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2014 Quaker State 400

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2014 Quaker State 400
Race details[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9]
Race 17 of 36 in the 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
The 2014 Quaker State 400 program cover. "The Best Drivers Love It. Others Fear It."
The 2014 Quaker State 400 program cover. "The Best Drivers Love It. Others Fear It."
Date June 28, 2014 (2014-06-28)
Location Kentucky Speedway, Sparta, Kentucky
Course Permanent racing facility
1.5 mi (2.4 km)
Distance 267 laps, 400.5 mi (644.542 km)
Weather Partly cloudy with a high temperature around 81 °F (27 °C); wind out of the ESE at 7 miles per hour (11 km/h)
Average speed 139.723 mph (224.862 km/h)
Pole position
Driver Team Penske
Time 28.603
Most laps led
Driver Brad Keselowski Team Penske
Laps 199
Winner
No. 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske
Television in the United States
Network TNT & PRN
Announcers Adam Alexander, Wally Dallenbach Jr. and Kyle Petty (Television)
Doug Rice and Mark Garrow (Booth)
Rob Albright (1 & 2) and Brad Gillie (3 & 4) (Turns) (Radio)
Nielsen Ratings 2.3/5
3.6 Million viewers[10]

The 2014 Quaker State 400 presented by Advance Auto Parts was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race held on June 28, 2014, at Kentucky Speedway in Sparta, Kentucky. Contested over 267 laps on the 1.5-mile (2.4 km) tri-oval, it was the 17th race of the 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Brad Keselowski led 199 laps during the race, to take his second win of the season. Kyle Busch finished second, while Ryan Newman, Matt Kenseth, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. rounded out the top five. The top rookies of the race were Austin Dillon (16th), Michael Annett (18th), and Justin Allgaier (24th).

Previous week's race

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Carl Edwards held off a last lap charge from Jeff Gordon to win the Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway. "Real tough. That last lap was ugly. I grew up watching Jeff Gordon do well here so to have him in my mirror is special," Edwards said. "This team has been working very hard. The whole group has. It's very special to be a part of something like this."[11]

Report

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Background

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The race logo for the 2014 Quaker State 400.

Kentucky Speedway is a 1.5-mile (2.4 km) tri-oval speedway in Sparta, Kentucky, which has hosted ARCA, NASCAR and Indy Racing League racing annually since it opened in 2000. The track is currently owned and operated by Speedway Motorsports, Inc. and Jerry Carroll, who, along with four other investors, owned Kentucky Speedway until 2008. The speedway has a grandstand capacity of 117,000. Construction of the speedway began in 1998 and was completed in mid-2000. The speedway has hosted the Camping World Truck Series, Nationwide Series, IndyCar Series, Indy Lights, and most recently, the Sprint Cup Series beginning in 2011.

Entry list

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The entry list for the Quaker State 400 was released on Monday, June 23, 2014, at 9:09 a.m. Eastern time. Only 42 cars entered the race, which made this the first Sprint Cup Series race without a full field of 43 drivers since the 2001 New Hampshire 300 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. NASCAR's senior director of communications Kerry Tharp denied that there was any "magic" to a 43-car grid, and also noted how well the sport had been progressing with an improvement in competition. Hendrick Motorsports drivers Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon backed up Tharp's words, with both drivers unconcerned about the lack of a full grid.[12] While the field expanded to 43 on June 27 after BK Racing entered Mike Bliss in the No. 93, J. J. Yeley and Xxxtreme Motorsport withdrew later in the day, citing "internal politics".[12]

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
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 Joe Nemechek 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
93 Mike Bliss BK Racing Toyota
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

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First practice

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Kyle Larson was the fastest in the first practice session with a lap time of 29.420 and a speed of 183.549 mph (295.393 km/h).

Pos No. Driver Team Manufacturer Time Speed
1 42 Kyle Larson (R) Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 29.420 183.549
2 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 29.647 182.143
3 55 Brian Vickers Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 29.647 182.143
Official first practice results

Final practice

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Brad Keselowski was the fastest in the final practice session with a lap time of 29.492 and a speed of 183.101 mph (294.672 km/h).

Pos No. Driver Team Manufacturer Time Speed
1 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 29.492 183.101
2 20 Matt Kenseth Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 29.620 182.309
3 42 Kyle Larson (R) Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 29.656 182.088
Official final practice results

Qualifying

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Brad Keselowski won the pole with a new track record lap time of 28.603 and a speed of 188.791 mph (303.830 km/h). Keselowski was surprised by the performance, having stated that he "thought we were all gonna be a lot slower", and that he would "want to go out there" and achieve the victory. Teammate Joey Logano joined Keselowski on the front row in a Team Penske lockout, in his 200th Cup start. Logano was disappointed to miss out on pole, bemoaning the new-for-2014 qualifying structure.[13]

Qualifying results

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Pos No. Driver Team Manufacturer R1 R2 R3
1 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 29.092 28.790 28.603
2 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 29.049 28.783 28.850
3 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 29.077 28.967 28.903
4 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 29.248 29.030 28.974
5 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 29.322 29.028 29.016
6 42 Kyle Larson (R) Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 29.191 28.951 29.027
7 31 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 29.256 29.030 29.030
8 1 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 29.099 29.014 29.039
9 41 Kurt Busch Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 29.263 28.922 29.040
10 10 Danica Patrick Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 29.070 29.048 29.063
11 15 Clint Bowyer Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 29.353 28.918 29.124
12 27 Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 29.307 29.048 29.174
13 14 Tony Stewart[N 1] Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 29.306 29.055
14 20 Matt Kenseth Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 29.222 29.077
15 47 A. J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 29.207 29.110
16 3 Austin Dillon (R) Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 29.298 29.135
17 55 Brian Vickers Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 29.269 29.174
18 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 29.345 29.181
19 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet 29.267 29.227
20 5 Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 29.348 29.274
21 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 29.381 29.299
22 43 Aric Almirola Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 29.351 29.300
23 99 Carl Edwards Roush Fenway Racing Ford 29.391 29.331
24 16 Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Racing Ford 29.394 29.486
25 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 29.402
26 13 Casey Mears Germain Racing Chevrolet 29.440
27 9 Marcos Ambrose Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 29.482
28 51 Justin Allgaier (R) HScott Motorsports Chevrolet 29.538
29 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 29.540
30 26 Cole Whitt (R) BK Racing Toyota 29.544
31 36 Reed Sorenson Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 29.684
32 7 Michael Annett (R) Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 29.758
33 23 Alex Bowman (R) BK Racing Toyota 29.787
34 98 Josh Wise Phil Parsons Racing Chevrolet 29.802
35 32 Travis Kvapil Go FAS Racing Ford 29.930
36 34 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 30.050
37 40 Landon Cassill Circle Sport Chevrolet 30.109
38 33 David Stremme Circle Sport Chevrolet 30.223
39 83 Ryan Truex (R) BK Racing Toyota 30.268
40 66 Joe Nemechek Identity Ventures Racing Toyota 30.326
41 38 David Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 30.543
42 93 Mike Bliss BK Racing Toyota 31.508
Official qualifying results

Race

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First half

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Start

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Brad Keselowski won the race from the pole position.

Prior to the start of the race, there was a downpour that soaked the track. This prompted NASCAR to schedule a competition caution at lap 30. The race was scheduled to start at 7:45 p.m. Eastern time but started three minutes earlier with Brad Keselowski leading the field to the green flag. Jeff Gordon slipped on the start and fell to eighth. Just ahead of the scheduled competition caution, Denny Hamlin hit the wall in turn three after a tire blowout, and caused the first caution of the race. Hamlin described his impact as "definitely a lot easier than some of the hits I've taken in the past", but was uninjured in the incident.[14] Keselowski led the field to the green on the restart on lap 35, starting a lengthy green-flag run, before the race's second caution on lap 77, caused by Kyle Larson hitting the wall in turn 1. Joey Logano took the lead from teammate Keselowski during the cycle of pit stops.

Team Penske show

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Logano led the field to the restart on lap 85, before Keselowski was able to retake the lead two laps later. Another lengthy green-flag run ensued, before debris forced the third caution of the race on lap 126. Prior to the caution, Matt Kenseth suffered a flat right-front tire, and had to pit from sixth position. Logano retook the lead during the pit cycle, while Jeff Gordon suffered a slow pit stop due to a malfunctioning air hose; he lost a total of 16 positions, dropping from 7th to 23rd. Logano and Keselowski swapped the lead positions once again, prior to the fourth caution, on lap 153, for a multi-car wreck on the backstretch involving Aric Almirola, Alex Bowman, Kasey Kahne and Jamie McMurray. Bowman locked up his brakes and tires, causing a large cloud of smoke that made it difficult for trailing cars to see what was in front of them. When the smoke cleared, Almirola swerved to his right to avoid Bowman, but in the process got into the left side of McMurray's car.[15]

Second half

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Final laps

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The race restarted on lap 161 with Logano leading the field, but Keselowski was back in front a couple of laps later, holding the lead until the fifth caution on lap 176, which was brought out by David Stremme, who spun in turn 4. Logano took the lead on the restart on lap 182, but Keselowski repeated his feat of passing Logano within the first few laps of the restart. Aric Almirola brought out the sixth caution on lap 214 when he hit the wall in turn 1. Kyle Busch took the lead during the cycle; he was the only driver other than the Penske drivers to lead laps during the event, leading 31. Keselowski took the lead from Busch with 20 laps to go and took the checkered flag for the second time in 2014. Keselowski described his car as "awesome" and praised his team for doing a great job".[16] Busch was pleased at his upturn in performance, stating that his car was "a lot better than we've been all year long", but that it had "got so loose there at the end". He was still able to finish in second place, just over a second behind Keselowski.[17]

Race results

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Pos Grid No. Driver Team Manufacturer Laps Points
1 1 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 267 48
2 18 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 267 43
3 7 31 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 267 41
4 14 20 Matt Kenseth Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 267 40
5 29 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 267 39
6 3 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 267 38
7 5 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 267 37
8 20 5 Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 267 36
9 2 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 267 36
10 25 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 267 34
11 13 14 Tony Stewart Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 267 33
12 9 41 Kurt Busch Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 267 32
13 27 9 Marcos Ambrose Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 267 31
14 24 16 Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Racing Ford 267 30
15 12 27 Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 267 29
16 16 3 Austin Dillon (R) Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 267 28
17 23 99 Carl Edwards Roush Fenway Racing Ford 267 27
18 32 7 Michael Annett (R) Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 267 26
19 19 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet 267 25
20 26 13 Casey Mears Germain Racing Chevrolet 267 24
21 10 10 Danica Patrick Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 267 23
22 15 47 A. J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 266 22
23 11 15 Clint Bowyer Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 266 21
24 28 51 Justin Allgaier (R) HScott Motorsports Chevrolet 266 20
25 21 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 266 19
26 17 55 Brian Vickers Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 266 18
27 31 36 Reed Sorenson Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 265 17
28 30 26 Cole Whitt (R) BK Racing Toyota 264 16
29 34 98 Josh Wise Phil Parsons Racing Chevrolet 263 15
30 41 38 David Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 263 14
31 36 34 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 262 13
32 37 40 Landon Cassill Circle Sport Chevrolet 262 0
33 39 83 Ryan Truex (R) BK Racing Toyota 261 11
34 35 32 Travis Kvapil Go FAS Racing Ford 259 10
35 38 33 David Stremme Circle Sport Chevrolet 257 9
36 33 23 Alex Bowman (R) BK Racing Toyota 255 8
37 8 1 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 250 7
38 40 66 Joe Nemechek Identity Ventures Racing Toyota 239 0
39 22 43 Aric Almirola Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 175 5
40 6 42 Kyle Larson (R) Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 75 4
41 42 93 Mike Bliss BK Racing Toyota 30 0
42 4 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 27 2

Race statistics

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Lead changes Cautions Laps Red flags Time of race Average speed
12 6 34 0 2:51:59 139.723 miles per hour (224.862 km/h)

Media

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Television

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

Radio

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PRN Radio
Booth announcers Turn announcers Pit reporters
Lead announcer: Doug Rice
Announcer: Mark Garrow
Turns 1 & 2: Rob Albright
Turns 3 & 4: Pat Patterson
Brett McMillan
Steve Richards
Jim Noble
Wendy Venturini

Standings after the race

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Notes

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  1. ^ Tony Stewart started last, after a transmission change.

References

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  1. ^ "2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Schedule". ESPN. Retrieved 2014-06-23.
  2. ^ "Kentucky Speedway". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. January 3, 2013. Retrieved June 23, 2014.
  3. ^ "Entry List". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. June 23, 2014. Retrieved June 24, 2014.
  4. ^ "First Practice Results". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. June 27, 2014. Archived from the original on July 5, 2014. Retrieved June 27, 2014.
  5. ^ "Final Practice Results". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. June 27, 2014. Archived from the original on July 5, 2014. Retrieved June 27, 2014.
  6. ^ "Qualifying Results". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. June 27, 2014. Archived from the original on July 19, 2014. Retrieved June 28, 2014.
  7. ^ "Quaker State 400 Results". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. June 28, 2014. Retrieved June 29, 2014.
  8. ^ "Drivers Standings". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. June 28, 2014. Retrieved June 29, 2014.
  9. ^ "Manufacturer Standings". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. June 28, 2014. Archived from the original on August 3, 2014. Retrieved June 29, 2014.
  10. ^ Paulsen (July 1, 2014). "Sprint Cup TV Ratings: Season-Low 2.3 Rating For Kentucky Race". SportsMediaWatch.com. Sports Media Watch. Retrieved July 1, 2014.
  11. ^ Pistone, Pete (June 22, 2014). "Edwards Sonoma Road Warrior". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. Archived from the original on June 27, 2014. Retrieved June 23, 2014.
  12. ^ a b Gluck, Jeff (June 27, 2014). "NASCAR Cup race won't have 43 cars at Kentucky Speedway". usatoday.com. Gannett Satellite Information Network, Inc. Retrieved June 27, 2014.
  13. ^ Wackerlin, Jeff (June 27, 2014). "Keselowski Fastest in Kentucky". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. Archived from the original on July 3, 2014. Retrieved June 27, 2014.
  14. ^ Gluck, Jeff (June 28, 2014). "Denny Hamlin has foot 'stinger' after hard hit at Kentucky". usatoday.com. Gannett Satellite Information Network, Inc. Retrieved June 28, 2014.
  15. ^ Bonkowski, Jerry (June 28, 2014). "First big wreck at Kentucky involves Alex Bowman, Aric Almirola, Jamie McMurray and Kasey Kahne". motorsports.nbcsports.com. NBC Sports. Retrieved June 28, 2014.
  16. ^ Long, Dustin (June 28, 2014). "Keselowski Powers to Kentucky Win". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. Archived from the original on July 3, 2014. Retrieved June 29, 2014.
  17. ^ Knight, Chris (June 28, 2014). "Keselowski conquers Kentucky again". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Wire Service. Retrieved June 29, 2014.


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Sprint Cup Series
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2014 Coke Zero 400