The 2014 Kobalt 400 was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race held on March 9, 2014, at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Las Vegas, Nevada. Contested over 267 laps on the 1.5 miles (2.4 km) asphalt tri-oval, it was the third race of the 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Brad Keselowski won the race, his first win of the season, after Dale Earnhardt Jr. ran out of fuel half a lap from the finish. Earnhardt Jr. still finished second, while Paul Menard, Joey Logano, and Carl Edwards rounded out the top five. The top rookies of the race were Austin Dillon (16th), Kyle Larson (19th), and Michael Annett (29th).

2014 Kobalt 400
Race details[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10]
Race 3 of 36 in the 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Date March 9, 2014 (2014-03-09)
Location Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Las Vegas
Course Permanent racing facility
1.5 mi (2.4 km)
Distance 267 laps, 400.5 mi (644.542 km)
Average speed 154.633 mph (248.858 km/h)[11]
Pole position
Driver Team Penske
Time 27.939
Most laps led
Driver Brad Keselowski Team Penske
Laps 53
Winner
No. 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske
Television in the United States
Network Fox & PRN
Announcers Mike Joy, Darrell Waltrip and Larry McReynolds (Television)
Doug Rice and Mark Garrow (Booth)
Rob Albright (1 & 2) and Wendy Venturini (3 & 4) (Turns) (Radio)
Nielsen Ratings 4.5/9 (Final)
4.2/8 (Overnight)
7.2 Million viewers[12]
Joey Logano on pit road during the race. Logano would set a new track record during qualifying.

Previous week's race

edit

Kevin Harvick held off Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the final nine laps to score victory in The Profit on CNBC 500 at Phoenix International Raceway.[13] Harvick praised his Stewart-Haas Racing team for the efforts in the early part of the season, since his move from Richard Childress Racing, stating "to add an extra team, bring in a bunch of new guys, new driver, Rodney Childers has just done a phenomenal job of putting this team together. These guys all want to win that is why they came here".[13] He added that he was "really happy" with the engine that had been provided by Hendrick Motorsports.[13] Earnhardt Jr. was disappointed to miss out on the victory, stating that he "would have loved to have won the race, am a little disappointed to have come that close", but like Harvick, praised his team for their performances, adding that they have "a lot of great chemistry and good communication going back and forth. Everybody's confidence is very high. Everybody's mood and morale is really high".[13]

Report

edit

Background

edit
 
Las Vegas Motor Speedway, the race track where the race was held

The track, Las Vegas Motor Speedway is a four-turn, 1.5 miles (2.4 km) D-shaped oval track that has sanctioned NASCAR Sprint Cup Series events since 1996.[14] After being reconfigured in 2007, the track has a 20° banking in each of the turns, while the rounded front stretch and the back straightaway has a 9° banking.[14] The front stretch, the location of the finish line, is 2,275 feet (693 m) long, 703 feet (214 m) longer than the back straightaway.[14] Las Vegas Motor Speedway also has a grandstand seating capacity of 138,000 people.[14] Matt Kenseth was the defending winner of the race.

Entry list

edit

The entry list for the Kobalt 400 was released on Thursday, March 6 at 3:08 p.m. Eastern time. Forty-eight cars 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
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) Swan Racing Toyota
27 Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
30 Parker Kligerman (R) Swan Racing Toyota
31 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
32 Travis Kvapil Go FAS Racing Ford
33 Timmy Hill Circle Sport Chevrolet
34 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford
35 Blake Koch (i) 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) Team XTREME Racing 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 Jeff Burton 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
87 Joe Nemechek (i) NEMCO Motorsports 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
Key Meaning
(R) Rookie
(i) Ineligible for points
(PC#) Past champions provisional

Practice

edit

First practice

edit

Carl Edwards was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 28.128 and a speed of 191.980 mph (308.962 km/h).

Pos No. Driver Team Manufacturer Time Speed
1 99 Carl Edwards Roush Fenway Racing Ford 28.128 191.980
2 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 28.225 191.320
3 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 28.252 191.137
Official first practice results

Qualifying

edit

The race was the first to use the three-round knockout format for 1.25 miles (2.00 km) and longer tracks.

  • The first round is 25 minutes. Competitors may drive as many laps as they wish, the fastest lap will count.
    • The 24 fastest competitors in the first round advance to the second round.
    • Those finishing in 25th-36th position start based on their speed.
    • Those failing to qualify will have their owner points totals calculated. The six teams with the most owner points (previous year's at this race only) will take 37–42.
    • The most recent former Sprint Cup champion not in the field will then be added, if necessary. If not, the seventh highest team in owner points not in the field will take the 43rd position.
    • Positions 37-43 will be ranked by speed.
  • The second round is ten minutes.
    • The 12 fastest competitors advancing to the final round.
    • Those failing to advance will start 13th-24th based on their speed in the second round.
  • The final round is five minutes.
    • The fastest driver in this round starts first.
    • Positions 2-12 will be determined by their fastest laps in this round only.

Joey Logano won the pole with a new track record time of 27.939 and a speed of 193.278 mph (311.051 km/h),[15] leading a Team Penske front row ahead of Brad Keselowski. Logano stated that to "have a Penske front row the last two weekends at two completely different race tracks just goes to show how hard these guys have been working", while also stating that the team "obviously haven't won on Sunday yet, so we've got to figure out the big show, but we've had some good speed in our cars".[15] Keselowski added that his car needed "a little bit more in race trim", and that he would "get a better idea and read for that tomorrow when we get back in race trim, but qualifying trim I think we've got our cars really refined well for this package and I'm very proud of where we're at".[15]

The issue of cool down laps came up again since NASCAR does not allow teams to use cool down units.[15] Clint Bowyer stated that he was "not a huge fan of the cool down deal", and hoped NASCAR would look into the situation in regards to the closing speeds on track.[15] Kasey Kahne cut a tire down on his cool down lap.[15] Upon exiting his car, Kahne felt that "NASCAR doesn't have enough people to make a call that we can change it" and that he "sat there and waited and we didn't get to cool our car down".[15] Dave Blaney, Landon Cassill, Blake Koch, Joe Nemechek and J. J. Yeley failed to qualify.[15]

Qualifying results

edit
Pos No. Driver Team Manufacturer R1 R2 R3
1 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 28.316 27.993 27.939
2 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 28.247 28.114 27.965
3 15 Clint Bowyer Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 28.197 28.100 28.021
4 3 Austin Dillon (R) Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 28.190 28.150 28.026
5 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 28.298 28.159 28.038
6 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 28.301 28.129 28.038
7 1 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 28.223 28.102 28.067
8 43 Aric Almirola Richard Childress Racing Ford 28.316 28.144 28.076
9 55 Brian Vickers Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 27.980 28.173 28.087
10 31 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 28.317 28.162 28.134
11 99 Carl Edwards Roush Fenway Racing Ford 28.296 28.149 28.185
12 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet 28.212 28.103 28.197
13 5 Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 28.101 28.175
14 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 28.110 28.181
15 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 28.241 28.181
16 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 28.345 28.184
17 42 Kyle Larson (R) Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 28.310 28.199
18 47 A. J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 28.324 28.200
19 66 Jeff Burton Identity Ventures Racing Toyota 28.320 28.208
20 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 28.291 28.216
21 27 Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 28.275 28.282
22 10 Danica Patrick Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 28.258 28.340
23 41 Kurt Busch Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 28.292 28.346
24 14 Tony Stewart Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 28.352 28.494
25 16 Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Racing Ford 28.362
26 34 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 28.437
27 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 28.456
28 26 Cole Whitt (R) Swan Racing Toyota 28.474
29 20 Matt Kenseth Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 28.522
30 13 Casey Mears Germain Racing Chevrolet 28.532
31 98 Josh Wise Phil Parsons Racing Chevrolet 28.594
32 30 Parker Kligerman (R) Swan Racing Toyota 28.596
33 38 David Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 28.619
34 21 Trevor Bayne Wood Brothers Racing Ford 28.658
35 95 Michael McDowell Leavine Family Racing Ford 28.682
36 23 Alex Bowman (R) BK Racing Toyota 28.698
37 51 Justin Allgaier (R) HScott Motorsports Chevrolet 28.813
38 7 Michael Annett (R) Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 28.908
39 83 Ryan Truex (R) BK Racing Toyota 28.991
40 36 Reed Sorenson Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 29.028
41 33 Timmy Hill Circle Sport Chevrolet 29.115
42 32 Travis Kvapil Go FAS Racing Ford 29.135
43 9 Marcos Ambrose Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 29.922
Failed to qualify
44 35 Blake Koch Front Row Motorsports Ford 28.296
45 40 Landon Cassill Hillman-Circle Sport LLC Chevrolet 29.000
46 77 Dave Blaney Randy Humphrey Racing Ford 29.010
47 87 Joe Nemechek Identity Ventures Racing Toyota 29.537
48 44 J. J. Yeley Hillman-Circle Sport LLC Chevrolet 29.827
Official qualifying results

Practice (post-qualifying)

edit

Second practice

edit

Brian Vickers was the fastest in the second practice session with a time of 28.579 and a speed of 188.950 mph (304.086 km/h).

Pos No. Driver Team Manufacturer Time Speed
1 55 Brian Vickers Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 28.579 188.950
2 15 Clint Bowyer Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 28.670 188.350
3 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 28.727 187.976
Official second practice results

Final practice

edit

Jamie McMurray was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 28.886 and a speed of 186.942 mph (300.854 km/h).

Pos No. Driver Team Manufacturer Time Speed
1 1 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 28.886 186.942
2 3 Austin Dillon (R) Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 28.893 186.896
3 15 Clint Bowyer Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 28.900 186.851
Official final practice results

Race

edit

First half

edit
 
Brad Keselowski won the race.

The race began at 3:20 p.m. when Joey Logano led the field to the green flag. The first caution of the race flew on lap 17 after Josh Wise's engine expired on the backstretch. Brad Keselowski stayed out when the leaders pitted and assumed the lead for the restart on lap 23. Immediately thereafter, Keselowski spun his tires and lost the lead to teammate Logano. Debris in turn 3 brought out the second caution of the race on lap 45. Jimmie Johnson took just two tires, and beat Logano in the race off pit road, and led the field to the restart on lap 50. Kyle Busch took the lead from Johnson on lap 77 and held the lead to the next round of pit stops, on lap 96. Dale Earnhardt Jr. inherited the lead for a lap before he pitted, when the lead returned to Busch. Busch retained the lead to almost half distance, when Kevin Harvick took the lead on lap 130. He held the lead until his next pit stop on lap 140.

Second half

edit

Busch, Keselowski and Matt Kenseth each had short spells out front before the lead re-cycled to Harvick, on lap 144. Debris on the backstretch brought out the third caution of the race on lap 155. Keselowski stayed out when the others pitted, to retake the lead for the restart on lap 161. With 73 laps to go, Harvick started having engine troubles that took him out of the race; this was the first of five straight races where he was plagued by mechanical trouble. The following lap, Keselowski gave up the lead to pit, when Johnson reclaimed the lead. Paul Menard moved to the front with 68 laps to go, but pitted with 62 laps to go and Johnson assumed the lead. He pitted the next lap to pass the lead to Earnhardt. Denny Hamlin took the lead with 56 laps to go, but pitted the next lap and the lead returned to Keselowski. Debris on the frontstretch brought out the fourth caution with 47 laps to go. Earnhardt Jr. stayed out when the leaders pitted to take the lead for the restart with 42 laps to go.

Final lap

edit

On the final lap of the race, Earnhardt Jr. ran out of gas exiting turn 2 and Keselowski passed him to take the checkered flag.[16] Keselowski praised his Team Penske organization, stating that they were "just doing everything so well right now", while also stating his pleasure with the victory and the added bonus of being a competitor in the Chase for the Sprint Cup later in the season, stating that he did not "have to hear all that crap all year long about not being in the Chase".[16] Earnhardt Jr. was disappointed with the way that his race finished, describing running out of gas as "tough", while stating that he and his team "have got a good thing going, we've got to be positive. We've got to keep trying to win races. I know my fans are disappointed, but we got to stay positive".[16]

Race results

edit
Pos Grid No. Driver Team Manufacturer Laps Points
1 2 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 267 48
2 14 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 267 43
3 21 27 Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 267 42
4 1 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 267 41
5 11 99 Carl Edwards Roush Fenway Racing Ford 267 40
6 5 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 267 39
7 10 31 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 267 37
8 13 5 Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 267 36
9 15 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 267 35
10 29 20 Matt Kenseth Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 267 35
11 20 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 267 34
12 27 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 267 33
13 9 55 Brian Vickers Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 267 31
14 12 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet 267 30
15 7 1 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 267 29
16 4 3 Austin Dillon (R) Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 267 28
17 19 66 Jeff Burton Identity Ventures Racing Toyota 267 27
18 18 47 A. J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 267 26
19 17 42 Kyle Larson (R) Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 266 25
20 34 21 Trevor Bayne Wood Brothers Racing Ford 266 0
21 22 10 Danica Patrick Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 266 23
22 25 16 Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Racing Ford 266 22
23 3 15 Clint Bowyer Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 266 21
24 43 9 Marcos Ambrose Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 264 20
25 8 43 Aric Almirola Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 264 19
26 23 41 Kurt Busch Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 264 18
27 6 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 264 17
28 30 13 Casey Mears Germain Racing Chevrolet 264 16
29 38 7 Michael Annett (R) Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 264 15
30 33 38 David Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 264 14
31 37 51 Justin Allgaier (R) HScott Motorsports Chevrolet 264 13
32 26 34 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 263 12
33 24 14 Tony Stewart Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 263 11
34 40 36 Reed Sorenson Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 262 10
35 39 83 Ryan Truex (R) BK Racing Toyota 261 9
36 28 26 Cole Whitt (R) Swan Racing Toyota 261 8
37 26 23 Alex Bowman (R) BK Racing Toyota 259 7
38 41 33 Timmy Hill Circle Sport Chevrolet 258 6
39 42 32 Travis Kvapil Go FAS Racing Ford 253 5
40 32 30 Parker Kligerman (R) Swan Racing Toyota 240 4
41 16 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 237 4
42 31 98 Josh Wise Phil Parsons Racing Chevrolet 212 2
43 35 95 Michael McDowell Leavine Family Racing Ford 141 1

Race summary

edit
  • Lead changes: 21 among different drivers
  • Cautions/Laps: 4 for 18
  • Red flags: 0
  • Time of race: 2 hours, 35 minutes and 24 seconds
  • Average speed: 154.633 miles per hour (248.858 km/h)

Media

edit

Television

edit
Fox Sports
Booth announcers Pit reporters
Lap-by-lap: Mike Joy
Color-commentator: Larry McReynolds
Color commentator: Darrell Waltrip
Matt Yocum
Steve Byrnes
Krista Voda
Jeff Hammond

Radio

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

Standings after the race

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ "Sprint Cup Series Schedule". ESPN. ESPN Internet Ventures. Retrieved March 7, 2014.
  2. ^ "Las Vegas Motor Speedway". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. January 3, 2013. Retrieved November 22, 2014.
  3. ^ "Entry List". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. March 3, 2014. Archived from the original on March 11, 2014. Retrieved November 22, 2014.
  4. ^ "First Practice Results". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. March 7, 2014. Archived from the original on March 12, 2014. Retrieved November 22, 2014.
  5. ^ "Qualifying Results". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. March 7, 2014. Archived from the original on March 10, 2014. Retrieved November 22, 2014.
  6. ^ "Second Practice Results". MRN.com. March 8, 2014. Archived from the original on March 12, 2014. Retrieved November 22, 2014.
  7. ^ "Final Practice Results". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. March 8, 2014. Archived from the original on March 12, 2014. Retrieved November 22, 2014.
  8. ^ "Kobalt 400 Results". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. March 9, 2014. Archived from the original on December 5, 2014. Retrieved November 27, 2014.
  9. ^ "Points Standings" (PDF). jayski.com. NASCAR Integrated Marketing Communications. March 9, 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 22, 2014. Retrieved November 27, 2014.
  10. ^ "Manufacturer Standings". jayski.com. Jayski, LLC,. March 9, 2014. Archived from the original on December 4, 2014. Retrieved November 27, 2014.
  11. ^ "Statistics". MRN. Motor Racing Network. March 9, 2014. Archived from the original on March 10, 2014. Retrieved March 9, 2014.
  12. ^ "Nielsen Ratings". Jayski.com. Jayski LLC. Archived from the original on April 2, 2014. Retrieved March 24, 2014.
  13. ^ a b c d Pistone, Pete (March 2, 2014). "Harvick Dominates in the Desert". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. Archived from the original on November 29, 2014. Retrieved November 21, 2014.
  14. ^ a b c d "Las Vegas Motor Speedway". CBS Sports. CBS Broadcasting Inc. March 6, 2013. Retrieved March 6, 2013.
  15. ^ a b c d e f g h Wackerlin, Jeff (March 7, 2014). "Penske Sweeps Front Row Again". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. Archived from the original on March 15, 2014. Retrieved November 22, 2014.
  16. ^ a b c Pistone, Pete (March 9, 2014). "Keselowski Doubles Down in Vegas". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. Archived from the original on December 5, 2014. Retrieved November 27, 2014.


Previous race:
2014 The Profit on CNBC 500
Sprint Cup Series
2014 season
Next race:
2014 Food City 500