The 2014 MyAFibStory.com 400 was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race that was held on September 14, 2014, at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois. The race was 267 laps long, and it was the 27th race of the 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, and the first of the ten-race Chase for the Sprint Cup. For the second race in a row, Brad Keselowski won the race to take his fifth win of the season and the 16th of his career. Jeff Gordon finished second ahead of rookie Kyle Larson. Joey Logano, and Kevin Harvick rounded out the top five.
Report Background Chicagoland Speedway is a tri-oval speedway in Joliet, Illinois, southwest of Chicago. The speedway opened in 2001 and currently hosts NASCAR racing including the opening event in the Chase for the Sprint Cup. Until 2011, the speedway also hosted the Verizon IndyCar Series, recording numerous close finishes including the closest finish in IndyCar history. The speedway is owned and operated by International Speedway Corporation and located adjacent to Route 66 Raceway.
Entry list The entry list for the MyAFibStory.com 400 was released on Monday, September 8, 2014 at 10:47 a.m. Eastern time. Forty-three drivers were entered for the race.
Driver Team Manufacturer 1 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 2 Brad Keselowski (PC2) (CC) Team Penske Ford 3 Austin Dillon (R) Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 4 Kevin Harvick (CC) Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 5 Kasey Kahne (CC) 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 (CC) 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 (CC) Roush Fenway Racing Ford 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 18 Kyle Busch (CC) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 20 Matt Kenseth (PC5) (CC) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 22 Joey Logano (CC) Team Penske Ford 23 Alex Bowman (R) BK Racing Toyota 24 Jeff Gordon (PC6) (CC) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 26 Cole Whitt (R) BK Racing Toyota 27 Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 31 Ryan Newman (CC) Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 32 Joey Gase (i) Go FAS Racing Ford 33 Travis Kvapil Hillman–Circle Sport Chevrolet 34 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 36 Reed Sorenson Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 37 Mike Bliss (i) Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 38 David Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 40 Landon Cassill (i) Hillman–Circle Sport Chevrolet 41 Kurt Busch (PC4) (CC) Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 42 Kyle Larson (R) Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 43 Aric Almirola (CC) Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 47 A. J. Allmendinger (CC) JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 48 Jimmie Johnson (PC1) (CC) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 51 Justin Allgaier (R) HScott Motorsports Chevrolet 55 Brian Vickers Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 66 Joe Nemechek (i) Identity Ventures Racing Toyota 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet 83 Ryan Truex (R) BK Racing Toyota 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. (CC) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 95 Michael McDowell Leavine Family Racing Ford 98 Josh Wise Phil Parsons Racing Chevrolet 99 Carl Edwards (CC) Roush Fenway Racing FordOfficial entry list Key Meaning (R) Rookie (i) Ineligible for points (PC#) Past champions provisional (CC) Chase Contender
Practice First practice Kyle Busch was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 28.207 and a speed of .
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 1 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 28.207 191.442 2 31 Ryan Newman Chevrolet 28.266 191.042 3 99 Carl Edwards Roush Fenway Racing Ford 28.269 191.022Official first practice results
Qualifying Due to heavy rain, qualifying was cancelled and thus, Busch won the pole based on the session's times. He stated that the practice session had "started out slow, but the guys did a real nice job on the M&M's Camry today to get us to where we needed to be". Ryan Newman joined Busch on the front row, while in third place, was Carl Edwards – who missed the front row by 0.003 seconds. Although disappointed to miss the front row, Edwards expressed that he hoped "this is a sign of things to come".
Starting lineup Pos Driver Team Manufacturer 1 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 28.207 2 31 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 28.266 3 99 Carl Edwards Roush Fenway Racing Ford 28.269 4 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 28.272 5 20 Matt Kenseth Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 28.287 6 15 Clint Bowyer Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 28.290 7 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 28.300 8 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 28.309 9 27 Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 28.321 10 42 Kyle Larson (R) Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 28.331 11 1 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 28.331 12 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 28.334 13 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 28.336 14 41 Kurt Busch Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 28.353 15 55 Brian Vickers Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 28.372 16 3 Austin Dillon (R) Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 28.372 17 47 A. J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 28.408 18 10 Danica Patrick Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 28.435 19 5 Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 28.459 20 16 Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Racing Ford 28.475 21 9 Marcos Ambrose Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 28.499 22 14 Tony Stewart Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 28.505 23 43 Aric Almirola Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 28.518 24 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 28.530 25 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 28.548 26 51 Justin Allgaier (R) HScott Motorsports Chevrolet 28.580 27 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet 28.586 28 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 28.599 29 13 Casey Mears Germain Racing Chevrolet 28.659 30 38 David Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 28.778 31 83 Ryan Truex (R) BK Racing Toyota 28.962 32 95 Michael McDowell Leavine Family Racing Ford 29.001 33 26 Cole Whitt (R) BK Racing Toyota 29.044 34 98 Josh Wise Phil Parsons Racing Chevrolet 29.072 35 36 Reed Sorenson Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 29.154 36 7 Michael Annett (R) Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 29.154 37 23 Alex Bowman (R) BK Racing Toyota 29.180 38 40 Landon Cassill Hillman–Circle Sport Chevrolet 29.192 39 34 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 29.200 40 37 Mike Bliss Hillman–Circle Sport Chevrolet 29.225 41 66 Joe Nemechek Identity Ventures Racing Toyota 29.637 42 33 Travis Kvapil Hillman–Circle Sport Chevrolet 29.726 43 32 Joey Gase Go FAS Racing Ford 30.516Official starting lineup
Practice (post-qualifying) Second practice Paul Menard was the fastest in the second practice session with a time of 28.606 and a speed of . Kyle Larson was forced to go to a backup car after his primary car cut a left-front tire and hit the wall in turn two. As this change occurred after qualifying, it meant that Larson had to start the race from the rear of the field.
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 1 27 Paul Menard Chevrolet 28.606 188.772 2 5 Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 28.757 187.780 3 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 28.768 187.709Official second practice results
Final practice Carl Edwards was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 28.968 and a speed of .
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 1 99 Carl Edwards Ford 28.968 186.413 2 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 28.980 186.335 3 42 Kyle Larson (R) Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 29.045 185.918Official final practice results
Race First half Start
The race was scheduled to start at 2:16 p.m. Eastern time but started five minutes later when Kyle Busch led the field to the green. Busch held the lead for the first portion of the race, until Jeff Gordon took the lead on lap 29. Jamie McMurray took the lead from Gordon on lap 40, and held the lead until the first set of green flag pit stops during the race, when he ceded the lead to Brad Keselowski, on lap 46. Keselowski's stay out front was short-lived, as he pitted on lap 47, and the lead cycled back to McMurray. The first caution of the race came out at around quarter-distance, caused by debris in turn two. Kyle Busch won the race off pit road, and thus retook the lead from McMurray, for the restart on lap 73. Three laps after the restart, McMurray scraped the wall upon exiting turn 2, but was able to maintain position despite that.
Gordon retook the lead from Busch on lap 88, and held the lead until the race went under neutralized yellow flag conditions for the second time, on lap 99, after Ryan Newman's car cut a left-front tire, exiting turn 4. The layout of the Chicagoland Speedway meant that Newman was unable to hit pit road instantaneously after the blowout, necessitating the yellow flag. Prior to the yellow flag, Justin Allgaier also hit the wall, but was able to continue. McMurray led the field out of the pits, after he took only two tires at his pit stop. Under caution, the shifter handle on the No. 47 car of A. J. Allmendinger broke, akin to what happened to Jimmie Johnson at the Pure Michigan 400 the previous month. McMurray led to the restart on lap 105, but Keselowski retook the lead on lap 107.
Second half Keselowski held the lead throughout the next stint, and only gave up the lead, to make a scheduled green flag pit stop, on lap 149. This gave the head of the race to Jimmie Johnson, but Johnson pitted the next lap to give the lead back to Keselowski. However, Kevin Harvick drove past Keselowski almost immediately thereafter, to take the lead for the first time in the race. Harvick held the lead until the next caution, the race's third, on lap 181. The caution came after a piece of energy absorbing foam from the SAFER barrier protection blocks had broken free. Keselowski came off pit road in second place behind Harvick, but had to make another stop for a missing lug nut, prior to the lap 187 restart. Kyle Larson took the lead from Harvick with 40 laps to go, before pitting a lap later, and passed the lead onto Aric Almirola.
Final laps Almirola made his final stop as the caution came out with 37 laps to go after Carl Edwards' car cut down a left-rear tire, and Larson cycled back to the lead in the process. While pitting, Almirola blew his car's engine, and he retired from the race. Almirola later described himself as "heartbroken" with the result. The race restarted with 30 laps to go, but only ran for a handful of laps before Clint Bowyer brought out the fifth caution of the race, with 23 laps to go, after he hit the wall in turn 2. The race restarted with 18 laps to go, and Harvick retook the lead from Larson before Keselowski moved to the head of the race the following lap. The caution flags flew for the sixth time with ten laps to go after Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Danica Patrick made contact on the front stretch. Upon exiting her car, Patrick stated that she "talked with Ricky afterward and we're fine". The race restarted with six laps to go and Brad Keselowski coasted on to victory lane, for his second successive win. Keselowski expressed his delight at the result, stating that he "was waiting for an opportunity to strike and it came. The car stuck and everything came together".
Race results