This season was the final year of broadcasting for both the ESPN family of networks and Turner Sports. ESPN had covered the second half of the Sprint Cup season since 2007 while Turner Sports ended a thirty-one year relationship with NASCAR on TBS and later TNT. For 2015, their portions of the season were divided between Fox Sports and NBC.
Kevin Harvick and Stewart–Haas Racing claimed the drivers' championship and owners' championship, while Chevrolet won the manufacturer's championship. In one of the largest rookie classes in recent history, Kyle Larson was named Rookie of the Year.
With the No. 56 shut down, Michael Waltrip entered a partnership with the 2013 No. 87 NEMCO Motorsports team, to the new formed Identity Ventures Racing in the No. 66 with Waltrip running the restrictor plate races and Joe Nemechek and various drivers running the remainder of the races.
Front Row Motorsports downsized from three full-time teams to two-full-time teams with the No. 35 moving to part-time. The team attempted 10 races in 2014.
Hillman-Circle Sport LLC expanded to two full-time teams with Landon Cassill running the full season in the new No. 40, after running part-time for the team in 2013.
Swan Racing expanded to a two-car team with the addition of Cole Whitt in the No. 26, who previously ran 7 races in Swan Racing's No. 30 in 2013. Parker Kligerman took over in the No. 30 for Swan Racing, previously running 2 races in the car in 2013. Sponsorship troubles later forced Swan Racing to sell both their cars to other teams in April 2014. The No. 26 of Whitt was sold to BK Racing, who continued to run full-time, while the No. 30 assets were sold to Xxxtreme Motorsport, shutting down the No. 30 and releasing Kligerman.
Austin Dillon moved up to the Sprint Cup Series full-time to replace Kevin Harvick in the Richard Childress Racing No. 29, renumbered to No. 3. Announced December 11, 2013, this would make the first appearance of No. 3 in the Sprint Cup Series since the 2001 Daytona 500 and the death of Dale Earnhardt. Dillon had built a strong early career in a Childress-blessed No. 3, first in the Camping World Truck Series, then in the Nationwide Series. Childress had polled fans at the beginning of 2013 about Dillon taking No. 3, to the Sprint Cup series, which received 90% positive feedback. "That told me it was time, and if Austin wanted to it was his choice."[58][59]
Germain Racing switched its manufacturer to Chevrolet after being with Ford since 2012. The team's original manufacturer was Toyota.
Changes
In contrast to previous seasons, NASCAR imposed several new rules changes that drastically altered how the circuit operates.
Rules changes
Beginning this year, NASCAR eliminated traditional single car qualifying in its top 3 series for all races except the Daytona 500, the Mudsummer Classic, and non-points events. Qualifying will now be done in a Formula One-style knockout qualifying. For all tracks larger than 1.25 miles in length, qualifying will consist of all entered cars on track for 25 minutes. The fastest 24 move onto a 10-minute session, while the final 12 drivers compete for the overall pole in a 5-minute session. For tracks shorter than 1.25 miles as well as road courses, all entered cars will qualify in a 30-minute session, while the 12 fastest will compete in a final 10 minute session. A similar system involving groups of cars being released at five-second intervals was used at Sonoma Raceway and Watkins Glen International in 2013.
The rule was modified slightly for restrictor plate races (other than the Daytona 500, which maintains its single car pole qualifying and Budweiser Duel qualifying races) beginning at Talladega in the October race. During sessions at restrictor plate tracks, such as at Talladega's spring race, drivers had either ridden around the track at slow speeds or stopped on pit road for several minutes to avoid aiding others in the draft. In an effort to avoid this, a new procedure was implemented:[60]
NASCAR will randomly split the field into two groups for session 1. Each group will get 5 minutes of track time. The fastest 24 cars from either group will advance to session 2.
These 24 cars will get 5 minutes of track time for session 2. The fastest 12 cars in session 2 will advance to session 3.
Session 3 remains unchanged: 12 cars competing for overall pole in a 5-minute session.
Statically set car at race ride height—eliminate pre- and post-race front height rules and inspection.
The use of a front splitter with a square leading edge.
Skirts at 4-inch minimum ground clearance on both the left and right sides.
Rear fascia trimmed 1.375 inches higher in current scallop region.
The use of a .750-inch higher 8-inch high rear spoiler except at Daytona and Talladega.
The use of a 43-inch wide by 13-inch long radiator pan.
New Chase format
On January 30, 2014, NASCAR announced radical changes to the format for the season-ending Chase for the Sprint Cup.[61]
The group of drivers in the Chase will now officially be called the NASCAR Sprint Cup Chase Grid.
The number of drivers qualifying for the Chase Grid will expand from 12 to 16.
15 of the 16 slots in the Chase Grid are reserved for the drivers with the most race wins over the first 26 races, provided that said drivers are in the top 30 in series points and have attempted to qualify for each race (with rare exceptions). The remaining spot is reserved for the points leader after 26 races, if that driver does not have a victory. If fewer than 16 drivers have wins in the first 26 races, the remaining Chase Grid spots are filled by winless drivers in order of season points. As in the recent past, all drivers on the Chase Grid have their driver points reset to 2,000 prior to the Chase, with a 3-point bonus for each win in the first 26 races.
The Chase will be divided into four rounds. After each of the first three rounds, the four Chase Grid drivers with the fewest season points are eliminated from the Grid and championship contention. Any driver on the Chase Grid who wins a race in the first three rounds automatically advances to the next round. Also, all drivers eliminated from the Chase have their points readjusted to the regular-season points scheme.
Challenger Round (races 27–29)
Begins with 16 drivers, each with 2,000 points plus a 3-point bonus for each win in the first 26 races.
Contender Round (races 30–32)
Begins with 12 drivers, each with 3,000 points.
Eliminator Round (races 33–35)
Begins with 8 drivers, each with 4,000 points.
NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship (final race)
The last 4 drivers in contention for the season title start the race at 5,000 points, with the highest finisher in the race winning the Cup Series title.
2014 NASCAR realignment
The 2014 schedule had a few changes from the 2013 schedule, all of them among the first fifteen races. The dates for the spring races at Darlington Raceway and Kansas Speedway (Bojangles' Southern 500 and 5-hour Energy 400 respectively) were swapped, giving Kansas its first primetime Sprint Cup race,[62]Texas Motor Speedway's spring race was changed from a Saturday night to a Sunday afternoon race for this year only due to conflicts with the NCAA basketball finals,[62] it and Martinsville Speedway's STP 500 were moved up a week, the new Darlington date moved to Texas's original spot on the schedule, and the spring off-weekend moved to Kansas' original date, to coincide with Easter.[63]
Other changes
NASCAR restructured the penalties and appeals system allowing penalties to be more consistent. The appeals process also makes NASCAR's basis for issuing the penalty public at the first appeal instead of the last.[64] Minor changes were made to the Gen-6 race car. Rules on ride height were loosened, and the top of the rear spoiler is now made of clear material to give drivers more visibility. After a six-hour delay at the first Chase race in 2013 at Chicagoland, NASCAR will now make the Air Titan available at all Sprint Cup Series races and accompanying races at no extra charge. The Air Titan has also been improved to Air Titan 2.0 shortening track drying time even further.
In addition, starting in 2014, drivers have a winner's decal placed behind the driver's name on the side of the car for each race victory they earn during the season.
Schedule
The final calendar was released on October 15, 2013,[62] comprising 36 races, as well as two exhibition races. The schedule also includes two Budweiser Duels, which are the qualifying races for the Daytona 500.
Speedweeks 2014 kicked off with the 2014 Sprint Unlimited. Denny Hamlin started on pole and won all three segments in a bizarre race that featured 10 of the 18 cars crashing out, along with three more being damaged, and the pace car catching on fire. Hamlin led 27 of the 75 laps and won the race ahead of Brad Keselowski, Kyle Busch, and Joey Logano.
Qualifying for the front row took place the next day, with rookie Austin Dillon, fielding the famed No. 3 car, appearing for the first time since the 2001 Daytona 500, winning the pole. Martin Truex Jr. won the outside pole.
During the first practice session on Wednesday, a five-car wreck happened and ended with rookie Parker Kligerman on his roof; several teams had to use back-up cars. The wreck brought out a red flag that prematurely ended the session. The second session was run without major incident.[67]
Austin Dillon started on pole, but led only the first lap. The first 35 laps featured Denny Hamlin and Kurt Busch taking turns leading, and Kyle Larson struggling with two flat tires. During the second caution for an engine problem on Martin Truex Jr.'s car, it began to rain, and by lap 39, the red flag was displayed with Kyle Busch as the leader. The red flag lasted over six hours as track-drying was delayed due to ongoing rain showers.[68] The race went back green under the lights, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. dominated the final part of the race. Several minor "big ones" broke out late in the race, but Earnhardt held on to win his second career Daytona 500.
Joey Logano took the pole, and after a race with several different strategies and leaders, Dale Earnhardt Jr. found himself in the lead trying to make it to the finish on fuel mileage. However, Earnhardt ran out of fuel with just over half a lap to go, and Brad Keselowski took advantage to win the race. Since they had a sizable lead on the rest of the field, Earnhardt would get back going with what little fuel he had left and finish in second position.
The race started on time, but, just like the Daytona 500, rain delayed the race in the early going. The race finally got restarted under the lights several hours later. After many of the frontrunners, including Kyle Busch, Kurt Busch, Matt Kenseth, and Jimmie Johnson, suffered from numerous problems, Carl Edwards found himself up front late in the race. Edwards held on as rain caused the race to end under caution after 503 laps (a caution had waved with two to go and the race had not yet been restarted for the green-white-checker).
Matt Kenseth started on pole, but gave way to Brad Keselowski, who started on the front row and had the fastest car at the beginning. After he led 38 laps. Jimmie Johnson would take over the lead, leading 104 of the race's 200 laps. Many cautions waved during the race because of drivers repeatedly cutting down left side tires. Kenseth had the first pit box and would take advantage of it a few times, coming out in the lead. Kenseth would lead three or four laps after the restarts, then Johnson would pass him as Kenseth's car faded back. With seven laps remaining, Johnson had a left-front tire go down, giving the lead to his teammate Jeff Gordon. Keselowski suffered his third left-rear tire failure a lap later but stayed out of harm's way. The same fate befell Marcos Ambrose on the same lap. Gordon, who had a large lead, slowed his pace and almost made it to the finish, but Clint Bowyer spun with less than three laps to go, thanks to a flat left-rear tire. The caution waved to set up the green-white-checker finish. On the restart, Gordon got shuffled back to finish in 13th. Kyle Busch passed Tony Stewart and Kurt Busch (both of whom only took two tires during pit stops), bringing rookie Kyle Larson with him. Kyle Busch held off Larson to win his first race of the year. Larson finished second and Kurt Busch finished third. Kenseth also passed Stewart on the last lap to finish in fourth. Stewart came home fifth.
The race's start was delayed due to rain, marking the third time in seven race weekends in 2014 that weather affected a race. Eventually, NASCAR announced that the race would be postponed to Monday, April 7, and started at 12 p.m., marking the season's first rainout.[65] The race started under green-yellow conditions to allow track workers to dry the track from the rain while green flag laps were counted under yellow flag conditions. Dale Earnhardt Jr. brought out the first yellow of the race two laps after it officially went green on Lap 11 when he clipped the wet infield grass on the front stretch, causing the splitter to dig in and damage the front end of his car before it caught fire. Teammate Jimmie Johnson received some damage from the dirt dug up by Earnhardt Jr. Joey Logano made a last lap pass on Jeff Gordon to win the race.
For the first time, the Sprint Showdown was held the day before the All-Star Race, with Clint Bowyer winning and A. J. Allmendinger finishing second to advance to the All-Star Race. Josh Wise was the winner of the fan vote to be the third driver to advance.
For the main race, Carl Edwards took the pole in a unique qualifying session, but Kyle Busch won the first 20-lap segment. However, he and Joey Logano crashed in the second segment, followed soon after by Allmendinger. Kasey Kahne won the second and third segments, but faded in the fourth after hitting the wall, along with Ryan Newman. Kevin Harvick would later win the fourth segment. On the restart for the last segment, which was ten laps, Jamie McMurray passed Edwards and held off Harvick to win his first All-Star race.
Jimmie Johnson won the pole, led the most laps, and won the race ahead of Kevin Harvick, after the latter was slowed down by pit difficulties late and could not recover in time. Matt Kenseth, Carl Edwards, and Jamie McMurray rounded out the top five. Kurt Busch and Danica Patrick both suffered blown engines in the race, with Busch's engine failure ending his chance of completing all 1,100 miles (1,800km) of the Indianapolis 500 and Coca-Cola 600, an act known as "Double Duty".
Kyle Busch leads the FedEx 400 following the restart from the first caution
Brad Keselowski started on pole, but Kyle Busch led the early part of the race. Jimmie Johnson eventually passed Kyle Busch for the lead. Clint Bowyer got into Kyle Busch, who wound up hitting the wall and ending his day. Greg Biffle and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. collided on the backstretch, also involving Landon Cassill, Ryan Truex, and Justin Allgaier. The race was red flagged in order to clean up. After the race resumed, Kevin Harvick took the lead from Johnson. Jamie McMurray hit a piece of concrete in turn two, which resulted in a second red flag in order to repair the hole in the track. The concrete ended up causing damage to the bridge over the track in that location. Harvick continued to lead after the red flag until having to pit for a flat tire, yielding the lead to Matt Kenseth. Johnson took the lead from Kenseth and dominated the remainder of the race, winning his second consecutive race and his ninth win at Dover. Despite the damage from the earlier incident, Greg Biffle reentered the race and finished 38th, his 85th consecutive race without a DNF, breaking the NASCAR record previously held by Herman Beam.
Denny Hamlin took the pole with a new track record, but Brad Keselowski led the most laps. Jimmie Johnson started 20th and worked up to 5th; however, his progress was stunted by a pit-road collision with Marcos Ambrose. Other contenders Tony Stewart and Kevin Harvick were done in by a pit road speeding penalty and a flat tire, respectively. Kasey Kahne was then taken out after being forced up into the wall by Kyle Busch, causing a crash that also involved Carl Edwards. After the final restart, Keselowski picked up a large piece of debris on his grill and got passed by Dale Earnhardt Jr. while trying to pull up behind the slower Danica Patrick to remove the debris. Earnhardt would continue to lead and pick up his first career victory at Pocono. The win was the fourth in a row for Hendrick Motorsports in 2014, and the fourth in a row for Hendrick at Pocono with four different drivers.[69]
Racing action after a restart at the 2014 Quicken Loans 400 at Michigan International Speedway.
Jimmie Johnson took the lead with ten laps remaining to take his first win at Michigan International Speedway. This was his first career win at Michigan, after numerous unsuccessful attempts that ended with crashes, engine failures, or running out of fuel.[70]
In a dominate performance from Team Penske, Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski combined to lead 236 of the 267 laps and Keselowski led 199 laps to win the Quaker State 400 at Kentucky Speedway. He described his car as "awesome" and that his crew did a "great job."[72]
Jeff Gordon scored his record 5th win in the Brickyard 400 after passing Kasey Kahne on a restart with 17 laps to go. The race was dominated by a variety of pit strategies. Kasey Kahne led the most laps in the race with 70 as Hendrick powered cars led 127 of the 160 laps.[76]
The Chase-Opening race at Chicagoland Speedway started with qualifying being rained-out and Kyle Busch starting on Pole for being the fastest in first practice, and Chase Seed #1 Brad Keselowski wound up starting 25th for the 267 lap event. Busch led 46 laps early on, but the race saw comers and goers as it saw only a few cautions for the first 3/4 of the event. Jeff Gordon, Jamie McMurray, Keselowski, and Kevin Harvick (who led a race-high 79 laps) took turns at the front over the course of 100 laps of green. Keselowski and Harvick both suffered loose wheels and had to start at the tail-end of the lead lap. Chase driver Aric Almirola was leading on series of green flag pit stops with 37 to go when his engine blew and was forced to retire. Rookie Kyle Larson wound up taking the lead in the late going with a superior machine, battling Harvick, Gordon, and Keselowski in the late going with Keselowski making a three-wide move in between Larson and Harvick, taking the lead for good. With 10 laps to go, the final caution came out after Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Danica Patrick got together in Turn 4. On the final restart, Keselowski got away easy, Harvick fell to 5th, and Keselowski the #1 seed scored his 5th win of the season and second at Chicagoland. Gordon beat Larson for 2nd, and Joey Logano blew up out of Turn 4, but streaked across the finish line up in smoke to finish 4th.[83]
Kevin Harvick started on pole and dominated most of the first half of the race. Cautions flew for debris on lap 62, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. brushing the wall on lap 75, and debris again on lap 125. Brad Keselowski took the lead from Harvick on lap 148. After a caution for J. J. Yeley scraping the wall on lap 171, Harvick regained the lead. After a round of green flag pit stops, Harvick cut a tire and brought out the caution on lap 254. Keselowski took over the race lead. Jeff Gordon took the lead from Keselowski on lap 305 and continued on for the win, the 92nd of his career. Following this race, A. J. Allmendinger, Kurt Busch, Greg Biffle, and Aric Almirola were eliminated from the Chase.[85]
On the final restart with 28 laps to go, Ryan Newman lost the lead to Joey Logano and he held off a hard-charging Kyle Larson to score his fifth win of the season.[86]
This race is also known for a late-race incident between Harvick, Brad Keselowski, and Jeff Gordon, which resulted in a post-race brawl on pit road. Robin Pemberton, NASCAR's senior vice president of competition, said that series officials will review what took place to determine what, if any, penalties will be issued.[97][98]
Kevin Harvick dominated the race to score the victory.[99][100] In the final turn, Ryan Newman sent Kyle Larson into the wall to secure his place in the championship race.[101][102][103] Kevin Harvick (with the much-needed win), Joey Logano, Denny Hamlin, and Ryan Newman were the four drivers who will race for the championship, which also meant that NASCAR will be having a new Sprint Cup Series champion. Jeff Gordon, Carl Edwards, Brad Keselowski, and Matt Kenseth were the four drivers eliminated.
Jeff Gordon won the pole for the race and dominated. Kevin Harvick took the lead from Denny Hamlin with 8 laps to go, but a late caution forced the race to have a 3 lap shootout. Harvick and Ryan Newman, who were the top of the 4 championship contenders, restarted on the front row. Harvick held off Newman to score his fifth win of the season and take the 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup title.
(key)Bold– Pole position awarded by time. Italics– Pole position set by final practice results or owner's points. *– Most laps led. .– Eliminated after Challenger Round .– Eliminated after Contender Round .– Eliminated after Eliminator Round
↑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.
↑Pistone, Pete (July 27, 2014). "Indy High Five for Gordon". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. Archived from the original on August 8, 2014. Retrieved July 29, 2014.
↑Long, Dustin (August 17, 2014). "Gordon Triumphs At Michigan". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. Archived from the original on August 19, 2014. Retrieved August 17, 2014.
↑Pistone, Pete (August 23, 2014). "Logano Wins Bristol Battle". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. Archived from the original on August 26, 2014. Retrieved August 24, 2014.
↑Pistone, Pete (September 6, 2014). "Keselowski Grabs No. 1 Seed". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. Archived from the original on September 7, 2014. Retrieved September 7, 2014.
↑Long, Dustin (September 14, 2014). "Keselowski Strikes First". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. Archived from the original on September 15, 2014. Retrieved September 15, 2014.
↑Pistone, Pete (September 28, 2014). "Gordon Back at Dover". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. Archived from the original on October 1, 2014. Retrieved September 29, 2014.
↑Pistone, Pete (October 19, 2014). "Keselowski Scores Must Win". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. Archived from the original on October 21, 2014. Retrieved October 19, 2014.
↑Pistone, Pete (November 2, 2014). "Johnson Takes Texas Thriller". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. Archived from the original on November 3, 2014. Retrieved November 3, 2014.
↑Pistone, Pete (November 9, 2014). "Clutch Phoenix Win by Harvick". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. Archived from the original on November 10, 2014. Retrieved November 11, 2014.
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