2014 Coke Zero 400

2014 Coke Zero 400
Race details
Race 18 of 36 in the 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
The 2014 Coke Zero 400 program cover, featuring highlights from last year's race.
The 2014 Coke Zero 400 program cover, featuring highlights from last year's race.
Date July 6, 2014 (2014-07-06)
Official name Coke Zero 400 Powered by Coca-Cola at Daytona
Location Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida
Course Permanent racing facility
2.5 mi (4.02 km)
Distance 112 laps, 280 mi (450.62 km)
Scheduled Distance 160 laps, 400 mi (643.737 km)
Weather Partly cloudy with temperatures up to 83 °F (28 °C); wind out of the south at 6 miles per hour (9.7 km/h)
Average speed 130.014 mph (209.237 km/h)
Pole position
Driver Front Row Motorsports
Time 45.153
Most laps led
Driver Kurt Busch Stewart-Haas Racing
Laps 36
Winner
No. 43 Aric Almirola Richard Petty Motorsports
Television in the United States
Network TNT & MRN
Announcers Adam Alexander, Wally Dallenbach Jr. and Kyle Petty (Television)
Joe Moore, Jeff Striegle and Barney Hall (Booth)
Dave Moody (1 & 2), Mike Bagley (Backstretch) and Kurt Becker (3 & 4) (Turns) (Radio)
Nielsen Ratings 2.4/5
4.0 Million viewers

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. Contested over 112 laps, 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.

Previous week's race

In what was an absolutely dominating performance from Team Penske, Brad Keselowski led 199 of the 267 laps to win the Quaker State 400 at Kentucky Speedway. He described his car as "awesome" and that his crew did a "great job".

Report

Background

Daytona International Speedway, where the race was held.

Daytona International Speedway is a four-turn superspeedway that is 2.5 miles (4.0 km) 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 3,000 ft (910 m), 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, 2,400 ft (730 m) 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.

No. Driver Team Manufacturer Sponsor
1 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet Cessna, Jacobsen, NASCAR Salutes
2 Brad Keselowski (PC2) Team Penske Ford Alliance Truck Parts
3 Austin Dillon (R) Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet Bass Pro Shops, NRA Museum
4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet Budweiser, Folds of Honor Foundation
5 Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Farmers Insurance, G. I. Jobs
7 Michael Annett (R) Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet Pilot, Flying J
9 Marcos Ambrose Richard Petty Motorsports Ford DeWalt, Wounded Warrior Project
10 Danica Patrick Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet Florida Lottery, GoDaddy
11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota FedEx Ground
13 Casey Mears Germain Racing Chevrolet GEICO
14 Tony Stewart (PC3) Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet Bass Pro Shops, Ducks Unlimited
15 Clint Bowyer Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota RK Motors Charlotte
16 Greg Biffle Roush-Fenway Racing Ford 3M Stars and Stripes
17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush-Fenway Racing Ford Cargill, Winn-Dixie
18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Interstate All Battery Center
20 Matt Kenseth (PC5) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota The Home Depot, Husky Tools
21 Trevor Bayne (i) Wood Brothers Racing Ford Motorcraft, Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center
22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford Shell, Pennzoil
23 Alex Bowman (R) BK Racing Toyota Dr. Pepper
24 Jeff Gordon (PC6) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Pepsi-Cola "Made with Real Sugar"
26 Cole Whitt (R) BK Racing Toyota Scorpion Window Film
27 Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet Menards, Splash Products
29 Joe Nemechek RAB Racing Toyota ToyotaCare
31 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet WIX Filters
32 Terry Labonte (PC8) Go FAS Racing Ford C&J Energy Services
33 Bobby Labonte (PC7) Circle Sport Chevrolet Thunder Coal
34 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford FarmRich
36 Reed Sorenson Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet Golden Corral
38 David Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford Love's Travel Stops "We Love Our Troops"
40 Landon Cassill (i) Circle Sport Chevrolet Newtown Building Supplies
41 Kurt Busch (PC4) Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet Haas Automation Made in America
42 Kyle Larson (R) Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet Target, NASCAR Salutes
43 Aric Almirola Richard Petty Motorsports Ford United States Air Force
47 A. J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet Scott Products
48 Jimmie Johnson (PC1) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Lowe's Patriotic
51 Justin Allgaier (R) HScott Motorsports Chevrolet AccuDoc Solutions
55 Brian Vickers Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota Aaron's Dream Machine, FSU National Champions
66 Michael Waltrip Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota Royal Teak Collection
78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet Furniture Row, Denver Mattress
83 Ryan Truex (R) BK Racing Toyota VooDoo BBQ & Grill, Armed Forces Motorsports
88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet National Guard
95 Michael McDowell Leavine Family Racing Ford JPO Absorbants
98 Josh Wise Phil Parsons Racing Chevrolet Charlie Crist for Governor*
99 Carl Edwards Roush-Fenway Racing Ford Subway "Aahvocado!"
Official 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.

Cars lined up in the garage for the race.

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 201.952 mph (325.010 km/h). The final practice session was cancelled due to weather.

Pos No. Driver Team Manufacturer Time Speed
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 44.590 201.839
Official practice results

Qualifying

David Gilliland won the pole position, the first for Front Row Motorsports.

David Gilliland won the pole with a lap time of 45.531 and a speed of 199.322 mph (320.778 km/h) 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 No. Driver Team Manufacturer Lap Time
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 46.636
Did not qualify
44 29 Joe Nemechek RAB Racing Toyota 45.974
Official 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

Aric Almirola scored his first career win after rain shortened the race to 112 laps.

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

The race restarted on lap 105, and it remained green for 5 laps, The sixth caution of the race flew on lap 109 again for rain, and the cars were brought back down pit road as the race was red flagged for the third time. Eventually, NASCAR called the race and Almirola scored his first career win. Almirola's victory was the first for a car numbered 43, since John Andretti did so in the 1999 Goody's Body Pain 500 at Martinsville Speedway. For the first time since the 2007 UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400, all top ten starting drivers failed to finish within the top ten positions.

Post-race infractions

On the Tuesday following the race, Kurt Busch was penalized 10 points for a technical infraction following post-race inspection. The infraction was a P2 level penalty and a violation of section 12-1 (actions detrimental to stock car racing) and 20–12 (l) (for events at Daytona International Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway, at all times, the Delta (or difference) of the Z-height measurement between the center of the panhard bar mounting bolt located at the left truck trailing arm and the center of the panhard bar mounting bolt, located at the right rear sub-frame mounting bracket, must not exceed three inches) of the 2014 NASCAR rule book.

Race results

Pos Grid No. Driver Team Manufacturer Laps Points
1 15 43 Aric Almirola Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 112 47
2 30 55 Brian Vickers Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 112 42
3 40 41 Kurt Busch Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 112 33
4 22 13 Casey Mears Germain Racing Chevrolet 112 41
5 23 3 Austin Dillon (R) Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 112 39
6 37 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 112 38
7 27 95 Michael McDowell Leavine Family Racing Ford 112 37
8 29 10 Danica Patrick Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 112 36
9 34 15 Clint Bowyer Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 112 36
10 18 9 Marcos Ambrose Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 112 34
11 38 32 Terry Labonte Go FAS Racing Ford 112 33
12 9 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 112 33
13 43 23 Alex Bowman (R) BK Racing Toyota 112 31
14 7 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 112 30
15 19 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet 112 29
16 21 27 Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 112 28
17 28 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 112 27
18 26 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 111 26
19 41 66 Michael Waltrip Identity Ventures Racing Toyota 111 25
20 6 20 Matt Kenseth Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 111 25
21 32 7 Michael Annett (R) Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 104 24
22 8 34 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 102 23
23 33 98 Josh Wise Phil Parsons Racing Ford 101 21
24 20 31 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 100 20
25 31 51 Justin Allgaier (R) HScott Motorsports Chevrolet 98 19
26 4 33 Bobby Labonte Richard Childress Racing-Circle Sport Chevrolet 98 18
27 14 5 Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 97 17
28 39 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 97 16
29 10 16 Greg Biffle Roush-Fenway Racing Ford 97 16
30 36 1 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 97 15
31 3 40 Landon Cassill Hillman-Circle Sport LLC Chevrolet 97 0
32 42 83 Ryan Truex (R) BK Racing Toyota 97 12
33 2 36 Reed Sorenson Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 97 12
34 17 26 Cole Whitt (R) BK Racing Toyota 97 10
35 1 38 David Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 97 10
36 35 42 Kyle Larson (R) Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 69 8
37 11 99 Carl Edwards Roush-Fenway Racing Ford 66 7
38 25 21 Trevor Bayne Wood Brothers Racing Ford 46 0
39 13 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 46 5
40 12 14 Tony Stewart Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 45 5
41 16 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush-Fenway Racing Ford 37 3
42 5 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 20 2
43 24 47 A. J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 19 1

Race summary

  • Lead changes: 21 among different drivers
  • Cautions/Laps: 6 for 29
  • Red flags: 3 for 1 hour, 30 minutes and 31 seconds
  • Time of race: 2 hours, 9 minutes and 13 seconds
  • Average speed: 130.014 miles per hour (209.237 km/h)

Media

Television

TNT Sports
Booth announcers Pit reporters
Lap-by-lap: Adam Alexander
Color-commentator: Wally Dallenbach Jr.
Color commentator: Kyle Petty
Matt Yocum
Marty Snider
Chris Neville
Ralph Sheheen

Radio

MRN Radio
Booth announcers Turn announcers Pit reporters
Lead announcer: Joe Moore
Announcer: Barney Hall

Announcer: Jeff Striegle
Guest driver analyst: Chase Elliott

Turns 1 & 2: Dave Moody
Backstretch: Mike Bagley
Turns 3 & 4: Kurt Becker
Winston Kelly
Steve Post
Alex Hayden
Woody Cain

Standings after the race


This page was last updated at 2023-11-20 18:25 UTC. Update now. View original page.

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