The 2014 Coke Zero 400 powered by Coca-Cola was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race that was scheduled to be held on July 5, 2014, but was pushed to July 6, 2014, at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. The race was originally scheduled to be run over 160 laps, though only 112 laps were contested due to rain, it was the 18th race of the 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. Aric Almirola was leading when the race was called for rain and scored his first career win and the No. 43's first win since the 1999 Goody's Body Pain 500. Brian Vickers was second, while Kurt Busch, Casey Mears, and top rookie Austin Dillon rounded out the top five. Behind Dillon, the top rookies of the race were Alex Bowman in 13th, and Michael Annett in 21st.
Report
Background
Daytona International Speedway is a four-turn superspeedway that is long. The track's turns are banked at 31 degrees, while the front stretch, the location of the finish line, is banked at 18 degrees. The backstretch, which has a length of , has minimal banking that is used for drainage. Jimmie Johnson was the defending race winner from the 2013 event.
Following the Daytona 500 in February, of additional SAFER barriers were added to the circuit, in order to improve safety. The additional barriers were added from the exit of turn four, through the tri-oval and to the entrance of turn one; this left only the super stretch outside walls with concrete barriers. "We're always looking at ways to enhance our safety and it is a priority for us," said Lenny Santiago, senior director of public relations for Daytona International Speedway. "Whenever we have an incident on track, we always take a look in consultation with NASCAR, the University of Nebraska and other experts that are a part of the Motorsports Technology Group and take their recommendations. In consultation with them, we made sure we added additional safer barriers to these areas."
Prior to the start of the race, Barney Hall announced that this race would be his last in the booth for the Motor Racing Network. "The years have gone by so quick, it's just so hard to believe," Hall said with a smile during a break at Daytona International Speedway. "The voice of NASCAR is the voice of MRN and that's Barney Hall," said David Hyatt, president and executive producer of Motor Racing Network. "To have him still be a part of what we do in a way that highlights all the memories that he has, all the history he's brought to the sport, everything that he's done, not just for this MRN brand but for the NASCAR brand is an important part of this transition. MRN isn't MRN without Barney Hall."
Entry list The entry list for the Coke Zero 400 was released on Tuesday, July 1, 2014, at 11:40 a.m. Eastern time. Forty-four cars were entered for the race.
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) BK Racing Toyota 27 Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 29 Joe Nemechek RAB Racing Toyota 31 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 32 Terry Labonte (PC8) Go FAS Racing Ford 33 Bobby Labonte (PC7) 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) 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 Michael Waltrip 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 Chevrolet95Michael McDowellLeavine Family RacingFord 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 *Was taken off of the car due to NASCAR rules and regulations. Replaced with a black hood.
Practice Two practice sessions were scheduled for the Sprint Cup Series at Daytona. The first practice session was delayed an hour by weather and shortened to 45 minutes. Jamie McMurray was the fastest with a lap time of 44.565 and a speed of . The final practice session was cancelled due to weather.
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 1 1 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 44.565 201.952 2 42 Kyle Larson (R) Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 44.579 201.889 3 15 Clint Bowyer Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 44.590 201.839Official practice results
Qualifying
David Gilliland won the pole with a lap time of 45.153 and a speed of after only one round of knockout qualifying was completed due to weather. Gilliland stated that his pole position would be a "morale booster" for his Front Row Motorsports team. Joe Nemechek was the one driver that failed to qualify.
Qualifying results Pos Driver Team Manufacturer 1 38 David Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 45.153 2 36 Reed Sorenson Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 45.176 3 40 Landon Cassill Hillman-Circle Sport LLC Chevrolet 45.182 4 33 Bobby Labonte Richard Childress Racing-Circle Sport Chevrolet 45.233 5 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 45.274 6 20 Matt Kenseth Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 45.277 7 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 45.295 8 34 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 45.298 9 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 45.303 10 16 Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Racing Ford 45.323 11 99 Carl Edwards Roush Fenway Racing Ford 45.333 12 14 Tony Stewart Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 45.346 13 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 45.347 14 5 Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 45.369 15 43 Aric Almirola Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 45.401 16 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 45.402 17 26 Cole Whitt (R) BK Racing Toyota 45.428 18 9 Marcos Ambrose Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet 45.431 19 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet 45.439 20 31 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 45.441 21 27 Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 45.442 22 13 Casey Mears Germain Racing Chevrolet 45.445 23 3 Austin Dillon (R) Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 45.447 24 47 A. J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 45.451 25 21 Trevor Bayne Wood Brothers Racing Ford 45.456 26 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 45.489 27 95 Michael McDowell Leavine Family Racing Ford 45.496 28 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 45.514 29 10 Danica Patrick Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 45.518 30 55 Brian Vickers Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 45.601 31 51 Justin Allgaier (R) HScott Motorsports Chevrolet 45.622 32 7 Michael Annett (R) Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 45.635 33 98 Josh Wise Phil Parsons Racing Ford 45.650 34 15 Clint Bowyer Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 45.691 35 42 Kyle Larson (R) Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 45.757 36 1 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 45.764 37 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 45.902 38 32 Terry Labonte Go FAS Racing Ford 45.923 39 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 45.925 40 41 Kurt Busch Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 45.971 41 66 Michael Waltrip Identity Ventures Racing Toyota 46.066 42 83 Ryan Truex (R) BK Racing Toyota 46.588 43 23 Alex Bowman (R) BK Racing Toyota 46.636Did not qualify 44 29 Joe Nemechek RAB Racing Toyota 45.974Official qualifying results
Race
First half
Start The race was scheduled to start at 7:45 p.m. Eastern time on Saturday evening, but the start was delayed by rain and finally pushed to the next day at 11:13 a.m. The start was pushed a pace lap due to light sprinkles in turns one and two and then another lap. After a total of seven pace laps, David Gilliland finally led the field to the green at 11:21 a.m. Matt Kenseth took the lead from Gilliland on lap five, before the first caution of the race flew for rain on lap 6, which ultimately led to a 26-minute delay under red flag conditions.
The Big One The race restarted on lap 13, before Tony Stewart took the lead on lap 17. A competition caution was planned upon the completion of lap 20, but the second caution of the race flew on lap 20 for a multi-car wreck in the tri-oval. A total of 16 cars were involved, including points leader Jeff Gordon, defending race winner Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr., the Daytona 500 winner. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – who was also involved in the incident – stated that he had been "heading straight...had it saved and had it straight again and got caught in the left rear." Only Johnson and A. J. Allmendinger were eliminated from the race due to the pileup.
The race restarted on lap 29, before Reed Sorenson, Landon Cassill, David Gilliland and Jamie McMurray took turns at the head of the race, prior to the third caution of the race, on lap 41, due to debris in turn 1. The race restarted on lap 45 with McMurray leading the way. Greg Biffle took the lead on lap 52, while Kurt Busch took the lead on lap 60. Biffle retook the lead on lap 86, before the start of the pit cycle, coming under green flag conditions. Gordon took the lead before it cycled back to Kurt Busch on lap 89. Debris on the backstretch brought out the caution for the fourth time on lap 94.
Second half
The Huge One The race restarted on lap 98 and the fifth caution flew for another multi-car wreck on the back straightaway collecting 26 cars. It started when Kasey Kahne got turned by Greg Biffle and Kahne turned down into Joey Logano. Everyone checked up but piled into other cars triggering the wreck. During the wreck, Cole Whitt came down the race track and ended up hitting the right rear of Kyle Busch's car and ended up turning Busch upside down. Busch even joked around while being upside down on his radio saying "Just having a good old time over here" with his spotter responding "Just hanging around?". The red flag was displayed for the second time. The cars involved in the wreck were Kasey Kahne, Greg Biffle, Joey Logano, Cole Whitt, Kyle Busch, Clint Bowyer, Alex Bowman, David Gilliland, Justin Allgaier, Ryan Newman, Paul Menard, Josh Wise, Michael Annett, Ryan Truex, Bobby Labonte, Matt Kenseth, Landon Cassill, Jamie McMurray, Marcos Ambrose, David Ragan, Denny Hamlin, Danica Patrick, Brad Keselowski, Terry Labonte, Reed Sorenson, and Michael McDowell. Gilliland described the incident as "all heck broke loose all at once", while Kyle Busch had driven through the grass before his car dug in and sent him back towards traffic; he described his roll as "real slow", After 4 minutes and 48 seconds, the red flag was lifted and the field continued under caution. Footage from this crash was used in the 2015 film Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No!
Mother Nature finally wins