2014 Duck Commander 500

The 2014 Duck Commander 500 was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race held on April 7, 2014, at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas. Contested over 340 laps – extended from 334 laps, due to a green–white–checker finish – on the 1.5 miles (2.4 km) quad-oval, it was the seventh race of the 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Joey Logano of Team Penske won the race, while Jeff Gordon finished second and Kyle Busch, Brian Vickers, and the best placed rookie Kyle Larson rounded out the top five. After Larson, the top rookies of the race were Austin Dillon in 21st, and Justin Allgaier in 24th place.

2014 Duck Commander 500
Race details[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9]
Race 7 of 36 in the 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Date April 7, 2014 (2014-04-07)
Location Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas
Course Permanent racing facility
1.5 mi (2.4 km)
Distance 340 laps, 510.000 mi (820.765 km)
Scheduled Distance 334 laps, 501.000 mi (806.281 km)
Weather Partly cloudy with a temperature of 55 °F (13 °C), wind out of the northwest at 10 mph (16 km/h)
Average speed 134.191 mph (215.959 km/h)
Pole position
Driver Stewart-Haas Racing
Time 27.628
Most laps led
Driver Joey Logano Team Penske
Laps 108
Winner
No. 22 Joey Logano 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 Brad Gillie (3 & 4) (Turns) (Radio)
Nielsen Ratings 2.4/4 (Final)
2.1/4 (Overnight)
3.8 Million viewers[10]

Previous week's race

Kurt Busch took the lead with ten laps to go and held off Jimmie Johnson to end an 83-race winless streak drought, and score his 25th career victory in the STP 500 at Martinsville Speedway.[11] Busch stated that he "didn't know if we'd be able to do it, you know? The 48 car is king here, him or the 24", and that he had "been on this journey for a while and every time you come to Martinsville, you just kind of draw a line through it like there's no way I'll be able to challenge those Hendrick guys or be up in the top 10. This Stewart-Haas team gave me a car to do it."[11] Johnson, who led 296 laps, stated that his car was "so on edge slipping and sliding" and that a "lack of security in our own car kept us from feeling more racy and putting a bumper to someone or really getting inside someone aggressively".[11]

Report

Texas Motor Speedway, the race track where the race was held.

Background

Texas Motor Speedway is a four-turn quad-oval track that is 1.5 miles (2.4 km) long.[12] The track's turns are banked at twenty-four degrees, while the front stretch, the location of the finish line, is five degrees. The back stretch, opposite of the front, also has a five degree banking.[12] The racetrack has a permanent capacity of 138,122 spectators, and an infield capacity of 53,000.[12] The defending champion from 2013 was Kyle Busch.

Entry list

The entry list for the Duck Commander 500 was released on Tuesday, April 1 at 10:16 a.m. Eastern time. Forty-six cars were included on the initial list. J. J. Yeley, who wasn't running for points in the Sprint Cup Series, was a post cutoff entry (13 days prior to the race) and wouldn't have received owners points had he made the race which he didn't.

No. Driver Team Manufacturer
1Jamie McMurrayChip Ganassi RacingChevrolet
2Brad Keselowski (PC2)Team PenskeFord
3Austin Dillon (R)Richard Childress RacingChevrolet
4Kevin HarvickStewart-Haas RacingChevrolet
5Kasey KahneHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet
7Michael Annett (R)Tommy Baldwin RacingChevrolet
9Marcos AmbroseRichard Petty MotorsportsFord
10Danica PatrickStewart-Haas RacingChevrolet
11Denny HamlinJoe Gibbs RacingToyota
13Casey MearsGermain RacingChevrolet
14Tony Stewart (PC3)Stewart-Haas RacingChevrolet
15Clint BowyerMichael Waltrip RacingToyota
16Greg BiffleRoush-Fenway RacingFord
17Ricky Stenhouse Jr.Roush-Fenway RacingFord
18Kyle BuschJoe Gibbs RacingToyota
20Matt Kenseth (PC5)Joe Gibbs RacingToyota
21Trevor Bayne (i)Wood Brothers RacingFord
22Joey LoganoTeam PenskeFord
23Alex Bowman (R)BK RacingToyota
24Jeff Gordon (PC6)Hendrick MotorsportsChevrolet
26Cole Whitt (R)Swan RacingToyota
27Paul MenardRichard Childress RacingChevrolet
30Parker Kligerman (R)Swan RacingToyota
31Ryan NewmanRichard Childress RacingChevrolet
32Travis KvapilGo FAS RacingFord
33David StremmeCircle SportChevrolet
34David RaganFront Row MotorsportsFord
35David ReutimannFront Row MotorsportsFord
36Reed SorensonTommy Baldwin RacingChevrolet
38David GillilandFront Row MotorsportsFord
40Landon Cassill (i)Circle SportChevrolet
41Kurt Busch (PC4)Stewart-Haas RacingChevrolet
42Kyle Larson (R)Chip Ganassi RacingChevrolet
43Aric AlmirolaRichard Petty MotorsportsFord
44J. J. Yeley (i)Team XTREME RacingChevrolet
47A. J. AllmendingerJTG Daugherty RacingChevrolet
48Jimmie Johnson (PC1)Hendrick MotorsportsChevrolet
51Justin Allgaier (R)HScott MotorsportsChevrolet
55Brian VickersMichael Waltrip RacingToyota
66Joe Nemechek (i)Michael Waltrip RacingToyota
77Dave BlaneyRandy Humphrey RacingFord
78Martin Truex Jr.Furniture Row RacingChevrolet
83Ryan Truex (R)BK RacingToyota
88Dale Earnhardt Jr.Hendrick MotorsportsChevrolet
95Michael McDowellLeavine Family RacingFord
98Josh WisePhil Parsons RacingChevrolet
99Carl EdwardsRoush-Fenway RacingFord
Official entry list
Key Meaning
(R) Rookie
(i) Ineligible for points
(PC#) Past champions provisional

Practice

First practice

Jimmie Johnson was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 27.945 and a speed of 193.237 mph (310.985 km/h). During first practice, Kurt Busch cut his left-rear tire and went nose first into the wall in turn 3. This necessitated rolling out his backup car along with David Ragan who went spinning through the infield and destroyed the nose of his car. Because these changes took place before qualifying, neither had to start from the rear.

Pos No. Driver Team Manufacturer Time Speed
1 48Jimmie JohnsonHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet27.945193.237
2 16Greg BiffleRoush Fenway RacingFord28.117192.055
3 31Ryan NewmanRichard Childress RacingChevrolet28.189191.564
Official first practice results

Final practice

Kurt Busch was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 27.745 and a speed of 194.630 mph (313.227 km/h).

Pos No. Driver Team Manufacturer Time Speed
1 41Kurt BuschStewart-Haas RacingChevrolet27.745194.630
2 99Carl EdwardsRoush Fenway RacingFord27.747194.616
3 4Kevin HarvickStewart-Haas RacingChevrolet27.788194.328
Official final practice results

Qualifying

Tony Stewart scored the pole position.

Tony Stewart won the pole with a time of 27.628 and a speed of 195.454 mph (314.553 km/h).[13] Stewart stated that his entire team had "been doing an awesome job", and this his pole position was "the first time I've been able to do something impressive for the team, so I'm excited about that".[13] Brad Keselowski joined Stewart on the front row, expressing that he had "put down a great lap" and that he "didn't see that coming".[13] Four drivers failed to qualify, with Ryan Truex, David Stremme, J. J. Yeley, and Joe Nemechek not making the field.[13]

Qualifying results

Pos No. Driver Team Manufacturer R1 R2 R3
1 14Tony StewartStewart-Haas RacingChevrolet27.62227.58127.628
2 2Brad KeselowskiTeam PenskeFord27.57427.63827.633
3 4Kevin HarvickStewart-Haas RacingChevrolet27.23427.59327.650
4 16Greg BiffleRoush Fenway RacingFord27.57627.51827.735
5 99Carl EdwardsRoush Fenway RacingFord27.42327.70527.744
6 11Denny HamlinJoe Gibbs RacingToyota27.68927.79227.746
7 21Trevor BayneWood Brothers RacingFord27.34527.67827.763
8 31Ryan NewmanRichard Childress RacingChevrolet27.47027.71427.815
9 9Marcos AmbroseRichard Petty MotorsportsFord27.56227.79627.827
10 22Joey LoganoTeam PenskeFord27.50627.64027.872
11 41Kurt BuschStewart-Haas RacingChevrolet27.47427.74627.961
12 24Jeff GordonHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet27.62027.68628.112
13 27Paul MenardRichard Childress RacingChevrolet27.67927.798
14 42Kyle Larson (R)Chip Ganassi RacingChevrolet27.63427.823
15 1Jamie McMurrayChip Ganassi RacingChevrolet27.65727.832
16 48Jimmie JohnsonHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet27.52227.834
17 43Aric AlmirolaRichard Petty MotorsportsFord27.62927.894
18 78Martin Truex Jr.Furniture Row RacingChevrolet27.53027.908
19 88Dale Earnhardt Jr.Hendrick MotorsportsChevrolet27.49827.928
20 3Austin Dillon (R)Richard Childress RacingChevrolet27.43227.957
21 13Casey MearsGermain RacingChevrolet27.62427.957
22 51Justin Allgaier (R)HScott MotorsportsChevrolet27.65627.982
23 55Brian VickersMichael Waltrip RacingToyota27.65128.013
24 10Danica PatrickStewart-Haas RacingChevrolet27.55528.014
25 15Clint BowyerMichael Waltrip RacingToyota27.694
26 20Matt KensethJoe Gibbs RacingToyota27.744
27 7Michael Annett (R)Tommy Baldwin RacingChevrolet27.749
28 95Michael McDowellLeavine Family RacingToyota27.752
29 18Kyle BuschJoe Gibbs RacingToyota27.758
30 23Alex Bowman (R)BK RacingToyota27.770
31 17Ricky Stenhouse Jr.Roush Fenway RacingFord27.772
32 5Kasey KahneHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet27.831
33 47A. J. AllmendingerJTG Daugherty RacingChevrolet27.891
34 35David ReutimannFront Row MotorsportsFord27.986
35 77Dave BlaneyRandy Humphrey RacingFord28.049
36 30Parker Kligerman (R)Swan RacingToyota28.093
37 32Travis KvapilGo FAS RacingFord28.100
38 36Reed SorensonTommy Baldwin RacingChevrolet28.162
39 38David GillilandFront Row MotorsportsFord28.180
40 40Landon CassillCircle SportChevrolet28.212
41 98Josh WisePhil Parsons RacingChevrolet28.238
42 26Cole Whitt (R)Swan RacingToyota28.566
43 34David RaganFront Row MotorsportsFord28.748
Did not qualify
44 33David StremmeCircle SportChevrolet28.308
45 83Ryan Truex (R)BK RacingToyota28.511
46 66Joe NemechekIdentity Ventures RacingToyota28.634
47 44J. J. YeleyTeam XTREME RacingChevrolet29.120
Official qualifying results

Race

Joey Logano won the race.

The race was scheduled to start at 3:16 p.m. Eastern time, but was delayed by rain.[14] NASCAR subsequently moved the race to Monday, with an expected start time of 12:00 p.m. Eastern time.[15]

The race began under caution at 12:11 p.m. with Tony Stewart leading the field. These were the first laps he led all season. During the caution period, one of the jet dryers on the backstretch caused the hood pins of Brad Keselowski's car to come off, knocking up the hood and subsequently forcing him and Ryan Newman to pit to fix it. Just like a real jet engine, the jet dryers that are used to dry the race track blow hot air at very high pressure. Even though the race was already underway, he and Newman were allowed to retake their original spots in the running order. Clint Bowyer and Kyle Busch also pitted to check out the hoods of their cars.

After ten laps of caution to start the race, the green flag waived with Stewart leading the way. Only two laps later, the second caution of the race flew after points leader Dale Earnhardt Jr. cut through the grass in the tri-oval which was very wet from two days of downpours. The car went straight into the wall hard on fire and came to a stop on the apron in turn 2.[16] “I was following the 43 (Aric Almirola) and just didn’t see the grass,’’ Earnhardt said. “That’s the thing with these cars is you can’t really see good at that angle, so I didn’t have a good visual where the grass was. Just a mistake on my part. I didn’t know I was that close to the grass. I’m disappointed. I don’t like it when I made the mistake there. That’s going to bother me for a while.’’[16] Jimmie Johnson, who was riding behind his teammate, sustained heavy damage to his nose and caved in the windshield. These cars have a Lexan glass behind the glass windshield to protect the driver.

The race restarted on lap 25. Kevin Harvick led a lap before handing the lead back to his teammate (and owner), but for the fifth straight race, his car had a mechanical failure (engine failure) on lap 29 that took him out of the race.

The third caution of the race flew on lap 49 (competition caution). Reed Sorenson stayed out to lead a lap under the caution before making his stop.

The race restarted on lap 54 with Tony Stewart leading the way.

On lap 71, Stewart became the all-time leader in laps led at Texas Motor Speedway.

Brad Keselowski took the lead on lap 77.

Keselowski surrendered the lead to make his pit stop on lap 97 and handed the lead to Jeff Gordon.

Gordon made his stop on lap 99 and the lead cycled back to Brad.

Denny Hamlin took the lead on lap 122.

Hamlin gave up the lead to pit on lap 141 and Jeff Gordon retook the lead. Denny had to serve a drive-through penalty for speeding on pit road.

Gordon pitted on lap 143 and handed the lead to Kyle Busch. He didn't stay in front for long as Jeff passed him for the lead on lap 153.

The fourth caution of the race flew on lap 176 after Kurt Busch went sliding through the grass on the front stretch trying to slow down to hit pit road.

The race restarted on lap 184. Brad Keselowski edged out Jeff Gordon at the line to take the lead.

The fifth caution of the race flew on lap 219 after Kurt Busch cut down his left-rear tire and spun out in turn 1.

The race restarted on lap 227 and Joey Logano took the lead from his teammate.

Debris on the front stretch brought out the sixth caution with 80 laps to go.

The race restarted with 74 laps to go.

Logano hit pit road with 35 laps to go and handed the lead to Denny Hamlin.

Hamlin ducked onto pit road the next lap and handed the lead to Clint Bowyer.

Bowyer gave up the lead the next lap to pit and Joey Logano cycled back to the lead.

A third cut down left-rear tire from Kurt Busch's car brought out the seventh caution of the race with two laps to go. Jeff Gordon exited pit road as the leader by taking just two right-side tires. Brad Keselowski exited fourth, but was forced to serve a drive-through penalty for speeding on pit road. He would end up finishing 15th.

The race restarted with two laps to go (past its scheduled distance).

Joey Logano passed Jeff Gordon on the final lap to score the victory.[17] "Talk about a lot of emotion," Logano said. "You feel like you are about to win the race and then the caution comes out when you come to take the white and you’re like, ‘You’ve got to be kidding me.'"[17] “That was a great battle,” said Gordon. “At one point I thought we had a shot at it. We got a pretty good restart. Joey was right on me and I was pretty loose in one and two, and I wish I had gone a little bit higher in three and four. But, he got that run off of four and he got in the back of me, and I thought I was going to wreck, so at that point I was like second would be good."[17]

Race results

Pos Grid No. Driver Team Manufacturer Laps Points
1 1022Joey LoganoTeam PenskeFord34048
2 1224Jeff GordonHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet34043
3 2918Kyle BuschJoe Gibbs RacingToyota34042
4 2355Brian VickersMichael Waltrip RacingToyota34040
5 1442Kyle Larson (R)Chip Ganassi RacingChevrolet34039
6 416Greg BiffleRoush Fenway RacingFord34038
7 2620Matt KensethJoe Gibbs RacingToyota34037
8 2515Clint BowyerMichael Waltrip RacingToyota34037
9 1327Paul MenardRichard Childress RacingChevrolet34035
10 114Tony StewartStewart-Haas RacingChevrolet34035
11 325Kasey KahneHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet34033
12 1743Aric AlmirolaRichard Petty MotorsportsFord34032
13 611Denny HamlinJoe Gibbs RacingToyota34032
14 599Carl EdwardsRoush Fenway RacingFord34030
15 22Brad KeselowskiTeam PenskeFord34030
16 831Ryan NewmanRichard Childress RacingChevrolet34028
17 151Jamie McMurrayChip Ganassi RacingChevrolet34027
18 1878Martin Truex Jr.Furniture Row RacingChevrolet34026
19 721Trevor BayneWood Brothers RacingFord3390
20 99Marcos AmbroseRichard Petty MotorsportsFord33924
21 203Austin Dillon (R)Richard Childress RacingChevrolet33923
22 3938David GillilandFront Row MotorsportsFord33922
23 3347A. J. AllmendingerJTG Daugherty RacingChevrolet33921
24 2251Justin Allgaier (R)HScott MotorsportsChevrolet33920
25 1648Jimmie JohnsonHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet33819
26 3117Ricky Stenhouse Jr.Roush Fenway RacingFord33818
27 2410Danica PatrickStewart-Haas RacingChevrolet33817
28 2113Casey MearsGermain RacingChevrolet33816
29 277Michael Annett (R)Tommy Baldwin RacingChevrolet33715
30 2895Michael McDowellLeavine Family RacingFord33514
31 4226Cole Whitt (R)Swan RacingToyota33513
32 3023Alex Bowman (R)BK RacingToyota33512
33 3836Reed SorensonTommy Baldwin RacingChevrolet33412
34 4040Landon CassillCircle SportChevrolet3340
35 4334David RaganFront Row MotorsportsFord3349
36 4198Josh WisePhil Parsons RacingChevrolet3338
37 3732Travis KvapilGo FAS RacingFord3327
38 3435David ReutimannFront Row MotorsportsFord3326
39 1141Kurt BuschStewart-Haas RacingChevrolet3275
40 3630Parker Kligerman (R)Swan RacingToyota3134
41 3577Dave BlaneyHumphrey RacingFord2723
42 34Kevin HarvickStewart-Haas RacingChevrolet283
43 1988Dale Earnhardt Jr.Hendrick MotorsportsChevrolet121

Race statistics

  • Lead changes: 18 among nine drivers
  • Cautions/Laps: 7 for 49
  • Red flags: 0
  • Time of race: 3 hours, 48 minutes, and 2 seconds
  • Average speed: 134.191 miles per hour (215.959 km/h)

Media

Television

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

Radio

PRN Radio
Booth announcersTurn announcersPit reporters
Lead announcer: Doug Rice
Announcer: Mark Garrow
Turns 1 & 2: Rob Albright
Turns 3 & 4: Brad Gillie
Brett McMillan
Steve Richards
Wendy Venturini
Pat Patterson

Standings after the race

References

  1. "Sprint Cup Series Schedule". ESPN. Retrieved April 1, 2014.
  2. "Texas Motor Speedway". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. January 3, 2013. Archived from the original on April 22, 2015. Retrieved December 20, 2014.
  3. "Entry List" (PDF). jayski.com. NASCAR Statistics. March 31, 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 6, 2015. Retrieved December 20, 2014.
  4. "First Practice Results". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. April 4, 2014. Archived from the original on December 21, 2014. Retrieved December 20, 2014.
  5. "Final Practice Results". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. April 5, 2014. Archived from the original on December 21, 2014. Retrieved December 20, 2014.
  6. "Qualifying Results". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. April 5, 2014. Archived from the original on December 21, 2014. Retrieved December 20, 2014.
  7. "Duck Commander 500 Results". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. April 7, 2014. Archived from the original on December 21, 2014. Retrieved January 3, 2015.
  8. "Points Standings" (PDF). jayski.com. NASCAR Statistics. April 7, 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 14, 2015. Retrieved January 3, 2015.
  9. "Manufacturer Standings" (PDF). jayski.com. NASCAR Integrated Marketing Communications. April 7, 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 30, 2014. Retrieved January 3, 2015.
  10. Paulsen (April 11, 2014). "TV Ratings: F1 Viewership Best on Cable in 10 Years (Also: PGA/NBC, NASCAR/FOX)". SportsMediaWatch.com. Sports Media Watch. Retrieved April 13, 2014.
  11. Pistone, Pete (March 30, 2014). "Kurt Busch Back in Victory Lane". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. Archived from the original on December 13, 2014. Retrieved December 20, 2014.
  12. "Track Facts". Texas Motor Speedway. Archived from the original on April 24, 2013. Retrieved April 12, 2013.
  13. Long, Dustin (April 5, 2014). "Stewart Scores Texas Pole". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. Archived from the original on December 21, 2014. Retrieved December 20, 2014.
  14. "NASCAR race at Texas delayed by rain". The Kansas City Star. April 6, 2014. Retrieved April 6, 2014.
  15. Long, Dustin (April 6, 2014). "Rain Postpones Texas Race". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. Archived from the original on December 21, 2014. Retrieved December 20, 2014.
  16. Long, Dustin (April 7, 2014). "Dale Jr. Exits Early after Mistake". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. Archived from the original on January 3, 2015. Retrieved January 3, 2015.
  17. Pistone, Pete (April 7, 2014). "Logano Lone Star Winner". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. Archived from the original on January 4, 2015. Retrieved January 3, 2015.
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