The 2014 Pure Michigan 400 was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race that was held on August 17, 2014, at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Michigan. Contested over 200 laps on the superspeedway, it was the 23rd race of the 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Jeff Gordon won the race, his third win of the season. Kevin Harvick finished second while Joey Logano, Paul Menard, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. rounded out the top five. The top rookies of the race were Austin Dillon (22nd), Cole Whitt (25th), and Alex Bowman (26th).
Report Background
The track, Michigan International Speedway, is a four-turn superspeedway that is long. Opened in 1960, the track's turns are banked at eighteen degrees, while the 3,600-foot-long front stretch, the location of the finish line, is banked at twelve degrees. The back stretch, has a five degree banking and is 2,242 feet long. Michigan International Speedway has a grandstand seating capacity of 84,000 people. Joey Logano was the defending race winner from the 2013 race.
Following the events at Canandaigua Motorsports Park, Tony Stewart sat out the previous week's race at Watkins Glen and on August 14, Stewart–Haas Racing announced that Stewart would sit out Michigan and that Jeff Burton would drive in his place.
New rules and regulations On the Friday before the race, NASCAR vice president of competition and racing development Robin Pemberton announced an amendment to the rules in response to Kevin Ward Jr.'s death at Canandaigua Motorsports Park. Pemberton stated that NASCAR were "formalizing rules that have been there", and that the new rule would be referred to, in section 9-16 (On-Track Incident Procedures) of the NASCAR Rulebook:
Per the rules, if a racecar is involved in an on-track incident and/or is stopped on or near the racing surface and unable to return to pit road, unless extenuating emergency conditions exist with the racecar (i.e. fire, smoke in cockpit, etc.) the driver should take the following steps:
Shut off the electrical power and drop the window net to signal to safety crews that they are OK Do not loosen, disconnect or remove any driver personal safety equipment until directed to do so by safety personnel or a track worker After being directed to exit the racecar, the driver should proceed to either the ambulance, other vehicle, or as otherwise directed by safety personnel or a NASCAR/Track Official At no time should a driver or crew member(s) approach any portion of the racing surface or apron At no time should a driver or crew member(s) approach another moving vehicle
Pemberton also stated that "through time you have to recognize when you get a reminder or tap on the shoulder, something that may need to be addressed", and that "it's not just about NASCAR, but it's all of sports and motorsports that we take note in". Pemberton also noted that the penalties that would be handed down would be taken on a case-by-case basis and not a fixed one-size-fits-all penalty.
Entry list The entry list for the Pure Michigan 400 was released on Tuesday, August 12, 2014 at 11:03 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) 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 Jeff Burton 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 (PC4) 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 (PC5) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 26 Cole Whitt (R) BK Racing Toyota 27 Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 31 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 32 Travis Kvapil Go FAS Racing Ford 33 Alex Kennedy Hillman–Circle Sport Chevrolet 34 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 36 Reed Sorenson Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 37 Dave Blaney Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 38 David Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 40 Landon Cassill (i) Hillman–Circle Sport Chevrolet 41 Kurt Busch (PC3) 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 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. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 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 Joey Logano was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 35.200 and a speed of .
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 1 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 35.200 204.545 2 99 Carl Edwards Roush Fenway Racing Ford 35.275 204.111 3 55 Brian Vickers Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 35.308 203.920Official first practice results
Qualifying Jeff Gordon scored his 76th career pole with a new track record time of 34.857 and a speed of ; the seventh fastest pole lap in NASCAR history. Gordon stated that he "knew that we were really strong here the last time we were here and what our team is doing right now it's just phenomenal how they continue to improve race cars and just the whole effort", and praised his team for his car setup as "you don't go around this place like that, that fast without a really good race car". Logano qualified on the front row for the seventh time in 2014, stating that his car was "able to get faster as the session went on which is just an awesome job by this team to give me cars like this every week that are so good and so fun to drive". Logano did express his frustration at having only one pole of the seven front row starts; expressing that his team "were close again and just weren't able to do it".
Martin Truex Jr. missed the first practice session and qualifying after Sherry Pollex, his longtime girlfriend and business partner, underwent surgery to treat her ovarian cancer. Matt Crafton filled in for him on Friday. Ryan Blaney practiced and qualified the No. 21 Ford for Wood Brothers Racing in place of Trevor Bayne, who was competing in the Nationwide Series event at Mid-Ohio. Bayne raced the car on Sunday.
Qualifying results Pos Driver Team Manufacturer 1 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 35.233 34.971 34.857 2 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 35.145 35.038 34.887 3 99 Carl Edwards Roush Fenway Racing Ford 35.093 35.095 34.932 4 55 Brian Vickers Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 35.165 35.108 35.005 5 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 35.299 35.224 35.012 6 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 35.299 35.016 35.047 7 27 Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 35.367 35.176 35.194 8 3 Austin Dillon (R) Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 35.297 35.226 35.214 9 1 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 35.426 35.115 35.233 10 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 35.168 35.276 35.264 11 16 Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Racing Ford 35.394 35.232 35.325 12 31 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 35.427 35.182 35.386 13 42 Kyle Larson (R) Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 35.458 35.280 — 14 10 Danica Patrick Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 35.389 35.292 — 15 5 Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 35.314 35.304 — 16 41 Kurt Busch Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 35.218 35.319 — 17 51 Justin Allgaier (R) HScott Motorsports Chevrolet 35.351 35.376 — 18 20 Matt Kenseth Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 35.377 35.401 — 19 15 Clint Bowyer Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 35.376 35.429 — 20 9 Marcos Ambrose Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 35.368 35.451 — 21 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 35.459 35.463 — 22 47 A. J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 35.300 35.513 — 23 43 Aric Almirola Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 35.389 35.525 — 24 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 35.401 35.649 — 25 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 35.488 — — 26 13 Casey Mears Germain Racing Chevrolet 35.563 — — 27 14 Jeff Burton Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 35.571 — — 28 21 Ryan Blaney Wood Brothers Racing Ford 35.586 — — 29 38 David Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 35.675 — — 30 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 35.693 — — 31 83 Ryan Truex (R) BK Racing Toyota 35.774 — — 32 23 Alex Bowman (R) BK Racing Toyota 35.911 — — 33 98 Josh Wise Phil Parsons Racing Chevrolet 36.044 — — 34 34 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 36.084 — — 35 7 Michael Annett (R) Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 36.140 — — 36 26 Cole Whitt (R) BK Racing Toyota 36.157 — — 37 37 Dave Blaney Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 36.391 — — 38 32 Travis Kvapil Go FAS Racing Ford 36.414 — — 39 78 Matt Crafton Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet 36.462 — — 40 36 Reed Sorenson Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 36.536 — — 41 33 Alex Kennedy Hillman–Circle Sport Chevrolet 36.767 — — 42 66 Joe Nemechek Identity Ventures Racing Toyota 36.891 — — 43 40 Landon Cassill Hillman–Circle Sport Chevrolet 37.104 — —Official qualifying results
Practice (post-qualifying) Second practice Kevin Harvick was the fastest in the second practice session with a time of 35.436 and a speed of . Ryan Truex was involved in a hard wreck seven minutes into the second practice session; he lost control of his car, overcorrected and hit the wall head on in turn two.
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 1 4 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet 35.436 203.183 2 41 Kurt Busch Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 35.449 203.109 3 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 35.456 203.069Official second practice results
Final practice Jeff Gordon was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 35.972 and a speed of .
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 1 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 35.972 200.156 2 42 Kyle Larson (R) Chevrolet 36.055 199.695 3 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 36.156 199.137Official final practice results
Race Pre-race Following his heavy practice crash, BK Racing driver Ryan Truex was taken to hospital, complaining about a headache and shoulder pain. He was later diagnosed with a concussion, and was replaced by J. J. Yeley for the race. Matt Crafton was originally slated to drive in Truex's place but he was unable to fit in the seat that was fitted for Truex. He later stated that he was "not going to take a chance", in light of his high positioning in the Camping World Truck Series points. With the driver change and a backup car – following the practice crash – Yeley started from the rear of the field. The race was scheduled to begin at 1:16 p.m. Eastern time but was delayed a few minutes to allow the Air Titans extra time to dry the race track.
First half Start