The 2014 NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race (XXX) was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race held on May 17, 2014, at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina. Contested over 90 laps, it was the second exhibition race of the 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

Report

Race format The race was 90 laps long, separated into five segments: four segments of 20 laps and a final segment of 10 laps. A mandatory pit stop was utilized between the final two segments, while pitting between the 20 lap segments was optional. Since the inaugural race in 1985, the format has changed ten times. In 2014, the Sprint Showdown was held on Friday –before the North Carolina Education Lottery 200 Camping World Truck Series race – instead of being before the All-Star Race.

Entry list The All-Star Race was open to race winners from the 2013 Daytona 500 through the 2014 5-hour Energy 400 at Kansas Speedway and previous All-Star race winners from the past ten years were eligible to compete in the All-Star Race. The drivers who finished first and second in the Sprint Showdown, a 40-lap preliminary race, were also eligible to compete in the race, as well as the Sprint fan vote winner provided that the fan vote winner finished on the lead lap and a car still in race-able condition (the latter condition also applied to the Showdown winner and runner-up). The All-Star Race had 22 drivers, 19 of whom were race winners. The Showdown had 23 drivers of the 30 drivers eligible. Justin Allgaier chose to skip the All-Star weekend and focus on the following week's Coca-Cola 600. Allgaier, 29th in points, said accidents the previous weekends contributed to the team's decision to skip the non-points event. “For us, being a small independent team, obviously, the points races are the main focus,’’ said Allgaier, who was 29th in points. “With crashing a couple of weeks ago at Talladega and crashing last week at Kansas, it puts a toll on a team and this is going to allow us to really hit the reset button. “It’s crazy to think that you crash like that, jump out, walk to the ambulance and go home and wake up the next day and not even feel like you crashed."

Sprint Showdown entry list Driver Team Manufacturer 3 Austin Dillon (R) Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 7 Michael Annett (R) Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 13 Casey Mears Germain Racing Chevrolet 15 Clint Bowyer Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 23 Alex Bowman (R) BK Racing Toyota 26 Cole Whitt (R) BK Racing Toyota 27 Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 32 Blake Koch Go FAS Racing Ford 33 David Stremme Circle Sport Chevrolet 36 Reed Sorenson Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 38 David Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 40 Landon Cassill Circle Sport Chevrolet 42 Kyle Larson (R) Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 44 J. J. Yeley Xxxtreme Motorsports Chevrolet 47 A. J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 51 Justin Allgaier (R) HScott Motorsports Chevrolet 66 Joe Nemechek (i) Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 77 Dave Blaney Randy Humphrey Racing Ford 83 Ryan Truex (R) BK Racing Toyota 98 Josh Wise Phil Parsons Racing ChevroletOfficial Sprint Showdown entry list Key Meaning (R) Rookie

Sprint All-Star Race entry list Driver Team Manufacturer 1 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 5 Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 14 Tony Stewart Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 16 Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Racing Ford 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 20 Matt Kenseth Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 31 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 34 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 41 Kurt Busch Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 55 Brian Vickers Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 99 Carl Edwards Roush Fenway Racing FordOfficial Sprint All-Star Race entry list

Practice

Sprint Showdown practice Kyle Larson was the fastest in the sole Sprint Showdown practice session with a time of 27.820 and a speed of .

Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 1 42 Kyle Larson (R) Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 27.820 194.105 2 43 Aric Almirola Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 28.061 192.438 3 15 Clint Bowyer Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 28.062 192.431Official Sprint Showdown practice results

Sprint All-Star Race practice Dale Earnhardt Jr. was the fastest in the sole All-Star Race practice session with a time of 27.898 and a speed of .

Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 1 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 27.898 193.562 2 55 Brian Vickers Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 27.924 193.382 3 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 27.940 193.271Official Sprint All-Star Race practice results

Sprint Showdown qualifying Austin Dillon won the pole for the Showdown with a time of 27.747 and a speed of .

Sprint Showdown qualifying results Pos Driver Team Manufacturer 1 3 Austin Dillon (R) Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 27.747 2 47 A. J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 27.821 3 42 Kyle Larson (R) Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 27.833 4 15 Clint Bowyer Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 27.860 5 9 Marcos Ambrose Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 27.889 6 27 Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 27.961 7 10 Danica Patrick Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 28.009 8 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 28.034 9 13 Casey Mears Germain Racing Chevrolet 28.064 10 43 Aric Almirola Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 28.283 11 26 Cole Whitt (R) BK Racing Toyota 28.318 12 44 J. J. Yeley Xxxtreme Motorsports Chevrolet 28.369 13 23 Alex Bowman (R) BK Racing Toyota 28.558 14 77 Dave Blaney Randy Humphrey Racing Ford 28.579 15 38 David Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 28.665 16 98 Josh Wise Phil Parsons Racing Chevrolet 28.714 17 7 Michael Annett (R) Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 28.831 18 40 Landon Cassill Circle Sport Chevrolet 28.914 19 83 Ryan Truex (R) BK Racing Toyota 28.940 20 36 Reed Sorenson Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 29.091 21 66 Joe Nemechek Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 29.153 22 32 Blake Koch Go FAS Racing Ford 29.399 23 33 David Stremme Circle Sport Chevrolet 30.383Withdrew WD 51 Justin Allgaier HScott Motorsports Chevrolet —Official Sprint Showdown qualifying results

Sprint Showdown The Showdown started at 7:22 p.m. on Friday. Marcos Ambrose got nicked in the rear by Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and spun out to bring out the first caution on lap 3. Clint Bowyer took the lead from A. J. Allmendinger at the end of segment one. Michael Annett stayed out during the caution period and assumed the lead. He spun the tires on the restart and just about took a few cars out. Clint Bowyer took the victory in the Showdown, advancing to the Sprint All-Star Race along with Allmendinger. Josh Wise advanced to the All-Star Race by winning the fan vote. "This is kind of a big deal for our sport," Wise said after the Showdown Friday night. "It's a lot of young kids and people from around the world. I've had the chance to interact with a lot of them, and there's a lot of people who had never watched a NASCAR race who have now watched several, so it's a pretty cool deal."

Sprint Showdown results PosGridCarDriverTeamManufacturerLapsrunSegments 1 21 4 15 Clint Bowyer Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 40 1 12 2 47 A. J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 40 2 23 9 13 Casey Mears Germain Racing Chevrolet 40 6 34 5 9 Marcos Ambrose Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 40 7 45 10 43 Aric Almirola Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 40 10 56 3 42 Kyle Larson (R) Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 40 8 67 8 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 40 5 78 1 3 Austin Dillon (R) Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 40 3 89 6 27 Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 40 4 910 7 10 Danica Patrick Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 40 9 1011 15 38 David Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 40 15 1112 11 26 Cole Whitt (R) BK Racing Toyota 40 12 1213 13 23 Alex Bowman (R) BK Racing Toyota 40 11 1314 14 77 Dave Blaney Randy Humphrey Racing Ford 40 21 1415 17 7 Michael Annett (R) Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 40 13 1516 21 66 Joe Nemechek Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 40 19 1617 18 40 Landon Cassill Circle Sport Chevrolet 40 20 1718 16 98 Josh Wise Phil Parsons Racing Chevrolet 40 16 1819 19 83 Ryan Truex (R) BK Racing Toyota 40 17 1920 12 44 J. J. Yeley Xxxtreme Motorsports Chevrolet 40 14 2021 20 36 Reed Sorenson Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 40 18 2122 22 32 Blake Koch Go FAS Racing Ford 40 23 2223 23 33 David Stremme Circle Sport Chevrolet 25 22 23

Sprint All-Star Race qualifying Carl Edwards won the pole for the second year in a row for the All-Star Race with a cumulative time of 1:50.268 and a speed of . For the first time, the three drivers who transferred from the Showdown participated in All-Star Race qualifying, rather than automatically starting at the rear of the all-star field. They could work on their cars prior to the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race.

Sprint All-Star Race qualifying Pos Driver Team Manufacturer 1 99 Carl Edwards Roush Fenway Racing Ford 1:50.268 2 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 1:51.118 3 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 1:51.294 4 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 1:51.385 5 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 1:51.393 6 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 1:51.639 7 5 Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 1:51.704 8 20 Matt Kenseth Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 1:51.873 9 15 Clint Bowyer Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 1:52.244 10 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 1:52.586 11 1 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 1:52.733 12 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet 1:53.105 13 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 1:53.531 14 16 Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Racing Ford 1:54.064 15 14 Tony Stewart Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 1:56.021 16 55 Brian Vickers Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 1:56.428 17 47 A. J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 1:56.719 18 41 Kurt Busch Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 1:57.399 19 98 Josh Wise Phil Parsons Racing Chevrolet 2:01.190 20 34 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 2:05.878 21 31 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 2:10.779 22 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 2:11.219Official Sprint All-Star Race qualifying results

NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race The All-Star Race was scheduled to begin at 9:20 p.m. on Saturday but was pushed back by almost half an hour. In segments one, two and three, all laps were counted, with teams having the option to pit during the breaks. In segment four, all laps were counted, with the running order at the completion of the segment being repositioned, based on the average finish of the first four segments. Running order ties were broken by the finish of the fourth segment. Pit road was open for a mandatory four-tire pit stop, with the order of cars returning to the track determining the starting order of the fifth and final segment. Only green flag laps counted in the final segment.

Segment one Kyle Busch took the lead from Carl Edwards and kept it through the first segment. During the optional pit stops, everybody but Denny Hamlin pitted.

Segment two