2014 Coke Zero 400

Last updated

2014 Coke Zero 400
Race details [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8]
Race 18 of 36 in the 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
2014 Coke Zero 400 program cover.jpg
The 2014 Coke Zero 400 program cover, featuring highlights from last year's race.
Date July 6, 2014 (2014-07-06)
Official name Coke Zero 400 Powered by Coca-Cola at Daytona
Location Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida
Course Permanent racing facility
Course length 2.5 miles (4.023 km)
Distance 112 laps, 280 mi (450.616 km)
Scheduled distance 160 laps, 400 mi (643.738 km)
Weather Partly cloudy with temperatures up to 83 °F (28 °C); wind out of the south at 6 miles per hour (9.7 km/h)
Average speed 130.014 mph (209.237 km/h)
Pole position
Driver Front Row Motorsports
Time 45.153
Most laps led
Driver Kurt Busch Stewart–Haas Racing
Laps 36
Winner
No. 43 Aric Almirola Richard Petty Motorsports
Television in the United States
Network TNT & MRN
Announcers Adam Alexander, Wally Dallenbach Jr. and Kyle Petty (Television)
Joe Moore, Jeff Striegle and Barney Hall (Booth)
Dave Moody (1 & 2), Mike Bagley (Backstretch) and Kurt Becker (3 & 4) (Turns) (Radio)
Nielsen ratings 2.4/5
4.0 Million viewers [9]

The 2014 Coke Zero 400 powered by Coca-Cola was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race that was scheduled to be held on July 5, 2014 but was pushed to July 6, 2014, at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. The race was originally scheduled to be run over 160 laps, though only 112 laps were contested due to rain, it was the 18th race of the 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. Aric Almirola was leading when the race was called for rain and scored his first career win and the No. 43's first win since the 1999 Goody's Body Pain 500. Brian Vickers was second, while Kurt Busch, Casey Mears, and top rookie Austin Dillon rounded out the top five. Behind Dillon, the top rookies of the race were Alex Bowman in 13th, and Michael Annett in 21st.

Contents

Report

Background

Daytona International Speedway, where the race was held. Daytona International Speedway.svg
Daytona International Speedway, where the race was held.

Daytona International Speedway is a four-turn superspeedway that is 2.5 miles (4.0 km) long. [10] The track's turns are banked at 31 degrees, while the front stretch, the location of the finish line, is banked at 18 degrees. [10] The backstretch, which has a length of 3,000 ft (910 m), has minimal banking that is used for drainage. [10] Jimmie Johnson was the defending race winner from the 2013 event.

Following the Daytona 500 in February, 2,400 ft (730 m) of additional SAFER barriers were added to the circuit, in order to improve safety. The additional barriers were added from the exit of turn four, through the tri-oval and to the entrance of turn one; this left only the super stretch outside walls with concrete barriers. "We're always looking at ways to enhance our safety and it is a priority for us," said Lenny Santiago, senior director of public relations for Daytona International Speedway. "Whenever we have an incident on track, we always take a look in consultation with NASCAR, the University of Nebraska and other experts that are a part of the Motorsports Technology Group and take their recommendations. In consultation with them, we made sure we added additional safer barriers to these areas." [11]

Prior to the start of the race, Barney Hall announced that this race would be his last in the booth for the Motor Racing Network. "The years have gone by so quick, it's just so hard to believe," Hall said with a smile during a break at Daytona International Speedway. "The voice of NASCAR is the voice of MRN and that's Barney Hall," said David Hyatt, president and executive producer of Motor Racing Network. "To have him still be a part of what we do in a way that highlights all the memories that he has, all the history he's brought to the sport, everything that he's done, not just for this MRN brand but for the NASCAR brand is an important part of this transition. MRN isn't MRN without Barney Hall." [12]

Entry list

The entry list for the Coke Zero 400 was released on Tuesday, July 1, 2014 at 11:40 a.m. Eastern time. Forty-four cars were entered for the race.

No.DriverTeamManufacturer
1 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet
2 Brad Keselowski (PC2) Team Penske Ford
3 Austin Dillon (R) Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
4 Kevin Harvick Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet
5 Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
7 Michael Annett (R) Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet
9 Marcos Ambrose Richard Petty Motorsports Ford
10 Danica Patrick Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet
11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
13 Casey Mears Germain Racing Chevrolet
14 Tony Stewart (PC3) Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet
15 Clint Bowyer Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota
16 Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Racing Ford
17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford
18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
20 Matt Kenseth (PC5) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
21 Trevor Bayne (i) Wood Brothers Racing Ford
22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford
23 Alex Bowman (R) BK Racing Toyota
24 Jeff Gordon (PC6) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
26 Cole Whitt (R) BK Racing Toyota
27 Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
29 Joe Nemechek RAB Racing Toyota
31 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
32 Terry Labonte (PC8) Go FAS Racing Ford
33 Bobby Labonte (PC7) Circle Sport Chevrolet
34 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford
36 Reed Sorenson Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet
38 David Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford
40 Landon Cassill (i) Circle Sport Chevrolet
41 Kurt Busch (PC4) Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet
42 Kyle Larson (R) Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet
43 Aric Almirola Richard Petty Motorsports Ford
47 A. J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet
48 Jimmie Johnson (PC1) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
51 Justin Allgaier (R) HScott Motorsports Chevrolet
55 Brian Vickers Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota
66 Michael Waltrip Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota
78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet
83 Ryan Truex (R) BK Racing Toyota
88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
95 Michael McDowell Leavine Family Racing Ford
98 Josh Wise Phil Parsons Racing Chevrolet
99 Carl Edwards Roush Fenway Racing Ford
Official entry list
KeyMeaning
(R)Rookie
(i)Ineligible for points
(PC#)Past champions provisional

*Was taken off of the car due to NASCAR rules and regulations. Replaced with a black hood.

Cars lined up in the garage for the race. 2014 Daytona Sprint Cup cars (14607583355).jpg
Cars lined up in the garage for the race.

Practice

Two practice sessions were scheduled for the Sprint Cup Series at Daytona. The first practice session was delayed an hour by weather and shortened to 45 minutes. Jamie McMurray was the fastest with a lap time of 44.565 and a speed of 201.952 mph (325.010 km/h). The final practice session was cancelled due to weather. [13]

PosNo.DriverTeamManufacturerTimeSpeed
11 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 44.565201.952
242 Kyle Larson (R) Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 44.579201.889
315 Clint Bowyer Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 44.590201.839
Official practice results

Qualifying

David Gilliland won the pole position, the first for Front Row Motorsports. TSM350 - David Gilliland - 2015 - Stierch 2.jpg
David Gilliland won the pole position, the first for Front Row Motorsports.

David Gilliland won the pole with a lap time of 45.153 and a speed of 199.322 mph (320.778 km/h) after only one round of knockout qualifying was completed due to weather. Gilliland stated that his pole position would be a "morale booster" for his Front Row Motorsports team. [14] Joe Nemechek was the one driver that failed to qualify.

Qualifying results

PosNo.DriverTeamManufacturerLap Time
138 David Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 45.153
236 Reed Sorenson Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 45.176
340 Landon Cassill Hillman-Circle Sport LLC Chevrolet 45.182
433 Bobby Labonte Richard Childress Racing-Circle Sport Chevrolet 45.233
548 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 45.274
620 Matt Kenseth Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 45.277
788 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 45.295
834 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 45.298
924 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 45.303
1016 Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Racing Ford 45.323
1199 Carl Edwards Roush Fenway Racing Ford 45.333
1214 Tony Stewart Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 45.346
134 Kevin Harvick Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 45.347
145 Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 45.369
1543 Aric Almirola Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 45.401
1617 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 45.402
1726 Cole Whitt (R) BK Racing Toyota 45.428
189 Marcos Ambrose Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet 45.431
1978 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet 45.439
2031 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 45.441
2127 Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 45.442
2213 Casey Mears Germain Racing Chevrolet 45.445
233 Austin Dillon (R) Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 45.447
2447 A. J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 45.451
2521 Trevor Bayne Wood Brothers Racing Ford 45.456
262 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 45.489
2795 Michael McDowell Leavine Family Racing Ford 45.496
2822 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 45.514
2910 Danica Patrick Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 45.518
3055 Brian Vickers Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 45.601
3151 Justin Allgaier (R) HScott Motorsports Chevrolet 45.622
327 Michael Annett (R) Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 45.635
3398 Josh Wise Phil Parsons Racing Ford 45.650
3415 Clint Bowyer Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 45.691
3542 Kyle Larson (R) Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 45.757
361 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 45.764
3711 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 45.902
3832 Terry Labonte Go FAS Racing Ford 45.923
3918 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 45.925
4041 Kurt Busch Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 45.971
4166 Michael Waltrip Identity Ventures Racing Toyota 46.066
4283 Ryan Truex (R) [N 1] BK Racing Toyota 46.588
4323 Alex Bowman (R) BK Racing Toyota 46.636
Did not qualify
4429 Joe Nemechek RAB Racing Toyota 45.974
Official qualifying results

Race

First half

Start

The race was scheduled to start at 7:45 p.m. Eastern time on Saturday evening, but the start was delayed by rain and finally pushed to the next day at 11:13 a.m. [15] The start was pushed a pace lap due to light sprinkles in turns one and two and then another lap. After a total of seven pace laps, David Gilliland finally led the field to the green at 11:21 a.m. Matt Kenseth took the lead from Gilliland on lap five, before the first caution of the race flew for rain on lap 6, which ultimately led to a 26-minute delay under red flag conditions.

The Big One

The race restarted on lap 13, before Tony Stewart took the lead on lap 17. A competition caution was planned upon the completion of lap 20, but the second caution of the race flew on lap 20 for a multi-car wreck in the tri-oval. A total of 16 cars were involved, including points leader Jeff Gordon, defending race winner Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr., the Daytona 500 winner. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.  – who was also involved in the incident – stated that he had been "heading straight...had it saved and had it straight again and got caught in the left rear." [16] Only Johnson and A. J. Allmendinger were eliminated from the race due to the pileup.

The race restarted on lap 29, before Reed Sorenson, Landon Cassill, David Gilliland and Jamie McMurray took turns at the head of the race, prior to the third caution of the race, on lap 41, due to debris in turn 1. The race restarted on lap 45 with McMurray leading the way. Greg Biffle took the lead on lap 52, while Kurt Busch took the lead on lap 60. Biffle retook the lead on lap 86, before the start of the pit cycle, coming under green flag conditions. Gordon took the lead before it cycled back to Kurt Busch on lap 89. Debris on the backstretch brought out the caution for the fourth time on lap 94.

Second half

Aric Almirola scored his first career win after rain shortened the race to 112 laps. Coca Cola 600 130526-F-CO350-094 (cropped).jpg
Aric Almirola scored his first career win after rain shortened the race to 112 laps.

The Huge One

The race restarted on lap 98 and the fifth caution flew for another multi-car wreck on the back straightaway collecting 26 cars. It started when Kasey Kahne got turned by Greg Biffle and Kahne turned down into Joey Logano. Everyone checked up but piled into other cars triggering the wreck. During the wreck, Cole Whitt came down the race track and ended up hitting the right rear of Kyle Busch's car and ended up turning Busch upside down. Busch even joked around while being upside down on his radio saying "Just having a good old time over here" with his spotter responding "Just hanging around?". The red flag was displayed for the second time. The cars involved in the wreck were Kasey Kahne, Greg Biffle, Joey Logano, Cole Whitt, Kyle Busch, Clint Bowyer, Alex Bowman, David Gilliland, Justin Allgaier, Ryan Newman, Paul Menard, Josh Wise, Michael Annett, Ryan Truex, Bobby Labonte, Matt Kenseth, Landon Cassill, Jamie McMurray, Marcos Ambrose, David Ragan, Denny Hamlin, Danica Patrick, Brad Keselowski, Terry Labonte, Reed Sorenson, and Michael McDowell. Gilliland described the incident as "all heck broke loose all at once", while Kyle Busch had driven through the grass before his car dug in and sent him back towards traffic; he described his roll as "real slow", After 4 minutes and 48 seconds, the red flag was lifted and the field continued under caution. [17] Footage from this crash was used in the 2015 film Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No!

Mother Nature finally wins

The race restarted on lap 105, and it remained green for 5 laps, The sixth caution of the race flew on lap 109 again for rain, and the cars were brought back down pit road as the race was red flagged for the third time. Eventually, NASCAR called the race and Almirola scored his first career win. Almirola's victory was the first for a car numbered 43, since John Andretti did so in the 1999 Goody's Body Pain 500 at Martinsville Speedway. [18] For the first time since the 2007 UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400, all top ten starting drivers failed to finish within the top ten positions.

Post-race infractions

On the Tuesday following the race, Kurt Busch was penalized 10 points for a technical infraction following post-race inspection. [19] The infraction was a P2 level penalty and a violation of section 12-1 (actions detrimental to stock car racing) and 20–12 (l) (for events at Daytona International Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway, at all times, the Delta (or difference) of the Z-height measurement between the center of the panhard bar mounting bolt located at the left truck trailing arm and the center of the panhard bar mounting bolt, located at the right rear sub-frame mounting bracket, must not exceed three inches) of the 2014 NASCAR rule book. [20]

Race results

PosNo.DriverTeamManufacturerLapsPoints
143 Aric Almirola Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 11247
255 Brian Vickers Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 11242
341 Kurt Busch Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 11233 [N 2]
413 Casey Mears Germain Racing Chevrolet 11241
53 Austin Dillon (R) Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 11239
611 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 11238
795 Michael McDowell Leavine Family Racing Ford 11237
810 Danica Patrick Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 11236
915 Clint Bowyer Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 11236
109 Marcos Ambrose Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 11234
1132 Terry Labonte Go FAS Racing Ford 11233
1224 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 11233
1323 Alex Bowman (R) BK Racing Toyota 11231
1488 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 11230
1578 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet 11229
1627 Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 11228
1722 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 11227
182 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 11126
1966 Michael Waltrip Identity Ventures Racing Toyota 11125
2020 Matt Kenseth Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 11125
217 Michael Annett (R) Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 10424
2234 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 10223
2398 Josh Wise Phil Parsons Racing Ford 10121
2431 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 10020
2551 Justin Allgaier (R) HScott Motorsports Chevrolet 9819
2633 Bobby Labonte Richard Childress Racing-Circle Sport Chevrolet 9818
275 Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 9717
2818 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 9716
2916 Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Racing Ford 9716
301 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 9715
3140 Landon Cassill Hillman-Circle Sport LLC Chevrolet 970
3283 Ryan Truex (R) BK Racing Toyota 9712
3336 Reed Sorenson Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 9712
3426 Cole Whitt (R) BK Racing Toyota 9710
3538 David Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 9710
3642 Kyle Larson (R) Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 698
3799 Carl Edwards Roush Fenway Racing Ford 667
3821 Trevor Bayne Wood Brothers Racing Ford 460
394 Kevin Harvick Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 465
4014 Tony Stewart Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 455
4117 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 373
4248 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 202
4347 A. J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 191

Race summary

Media

Television

TNT Sports
Booth announcersPit reporters
Lap-by-lap: Adam Alexander
Color-commentator: Wally Dallenbach Jr.
Color commentator: Kyle Petty
Matt Yocum
Marty Snider
Chris Neville
Ralph Sheheen

Radio

MRN Radio
Booth announcersTurn announcersPit reporters
Lead announcer: Joe Moore
Announcer: Barney Hall

Announcer: Jeff Striegle
Guest driver analyst: Chase Elliott

Turns 1 & 2: Dave Moody
Backstretch: Mike Bagley
Turns 3 & 4: Kurt Becker
Winston Kelly
Steve Post
Alex Hayden
Woody Cain

Standings after the race

Notes

  1. Ryan Truex started last for unapproved changes post-qualifying.
  2. Kurt Busch was penalized 10 points for a technical infraction following post-race inspection. [19]

References

  1. "2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Schedule". ESPN . Retrieved June 26, 2014.
  2. "Daytona International Speedway". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. January 3, 2013. Retrieved June 29, 2014.
  3. "Entry List". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. June 30, 2014. Retrieved July 1, 2014.
  4. "First Practice Results". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. July 3, 2014. Retrieved July 3, 2014.
  5. "Qualifying Results". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. July 4, 2014. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved July 5, 2014.
  6. "Coke Zero 400 Results". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. July 6, 2014. Retrieved July 7, 2014.
  7. "Points Standings". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. July 6, 2014. Retrieved July 7, 2014.
  8. "Manufacturer Standings". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. July 6, 2014. Retrieved July 7, 2014.
  9. Paulsen (July 10, 2014). "Sprint Cup TV Ratings: Postponed Daytona Race Low, But Not That Bad". SportsMediaWatch.com. Sports Media Watch. Retrieved July 11, 2014.
  10. 1 2 3 "Daytona International Speedway Track Facts". Daytona International Speedway. Archived from the original on September 23, 2015. Retrieved July 1, 2013.
  11. Long, Dustin (July 2, 2014). "Daytona Adds More SAFER Barriers". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved July 3, 2014.
  12. Long, Dustin (July 5, 2014). "Hall's Role Changing at MRN". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. Archived from the original on July 7, 2014. Retrieved July 5, 2014.
  13. Staff Report (July 3, 2014). "Recapping Thursday's practices at Daytona". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. Retrieved July 3, 2014.
  14. Long, Dustin (July 4, 2014). "Gilliland Grabs Daytona Pole". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved July 4, 2014.
  15. Long, Dustin (July 5, 2014). "Daytona Race Postponed". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. Archived from the original on July 9, 2014. Retrieved July 5, 2014.
  16. Long, Dustin (July 6, 2014). "Early Crash Collects Contenders". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. Archived from the original on July 12, 2014. Retrieved July 6, 2014.
  17. Long, Dustin (July 6, 2014). "Busch Goes on 'Slow Carnival Ride'". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. Archived from the original on July 12, 2014. Retrieved July 6, 2014.
  18. Long, Dustin (July 6, 2014). "Almirola Scores First Win". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. Archived from the original on July 12, 2014. Retrieved July 6, 2014.
  19. 1 2 "No. 41 team penalized for Daytona infraction". NASCAR.com. Official NASCAR release. July 8, 2014. Retrieved July 8, 2014.
  20. Long, Dustin (July 8, 2014). "NASCAR Penalizes Kurt Busch And Team". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. Archived from the original on July 12, 2014. Retrieved July 8, 2014.
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