2014 Pocono 400

2014 Pocono 400
Race details[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11]
Race 14 of 36 in the 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season
Date June 8, 2014
Location Pocono Raceway, Long Pond, Pennsylvania
Course Permanent racing facility
2.5 mi (4 km)
Distance 160 laps, 400 mi (643.737 km)
WeatherSunny with a temperature around 76 °F (24 °C); wind out of the south at 8 miles per hour (13 km/h).
Average speed 139.440 mph (224.407 km/h)
Pole position
Driver Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing
Time 49.610
Most laps led
Driver Brad Keselowski Team Penske
Laps 95
Winner
No. 88
 Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
 Hendrick Motorsports
Television in the United States
Network TNT & MRN
Announcers Adam Alexander, Wally Dallenbach, Jr. and Kyle Petty (Television)
Joe Moore, Barney Hall and Jeff Striegle (Booth)
Dave Moody (1), Mike Bagley (2) and Buddy Long (3) (Turns) (Radio)
Nielsen Ratings 3.0/8
4.5 Million viewers[12]

The 2014 Pocono 400 was NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race held on June 8, 2014, at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. Contested over 160 laps on the 2.5 miles (4.0 km) triangular superspeedway, it was the 14th race of the 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. won the race, his second of the season and first at Pocono. Brad Keselowski finished second, while Kurt Busch, Denny Hamlin, and Kyle Larson, who placed as the highest finishing rookie. Behind Larson, the top rookies of the race were Austin Dillon in 17th, and Michael Annett in 20th.

Earnhardt, Jr. was the fourth straight different driver from Hendrick Motorsports to win at Pocono, following Jeff Gordon's rain-shortened win in August 2012 and Jimmie Johnson and Kasey Kahne in the 2013 races.

Previous week's race

Jimmie Johnson held off a four-lap charge by Brad Keselowski to win the FedEx 400 at Dover International Speedway. It was Johnson's second straight win after his Coca-Cola 600 victory the week before; he joined Kevin Harvick and Joey Logano as the only multiple race winners of the season. He led 272 of 400 laps in a performance he described as "incredible", with an "awesome" race car.[13]

Report

Background

Pocono Raceway, the race track where the race was held.

Pocono Raceway is a three-turn superspeedway that is 2.5 miles (4.0 km) long.[14] The track's turns are banked differently; the first is banked at 14°, the second turn at 8° and the final turn with 6°.[14] However, each of the three straightaways are banked at 2°.[15] The front stretch at Pocono Raceway is 3,740 feet long, the longest at the track.[15] The back stretch, is 3,055 feet long, while the short stretch, which connects turn two with turn three, is only 1,780 feet long.[15] Jimmie Johnson was the defending race winner after winning the race in 2013.

Entry list

The entry list for the Pocono 400 was released on Tuesday, June 3, 2014 at 11:09 a.m. Eastern time. Forty-three drivers were entered for the race which meant no one failed to make the race.

No. Driver Team Manufacturer
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
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
31 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
32 Travis Kvapil Go FAS Racing Ford
33 David Stremme 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
44 J. J. Yeley (i) Xxxtreme Motorsports Chevrolet
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 Timmy Hill Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota
77 Dave Blaney Randy Humphrey Racing Ford
78 Martin Truex, Jr. Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet
83 Ryan Truex (R) BK Racing Toyota
88 Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
98 Josh Wise Phil Parsons Racing Chevrolet
99 Carl Edwards Roush-Fenway Racing Ford
Official entry list
Key Meaning
(R) Rookie
(i) Ineligible for points
(PC#) Past champions provisional

Practice

First practice

Brian Vickers was the fastest in first practice with a time of 49.764 and a speed of 180.854 mph (291.056 km/h).

Pos No. Driver Team Manufacturer Time Speed
1 55 Brian Vickers Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 49.764 180.854
2 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 49.938 180.223
3 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 50.052 179.813
Official first practice results

Qualifying

Denny Hamlin won the pole for the race with a time of 49.610 – a new track record – and a speed of 181.415 mph (291.959 km/h). "It's a tough balance, but we really just made the car a lot better," Hamlin said. "Each session our balance got a little bit better and we were able to get a little bit more speed out of it. That's kind of what you want to do, play it enough in the first few rounds to get to the final round where you go all out. Good job by our FedEx Ground Toyota team. We didn't test up here, we're one of the only teams that didn't test, but it's good to at least have a good Friday."[16]

Qualifying results

Pos No. Driver Team Manufacturer R1 R2 R3
1 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 50.360 50.010 49.610
2 41 Kurt Busch Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 50.104 49.700 49.612
3 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 50.430 49.798 49.637
4 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 50.193 50.001 49.770
5 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 50.123 50.085 49.858
6 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 50.418 49.904 49.873
7 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 50.255 50.089 50.048
8 88 Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 50.507 50.174 50.121
9 55 Brian Vickers Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 49.992 49.999 50.126
10 99 Carl Edwards Roush Fenway Racing Ford 50.481 50.110 50.172
11 3 Austin Dillon (R) Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 50.428 50.201 50.188
12 14 Tony Stewart Stewart-Haas Racing Toyota 50.209 50.014 50.244
13 16 Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Racing Ford 50.370 50.207 —
14 42 Kyle Larson (R) Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 50.536 50.215 —
15 31 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 50.294 50.259 —
16 10 Danica Patrick Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 50.233 50.265 —
17 78 Martin Truex, Jr. Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet 50.485 50.286 —
18 1 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 50.348 50.302 —
19 15 Clint Bowyer Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 50.479 50.342 —
20 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 50.158 50.370 —
21 47 A. J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 50.279 50.480 —
22 43 Aric Almirola Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 50.494 50.521 —
23 27 Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 50.521 50.553 —
24 51 Justin Allgaier (R) HScott Motorsports Chevrolet 50.529 50.765 —
25 13 Casey Mears Germain Racing Chevrolet 50.549 — —
26 20 Matt Kenseth Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 50.571 — —
27 5 Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 50.588 — —
28 17 Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 50.610 — —
29 9 Marcos Ambrose Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 50.801 — —
30 7 Michael Annett (R) Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 51.047 — —
31 40 Landon Cassill Circle Sport Chevrolet 51.129 — —
32 34 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 51.159 — —
33 32 Travis Kvapil Go FAS Racing Ford 51.175 — —
34 23 Alex Bowman (R) BK Racing Toyota 51.231 — —
35 38 David Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 51.249 — —
36 36 Reed Sorenson Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 51.441 — —
37 98 Josh Wise Phil Parsons Racing Ford 51.503 — —
38 44 J. J. Yeley Xxxtreme Motorsports Chevrolet 51.733 — —
39 66 Timmy Hill Identity Ventures Racing Toyota 51.945 — —
40 26 Cole Whitt (R) BK Racing Toyota 52.081 — —
41 83 Ryan Truex (R) BK Racing Toyota 52.188 — —
42 33 Alex Kennedy Circle Sport Chevrolet 53.037 — —
43 77 Dave Blaney Randy Humphrey Racing Ford 0.000 — —
Official qualifying results

Practice (post-qualifying)

Second practice

Kevin Harvick was the fastest in the second practice session with a time of 50.764 and a speed of 177.291 mph (285.322 km/h).

Pos No. Driver Team Manufacturer Time Speed
1 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 50.764 177.291
2 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 50.787 177.211
3 55 Brian Vickers Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 50.823 177.085
Official second practice results

Final practice

Harvick was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 51.251 and a speed of 175.606 mph (282.610 km/h). Aric Almirola had to change his transmission after fluid started leaking out of it with 15 minutes left in practice. It was initially thought that he lost an engine.[17]

Pos No. Driver Team Manufacturer Time Speed
1 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 51.251 175.606
2 41 Kurt Busch Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 51.269 175.545
3 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 51.296 175.452
Official final practice results

Race

First half

Start

Denny Hamlin led the field to the green flag at 1:20 p.m. but Brad Keselowski took the lead from him to lead lap one. The first caution of the day came out at lap 32 for a fire in the inside wall in turn 3. The fire apparently was in the area where pyrotechnics were launched during the pre-race ceremonies. After getting into the rear of Jamie McMurray and damaging the front of the car on the ensuing restart, points leader Matt Kenseth wound up going a lap down on lap 50. Keselowski led the first 57 laps until he came in to pit and Jeff Gordon took the lead for one lap before handing it to Tony Stewart.

The second caution of the race came out on lap 60 for debris in turn three in the middle of green flag stops. Debris on the back stretch, from J. J. Yeley's car, brought out the third caution of the race on lap 71. Stewart took the lead from Keselowski on the restart. A spin in turn 1 by Dave Blaney brought out the fourth caution on lap 81. Kurt Busch took the lead from Stewart on lap 85, before Stewart regained the lead from Busch five laps later. Rookie Kyle Larson led his first ever lap in Sprint Cup competition on lap 103, before Jimmie Johnson found his way to the lead for the first time at lap 110; he pitted not long after, ceding the lead to another rookie, Michael Annett.

Second half

Stewart re-took the lead on lap 114 after the green flag stops cycled through, while team-mate Kevin Harvick had a flat tire a lap later. The sixth caution of the race came out on lap 117 for fluid on the race track. Stewart was too fast entering pit road and had to serve a drive-through penalty, handing the lead to Keselowski. Justin Allgaier led his first ever lap on lap 135, before Danica Patrick brought out the seventh caution, by crashing at turn three. The eighth caution of the race came out with 18 laps to go. Kasey Kahne, Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards and Greg Biffle were involved.

Finish

Dale Earnhardt, Jr. took the lead from Brad Keselowski with five laps to go and took the checkered flag.[18] He inherited the lead after Keselowski dropped back to try and remove the piece of trash on his grill. "That's unfortunate for him," Earnhardt said. "He had me beat. I couldn't get to him. It's real hard to pass here. I've lost some in strange ways. It feels good to win one like that. Brad definitely had the better car. I'll own up to that, but we won the race." Keselowski stated that his car "was running really hot" and that he thought it "was going to blow up".[19]

Race results

Pos Grid No. Driver Team Manufacturer Laps Points
1 8 88 Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 160 47
2 3 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 160 44
3 2 41 Kurt Busch Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 160 42
4 1 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 160 41
5 14 42 Kyle Larson (R) Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 160 40
6 20 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 160 39
7 15 31 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 160 37
8 5 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 160 37
9 17 78 Martin Truex, Jr. Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet 160 35
10 18 1 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 160 34
11 19 15 Clint Bowyer Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 160 33
12 6 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 160 32
13 12 14 Tony Stewart Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 160 32
14 4 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 160 30
15 28 17 Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 160 29
16 13 16 Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Racing Ford 160 28
17 11 3 Austin Dillon (R) Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 160 27
18 32 34 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 160 26
19 9 55 Brian Vickers Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 160 26
20 30 7 Michael Annett (R) Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 160 24
21 21 47 A. J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 160 23
22 22 43 Aric Almirola Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 160 22
23 25 13 Casey Mears Germain Racing Chevrolet 160 21
24 29 9 Marcos Ambrose Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 160 20
25 26 20 Matt Kenseth Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 160 19
26 23 27 Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 160 18
27 24 51 Justin Allgaier (R) HScott Motorsports Chevrolet 160 18
28 35 38 David Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 160 16
29 33 32 Travis Kvapil Go FAS Racing Ford 160 15
30 40 26 Cole Whitt (R) BK Racing Toyota 159 14
31 34 23 Alex Bowman (R) BK Racing Toyota 159 13
32 41 83 Ryan Truex (R) BK Racing Toyota 159 12
33 31 40 Landon Cassill Circle Sport Chevrolet 158 0
34 36 36 Reed Sorenson Circle Sport Chevrolet 158 10
35 37 98 Josh Wise Phil Parsons Racing Ford 158 9
36 39 66 Timmy Hill Identity Ventures Racing Toyota 158 8
37 16 10 Danica Patrick Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 158 7
38 38 44 J. J. Yeley Xxxtreme Motorsports Chevrolet 157 0
39 42 33 Alex Kennedy Circle Sport Chevrolet 156 5
40 7 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 150 4
41 10 99 Carl Edwards Roush Fenway Racing Ford 143 3
42 27 5 Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 142 2
43 43 77 Dave Blaney Randy Humphrey Racing Ford 142 1

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 		Turn 1: Dave Moody
Turn 2: Mike Bagley
Turn 3: Buddy Long 		Winston Kelly
Steve Post
Alex Hayden
Woody Cain

Standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings
Pos Driver Points
1 1 Jeff Gordon 498
1 2 Matt Kenseth 482 (−16)
2 3 Dale Earnhardt, Jr. 476 (−22)
4 Jimmie Johnson 475 (−23)
3 5 Brad Keselowski 448 (−50)
1 6 Kyle Busch 443 (−55)
4 7 Carl Edwards 441 (−57)
1 8 Denny Hamlin 420 (−78)
3 9 Joey Logano 418 (−80)
10 Kyle Larson (R) 417 (−81)
11 Ryan Newman 411 (−87)
12 Kevin Harvick 403 (−95)
13 Brian Vickers 392 (−106)
2 14 Greg Biffle 385 (−113)
15 Austin Dillon (R) 385 (−113)
1 16 Clint Bowyer 383 (−115)
Manufacturers' Championship standings
Pos Manufacturer Points
1 Chevrolet 632
2 Ford 602 (−30)
3 Toyota 569 (−63)
  • Note: Only the first sixteen positions are included for the driver standings.

References

  1. ↑ "2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Schedule". ESPN. Retrieved 2014-06-03.
  2. ↑ Brown, Brian (2013-06-05). "The Pocono Party 400". Rotoworld.com. NBC Sports. Retrieved 2013-06-05.
  3. ↑ "Pocono Raceway". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. January 3, 2013. Retrieved June 2, 2014.
  4. ↑ "Entry List". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. June 4, 2014. Retrieved June 4, 2014.
  5. ↑ "First Practice Results". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. June 6, 2014. Retrieved June 6, 2014.
  6. ↑ "Qualifying Results". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. June 6, 2014. Retrieved June 7, 2014.
  7. ↑ "Second Practice Results". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. June 7, 2014. Retrieved June 7, 2014.
  8. ↑ "Final Practice Results". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. June 7, 2014. Retrieved June 7, 2014.
  9. ↑ "Pocono 400 Results". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. June 8, 2014. Retrieved June 9, 2014.
  10. ↑ "Points Standings". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. June 8, 2014. Retrieved June 9, 2014.
  11. ↑ Report, Staff (June 8, 2014). "Manufacturer Standings". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. Retrieved June 9, 2014.
  12. ↑ Paulsen (June 11, 2014). "Sprint Cup TV Ratings: TNT Starts Final Run With Season's First Increase". sportsmediawatch.com. Sports Media Watch. Retrieved June 12, 2014.
  13. ↑ Pistone, Pete (June 1, 2014). "Johnson on Dover Cloud Nine". MRN.com (Motor Racing Network). Retrieved June 2, 2014.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 "NASCAR TRACK: POCONO RACEWAY". Fox Sports. Retrieved 2013-06-05.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 "Pocono Raceway". NBC Sports. Retrieved 2013-06-05.
  16. ↑ Long, Dustin (June 6, 2014). "Hamlin Powers to Pocono Pole". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. Retrieved June 6, 2014.
  17. ↑ Report, Staff (June 7, 2014). "Harvick tops both Saturday Cup practices at Pocono". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. Retrieved June 7, 2014.
  18. ↑ Livingstone, Seth (June 8, 2014). "Earnhardt Jr. gets first win at Pocono". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. Retrieved June 8, 2014.
  19. ↑ Pistone, Pete (June 8, 2014). "First Pocono Win for Earnhardt". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. Retrieved June 8, 2014.
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