2014 Crown Royal Presents the John Wayne Walding 400 at the Brickyard

Race details[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9]
Race 20 of 36 in the2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
The 2014 Brickyard 400 program cover, celebrating the 20th Brickyard 400.
Date	July 27, 2014 (2014-07-27)
Location	Indianapolis Motor Speedway,Speedway,Indiana
Course	Permanent racing facility
Course length	2.5 miles (4.023 km)
Distance	160 laps, 400 mi (643.737 km)
Weather	Partly cloudy with temperatures up to 78 °F (26 °C) and winds out of the west at 12 miles per hour (19 km/h)
Average speed	150.297 mph (241.880 km/h)
Pole position
Driver	Kevin Harvick	Stewart–Haas Racing
Time	47.753
Most laps led
Driver	Kasey Kahne	Hendrick Motorsports
Laps	70
Winner
No. 24	Jeff Gordon	Hendrick Motorsports
Television in the United States
Network	ESPN &IMS Radio Network
Announcers	Allen Bestwick,Dale Jarrett andAndy Petree (Television) Doug Rice andJohn Andretti (Booth) Jerry Baker (1), Jake Query (2), Mark Jaynes (3) and Kevin Lee (4) (Turns) (Radio)
Nielsen ratings	3.4/7 (Final) 3.2/7 (Overnight) 5.2 Million viewers[10]

The2014 Crown Royal Presents the John Wayne Walding 400 at the Brickyard Powered by BigMachineRecords.com,^[11] the 21st running of theevent, was aNASCARSprint Cup Seriesstock car race that was held on July 27, 2014, at theIndianapolis Motor Speedway inSpeedway,Indiana. Contested over 160 laps, it was the 20th race of the2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. Twenty years after he won theinaugural race,Jeff Gordon ofHendrick Motorsports took the lead on the final restart and drove away from the field for his 90th career victory and a record-breaking fifth win at Indianapolis.Kyle Busch finished second, whileDenny Hamlin,Matt Kenseth andJoey Logano rounded out the top five. The top rookies of the race wereKyle Larson (7th),Austin Dillon (10th), andJustin Allgaier (27th).

The entry list was released on Tuesday, July 22, 2014, at 10:26 a.m. Eastern time. Forty-six drivers were entered for the race.

2013 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championMatt Crafton entered the race in the No. 29RAB Racing Toyota, attempting to make his Cup debut.^[12]IndyCar Series driver and former Cup driverJuan Pablo Montoya returned to NASCAR in the No. 12Team Penske Ford to make his second start of the season.^[13]2000 Brickyard 400 winnerBobby Labonte entered the race in the No. 37Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet.^[14] Crafton, Montoya, andTrevor Bayne were required to make the race via speed, due to having no owners' championship points or being too low in owners' points, while Labonte had the advantage of using a past champion's provisional.^[15]

Two practice sessions were held at the track, on Friday at 11:35 am local time, and on Saturday at 9 am, three hours before the qualifying session.^[16]

Matt Kenseth was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 48.313 and a speed of 186.285 mph (299.797 km/h).^[17]

Jimmie Johnson was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 47.544 and a speed of 189.298 mph (304.646 km/h).^[18]

In qualifying,Kevin Harvick won the pole with a new track record time of 47.753 and a speed of 188.470 mph (303.313 km/h); he had been quickest in each of the three segments of the session. Harvick noted the benefit of having the last pit stall on pit road, stating that it was "going to take some pressure off the guys for sure". and also felt that if he had fallen down the order, he believed that his car was quick enough as he believed that "track position is definitely important".Jeff Gordon joined Harvick on the front row, almost two tenths of a second in arrears. Gordon referred to the performance of Harvick and his team as "they had the field covered". Gordon's teammateDale Earnhardt Jr. – who was second in points to Gordon coming into the race weekend – could only qualify 23rd, describing his session as “pretty pathetic" and "real slow".^[19]Matt Crafton,Brett Moffitt andDavid Stremme failed to make the race.Aric Almirola andMarcos Ambrose started at the rear of the field for switching to a backup car and a transmission change respectively.^[20]

The race was scheduled to start at 1:19 p.m. Eastern time,^[21] but started a few minutes later withKevin Harvick leading the field to the green flag, but he ceded the lead toJeff Gordon on lap two. Due to overnight downpours, a competition caution came out on lap 21.Joey Logano stayed out when the others pitted and assumed the lead, leading the field to the restart on lap 26.Kasey Kahne took the lead from Logano on lap 32 whilePaul Menard brushed the wall in turn 3 after being bumped byJuan Pablo Montoya. However, Kahne gave up the lead on lap 38 to pit, withKyle Larson assuming the lead, handing the lead toAustin Dillon after pitting on lap 43. Dillon made his stop and handed the lead toDenny Hamlin the next lap. Hamlin made his stop on lap 55 and handed the lead back to Kevin Harvick. Gordon retook the lead from Harvick on lap 66 and then both ducked onto pit road. Hamlin retook the lead as a result.^[20]

Danica Patrick broke the rear axle of her when trying to leave pit road and stalled on the exit of pit road bringing out the second caution of the race on lap 68.^[22] The race restarted on lap 73 and Denny Hamlin lost the lead to Kasey Kahne. The caution flag came out for the third time on lap 97 whenTrevor Bayne got loose and collected the inside wall in turn 3.Clint Bowyer did not pit during the caution period so he assumed the lead. The race restarted on lap 102 and Bowyer lost the lead to Kahne. Kahne made his final stop on lap 127 and handed the lead to his teammate Gordon. With 31 laps to go, Gordon made his final stop and handed the lead toMartin Truex Jr.; Truex made his stop and gave the lead toMichael Annett. Kahne cycled back to the lead with 30 laps to go, beforeRyan Truex stalled in turn 2 bringing out the fourth caution of the race with 22 laps to go.^[20]

Gordon took the lead on the ensuing restart and took the checkered flag for the 90th time in his career and for the 4th time in the Brickyard 400. The win guaranteed Gordon a spot in theChase for the Sprint Cup;Carl Edwards,Jimmie Johnson andJoey Logano also clinched spots.^[23] Kahne fell to fifth on the restart, and ran out of fuel on the final lap, finishing sixth.^[24] Gordon described his race win as "nothing better, especially in a big race, coming to Victory Lane with your family here", while he "was trying so hard with 10 to go not to focus on the crowd". Kahne reflected on his position at the final restart, stating that he should have picked the outside line, also stating "pretty much let Jeff control that restart. I took off and never spun a tire and the inside had been more grip throughout the race and I started on the inside and I thought it was a great decision. But I didn't spin a tire and Jeff drove right by me."^[25]

On the Tuesday following the race,NASCAR announced that the No. 11 team ofJoe Gibbs Racing – the car ofDenny Hamlin, who had finished the race in third place – had been penalized for a rules infraction in post-race inspection. This infraction was levied as a P5 penalty – the second-highest level – outlined in Section 12–4.5 A (9) of the 2014 NASCAR rule book. Per the subsequent Section 12–4.5 B of the regulations, any P5 penalty resulted in a 50-point penalty for both the driver and team owner, a fine of between $75,000 and $125,000 as well as race suspension and probation periods for team members in relation to the infraction. As the infraction was detected during a post-race inspection, a further 25 championship points were deducted as well as a further fine of $50,000.

The infraction also violated several other Sections from the rule book:

• 12-1 – Actions detrimental to stock car racing;
• 20–2.1 – Car body must be acceptable to NASCAR officials and meet the following requirements:
  • K – Any device or ductwork that permits air to pass from one area of the interior of the car to another, or to the outside of the car, will not be permitted. This includes, but is not limited to, the inside of the car to the trunk area, or the floors, firewalls, crush panels and wheel wells passing air into or out of the car;
  • L – All seams of the interior sheet metal and all interior sheet metal to exterior sheet metal contact point must be sealed and caulked. This includes, but is not limited to, floors, firewalls, wheel wells, package trays, crush panels and any removable covers;
  • 20–3.4 – All references to the inspection surface in sub-section 20–3.4 have been determined with the front lower edge of both main frame rails set at six inches and the rear lower edge of both main frame rails set at eight inches. For driver protection, all firewalls, floors, tunnels, and access panels must be installed and completely secured in place when the car is in competition;
• 20–3.4.5 – A rear firewall, including any removable panels or access doors, constructed using magnetic sheet steel a minimum of 22 gauge (0.031 inch thick), must be located between the trunk area and the driver's compartment and must be welded in place. Block-off plates/covers used in rear firewalls in place of blowers, oil coolers, etc., must be constructed of 22 gauge (0.031 inch thick) magnetic sheet steel. Block-off plates/covers must be installed with positive fasteners and sealed to prevent air leakage. Carbon fiber or aluminum block-off plates/covers will not be permitted.

Accordingly, crew chiefDarian Grubb was fined $125,000 post-race, suspended for the next six races and placed on NASCAR probation for a six-month period – until January 29, 2015 – while car chief Wesley Sherrill was also suspended six races and placed on NASCAR probation until the same date.Denny Hamlin lost 75 drivers' championship points, while the team lost 75 points in the owners' championship.^[26]

• Lead changes: 15
• Cautions: 4 for 16 laps
• Red flags: 0
• Time of race: 2 hours, 39 minutes and 41 seconds
• Average Speed: 150.297 miles per hour (241.880 km/h)

Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 Jeff Gordon 717 2 Dale Earnhardt Jr. 693 (−24) 3 Brad Keselowski 666 (−51) 4 Matt Kenseth 661 (−56) 5 Jimmie Johnson 628 (−89) 2 6 Kyle Busch 609 (−108) 7 Ryan Newman 606 (−111) 2 8 Carl Edwards 603 (−114) 9 Joey Logano 591 (−126) 10 Clint Bowyer 577 (−140) 2 11 Kevin Harvick 565 (−152) 2 12 Kyle Larson(R) 562 (−155) 2 13 Austin Dillon(R) 559 (−158) 3 14 Kasey Kahne 555 (−162) 4 15 Paul Menard 551 (−166) 1 16 Greg Biffle 550 (−167)

Manufacturers' Championship standings Pos Manufacturer Points 1 Chevrolet 895 2 Ford 874 (−21) 3 Toyota 808 (−87) Note: Only the first sixteen positions are included for the driver standings.

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