The 2014 Auto Club 400 was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race that was held on March 23, 2014, at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California. Contested over 206 laps on the asphalt D-shaped oval – extended from 200 laps due to a green–white–checker finish – it was the fifth race of the 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Kyle Busch won the race, his first win of the season, while Kyle Larson finished as the highest rookie in second, while Kurt Busch, Matt Kenseth, and Tony Stewart rounded out the top five. Behind Larson, the top rookies in the race were Austin Dillon in 11th, and Cole Whitt in 18th.
Previous week's race Just as the field was being lined up to restart the Food City 500, rain started to fall once again. After 503 laps, a two-hour delay to start the race, a three-hour delay at the quarter mark and multiple rain showers, NASCAR called the end of the race and Carl Edwards took the victory at Bristol Motor Speedway. Edwards described his race as "awesome", after troubles on the previous day, stating that his car was "terrible on Saturday, so I'm just glad we turned it around". Ricky Stenhouse Jr. scored his best career finish with a runner up spot, stating that he had "a lot of fun" and that his team was "just slowly working and getting better and better", as he continued to improve results in his first full season in the Sprint Cup. Aric Almirola also scored his best career finish, at the time of the race, in third place.
Report
Background
The track, Auto Club Speedway, was a four-turn superspeedway that was long. The track's turns were banked from fourteen degrees, while the front stretch, the location of the finish line, was banked at eleven degrees. Unlike the front stretch, the backstraightaway was banked at three degrees. The track had a seating capacity of 92,100 people. The race consisted of 200 laps, equivalent to a race distance of . The defending race winner was Kyle Busch.
Entry list The entry list for the Auto Club 400 was released on Tuesday, March 18 at 1:49 p.m. Eastern time. Forty-three cars were entered for the race which meant no one would fail to qualify.
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 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 Brian Scott (i) Circle Sport Chevrolet 34 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 35 David Reutimann 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 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 Joe Nemechek (i) 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 FordOfficial 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 38.163 and a speed of . Landon Cassill wrecked his primary car during the session and was forced to roll out the backup car. Because this change took place prior to qualifying, he did not have to start from the rear of the field.
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 1 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 38.163 188.664 2 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 38.194 188.511 3 15 Clint Bowyer Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 38.344 187.774Official first practice results
Qualifying
Matt Kenseth won the pole with a time of 38.438 and a speed of . Kenseth praised the performance of his Joe Gibbs Racing team and their qualifying setup, stating that "they gave me the car and really all I did was not mess it up". Joining Kenseth on the front row was Brad Keselowski, who noted a change in tire performance compared to qualifying sessions earlier in the season. He stated that Auto Club Speedway was "probably the first qualifying effort where the cars have gone slower in the last round with the tire fall off playing a factor in that. So, each week is different as far as what it is going to take to make it through all three rounds. I think that is part of the interest and the challenge for us as teams and drivers". He also noted a potential for unpredictability, stating that there was an "infinite amount of variables and teams that can dial that in the best are the ones that will be up front. So far we have been able to do that which I think is a strong statement for our team". Jeff Gordon, who qualified sixth, stated that the tires were unpredictable, adding that "you're having to keep the same set of tires on the car and guess which direction it is going to go".
Qualifying results Pos Driver Team Manufacturer 1 20 Matt Kenseth Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 38.418 38.423 38.438 2 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 38.913 38.725 38.481 3 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 38.306 38.618 38.516 4 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 38.303 38.701 38.523 5 15 Clint Bowyer Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 38.568 38.625 38.614 6 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 38.426 38.397 38.630 7 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 38.913 38.725 38.681 8 9 Marcos Ambrose Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 38.824 38.768 38.707 9 99 Carl Edwards Roush Fenway Racing Ford 38.773 38.643 38.735 10 14 Tony Stewart Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 38.739 38.723 38.753 11 42 Kyle Larson (R) Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 38.839 38.559 38.757 12 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet 38.602 38.808 38.767 13 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 38.825 38.851 – 14 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 39.012 38.853 – 15 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 38.943 38.858 – 16 31 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 38.868 38.875 – 17 41 Kurt Busch Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 38.685 38.884 – 18 47 A. J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Toyota 38.862 38.979 – 19 55 Brian Vickers Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 38.739 39.020 – 20 3 Austin Dillon (R) Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 39.001 39.139 – 21 43 Aric Almirola Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 38.992 39.140 – 22 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 38.978 39.160 – 23 7 Michael Annett (R) Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 38.944 39.239 – 24 16 Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Racing Ford 38.899 0.000 – 25 1 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 39.019 – – 26 5 Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 39.062 – – 27 10 Danica Patrick Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 39.067 – – 28 51 Justin Allgaier (R) HScott Motorsports Chevrolet 39.134 – – 29 38 David Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 39.147 – – 30 27 Matt Crafton Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 39.207 – – 31 13 Casey Mears Germain Racing Chevrolet 39.220 – – 32 30 Parker Kligerman (R) Swan Racing Toyota 39.362 – – 33 35 David Reutimann Front Row Motorsports Toyota 39.513 – – 34 26 Cole Whitt (R) Swan Racing Toyota 39.664 – – 35 32 Travis Kvapil Go FAS Racing Ford 39.668 – – 36 36 Reed Sorenson Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 39.699 – – 37 33 Brian Scott Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 39.725 – – 38 98 Josh Wise Phil Parsons Racing Chevrolet 39.766 – – 39 83 Ryan Truex (R) BK Racing Toyota 39.854 – – 40 23 Alex Bowman (R) BK Racing Toyota 39.854 – – 41 34 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 39.937 – – 42 66 Joe Nemechek Identity Ventures Racing Toyota 39.998 – – 43 40 Landon Cassill Circle Sport Chevrolet 0.000 – –Official qualifying results
Practice (post-qualifying)
Second practice Kevin Harvick was the fastest in the second practice session with a time of 38.706 and a speed of . Martin Truex Jr. hit the wall in turn 1 after his car cut down the left-rear tire, and this necessitated the rolling out of his backup car. Because this was a post-qualifying change, he was forced to start from the rear.
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 1 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 38.706 186.018 2 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 38.777 185.677 3 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 38.789 185.620Official second practice results
Final practice Brian Vickers was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 38.725 and a speed of . Joey Logano hit the wall in turn 2 after cutting down the left-rear tire. Like Truex, he was forced to start at the rear. Logano put the issue down to a combination of air pressure and car setup.
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 1 55 Brian Vickers Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 38.725 185.926 2 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 38.743 185.840 3 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 38.965 184.781Official final practice results
Race
Driver change The night before the race, Denny Hamlin went to the infield care center at Auto Club Speedway due to an irritation in his eye. The irritation continued overnight, and it was reported at the time that he had a sinus infection. After being referred to a local hospital, the cause of the irritation was discovered to be a small piece of metal in his eye. J. D. Gibbs, president of Joe Gibbs Racing announced that Hamlin would not start the race less than an hour before the start. Sam Hornish Jr., who was on standby for Matt Kenseth in the previous day's Nationwide Series race, drove the No. 11 car in his place.
First half
Start The race started at 3:16 p.m. Eastern time with Kenseth leading the field to the green flag. He was passed by Brad Keselowski on the first lap. The first caution of the race flew on lap 19 after Kevin Harvick cut down his right-rear tire on the front stretch. Jeff Gordon exited pit road third, but was caught speeding and had to restart from the rear. David Ragan stayed out when Keselowski pitted to lead a lap before pitting. The race restarted on lap 24 with Keselowski leading the way, but Kyle Busch soon passed him for the lead. Keselowski retook the lead on lap 27, and held the lead until the second caution of the race flew on lap 43 after Dale Earnhardt Jr. cut down the left-front tire and scraped the wall in Turn 1. Jimmie Johnson exited pit road first and assumed the lead for the restart on lap 48.