2014 Quicken Loans 400
# 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).

## Previous week's race

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."

## Report

### Background

The track, Michigan International Speedway, is a four-turn superspeedway that is 2 miles (3.2 km) long. 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. The back stretch, has a five degree banking and is 2,242 feet long. Michigan International Speedway has a grandstand seating capacity of 84,000 people. Greg Biffle is the defending race winner after winning the race in 2013.

### Entry list

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

### First practice

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

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). "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". Ryan Truex was the only driver that failed to qualify.

### Qualifying results

| 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 | 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)

### Second practice

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

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

### First half

**Start**

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.

### Second half

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**

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. 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". Harvick described his car as "fast, just wound up on the wrong side of all the strategy".

### Race results

| 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

* 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

### Television

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

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

| | Pos | Driver | Points |
| - | - | - | - |
| | 1 | Jeff Gordon | 537 |
| 2 | 2 | Jimmie Johnson | 522 (−15) |
| | 3 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | 514 (−23) |
| 2 | 4 | Matt Kenseth | 513 (−24) |
| | 5 | Brad Keselowski | 490 (−47) |
| 1 | 6 | Carl Edwards | 462 (−75) |
| 2 | 7 | Joey Logano | 454 (−83) |
| 2 | 8 | Kyle Larson (R) | 454 (−83) |
| 3 | 9 | Kevin Harvick | 447 (−90) |
| 4 | 10 | Kyle Busch | 446 (−91) |
| | 11 | Ryan Newman | 440 (−97) |
| 4 | 12 | Denny Hamlin | 435 (−102) |
| 4 | 13 | Paul Menard | 420 (−117) |
| 2 | 14 | Clint Bowyer | 417 (−120) |
| 1 | 15 | Greg Biffle | 409 (−128) |
| 2 | 16 | Tony Stewart | 402 (−135) |
| Pos | Manufacturer | Points |
| 1 | Chevrolet | 679 |
| 2 | Ford | 644 (−35) |
| 3 | Toyota | 603 (−76) |

## Note

* ↑ David Stremme started last due to an engine change.
