2014 Sprint Unlimited

2014 Sprint Unlimited at Daytona
Race details[1][2][3][4][5]
Race 1 of 2 exhibition races in the 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season
Date February 15, 2014 (2014-02-15)
Location Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach, Florida, United States
Course Permanent racing facility
2.5 mi (4 km)
Distance 75 laps, 187.5 mi (301.8 km)
Weather Clear skies with a temperature of 52 °F (11 °C); wind out of the northwest at 5 miles per hour (8.0 km/h)
Average speed 143.160 miles per hour (230.394 km/h)
Pole position
Driver
Joe Gibbs Racing
Time 45.030
Most laps led
Driver Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing
Laps 27
Winner
No. 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing
Television in the United States
Network Fox Sports 1 & MRN
Announcers Mike Joy, Michael Waltrip and Larry McReynolds (Television)
Joe Moore and Barney Hall (Booth)
Dave Moody (1 & 2), Mike Bagley (Backstretch) and Jeff Striegle (3 & 4) (Turns) (Radio)
Nielsen Ratings 2.0/5
(3.562 Million)

The 2014 Sprint Unlimited at Daytona was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race that was held on February 15, 2014, at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. Contested over 75 laps, it was the first exhibition race of the 2014 Sprint Cup Series season. Denny Hamlin won the race, his second win in the Unlimited, while Brad Keselowski finished second[6] and Kyle Busch finished third. Joey Logano, and Kevin Harvick rounded out the first five finishers.[7]

Report

Background

Daytona International Speedway, the race track where the race was held.

The track, Daytona International Speedway, is one of six superspeedways to hold NASCAR races, the others being Michigan International Speedway, Auto Club Speedway, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Pocono Raceway and Talladega Superspeedway.[8] The standard track at Daytona International Speedway is a four-turn superspeedway that is 2.5 miles (4.0 km) long.[9] The track's turns are banked at 31 degrees, while the front stretch, the location of the finish line, is banked at 18 degrees.[9]

Practice

Dale Earnhardt, Jr. was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 45.358 and a speed of 198.421 mph (319.328 km/h). Denny Hamlin was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 45.030 and a speed of 199.867 mph (321.655 km/h).

Race summary

Denny Hamlin led the field to the green flag at 8:29 p.m. but only led the first couple of laps, before Jamie McMurray took the lead. Kyle Busch took the lead from McMurray on lap 12, and held the lead until lap 18, when Kevin Harvick took the lead. Hamlin took back the lead on lap 24 before Harvick reassumed the head of the race the following lap. As the field was coming to the conclusion of the first segment – on lap 30 – Jimmie Johnson, running second, got loose exiting turn 4 and hit the inside wall driver-side. This was the third consecutive year Johnson failed to finish the Unlimited. Brad Keselowski won the race off pit road to take the lead. Hamlin retook the lead not long after, before the race's biggest crash occurred.

Matt Kenseth spun after making contact with Joey Logano, which led to Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon, Harvick, Kurt Busch, Marcos Ambrose, Carl Edwards, Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. and Danica Patrick being collected in a nine-car crash. The crash brought out the red flag, which lasted for 11 minutes and 25 seconds.[10] Kenseth put the incident down to him cutting off Joey Logano and failing to leave enough room for his rival upon completion. He also stated that he was "just trying to watch both lanes and I was trying as hard as I could to help my teammate".[10] Gordon described the racing as "bumper cars at 200 miles per hour" and the cars' "closing rate is so severe".[10] The race restarted on lap 41, with Keselowski retaking the lead not long after. Logano cycled through to the front on lap 45, before Hamlin returned to the lead and held the lead until the end of the segment, on lap 55.

As determined by a fan vote, the restart order for the final segment would be the race off pit road following a mandatory pit stop. Hamlin was the first off pit road, but before the race could be restarted, the Chevrolet pace car caught fire.[11] Chevrolet issued a statement the following morning about the incident, stating that an assessment was underway into the cause of the fire.[12] Hamlin led the field to the restart, but his lead was not to last; McMurray and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. took spells at the front, before the fourth caution of the race. The caution, with 16 laps to go, was caused when Kyle Busch came down across the nose of Keselowski and got turned in turn 4; Busch saved the car with minimal damage sustained. The race restarted with twelve laps to go with Earnhardt, Jr. at the front, but Logano returned to the lead on the following lap. The very next lap, Earnhardt, Jr. was hooked by Ambrose into the turn 1 wall.[13]

Reflecting upon the incident, Ambrose stated that he was "trying to help Junior there and ended up hurting him and hurting myself", but also stated that he was apologise to Earnhardt, Jr. for his "bad day".[13] On the other side, Earnhardt, Jr. did state that he was upset with Ambrose although he did not blame him for the incident, stating that he "can't say really that it was his fault".[13] The race restarted with five laps to go, and after Keselowski had another spell out front, Hamlin took back the lead with two laps to go and built an insurmountable lead to win his second Sprint Unlimited.[14] Hamlin described the race as "survival of the fittest for sure", and that his Joe Gibbs Racing car was "phenomenal".[14] Finishing behind Keselowski, in third place, was Kyle Busch. Busch described his car as "fast and had to save it again", while also praising the performance of team-mate Hamlin.[14]

Results

Qualifying

No. Driver Team Manufacturer Grid
11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota1
1 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet2
17 Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford3
18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota4
2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford5
4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet6
99 Carl Edwards Roush Fenway Racing Ford7
9 Marcos Ambrose Richard Petty Motorsports Ford8
14 Tony Stewart Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet9
41 Kurt Busch Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet10
22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford11
10 Danica Patrick Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet12
24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet13
88 Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet14
32 Terry Labonte Go FAS Racing Ford15
20 Matt Kenseth Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota16
31 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet17
48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet18
Note: Starting lineup was set by final practice speeds as determined by the fan vote.

Race results

Pos Grid No. Driver Team Manufacturer Laps
1 1 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 75
2 5 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 75
3 4 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 75
4 11 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 75
5 6 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 75
6 2 1 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 75
7 8 9 Marcos Ambrose Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 75
8 17 31 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 75
9 14 88 Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 65
10 16 20 Matt Kenseth Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 35
11 9 14 Tony Stewart Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 35
12 13 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 35
13 7 99 Carl Edwards Roush Fenway Racing Ford 35
14 10 41 Kurt Busch Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 35
15 3 17 Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 35
16 12 10 Danica Patrick Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 35
17 18 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 28
18 15 32 Terry Labonte Go FAS Racing Ford 1

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Daytona International Speedway". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. January 3, 2013. Retrieved October 10, 2014.
  2. ↑ "Entry List". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. February 11, 2014. Retrieved October 10, 2014.
  3. ↑ "Sprint Unlimited Practice Results". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. February 14, 2014. Retrieved October 10, 2014.
  4. ↑ "Starting Lineup". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. February 16, 2013. Retrieved February 16, 2013.
  5. ↑ "Sprint Unlimited Results". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. February 15, 2014. Retrieved October 11, 2014.
  6. ↑ Jensen, Tom (February 16, 2014). "Almost the last man standing: Hamlin wins wreck filled Sprint Unlimited". FoxSports.com. Fox Sports Interactive Media, LLC. Retrieved February 16, 2014.
  7. ↑ "Results". Racing-Reference.info. Gannett Satellite Information Network, Inc. February 15, 2014. Retrieved February 16, 2014.
  8. ↑ "NASCAR Race Tracks". NASCAR. Tuner Sports. Retrieved December 19, 2012.
  9. 1 2 "Daytona Track Facts". Daytona International Speeedway. Archived from the original on October 16, 2012. Retrieved December 19, 2012.
  10. 1 2 3 Long, Dustin (February 15, 2014). "Big Crash Snags Stewart and Others". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. Retrieved October 11, 2014.
  11. ↑ Hembree, Mike (February 15, 2014). "Denny Hamlin wins Sprint Unlimited on wild night". usatoday.com. Gannett Satellite Information Network, Inc. Retrieved February 15, 2014.
  12. ↑ Long, Dustin (February 16, 2014). "Pace Car Catches Fire". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. Retrieved October 11, 2014.
  13. 1 2 3 Long, Dustin (February 16, 2014). "Ambrose Says He Owes Earnhardt An Apology". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. Retrieved October 11, 2014.
  14. 1 2 3 Pistone, Pete (February 15, 2014). "Hamlin Wins Sprint Unlimited". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. Retrieved October 11, 2014.
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