2014 Quicken Loans 400

The 2014 Quicken Loans 400 was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race that was held on June 15, 2014, at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Michigan. Contested over 200 laps on the 2 miles (3.2 km) superspeedway, it was the 15th race of the 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Jimmie Johnson won the race, his third win of the season and his first at Michigan. Kevin Harvick finished second, while Brad Keselowski, Paul Menard, and Kasey Kahne rounded out the Top 5. The top rookies in the race were Kyle Larson (8th), Justin Allgaier (16th), and Michael Annett (21st).

2014 Quicken Loans 400 Challenge
Race details[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10]
Race 15 of 36 in the 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Date June 15, 2014 (2014-06-15)
Location Michigan International Speedway, Brooklyn, Michigan
Course Permanent racing facility
2 mi (3.2 km)
Distance 200 laps, 400 mi (643.737 km)
Weather Sunny with a temperature around 76 °F (24 °C); wind out of the SSE at 13 miles per hour (21 km/h).
Average speed 143.441 mph (230.846 km/h)
Pole position
Driver Stewart-Haas Racing
Time 35.198
Most laps led
Driver Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing
Laps 63
Winner
No. 48 Jimmie Johnson 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 & 2) and Mike Bagley (3 & 4) (Turns) (Radio)
Nielsen Ratings 2.7/7
4.254 Million viewers[11]

Previous week's race

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At Pocono Raceway, Dale Earnhardt Jr. took the lead from Brad Keselowski with five laps to go and took the checkered flag in the Pocono 400. Earnhardt made the winning move after Keselowski slowed his car behind Danica Patrick to remove trash from the grill opening on the front of his car. "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 was disappointed with the finish. "It was running really hot, the motor was going to blow up. I had to do something. We had a really fast car, but had a piece of debris and had to do something. I had to do some kind of move or it wasn't going to make it. I should have just run it. I didn't think it would make it, but maybe it would have."[12]

Report

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Background

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Michigan International Speedway's front stretch, view from the infield early on race day.

The track, Michigan International Speedway, is a four-turn superspeedway that is 2 miles (3.2 km) long.[13] Opened in 1960, the track's turns are banked at eighteen degrees, while the 3,600-foot-long front stretch, the location of the finish line, is banked at twelve degrees.[13] The back stretch, has a five degree banking and is 2,242 feet long.[13] Michigan International Speedway has a grandstand seating capacity of 84,000 people.[13] Greg Biffle is the defending race winner after winning the race in 2013.

Entry list

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The entry list for the Quicken Loans 400 was released on Tuesday, June 10, 2014 at 8:30 a.m. Eastern time. Forty-four drivers were entered for 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
12 Juan Pablo Montoya Team Penske Ford
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 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
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 Brett Moffitt 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
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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Kasey Kahne was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 35.410 and a speed of 203.332 mph (327.231 km/h).

Pos No. Driver Team Manufacturer Time Speed
1 5 Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 35.410 203.332
2 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 35.478 202.943
3 41 Kurt Busch Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 35.524 202.680
Official first practice results

Qualifying

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Kevin Harvick won the pole, setting a new track record.

Kevin Harvick won the pole with, both a new track record time and the fastest qualifying speed since 1987, a time of 35.198 and a speed of 204.557 mph (329.203 km/h).[14] "I think that is just a credit on our Budweiser and Stewart-Haas race team for putting fast race cars on the track," Harvick said. "When you put it together with the Hendrick Motorsports engine package it creates a lot of speed and it makes coming to these place a lot of fun. Really excited to start on the pole and get that first pit box and hopefully we can put the whole day together on Sunday." Jeff Gordon, who qualified second, stated that he had "put up a heck of a lap ... just not enough to get Harvick".[15] Ryan Truex was the only driver that failed to qualify.

Qualifying results

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Pos No. Driver Team Manufacturer R1 R2 R3
1 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 35.295 35.470 35.198
2 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 35.541 35.707 35.333
3 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 35.638 35.723 35.341
4 43 Aric Almirola Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 35.702 35.830 35.433
5 27 Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 35.640 35.686 35.461
6 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 35.532 35.553 35.484
7 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 35.796 35.768 35.573
8 41 Kurt Busch Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 35.845 35.770 35.636
9 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 35.849 35.708 35.638
10 55 Brian Vickers Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 35.772 35.680 35.762
11 1 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 35.577 35.656 35.912
12 42 Kyle Larson (R) Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 35.572 35.800 0.000
13 5 Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 35.629 35.843
14 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 35.717 35.849
15 15 Clint Bowyer Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 35.806 35.851
16 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet 35.796 35.853
17 51 Justin Allgaier (R) HScott Motorsports Chevrolet 35.834 35.869
18 16 Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Racing Ford 35.651 35.907
19 3 Austin Dillon (R) Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 35.646 35.918
20 9 Marcos Ambrose Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 35.739 35.977
21 20 Matt Kenseth Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 35.802 36.006
22 99 Carl Edwards Roush Fenway Racing Ford 35.830 36.084
23 21 Trevor Bayne Wood Brothers Racing Ford 35.737 36.087
24 31 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 35.756 36.151
25 47 A. J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 35.850
26 14 Tony Stewart Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 35.918
27 10 Danica Patrick Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 35.919
28 12 Juan Pablo Montoya Team Penske Ford 35.961
29 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 36.012
30 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 36.045
31 13 Casey Mears Germain Racing Chevrolet 36.069
32 38 David Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 36.255
33 34 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 36.259
34 66 Brett Moffitt (R) Identity Ventures Racing Toyota 36.300
35 44 J. J. Yeley Xxxtreme Motorsport Chevrolet 36.382
36 33 David Stremme[N 1] Circle Sport Chevrolet 36.425
37 7 Michael Annett (R) Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 36.476
38 98 Josh Wise Phil Parsons Racing Chevrolet 36.554
39 40 Landon Cassill Circle Sport Chevrolet 36.629
40 36 Reed Sorenson Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 36.685
41 23 Alex Bowman (R) BK Racing Toyota 36.841
42 26 Cole Whitt (R) BK Racing Toyota 36.899
43 32 Travis Kvapil Go FAS Racing Ford 36.930
Did not qualify
44 83 Ryan Truex (R) BK Racing Toyota 36.561
Official qualifying results

Practice (post-qualifying)

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Second practice

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Jimmie Johnson was the fastest in the second practice session with a time of 35.634 and a speed of 202.054 mph (325.174 km/h).

Pos No. Driver Team Manufacturer Time Speed
1 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 35.634 202.054
2 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 35.692 201.726
3 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 35.722 201.556
Official second practice results

Final practice

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Kyle Larson was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 36.286 and a speed of 198.424 mph (319.332 km/h).

Pos No. Driver Team Manufacturer Time Speed
1 42 Kyle Larson (R) Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 36.286 198.424
2 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 36.315 198.265
3 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 36.320 198.238
Official final practice results

Race

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Michigan International Speedway, before the race.

First half

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Start

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The race was scheduled to start at 1:15 p.m. Eastern time but started five minutes later, with Kevin Harvick leading the field to the green flag. Brian Vickers got loose and hit the wall in turn three and was T-boned by Travis Kvapil to bring out the first caution of the race, on the opening lap. The race restarted on lap seven, before Kyle Larson got loose off turn two and went spinning to bring out the second caution. Kasey Kahne, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Martin Truex Jr. were also involved. The race restarted on lap 12 and finally completed a lap under green. Jeff Gordon took the race lead from Harvick on lap 19, before green flag stops began on lap 38. Brad Keselowski took the lead on lap 43, as he was the last car to pit, and the lead cycled back to Gordon.

Gordon got caught in lapped traffic and Harvick retook the lead on lap 57. Debris in turn three brought out the third caution on lap 72. Jimmie Johnson took the lead from Harvick during the pit cycle. Johnson led the field to the green on the restart and Kyle Busch, who restarted sixth, did not get going and had to come down pit road due to a burnt left-rear wheel hub. Joey Logano took the lead from Johnson on the restart, for the sixth lead change of the race on lap 78, before Johnson retook the lead from Logano on lap 92. David Ragan brought out the fourth caution of the race on lap 103 for a spin in turn four, and Harvick retook the lead during the pit cycle and led the field to the restart on lap 108. Alex Bowman brought out the fifth caution on lap 110, when he hit the wall in turn two.

 
Racing action after a restart during the race.

Second half

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Harvick led the field to the restart on lap 114 and Brett Moffitt brought out the sixth caution when he spun through turn four, with Harvick leading the field to the restart once again, on lap 120. Denny Hamlin got loose in turn three, making contact with Aric Almirola and spun to bring out the seventh caution of the race, on lap 122. Harvick stayed out when most of the other cars came in to pit, and led the field to the restart on lap 128. Joey Logano took the lead on the restart, but later in the run, Harvick retook the lead on lap 142. Debris in turn two brought out the eighth caution on lap 148. Jamie McMurray stayed out during the pit cycle to take the lead, while Larson was caught speeding off pit road.

Closing laps

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Jimmie Johnson won the race.

McMurray led the field to the restart on lap 153 but he spun the tires and gave the lead back to Johnson. Johnson gave up the lead to make his final stop on lap 165 and gave the lead back to Jamie McMurray, with the lead changing hands seven times – passing to Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kurt Busch, Kahne, Larson, Austin Dillon, Tony Stewart and Matt Kenseth – before Johnson retook the lead with ten laps to go and scored his third win of the 2014 season and first at Michigan.[16] Johnson reflected upon this in a post-race interview, stating that he "had figured out every way to lose this race" and that he "knew we were in the catbird seat and were able to take advantage of it".[17] Harvick described his car as "fast, just wound up on the wrong side of all the strategy".[18]

Race results

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Pos Grid No. Driver Team Manufacturer Laps Points
1 7 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 200 47
2 1 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 200 44
3 6 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 200 42
4 5 27 Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 200 40
5 13 5 Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 200 40
6 2 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 200 39
7 3 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 200 38
8 12 42 Kyle Larson (R) Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 200 37
9 9 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 200 36
10 15 15 Clint Bowyer Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 200 34
11 26 14 Tony Stewart Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 200 34
12 11 1 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 200 33
13 8 41 Kurt Busch Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 200 32
14 21 20 Matt Kenseth Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 200 31
15 24 31 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 200 29
16 17 51 Justin Allgaier (R) HScott Motorsports Chevrolet 200 28
17 27 10 Danica Patrick Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 200 27
18 28 12 Juan Pablo Montoya Team Penske Ford 200 26
19 28 21 Trevor Bayne Wood Brothers Racing Ford 200 0
20 18 16 Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Racing Ford 200 24
21 37 7 Michael Annett (R) Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 199 23
22 25 47 A. J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 199 22
23 22 99 Carl Edwards Roush Fenway Racing Ford 199 21
24 31 13 Casey Mears Germain Racing Chevrolet 199 20
25 20 9 Marcos Ambrose Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 199 19
26 32 38 David Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 198 18
27 30 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 198 17
28 42 26 Cole Whitt (R) BK Racing Toyota 198 16
29 29 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 198 15
30 19 3 Austin Dillon (R) Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 197 15
31 4 43 Aric Almirola Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 197 13
32 40 36 Reed Sorenson Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 197 12
33 38 98 Josh Wise Phil Parsons Racing Chevrolet 197 11
34 34 66 Brett Moffitt (R) Identity Ventures Racing Toyota 197 10
35 39 40 Landon Cassill Circle Sport Chevrolet 197 0
36 35 44 J. J. Yeley Xxxtreme Motorsports Chevrolet 197 0
37 16 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet 196 7
38 33 34 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 196 6
39 36 33 David Stremme Circle Sport Chevrolet 195 5
40 41 23 Alex Bowman (R) BK Racing Toyota 169 4
41 14 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 169 3
42 10 55 Brian Vickers Michael Waltrip Racing Ford 110 2
43 43 32 Travis Kvapil Go FAS Racing Ford 23 1

Race statistics

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  • Lead changes: 25 among different drivers
  • Cautions/Laps: 8 for 36
  • Red flags: 0
  • Time of race: 2 hours, 47 minutes and 19 seconds
  • Average speed: 143.441 miles per hour (230.846 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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MRN Radio
Booth announcers Turn announcers Pit reporters
Lead announcer: Joe Moore
Announcer: Barney Hall
Announcer: Jeff Striegle
Turns 1 & 2: Dave Moody
Turns 3 & 4: Mike Bagley
Winston Kelly
Steve Post
Alex Hayden
Woody Cain

Standings after the race

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Note

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  1. ^ David Stremme started last due to an engine change.

References

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  1. ^ "2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Schedule". ESPN. Retrieved 2014-06-09.
  2. ^ "Michigan International Speedway". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. January 3, 2013. Retrieved June 9, 2014.
  3. ^ "Entry List". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. June 10, 2014. Retrieved June 13, 2014.
  4. ^ "First Practice Results". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. June 13, 2014. Archived from the original on June 17, 2014. Retrieved June 13, 2014.
  5. ^ "Qualifying Results". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. June 13, 2014. Archived from the original on June 17, 2014. Retrieved June 13, 2014.
  6. ^ "Second Practice Results". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. June 14, 2014. Archived from the original on June 17, 2014. Retrieved June 14, 2014.
  7. ^ "Final Practice Results". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. June 14, 2014. Archived from the original on June 17, 2014. Retrieved June 14, 2014.
  8. ^ "Quicken Loans 400 Results". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. June 15, 2014. Retrieved June 15, 2014.
  9. ^ "Points Standings". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. June 15, 2014. Retrieved June 15, 2014.
  10. ^ Staff Report (June 15, 2014). "Manufacturer Standings". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. Retrieved June 15, 2014.
  11. ^ Paulsen (June 17, 2014). "Sprint Cup TV Ratings: Michigan Race Hits Multi-Year Low on TNT". SportsMediaWatch.com. Sports Media Watch. Retrieved June 18, 2014.
  12. ^ Pistone, Pete (June 8, 2014). "First Pocono Win for Earnhardt". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. Archived from the original on June 12, 2014. Retrieved June 9, 2014.
  13. ^ a b c d "Michigan International Speedway". CBS Sports. Archived from the original on 2012-10-19. Retrieved 2013-06-11.
  14. ^ Utter, Jim (June 13, 2014). "Kevin Harvick fastest since '87 in NASCAR qualifying, takes Michigan pole". CharlotteObserver.com. The Charlotte Observer. Archived from the original on June 14, 2014. Retrieved June 14, 2014.
  15. ^ Wackerlin, Jeff (June 13, 2014). "Harvick Smashes Track Record". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. Archived from the original on June 16, 2014. Retrieved June 13, 2014.
  16. ^ Held, Scott (June 15, 2014). "Johnson emerges for first Michigan victory". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. Retrieved June 15, 2014.
  17. ^ Oreovicz, John (June 15, 2014). "Johnson, Knaus hit right strategy". ESPN.com. ESPN Internet Ventures. Retrieved June 15, 2014.
  18. ^ Long, Dustin (June 15, 2014). "Johnson Adds Michigan to Win List". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. Archived from the original on June 18, 2014. Retrieved June 15, 2014.


Previous race:
2014 Pocono 400
Sprint Cup Series
2014 season
Next race:
2014 Toyota/Save Mart 350