The 2014 Duck Commander 500 was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race held on April 7, 2014, at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas. Contested over 340 laps – extended from 334 laps, due to a green–white–checker finish – on the quad-oval, it was the seventh race of the 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Joey Logano of Team Penske won the race, while Jeff Gordon finished second and Kyle Busch, Brian Vickers, and the best placed rookie Kyle Larson rounded out the top five. After Larson, the top rookies of the race were Austin Dillon in 21st, and Justin Allgaier in 24th place.
Previous week's race Kurt Busch took the lead with ten laps to go and held off Jimmie Johnson to end an 83-race winless streak drought, and score his 25th career victory in the STP 500 at Martinsville Speedway. Busch stated that he "didn't know if we'd be able to do it, you know? The 48 car is king here, him or the 24", and that he had "been on this journey for a while and every time you come to Martinsville, you just kind of draw a line through it like there's no way I'll be able to challenge those Hendrick guys or be up in the top 10. This Stewart-Haas team gave me a car to do it." Johnson, who led 296 laps, stated that his car was "so on edge slipping and sliding" and that a "lack of security in our own car kept us from feeling more racy and putting a bumper to someone or really getting inside someone aggressively".
Report
Background Texas Motor Speedway is a four-turn quad-oval track that is long. The track's turns are banked at twenty-four degrees, while the front stretch, the location of the finish line, is five degrees. The back stretch, opposite of the front, also has a five degree banking. The racetrack has a permanent capacity of 138,122 spectators, and an infield capacity of 53,000. The defending champion from 2013 was Kyle Busch.
Entry list The entry list for the Duck Commander 500 was released on Tuesday, April 1 at 10:16 a.m. Eastern time. Forty-six cars were included on the initial list. J. J. Yeley, who wasn't running for points in the Sprint Cup Series, was a post cutoff entry (13 days prior to the race) and wouldn't have received owners points had he made the race which he didn't.
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 21 Trevor Bayne (i) 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) 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 David Stremme 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 44 J. J. Yeley (i) Team XTREME Racing 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 Joe Nemechek (i) Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 77 Dave Blaney Randy Humphrey Racing Ford 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet 83 Ryan Truex (R) BK Racing Toyota 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 95 Michael McDowell Leavine Family Racing Ford 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 27.945 and a speed of . During first practice, Kurt Busch cut his left-rear tire and went nose first into the wall in turn 3. This necessitated rolling out his backup car along with David Ragan who went spinning through the infield and destroyed the nose of his car. Because these changes took place before qualifying, neither had to start from the rear.
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 1 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 27.945 193.237 2 16 Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Racing Ford 28.117 192.055 3 31 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 28.189 191.564Official first practice results
Final practice Kurt Busch was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 27.745 and a speed of .
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 1 41 Kurt Busch Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 27.745 194.630 2 99 Carl Edwards Roush Fenway Racing Ford 27.747 194.616 3 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 27.788 194.328Official final practice results
Qualifying
Tony Stewart won the pole with a time of 27.628 and a speed of . Stewart stated that his entire team had "been doing an awesome job", and this his pole position was "the first time I've been able to do something impressive for the team, so I'm excited about that". Brad Keselowski joined Stewart on the front row, expressing that he had "put down a great lap" and that he "didn't see that coming". Four drivers failed to qualify, with Ryan Truex, David Stremme, J. J. Yeley, and Joe Nemechek not making the field.
Qualifying results Pos Driver Team Manufacturer 1 14 Tony Stewart Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 27.622 27.581 27.628 2 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 27.574 27.638 27.633 3 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 27.234 27.593 27.650 4 16 Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Racing Ford 27.576 27.518 27.735 5 99 Carl Edwards Roush Fenway Racing Ford 27.423 27.705 27.744 6 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 27.689 27.792 27.746 7 21 Trevor Bayne Wood Brothers Racing Ford 27.345 27.678 27.763 8 31 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 27.470 27.714 27.815 9 9 Marcos Ambrose Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 27.562 27.796 27.827 10 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 27.506 27.640 27.872 11 41 Kurt Busch Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 27.474 27.746 27.961 12 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 27.620 27.686 28.112 13 27 Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 27.679 27.798 — 14 42 Kyle Larson (R) Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 27.634 27.823 — 15 1 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 27.657 27.832 — 16 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 27.522 27.834 — 17 43 Aric Almirola Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 27.629 27.894 — 18 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet 27.530 27.908 — 19 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 27.498 27.928 — 20 3 Austin Dillon (R) Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 27.432 27.957 — 21 13 Casey Mears Germain Racing Chevrolet 27.624 27.957 — 22 51 Justin Allgaier (R) HScott Motorsports Chevrolet 27.656 27.982 — 23 55 Brian Vickers Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 27.651 28.013 — 24 10 Danica Patrick Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 27.555 28.014 — 25 15 Clint Bowyer Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 27.694 — — 26 20 Matt Kenseth Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 27.744 — — 27 7 Michael Annett (R) Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 27.749 — — 28 95 Michael McDowell Leavine Family Racing Toyota 27.752 — — 29 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 27.758 — — 30 23 Alex Bowman (R) BK Racing Toyota 27.770 — — 31 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 27.772 — — 32 5 Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 27.831 — — 33 47 A. J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 27.891 — — 34 35 David Reutimann Front Row Motorsports Ford 27.986 — — 35 77 Dave Blaney Randy Humphrey Racing Ford 28.049 — — 36 30 Parker Kligerman (R) Swan Racing Toyota 28.093 — — 37 32 Travis Kvapil Go FAS Racing Ford 28.100 — — 38 36 Reed Sorenson Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 28.162 — — 39 38 David Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 28.180 — — 40 40 Landon Cassill Circle Sport Chevrolet 28.212 — — 41 98 Josh Wise Phil Parsons Racing Chevrolet 28.238 — — 42 26 Cole Whitt (R) Swan Racing Toyota 28.566 — — 43 34 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 28.748 — —Did not qualify 44 33 David Stremme Circle Sport Chevrolet 28.308 — — 45 83 Ryan Truex (R) BK Racing Toyota 28.511 — — 46 66 Joe Nemechek Identity Ventures Racing Toyota 28.634 — — 47 44 J. J. Yeley Team XTREME Racing Chevrolet 29.120 — —Official qualifying results
Race
The race was scheduled to start at 3:16 p.m. Eastern time, but was delayed by rain. NASCAR subsequently moved the race to Monday, with an expected start time of 12:00 p.m. Eastern time.
The race began under caution at 12:11 p.m. with Tony Stewart leading the field. These were the first laps he led all season. During the caution period, one of the jet dryers on the backstretch caused the hood pins of Brad Keselowski's car to come off, knocking up the hood and subsequently forcing him and Ryan Newman to pit to fix it. Just like a real jet engine, the jet dryers that are used to dry the race track blow hot air at very high pressure. Even though the race was already underway, he and Newman were allowed to retake their original spots in the running order. Clint Bowyer and Kyle Busch also pitted to check out the hoods of their cars.
After ten laps of caution to start the race, the green flag waived with Stewart leading the way. Only two laps later, the second caution of the race flew after points leader Dale Earnhardt Jr. cut through the grass in the tri-oval which was very wet from two days of downpours. The car went straight into the wall hard on fire and came to a stop on the apron in turn 2. “I was following the 43 (Aric Almirola) and just didn’t see the grass,’’ Earnhardt said. “That’s the thing with these cars is you can’t really see good at that angle, so I didn’t have a good visual where the grass was. Just a mistake on my part. I didn’t know I was that close to the grass. I’m disappointed. I don’t like it when I made the mistake there. That’s going to bother me for a while.’’ Jimmie Johnson, who was riding behind his teammate, sustained heavy damage to his nose and caved in the windshield. These cars have a Lexan glass behind the glass windshield to protect the driver.
The race restarted on lap 25. Kevin Harvick led a lap before handing the lead back to his teammate (and owner), but for the fifth straight race, his car had a mechanical failure (engine failure) on lap 29 that took him out of the race.
The third caution of the race flew on lap 49 (competition caution). Reed Sorenson stayed out to lead a lap under the caution before making his stop.
The race restarted on lap 54 with Tony Stewart leading the way.
On lap 71, Stewart became the all-time leader in laps led at Texas Motor Speedway.
Brad Keselowski took the lead on lap 77.
Keselowski surrendered the lead to make his pit stop on lap 97 and handed the lead to Jeff Gordon.
Gordon made his stop on lap 99 and the lead cycled back to Brad.
Denny Hamlin took the lead on lap 122.
Hamlin gave up the lead to pit on lap 141 and Jeff Gordon retook the lead. Denny had to serve a drive-through penalty for speeding on pit road.
Gordon pitted on lap 143 and handed the lead to Kyle Busch. He didn't stay in front for long as Jeff passed him for the lead on lap 153.