The 2014 Bank of America 500 was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race that was held on October 11, 2014, at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina. Contested over 334 laps on the 1.5-mile (2.4 km) asphalt quad-oval, it was the 31st race of the 2014 Sprint Cup Series season, as well as the fifth race of ten in the Chase for the Sprint Cup. It was also ABC's final NASCAR telecast for the foreseeable future. Kevin Harvick scored his third win of the season and first since Darlington in April. Jeff Gordon finished second for the sixth time this season. Jamie McMurray, Joey Logano, and Kyle Busch rounded out the top five. The top rookies of the race were Kyle Larson (6th), Austin Dillon (13th), and Justin Allgaier (15th).
Report
Background The race was held at Charlotte Motor Speedway, a motorsports complex located in Concord, North Carolina, United States, 13 miles from Charlotte, North Carolina. The complex features a quad-oval track that hosts NASCAR racing including the prestigious Coca-Cola 600 on Memorial Day weekend and the Sprint All-Star Race, as well as the Bank of America 500. The speedway was built in 1959 by Bruton Smith and is considered the home track for NASCAR with many race teams located in the Charlotte area. The track is owned and operated by Speedway Motorsports (SMI) with Marcus G. Smith (son of Bruton Smith) as track president.
Entry list Forty-four 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 6 Trevor Bayne (i) Roush Fenway Racing Ford 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 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 Blake Koch (i) Go FAS Racing Ford 33 Timmy Hill Hillman–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) Hillman–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) (CC) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 51 Justin Allgaier (R) HScott Motorsports Chevrolet 55 Brian Vickers Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 66 Brett Moffitt Identity Ventures Racing Toyota 77 Corey Lajoie (i) Randy Humphrey Racing Ford 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet 83 J. J. Yeley (i) 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 and qualifying Kevin Harvick was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 27.542 and a speed of . Kyle Busch won the pole with a time of 27.357 and a speed of . “With the way the eliminations are, I would believe we are edging our way to the top,’’ Busch said. “But anything can happen. You just got to pick through it all.’’ "Oh my gosh, it's so fast, so much grip, so much commitment," Jeff Gordon said after qualifying second. "... That's a great place to start this race." Jimmie Johnson, who enters the race twelfth in points, qualified 21st. “Just didn’t have the speed on that final run, I got pretty tight off of (Turn) 4,’’ Johnson said. “I thought we had some hope after the first round. Our second outing we ran a very good lap and just didn’t have any more there on that lap through Turns 3 and 4, got wide and had to let off (the accelerator) a little bit so I didn’t get into the outside wall. Disappointing. No way around it.’’ Trevor Bayne failed to qualify for the race. Kurt Busch was the fastest in the second practice session with a time of 28.249 and a speed of . Joey Logano was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 28.332 and a speed of . Jimmie Johnson tagged the wall in the closing minutes of the session. The damage wasn't enough to warrant rolling out the backup car. “The car’s really fast,” Johnson said. “We were feeling really good about things. The good news is that it’s just a big scratch. Just a little drama.”
Qualifying Results PosDriverTeamManufacturer118Kyle BuschJoe Gibbs RacingToyota27.39527.33527.357224Jeff GordonHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet27.47127.28327.381311Denny HamlinJoe Gibbs RacingToyota27.54227.44127.399414Tony StewartStewart–Haas RacingChevrolet27.53227.36127.489531Ryan NewmanRichard Childress RacingChevrolet27.42127.48127.489627Paul MenardRichard Childress RacingChevrolet27.61027.38727.53774Kevin HarvickStewart–Haas RacingChevrolet27.28627.28227.574855Brian VickersMichael Waltrip RacingToyota27.49927.48027.587988Dale Earnhardt Jr.Hendrick MotorsportsChevrolet27.53127.43527.6991099Carl EdwardsRoush Fenway RacingFord27.34727.42627.7121141Kurt BuschStewart–Haas RacingChevrolet27.54527.16727.7881216Greg BiffleRoush Fenway RacingFord27.61627.39028.1841322Joey LoganoTeam PenskeFord27.37427.483—1410Danica PatrickStewart–Haas RacingChevrolet27.55827.486—1543Aric AlmirolaRichard Petty MotorsportsFord27.50527.489—1651Justin Allgaier (R)HScott MotorsportsChevrolet27.58727.493—172Brad KeselowskiTeam PenskeFord27.41727.512—181Jamie McMurrayChip Ganassi RacingChevrolet27.45427.512—195Kasey KahneHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet27.27627.513—203Austin Dillon (R)Richard Childress RacingChevrolet27.48727.522—2148Jimmie JohnsonHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet27.48827.527—2220Matt KensethJoe Gibbs RacingToyota27.64827.535—2378Martin Truex Jr.Furniture Row RacingChevrolet27.53027.589—2442Kyle Larson (R)Chip Ganassi RacingChevrolet27.58527.597—2515Clint BowyerMichael Waltrip RacingToyota27.651——2647A. J. AllmendingerJTG Daugherty RacingChevrolet27.653——279Marcos AmbroseRichard Petty MotorsportsFord27.740——2817Ricky Stenhouse Jr.Roush Fenway RacingFord27.796——2913Casey MearsGermain RacingChevrolet27.819——3036Reed SorensonTommy Baldwin RacingChevrolet27.873——3195Michael McDowellLeavine Family RacingFord27.912——3240Landon CassillHillman–Circle SportChevrolet27.926——3323Alex Bowman (R)BK RacingToyota27.947——3434David RaganFront Row MotorsportsFord27.954——357Michael Annett (R)Tommy Baldwin RacingChevrolet27.968——3626Cole Whitt (R)BK RacingToyota27.983——3738David GillilandFront Row MotorsportsFord28.010——3898Josh WisePhil Parsons RacingChevrolet28.113——3966Brett MoffittIdentity Ventures RacingFord28.158——4033Timmy HillHillman–Circle SportChevrolet28.276——4183J. J. YeleyBK RacingToyota28.386——4277Corey LaJoieRandy Humphrey RacingFord28.386——4332Blake KochGo FAS RacingFord28.816——Did not qualify6Trevor BayneRoush Fenway RacingFord28.061——
Race First half
Start
Prior to the start of the race, Matt Kenseth had to drop to the rear of the field for unapproved adjustments.
The race started at 7:54 p.m. Kyle Busch led early in the race, though Jeff Gordon took the lead on lap 14. The first of eight cautions in the race flew on lap 26. It was a planned competition caution. Following the caution, Dale Earnhardt Jr. won the race off pit road to assume the lead. Earnhardt Jr. led the restart on lap 31, and promptly lost the lead to Kyle Busch.
The second caution of the race flew on lap 96 when Clint Bowyer blew an engine exiting turn 4. Dale Earnhardt Jr. took just two tires, and exited as the leader. Following the restart on lap 101, Jamie McMurray took the lead. Kevin Harvick then took the lead on lap 105.
Paul Menard brought out the third caution on lap 136 after blowing an engine on the backstretch. Describing the incident, Menard said, “Something with the motor. I had a really good car. It’s too bad, awesome car; we had a pit stop problem and went to the back, but drove our way back up into the top 15 or so.”
Earnhardt Jr. pitted while the pits were closed to fix a broken shifter. This was similar to what happened to his teammate Jimmie Johnson at Michigan two months prior. Harvick and Gordon traded the lead on the pit road, with Harvick winning the race off.
The fourth caution of the race flew on lap 221 after Josh Wise blew an engine. The race restarted on lap 227. The fifth caution of the race flew with 98 laps to go after Brian Vickers got loose and spun in turn 4. Austin Dillon stayed out when the leaders pitted and took over the lead. The race restarted with 92 laps to go, and Kyle Busch retook the lead.
The sixth caution of the race flew with 89 laps to go after Joey Logano tapped the left-rear corner panel of Danica Patrick, who connected with the wall. Ryan Newman spun to avoid hitting her. The race restarted with 82 laps to go, and Kyle Larson took the lead with 71 laps to go.
The seventh caution flew with 68 laps to go when Michael Annett was slowing with a flat left-rear tire. Brad Keselowski stayed out when the leaders pitted and assumed the lead. The race restarted with 63 laps to go, and Denny Hamlin promptly took the lead. Kevin Harvick retook the lead with 41 laps to go.
Second half In the final 25 laps of the race, a number of lead changes occurred. Kevin Harvick made his final stop with 23 laps to go and handed the lead to Jeff Gordon. Gordon made his final stop with 22 laps to go and handed the lead to Kurt Busch, who in turn made his final stop with 21 laps to go, handing the lead to Austin Dillon. Dillon made his final stop with 20 laps to go, with Ryan Newman assuming the lead. Newman made his final stop with 19 laps to go and Carl Edwards took the lead. Edwards made his final stop with 18 laps to go and handed the lead to Justin Allgaier. Allgaier made his final stop with 16 laps to go and the lead cycled back to Kevin Harvick.
The eighth caution of the race flew with seven laps to go, after Brian Vickers blew an engine. The race restarted with two laps to go and Harvick shot ahead of Jeff Gordon to win the race. “Oh, we came here and tested thinking that this was going to be the hardest round to get through because of Talladega,” Harvick said. “There’s so much that you can’t control there. We wanted to try to control the things that we could control. We felt like Kansas and here (Charlotte) were playing to our strengths; and just see where it fell after that once we get to the next round. So I’m really proud of everybody at SHR. I’m really proud of all my guys on this team. I just can’t thank everybody enough.” "I'm really proud of that finish, really proud of that effort," Gordon said. " ... Kevin was tough. I knew he was going to be tough once he got out there."
Post race conflict