at 23.48 an earthquake of magnitude 4.6 occurred. The earthquake had the epicenter of the Montecilfone area. The Protezione Civile has carried out hundreds of interventions and checks on houses, bridges and roads in areas hit by earthquake.


2018 Molise earthquakes, 20 August 2018
On 20 August 2018 at 2:07 an earthquake of magnitude 3 occurred. The earthquake had the epicenter of the Montecilfone area. There are about 190 earthquakes located in the area since August 14, of which 22 of magnitude equal to or greater than 2, the strongest of which is of magnitude 5.1 at 20:19 on August 16, 2018. Following the earthquake in Molise, at Lanciano (Chieti) in Abruzzo, the Ponte Nuovo on the Sangro river was closed by the Protezione Civile. The section of the state road Bifernina 647 between the two viaducts that overhang the Liscione dam at Guardialfiera (Campobasso) was closed to transit.


2018 Molise earthquakes, 21 August 2018
On 21 August 2018 at 00:17 an earthquake of magnitude 3.2 occurred. The earthquake had the epicenter of the Montecilfone area. The water tank of the Municipality of Montecilfone (Campobasso) is dangerous and must be demolished. This is confirmed by Franco Pallotta, mayor of Montecilfone, the epicenter of earthquake.


2018 Molise regional election
The Molise regional election of 2018, for the renewal of the Regional Council of Molise and the election of the President of Molise, was held on 22 April 2018. Incumbent President Paolo Di Laura Frattura was not his party's candidate due to contrasts within the centre-left coalition.


2018 Molise regional election
Donato Toma, a member of Forza Italia, gained the most votes and was elected president.


2018 Molise regional election, Analysis
Unlike in the general election where the M5S reached about 44%, this time it reached 32%. In contrast, the centre-right coalition was up just under 20% compared to 4 March.


2018 Monaco Grand Prix
The 2018 Monaco Grand Prix (formally known as the Formula 1 Grand Prix de Monaco 2018) was a Formula One motor race that was held on 27 May 2018 at the Circuit de Monaco, a street circuit that runs through the Principality of Monaco. It was the 6th round of the 2018 FIA Formula One World Championship, the 76th time the Monaco Grand Prix had been held, and the 65th time it had been a round of the Formula One World Championship since the inception of the series in 1950.


2018 Monaco Grand Prix
The race was won by Daniel Ricciardo in Red Bull, with Sebastian Vettel in Ferrari coming second. Lewis Hamilton in Mercedes finished third, maintaining the championship lead over Vettel. Mercedes also led in the Constructors' Championship ahead of Ferrari.


2018 Monaco Grand Prix, Report, Background, Tyres
The race marked the competitive début of Pirelli's new hypersoft tyre compound.


2018 Monaco Grand Prix, Report, Background, Chassis updates
Following controversy over the use of winglets above halo-mounted rear view mirrors at the previous round in Spain, the FIA banned the winglets ahead of the race weekend.


2018 Monaco Grand Prix, Report, Background, Penalties
Romain Grosjean was handed a three-place grid penalty for causing a collision on the opening lap of the Spanish Grand Prix. Max Verstappen received a 5 place grid penalty for an unscheduled gearbox change, and a 10 place grid penalty for use of a third MGU-K, although this made no difference to his starting position, as he already was at the back of the grid.


2018 Monaco Grand Prix, Report, Practice
Daniel Ricciardo was fastest across all three practice sessions, improving his time in each successive session. In FP3, Max Verstappen crashed heavily at the Turn 16, meaning his car was damaged beyond repair for qualifying.


2018 Monaco Grand Prix, Report, Qualifying
Max Verstappen was unable to compete in qualifying as his mechanics were unable to repair the car in time after a crash in the final practice session. Daniel Ricciardo set a new qualifying lap record to take pole position for the race. Red Bull capped both ends of the grid, Ricciardo starting first and Verstappen starting last. Pierre Gasly made Q3 for the second time, however his teammate, Brendon Hartley, after showing promise with P7 in FP3, qualified in P16 after being held up in traffic as well as being unhappy with the balance in his car.


2018 Monaco Grand Prix, Report, Race
Ricciardo led going into the first corner with the top 6 staying in the same order. On lap 28, Ricciardo, still leading the race, complained of a loss of power to the team. Ricciardo was left to manage a wounded car for the remaining 50 laps of the race, with what was later revealed to be an MGU-K failure (giving him 25% less horsepower than usual), and with only six out of eight gears functioning.


2018 Monaco Grand Prix, Report, Race
For the rest of the race he came under pressure from Sebastian Vettel, however due to dirty air and the track being difficult to pass, Vettel was unable to attack Ricciardo. Vettel lost a lot of time after Stoffel Vandoorne, around a lap behind Vettel and Ricciardo, came in between them both after pitting for a second time.


2018 Monaco Grand Prix, Report, Race
Sergey Sirotkin was given a 10-second stop-go penalty after his tyres were not fitted to the car at the 3 minute signal. On lap 53 Fernando Alonso retired at Sainte-Dévote due to gearbox problems, his first retirement of the 2018 season. A virtual safety car came out on lap 70 when Charles Leclerc's left front brake disc failed just before the Nouvelle Chicane, causing him to crash into the back of Brendon Hartley. Both drivers were forced to retire due to damage. This was the first Monaco Grand Prix since 2009 where a (full) safety car did not make an appearance, although there was a brief virtual safety car period. It was Ricciardo's most recent victory in Formula One until the 2021 Italian Grand Prix.


2018 Monaco Grand Prix, Report, Post race
After the race Hamilton and Alonso both complained that this was "one of the most boring races ever"; drivers were lapping several seconds a lap slower than they could have been to conserve tires and avoid making a second pit-stop. Alonso also pointed to the spread out field, "as there were barely any yellow flags or safety cars."


2018 Monaghan Senior Football Championship
The 2018 Monaghan Senior Football Championship will be the 112th edition of Monaghan GAA's premier gaelic football tournament for senior clubs in County Monaghan, Ireland. Ten teams compete, with the winners representing Monaghan in the AIB GAA Ulster Club Senior Football Championship. The championship uses a double-elimination format for Rounds 1 and 2 before becoming knock-out.


2018 Monaghan Senior Football Championship
Scotstown are the defending champions after defeating Magheracloone in the 2017 final, and will be aiming for their fourth consecutive title. The 2018 competition sees the return of Carrickmacross and Inniskeen to the Senior ranks following their promotion from the Intermediate competition.


2018 Monaghan Senior Football Championship, Team Changes
The two bottom-placed teams in the Monaghan Senior Football League are relegated to the Intermediate ranks for the following season, with the Intermediate Football Championship winners and Intermediate Football League winners promoted in their place. If a team wins both the Intermediate Championship and League, then the next highest placed team in the League will be promoted.


2018 Monaghan Senior Football Championship, Team Changes
The following teams have changed division since the 2017 championship season.


2018 Monaghan Senior Football Championship, Preliminary Round
Four of the ten teams are drawn into the Preliminary Round. The remaining six teams are drawn in Round 1A. The winners of the two Preliminary Rounds play each other in Round 1A.


2018 Monaghan Senior Football Championship, Round 1, Round 1A
The six teams not drawn in the Preliminary Round enter the competition in this round, along with the two Preliminary Round winners (who play each other). The four Round 1A winners proceed to Round 2A while the four losers enter the back-door in Round 1B.


2018 Monaghan Senior Football Championship, Round 1, Round 1B
The losers of the Preliminary Round (two teams) enter this round along with the losers of Round 1A, but not that fixture which contains the Preliminary Round winners (three teams). A draw will be made to determine the two pairings, with the fifth team obtaining a bye into Round 2B. Two teams will exit the competition at this stage.


2018 Monaghan Senior Football Championship, Round 1, Round 1B
The following teams are eligible to take part in Round 1B -


2018 Monaghan Senior Football Championship, Round 2, Round 2A
The four winners from Round 1A play each other. The two winners proceed to the semi-finals while the losers must play in Round 3.


2018 Monaghan Senior Football Championship, Round 2, Round 2A
The following teams are eligible to take part in Round 2A -


2018 Monaghan Senior Football Championship, Round 2, Round 2B
The two winners from Round 1B, one team who received a bye through Round 1B and the loser of the Round 1A tie involving the Preliminary Round winners play in this round. The winners will proceed to Round 3 while the losers will exit the championship. The following teams are eligible to take part in Round 2B -


2018 Monaghan Senior Football Championship, Round 3
The two winners from Round 2B play the two losers from Round 2A. The winners proceed to the semi-finals while the losers exit the championship.


2018 Monaghan Senior Football Championship, Round 3
The following teams are eligible to take part in Round 3 -


2018 Monaghan Senior Football Championship, Semi-Finals
The two winners from Round 2A play the two winners from Round 3.


2018 Monegasque general election
General elections were held in Monaco on 11 February 2018. Since the General Election of 2013, the largest party, Horizon Monaco, split, which led to the formation of a new political party - Primo! Priorite Monaco. The latter won 58% of the vote, while the other parties, Horizon Monaco and Union Monégasque got 26% and 16% respectively. This led to a 21-seat gain for Primo!, with the 3 remaining seats being divided between Horizon Monaco and Union Monégasque.


2018 Monegasque general election, Electoral system
Voters can either choose a party list or choose candidates from various lists ("panachage") for the 24 seats. The 16 candidates with the most votes are elected (with the older candidate breaking possible ties in votes). The eight other seats are chosen from lists in accordance with the proportional representation system for parties that have at least five percent of votes.


2018 Moneta Czech Open
The 2018 Moneta Czech Open was a professional tennis tournament played on clay courts. It was the 25th edition of the tournament which was part of the 2018 ATP Challenger Tour. It took place in Prostějov, Czech Republic between 4–9 June 2018.


2018 Moneta Czech Open, Singles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following players received wildcards into the singles main draw:


2018 Moneta Czech Open, Singles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following players received entry into the singles main draw as alternates:


2018 Moneta Czech Open – Doubles
Guillermo Durán and Andrés Molteni were the defending champions but chose not to defend their title.


2018 Moneta Czech Open – Doubles
Denys Molchanov and Igor Zelenay won the title after defeating Martín and Pablo Cuevas 4–6, 6–3, [10–7] in the final.


2018 Moneta Czech Open – Singles
Jiří Veselý was the defending champion but lost in the second round to Elias Ymer.


2018 Moneta Czech Open – Singles
Jaume Munar won the title after defeating Laslo Đere 6–1, 6–3 in the final.


2018 Mongolia International
The 2018 Mongolia International is a badminton tournament which takes place at ALDAR Sport Complex in Mongolia from 28 June to 1 July 2018 and had a total purse of $10,000.


2018 Mongolia International, Tournament
The 2018 Peru International is the fourteenth tournament of the 2018 BWF International Series and also part of the Mongolia International championships which has been held since 2005. This tournament was organized by the Mongolian Badminton Association.


2018 Mongolia International, Tournament, Venue
This international tournament holds at ALDAR Sport Complex in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.


2018 Mongolia International, Tournament, Point distribution
Below is the tables with the point distribution for each phase of the tournament based on the BWF points system for the BWF International Series event.


2018 Mongolia International, Tournament, Prize money
The total prize money for this year tournament is US$10,000. Distribution of prize money is in accordance with BWF regulations.


2018 Mongolian First League
2018 Mongolian First League (often referred to as the 2018 Mongolian 1st League) is Second-highest division of the Mongolia.


2018 Mongolian First League, Promoted Teams
With 10 wins the Ulaanbaataryn Unaganuud FC team added 30 points and finished the competition in first place. With that, in addition to the title of champion of the competition, the team won the right to compete in the Mongolian Premier League next season.


2018 Mongolian First League, Promoted Teams
With only three points less, team Khoromkhon FC finished the competition in second place and was also promoted to the Mongolian Premier League. The team managed to add 27 points with 9 wins, and 1 losses.


2018 Mongolian First League, Demoted Teams
With one win, one draw and eight losses, the Khuree Khovguud team scored just four points and was relegated together with the debuting Şaryn Gol FC team who had seven defeats, three draws and no wins.


2018 Mongolian Premier League
The 2018 Mongolian Premier League (also known as the Khurkhree National Premier League) is the 50th edition of the top-tier football league in Mongolia. Erchim comes into the season as defending champions of the 2017 season.


2018 Mongolian Premier League
Arvis FC and Gepro FC entered as the two promoted teams from the Mongolian 1st League while Khoromkhon FC and Ulaanbaataryn Unaganuud FC were relegated.


2018 Monmouth Hawks football team
The 2018 Monmouth Hawks football team represented Monmouth University in the 2018 NCAA Division I FCS football season as a member of the Big South Conference. They were led by 26th-year head coach Kevin Callahan and played their home games at Kessler Field in West Long Branch, New Jersey  Monmouth finished the season 8–3 overall and 4–1 in Big South play to place second.


2018 Monmouth Hawks football team, Previous season
The Hawks finished the 2017 season 9–3, 4–1 in Big South play to finish in second place. They were invited to the FCS Playoffs, where they were defeated in the first round.


2018 Monmouth Hawks football team, Preseason, Big South poll
In the Big South preseason poll released on July 23, 2018, the Hawks were predicted to finish in second place.


2018 Monmouth Hawks football team, Preseason, Preseason All-Big South team
The Big South released their preseason all-Big South team on July 23, 2018, with the Hawks having six players at seven positions selected along with two more on the honorable mention list.


2018 Monster Energy NASCAR All-Star Race
The 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR All-Star Race (XXXIV) was a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series stock car exhibition race held on May 19, 2018 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina. Contested over 93 laps -- extended from 80 laps due to an overtime finish, it was the second exhibition race of the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season.


2018 Monster Energy NASCAR All-Star Race, Report, Background
The All-Star Race was open to race winners from last season through the 2018 KC Masterpiece 400 at Kansas Speedway and all previous All-Star race winners and Monster Race NASCAR Cup champions who had attempted to qualify for every race in 2018 were eligible to compete in the All-Star Race.


2018 Monster Energy NASCAR All-Star Race, Monster Energy Open/All-Star practice
Kevin Harvick was the fastest in the Open/All-Star practice session with a time of 31.689 seconds and a speed of 170.406 mph (274.242 km/h).


2018 Monster Energy NASCAR All-Star Race, Qualifying (Open)
Open qualifying for Friday was cancelled due to weather and Aric Almirola was awarded the pole as a result.


2018 Monster Energy NASCAR All-Star Race, Qualifying (All-Star Race)
Matt Kenseth scored the pole for the race with a time of 127.644 and a speed of 126.915 mph (204.250 km/h).


2018 Monster Energy NASCAR All-Star Race, Media, Television
Fox Sports was the television broadcaster of the race in the United States. Lap-by-lap announcer, Mike Joy, was accompanied on the broadcast by retired NASCAR drivers, Jeff Gordon and Darrell Waltrip. Jamie Little, Vince Welch, and Matt Yocum reported from pit lane.


2018 Monster Energy NASCAR All-Star Race, Media, Radio
Motor Racing Network (MRN) continued their longstanding relationship with the track to broadcast the race on radio. The lead announcers for the race's broadcast were Mike Bagley, Jeff Striegle and Rusty Wallace. The network also implemented two announcers on each side of the track: Dave Moody in turns 1 and 2 and Kyle Rickey in turns 3 and 4. Alex Hayden, Winston Kelly, Kim Coon, and Steve Post were the network's pit lane reporters. The network's broadcast was also simulcasted on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio.


2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
The 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series was the 70th season of NASCAR professional stock car racing in the United States, and the 47th modern-era Cup series season. The season began at Daytona International Speedway with the Advance Auto Parts Clash, the Can-Am Duel qualifying races and the 60th running of the Daytona 500. The regular season ended with the Brickyard 400 on September 9, 2018. The playoffs ended with the Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway on November 18, 2018. Martin Truex Jr. was the defending champion, having won his first in the series.


2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
The 2018 season was the fourth of the current 10-year television contract with Fox Sports and NBC Sports and the third of a five-year race sanctioning agreement with all tracks. It is the first season to feature the Regular Season Championship trophy, which is awarded at the final race before the playoffs. Kyle Busch clinched the MENCS Regular Season Championship trophy at the end of Stage 2 of the 2018 Brickyard 400.


2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
The season marked the debut of the Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, which replaced the outgoing Chevrolet SS and became the first coupe-based Chevrolet stock car since the Monte Carlo SS was discontinued in 2017. This was also the last season for Kasey Kahne, who announced his intention to retire from racing at the end of the season and was forced to step away in early October 2018 after not being medically cleared to continue, as well as BK Racing who sold its equipment to Front Row Motorsports, and Furniture Row Racing, which ceased operations after 2018. It was also the final season Ford fielded the Fusion, replacing it with the Ford Mustang in 2019.


2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
Joey Logano, driving for Team Penske in a Ford won the championship, after defeating Martin Truex Jr., Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch in a 1–2–3–4 finish for the "Championship 4" at the final round at Homestead. Logano won three races during the course of the season, having also won the spring race at Talladega and the fall race at Martinsville. Austin Dillon was the Daytona 500 winner. Kyle Busch and Harvick won the most races with eight each, with Denny Hamlin and seven-time series champion Jimmie Johnson concluding their first winless seasons in full-time Cup competition. The 2018 season also marked the fifteenth consecutive and final time that Johnson made the playoffs since its inception in 2004. Erik Jones and Chase Elliott won their first career victories and William Byron became Rookie of the Year.


2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, Offseason changes, Rule changes
During its annual media tour in November 2017, NASCAR announced that constraints would be imposed on crew rosters in its three national series. Crew members are divided into "Organizational", "Road Crew", and "Pit Crew" roles; in the Cup Series, a single team may only have a roster of 3-4 organizational crew members (depending on the number of cars they field), 12 road crew members, and 5 pit crew members (reduced from 6, as implemented in 2011). Crew members must be assigned a jersey number and a letter corresponding to their position, which must be worn on their crew uniforms. Staff may be shared between a team's individual cars, even if they are not explicitly listed on their roster. NASCAR's executive vice president and chief racing development officer Steve O'Donnell stated that these changes were intended to improve safety, as well as improve its focus on teamwork.


2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, Offseason changes, Rule changes
In February 2018, it was announced that the vehicle damage policy introduced in 2017 had been modified, following analysis of the rule's effects in 2017, and to account for the reduction in pit crew members. The length of the repair window has been extended to six minutes, and the penalty for having too many crew members repairing the car was reduced from disqualification to a two-lap penalty. Additionally, the length of the first session in qualifying on intermediate- and short-tracks has been reduced from 20 to 15 minutes.


2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, Offseason changes, Rule changes
On May 16, 2018, NASCAR announced that teams no longer need to start the race on the tires used in qualifying, due to teams that fail to pass the inspection before qualifying getting an advantage.


2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, Schedule
The final schedule – comprising 36 races, as well as exhibition races, which are the Advance Auto Parts Clash, Can-Am Duel qualifying duel races for the Daytona 500 and the All-Star Race – was released on May 23, 2017. Key changes from 2017 include:


2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, Schedule, Schedule changes
In 2015, NASCAR and 23 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series tracks agreed on a five-year contract that guarantees each track would continue to host races through 2020. Despite the agreement, Speedway Motorsports decided to transfer one of its Cup Series races at New Hampshire Motor Speedway to Las Vegas Motor Speedway to form a race weekend involving each of the three national series in the fall. On July 27, 2016, Daytona International Speedway announced that the 60th running of the Daytona 500 would be moved one week earlier to be held on February 18, 2018.


2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, Schedule, Schedule changes
Several changes were announced with the release of the final schedule. The Big Machine Vodka 400 at the Brickyard at Indianapolis Motor Speedway moved to September to become the final race of the regular season, while the Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond Raceway moved to the second race in the Round of 16. The new date that Las Vegas Motor Speedway acquired from New Hampshire Motor Speedway was moved to the first race of the playoffs to replace Chicagoland Speedway, which became race 17 of the regular season.


2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, Schedule, Schedule changes
Dover International Speedway's spring race, the AAA 400 Drive for Autism, was moved one month early to precede Kansas Speedway and Charlotte Motor Speedway. The track's fall race, the Gander Outdoors 400, was moved one week later to become the first race of the Round of 12. Also, Charlotte Motor Speedway's Bank of America 500 moves one week earlier and will utilize the track's road course layout instead of its quad-oval; with the scheduled distance changing from 500 miles to 400 kilometers, the race will now be known as the Bank of America Roval 400. With an additional off-week in the schedule for 2018, the Father's Day off-week that FOX added for the U.S. Open and the 2018 FIFA World Cup will be restored, with the third off-week being after the Bristol August race.


2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, Season summary, Race reports
Daytona Speedweeks started with the Advance Auto Parts Clash. Austin Dillon drew the pole as Chase Elliott and Brad Keselowski led the majority of the race. Jamie McMurray crashed and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. received a penalty. Keselowski led the last half to win over Joey Logano as Jimmie Johnson crashed after contact with Kyle Larson with Chase Elliott, Kasey Kahne, Kyle Busch, and Martin Truex Jr. also getting involved.


2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, Season summary, Race reports
In Daytona 500 qualifying, Alex Bowman won the pole while Denny Hamlin qualified second. Bowman won the pole for his first race since taking over the No. 88 car from Dale Earnhardt Jr. full-time. This was the fourth consecutive Daytona 500 pole won by Hendrick Motorsports.


2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, Season summary, Race reports
In the Can-Am Duels on Thursday, Bowman was on pole for race one. In the early laps, Jimmie Johnson lost a tire and crashed along with Aric Almirola. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was moving around the entire race, but got into both William Byron and David Gilliland, taking them out. Joey Logano led the majority of laps, but was passed for the lead by Ryan Blaney as Brad Keselowski crashed with Jamie McMurray, sending the race into overtime. In overtime, Blaney held off Joey Logano and Bubba Wallace to win the first Duel. In the second Duel, Hamlin was on pole. Early in the race, Erik Jones spun and collected Kyle Larson and Matt DiBenedetto. Hamlin and Chase Elliott led most of the race. Elliott led the most laps to win his second straight Duel race over Kevin Harvick.


2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, Season summary, Race reports
Alex Bowman started on pole. Early on, Kyle Busch had a tire go down and had to pit. Later, Busch had another tire down and got into the wall and collected Jamie McMurray and D.J. Kennington. In the closing laps of stage one, Erik Jones spun and collected Kyle Larson, Jimmie Johnson, Daniel Suarez, William Byron, and Ty Dillon as Kurt Busch won stage one. In stage two, Byron got into the wall after having a tire go down.


2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, Season summary, Race reports
Brad Keselowski got into Chase Elliott and collected others including David Ragan, Kevin Harvick, Kasey Kahne, and Danica Patrick, who finished 35th in her final NASCAR race. Ryan Blaney won stage two over Joey Logano. In the final stage, Blaney continued to lead. In the closing laps, Byron again had a tire go down and spun. With two laps to go, Kurt Busch got turned around and collected Blaney, Matt DiBenedetto, Brendan Gaughan, and others, sending the race to overtime.


2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, Season summary, Race reports
In overtime, Aric Almirola was leading at the white flag, and tried to block Austin Dillon, but the block was late and Almirola ended up in the wall. Austin Dillon held off Bubba Wallace for his second career win and winning the Daytona 500 in the No. 3 20 years after Dale Earnhardt won his only 500 in 1998.


2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, Season summary, Race reports
Kyle Busch led the field to the green flag after an hour delay from rain. Ryan Newman jumped out to an early lead, but Busch was able to reclaim the lead. After the end-of-stage caution, Newman had a tire go down and hit the wall. Kevin Harvick led and won the first stage. In the second stage, Harvick, Kurt Busch, and Brad Keselowski all led as Keselowski won stage two after a spin by Jimmie Johnson.


2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, Season summary, Race reports
In the final stage, Harvick continued to dominate as Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano tried to win on a different strategy as the rest of the field. Late in the final stage, Trevor Bayne had an engine failure as Bubba Wallace plowed into Ricky Stenhouse Jr. trying to avoid the smoke. Harvick continued to lead and won over Keselowski for his first win at Atlanta since 2001.


2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, Season summary, Race reports
Ryan Blaney started on pole. Kevin Harvick took the lead at the beginning and dominated and won the first two caution free stages. In the final stage, Jamie McMurray got into the wall after a flat tire. Kurt Busch got loose and crashed along with Chase Elliott. Harvick led over 200 laps and held off a hard charging Kyle Busch for his second straight win and second at Las Vegas.


2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, Season summary, Race reports
Martin Truex Jr. started on pole. Kyle Larson shot out to the lead early and led most of the first stage. Kyle Busch took the lead and won the first stage. Early in the second stage, Larson spun on the apron. Chris Buescher had a tire go down and got into the wall. Kurt Busch stayed out and won the second stage. Denny Hamlin took the lead as Paul Menard had a tire go down and got into the wall. Kyle Busch regained the lead until green flag pit stops. Brad Keselowski stayed out to stretch it out until the end, but had to pit. Kevin Harvick was able to pass Chase Elliott during the green flag cycle to take the lead from Ryan Newman and hold off Kyle Busch for his third consecutive win and ninth at Phoenix.


2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, Season summary, Race reports
Martin Truex Jr. started on pole for the second straight week. Early, Kevin Harvick got into the wall and spun through the grass after contact with Kyle Larson, ending his chances for a fourth straight win. Truex was able to win the first stage and win the second stage after Trevor Bayne got into the wall. David Ragan brought out the final caution as Truex was able to beat out Kyle Busch on pit stops and pulled away from Larson to sweep all three stages to win.


2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, Season summary, Race reports
Martin Truex Jr. started on pole for the third straight week as qualifying was cancelled due to rain and snow. The race was postponed from Sunday to Monday due to snow. Denny Hamlin won the first stage after a Competition Caution and Ryan Blaney won the second stage. Jamie McMurray spun after contact with Austin Dillon. Clint Bowyer took the lead from Blaney and dominated the remainder of the race, leading 215 laps. McMurray, Trevor Bayne, and Harrison Rhodes all had tires go down, but there was no caution. Bowyer held off Kyle Busch for his first win since 2012 and the fourth out of six races for Stewart-Haas Racing.


2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, Season summary, Race reports
Kurt Busch started on pole after qualifying was cancelled just after the first round due to rain. As soon as the race began, Alex Bowman spun and collected Aric Almirola, Austin Dillon, and Paul Menard. At the end of the first stage, Martin Truex Jr. had a tire go down and got into the wall as Kevin Harvick scored the stage win as it ended under caution. In the second stage, Kyle Larson had a tire go down and he got into the wall. Kyle Busch was able to win the second stage.


2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, Season summary, Race reports
Early in the final stage, Denny Hamlin spun and collected David Ragan, Brad Keselowski, and Jimmie Johnson. Menard and Ryan Newman both got into the wall. Kyle Busch and Harvick, both with older tires, were able to stay out front and Busch was able to hold Harvick off for his first win of the year and third at Texas.


2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, Season summary, Race reports
Kyle Busch started on pole. Michael McDowell spun on the third lap and collected others including Chase Elliott and Martin Truex Jr. The race was stopped three different times due to rain and a wreck by Trevor Bayne. Ryan Blaney led most of the first half of the race, but was caught up in an accident while leading, ending his race. Brad Keselowski won the first stage. After another red flag due to rain, the remainder of the race was postponed to Monday. After a small delay due to rain, the race continued.


2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, Season summary, Race reports
Keselowski would win the second stage after taking back the lead. Kyle Larson took back the lead and continued leading until spun after making contact with Ryan Newman. Kyle Busch got the lead when the caution was displayed for rain, but it was a brief yellow. On the final restart, Larson got back in the lead, but Kyle Busch passed Larson for the lead with six laps to go and Busch pulled away to his second straight win and seventh at Bristol.


2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, Season summary, Race reports
Martin Truex Jr. won the pole. Joey Logano dominated the early part of the race, winning both stages. Kurt Busch and Clint Bowyer took turned swapping the lead. Truex regained the lead and lead a race high of 121 laps. Ryan Blaney and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. got together and spun. Jamie McMurray got into the wall and made contact with Ryan Newman, who blew up. David Ragan had a tire go down and got into the wall. Stenhouse spun again to send the race into overtime. On the restart, Kyle Busch held off Chase Elliott for his third straight win and fifth at Richmond.


2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, Season summary, Race reports
Kevin Harvick started the race from the pole. Brad Keselowski won the first stage of the race. In the second stage, Erik Jones caused a multicar wreck that collected Jamie McMurray, Kyle Larson, Martin Truex Jr., and Trevor Bayne. Paul Menard won the second stage of the race. Numerous drivers experienced speeding penalties on pit road including Denny Hamlin, who was caught speeding on pit road multiple times.


2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, Season summary, Race reports
Late in the race, Jimmie Johnson got loose in front of teammate William Byron and caused a 14-car accident that also collected Keselowski, Menard, Clint Bowyer, Michael McDowell, Ryan Blaney, Bubba Wallace, and A. J. Allmendinger. Joey Logano led in the closing laps of the race and went to score his first win of the season, ending a 36 race winless streak.


2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, Season summary, Race reports
Kyle Larson started on pole. Michael McDowell spun and Derrike Cope crashed early as Kevin Harvick won both stages. Kyle Busch went to the garage after suffering a broken driveshaft. Clint Bowyer was leading when the race was halted by a red flag due to rain. After the delay, Kevin Harvick passed Bowyer for the lead and pulled away for his second win at Dover and his fourth win of the season.


2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, Season summary, Race reports
Kevin Harvick started on pole. Harvick led early, but Ryan Blaney took the lead and won the first stage. Kyle Larson came from the rear of the field to dominate the race, winning the second stage. Alex Bowman and Daniel Suarez got together and both got into the wall. Larson and Blaney got into each other, putting Blaney in the wall.


2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, Season summary, Race reports
On the restart, William Byron had a tire go down caused a wreck featuring Clint Bowyer, Ryan Newman, Stephen Tan, Jamie McMurray, Chris Buescher, and Matt Kenseth, competing in his first race of the year, bringing out the red flag. On the restart, Martin Truex Jr. pulled away from the field, but Kevin Harvick was able run down Truex to take the lead for his second consecutive win and his fifth of the season.


2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, Season summary, Race reports
First, it was the Monster Energy Open. Aric Almirola started on pole due to qualifying being rained out. Almirola led early, but Alex Bowman took the lead and won the first stage to transfer. In the second stage, Paul Menard got into the wall. Chase Elliott had the lead, but Daniel Suárez took the lead and won the second stage to transfer. Bubba Wallace led in the final stage, but Elliott got back into the lead. Alimrola and Erik Jones got into each other as A. J. Allmendinger took the lead and held off Eliott to win his second Open to transfer. Chase Eliott won the fan vote to transfer for the third straight year.


2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, Season summary, Race reports
Matt Kenseth won the pole for the race. Kurt Busch spun early as Kevin Harvick won the first stage and Kyle Busch won the second stage. In the third stage, Kasey Kahne got into the wall. Martin Truex Jr. got into Clint Bowyer and they crashed with Kurt Busch, Kyle Busch, and Brad Keselowski. Harvick got by Daniel Suárez to win the third stage. In the final 10 laps, Harvick was out front as Kyle Larson spun after contact with Joey Logano. In a two lap shootout, Kevin Harvick held off Daniel Suárez for his second All-Star Race win and the $1 million.