Starting from 3rd place Car 4 Kevin Harvick Budweiser Chevrolet won the Quicken Loans Race for Heroes 500 at Phoenix International Raceway. With the win, Harvick clinched a spot in the Championship race at Homestead-Miami Speedway. This is his 4th win & 19th Top 10 finish in 2014 & this is his 6th win & 13th Top 10 finish in 24 races at Phoenix International Raceway.
2nd Place Car 24 Jeff Gordon Axalta Chevrolet started from 7th place posted his 22nd Top 10 finish in 32 races at Phoenix International Raceway. This was also his 22nd Top 10 finish in 2014 but this was not enough points to make it to the final round of the Chase. 3rd Place Car 20 Matt Kenseth Dollar General Toyota started from 5th place posted his 10th top-10 finish in 25 races at Phoenix International Raceway. This position was also not enough points to make it to the final round of the Chase.
4th Place Car 2 Brad Keselowski Miller Lite Ford started from 2nd place was also eliminated from the Chase, as he needed to win to make it to the next round. 5th Place Car 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Ground Toyota started from pole. With points he clinched a spot in the Championship race at Homestead-Miami Speedway. 6th Place Car 22 Joey Logano Shell Pennzoil Ford started from 4th place. With points he clinched a spot in the Championship race at Homestead-Miami Speedway. 7th place Car 41 Kurt Busch Haas Automation Chevrolet started from 10th place followed by 8th place Car 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Kelley Blue Book Chevrolet started from 16th place. 9th Place Car 16 Greg Biffle Sherwin Williams Ford started from 28th place & lastly in the Top 10 was Car 9 Marcos Ambrose Stanley Ford in 10th place who started from 21st place.
The race had 12 Cautions 58 Laps: 1st Caution on lap 32 for Debris on the backstretch, 2nd Caution on lap 82 for Car 13 Casey Mears GEICO Chevrolet crash on the backstretch, 3rd Caution on lap 97 for Debris on the frontstretch, 4th Caution on lap 124 for Debris in turn 1, 5th Caution on lap 185 for Car 3 Austin Dillon Cheerios Chevrolet slow on track, 6th Caution on lap 202 for Debris in turn 1, 7th Caution on lap 207 for Car 33 Ty Dillon Charter Communications Chevrolet, Car 98 Josh Wise PPR98 Chevrolet crash in turn 4, 8th Caution on lap 213 for Car 15 Clint Bowyer 5-hour Energy Toyota, Car 18 Kyle Busch Banfield Pet Hospital Toyota, Car 26 Cole Whitt 16T fuelxx/Tapout Muscle Recovery Toyota crash in turn 2 [Red Flag: Lap 216, 3:52], 9th Caution on lap 238 for Car 48 Jimmie Johnson Lowe’s Patriotic Chevrolet crash in turn 1, 10th Caution on lap 246 for Car 1 Jamie McMurray Liftmaster Chevrolet crash in turn 2, 11th Caution on lap 289 for Debris on the frontstretch, 12th Caution on lap 298 for Car 40 Landon Cassill Newtown Building Supplies Chevrolet, Car 66 Mike Wallace Toyota crash turn 4.
The race also had 8 Lead Changes among 6 drivers: D. Hamlin 1-24; J. Logano 25-32; D. Ragan 33-34; J. Logano 35-43; K. Harvick 44-83; D. Earnhardt Jr. 84-87; K. Harvick 88-124; M. Annett # 125; K. Harvick 126-312. Leaders: Car 4 K. Harvick 3 times 264 laps, Car 11 D. Hamlin 1 times 24 laps, Car 22 J. Logano 2 times 17 laps, Car 88 D. Earnhardt Jr. 1 times 4 laps, Car 34 D. Ragan 1 times 2 laps, Car 7 M. Annett 1 times 1 laps.
Car 4 Kevin Harvick Budweiser Chevrolet was the dominator at Phoenix International Raceway as he won the Quicken Loans Race for Heroes 500. This was a case for “if you aren’t 1st your last” for Kevin Harvick. This was a race that Harvick had to win, to make it to the final round of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, losing was not an option.
“Wow, I guess that’s what it feels like to hit a walk-off in extra innings there,” said Harvick, who completed the season sweep at Phoenix with his fourth victory in the last five races there. “I could tell that we were probably going to have to win, because everybody was running up in the front of the pack that we were racing against. That was our goal coming in here and that’s really the goal every time you come to Phoenix. “This place has just been phenomenal for me personally and for this team this year. To do that in front of all your almost hometown fans (Harvick is from Bakersfield, Calif.) and all these people who have been rooting for me since the mid-‘90s is pretty unbelievable. Man, I think this says a lot about our team. I think we have been through a lot this year. They put our backs against the wall. We put it in Victory Lane and get to go on.”
A decent 2nd place finish for Car 24 Jeff Gordon Axalta Chevrolet was to no avail. Car 31 Ryan Newman Caterpillar Chevrolet passed rookie Car 42 Kyle Larson Target Chevrolet for the 11th place on the final lap to eliminate Gordon from the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup by a single point. Jeff Gordon stated “He was proud of what they did this year & all they can do now is try to end the season by winning at Homestead.”
In addition to Gordon, 3rd place Car 20 Matt Kenseth Dollar General Toyota, 4th place Car 2 Brad Keselowski Miller Lite Ford & 15th place Car 99 Carl Edwards Fastenal Ford failed to advance to the final to the final round.
Car 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Office & Car 22 Joey Logano AAA Insurance Ford overcame potential Chase-ending disaster.
On Hamlin’s first pit stop, under caution on Lap 30, the rear tire changer’s air gun inadvertently knocked the valve stem off and flattened the tire. Hamlin returned
to the pits and restarted 36th. Twice during the race, he fell a lap down to Harvick but took advantage of two free passes as the highest-scored lapped car and ultimately finished 5th. The crew gained 3 positions for Hamlin on his final stop, from 11th to 8th, even though 5 drivers stayed out on older tires. Hamlin parlayed his improved track position into a Top 5.
Logano was penalized when he dragged a fuel can that had not disengaged from the coupler out of his pit stall under caution on lap 123. Like Hamlin, Logano lost a lap
to Harvick but took advantage of a “lucky dog” before a restart on lap 206 and rallied to finish 6th.
Final Chase Round:
Car 4 Kevin Harvick Budweiser Chevrolet
Car 22 Joey Logano AAA Insurance Ford
Car 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Office Toyota
Car 31 Ryan Newman Caterpillar Chevrolet
Highest finisher at Nov. 16, 2014 – Homestead-Miami Speedway will be a 1st NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Championship
Eliminated:
Car 24 Jeff Gordon Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet
Car 20 Matt Kenseth Dollar General Toyota
Car 99 Carl Edwards Aflac Ford
Car 2 Brad Keselowski Miller Lite Ford
Top 16 Driver Points: (1) D. Hamlin 4,112;(2) J. Logano 4,111;(3) R. Newman 4,103;(4) K. Harvick 4,102;(5) J. Gordon 4,102;(6) M. Kenseth 4,100;(7) B. Keselowski 4,095;(8) C. Edwards 4,088;(9) Kyle Busch 2,280;(10) D. Earnhardt Jr. 2,271;(11) A. Allmendinger 2,256;(12) G. Biffle 2,244;(13) J. Johnson 2,239;(14) Kurt Busch 2,229;(15) K. Kahne 2,202;(16) A. Almirola 2,170.
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Race Number 35
Unofficial Race Results for the 27Th Annual Quicken Loans Race For Heroes
500 – Sunday, November 9, 2014
Phoenix International Raceway – Avondale, AZ – 1 Mile Paved
Total Race Length – 312 Laps – 312 Miles
Finishing Position Starting Position Car # Driver Team Laps Status
- 3. Car 4 Kevin Harvick Budweiser Chevrolet 312 Running
- 7. Car 24 Jeff Gordon Axalta Chevrolet 312 Running
- 5. Car 20 Matt Kenseth Dollar General Toyota 312 Running
- 2. Car 2 Brad Keselowski Miller Lite Ford 312 Running
- 1. Car 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Ground Toyota 312 Running
- 4. Car 22 Joey Logano Shell Pennzoil Ford 312 Running
- 10. Car 41 Kurt Busch Haas Automation Chevrolet 312 Running
- 16. Car 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Kelley Blue Book Chevrolet 312 Running
- 28. Car 16 Greg Biffle Sherwin Williams Ford 312 Running
- 21. Car 9 Marcos Ambrose Stanley Ford 312 Running
- 20. Car 31 Ryan Newman CAT Mining Chevrolet 312 Running
- 14. Car 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Chevrolet 312 Running
- 8. Car 42 Kyle Larson Target Chevrolet 312 Running
- 19. Car 1 Jamie McMurray Liftmaster Chevrolet 312 Running
- 13. Car 99 Carl Edwards Fastenal Ford 312 Running
- 24. Car 47 AJ Allmendinger GLAD Trash Bags Chevrolet 312 Running
- 18. Car 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Cargill/Fry’s Ford 312 Running
- 23. Car 43 Aric Almirola Farmland/Folds of Honor Ford 312 Running
- 9. Car 55 Brian Vickers Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota 312 Running
- 29. Car 14 Tony Stewart Mobil 1/Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet 312 Running
- 22. Car 5 Kasey Kahne Farmers Insurance Chevrolet 312 Running
- 32. Car 10 Danica Patrick GoDaddy Chevrolet 312 Running
- 11. Car 27 Paul Menard Richmond/Menards Chevrolet 312 Running
- 34. Car 38 David Gilliland Long John Silvers Ford 312 Running
- 35. Car 34 David Ragan Taco Bell Ford 312 Running
- 30. Car 7 Michael Annett Accell Construction Chevrolet 311 Running
- 26. Car 33 Ty Dillon Charter Communications Chevrolet 310 Running
- 33. Car 36 Reed Sorenson Flasr.com Chevrolet 310 Running
- 38. Car 40 Landon Cassill Newtown Building Supplies Chevrolet 310 Running
- 41. Car 83 JJ Yeley Dumb & Dumber To Toyota 309 Running
- 31. Car 95 Michael McDowell KLOVE Radio Ford 309 Running
- 37. Car 23 Alex Bowman Dumb & Dumber To Toyota 308 Running
- 42. Car 32 Joey Gase Zimmer.com Ford 308 Running
- 6. Car 18 Kyle Busch Banfield Pet Hospital Toyota 308 Running
- 12. Car 13 Casey Mears GEICO Chevrolet 305 Running
- 43. Car 66 Mike Wallace Toyota 303 Running
- 27. Car 51 Justin Allgaier BRANDT Professional Agriculture Chevrolet 302 Running
- 25. Car 3 Austin Dillon Cheerios Chevrolet 283 Running
- 15. Car 48 Jimmie Johnson Lowe’s Patriotic Chevrolet 235 Accident
- 17. Car 15 Clint Bowyer 5-hour Energy Toyota 211 Accident
- 36. Car 98 Josh Wise PPR98 Chevrolet 204 Accident
- 40. Car 26 Cole Whitt 16T fuelxx/Tapout Muscle Recovery Toyota 147 Accident
- 39. Car 37 Mike Bliss Chevrolet 16 Brakes
Race Comments: Kevin Harvick won the Quicken Loans Race for Heroes 500 at Phoenix International Raceway, his 27th NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory.
Failed to Qualify: (1) 75 Clay Rogers. Time of Race: 3 Hrs, 07 Mins, 13 Secs. Average Speed: 99.991 MPH Margin of Victory: 1.636 Seconds Caution Flags: 12 for 58 laps: Lead Changes: 8 among 6 drivers.
3M Lap Leader: Kevin Harvick, #4 264 Laps American Ethanol Green Flag Restart Award : Kevin Harvick, #4 Coors Light Pole Award : Denny Hamlin, #11 142.113 mph Duralast Brakes “Brake in the Race”: Joey Logano, #22 Mahle Clevite Engine Builder of the Race: Hendrick Engines, #4 Mobil 1 Driver of the Race : Kevin Harvick, #4 Moog Chassis Parts Problem Solver of the Race: Jeff Gordon, #24 A. Gustafson, .157 sec Sherwin-Williams Fastest Lap: Matt Kenseth, #20 Sunoco Rookie of the Race: Kyle Larson, #42
Next Race: Nov. 16, 2014 – Homestead-Miami Speedway
http://www.nascar.com/en_us/sprint-cup-series.html
Photos Courtesy of NASCAR