2014 NASCAR Cup Series (Simpsonverse)
The 2014 NASCAR Cup Series was the 66th season of professional stock car racing in the United States and the 43rd modern-era Cup season. The season began at Daytona International Speedway, with the Budweiser Shootout, followed by the Daytona 500. The season ended with the Oral-B USA 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
This season was the final year of broadcasting for the ESPN family of networks. ESPN had covered the second half of the Sprint Cup season since 2007. For 2015, their portions of the season were divided between Fox Sports, MGM, Turner Sports, and NBC.
Tony Stewart and Stewart-Haas Racing claimed the drivers' championship and owners' championship, while Chevrolet won the manufacturer's championship. In one of the largest rookie classes in recent history, Kyle Larson was named the Junie Donlavey Rookie of the Year.
Teams and drivers
Complete schedule
| Manufacturer | Team | No. | Race Driver | Crew Chief | Model |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chevrolet | Dale Earnhardt, Inc. | 01 | Jeffrey Earnhardt | Dan Stillman | Camaro |
| 1 | Martin Truex Jr. | Doug Randolph | |||
| 8 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Tony Eury, Jr. | |||
| 15 | Carl Edwards | Keith Rodden | |||
| 81 | Matt Kenseth | Kevin Hamlin | |||
| Furniture Row Racing | 78 | Kurt Busch | Todd Berrier | SS | |
| Germain Racing | 13 | Casey Mears | Bootie Barker | SS | |
| Hendrick Motorsports | 5 | Kasey Kahne | Kenny Francis | Camaro | |
| 24 | Jeff Gordon | Alan Gustafson | |||
| 25 | Brad Keselowski | Steve Letarte | |||
| 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Chad Knaus | |||
| 84 | Landon Cassill | Lance McGrew | |||
| HScott Motorsports | 09 | Justin Allgaier (R) | Steve Addington | SS | |
| JTG Daugherty Racing | 47 | A.J. Allmendinger | Brian Burns | SS | |
| Richard Childress Racing | 3 | Jeff Burton | Gil Martin | Camaro | |
| 30 | Ryan Newman | Luke Lambert | |||
| 31 | Paul Menard | Justin Alexander | |||
| 33 | Austin Dillon (R) | Shane Wilson | |||
| Hillman-Circle Sport LLC | 04 | Timmy Hill Template:Tooltip | Nick Harrison Template:Tooltip Mark Hillman Template:Tooltip Mike Hillman Jr. Template:Tooltip |
SS | |
| David Stremme Template:Tooltip | |||||
| Alex Kennedy Template:Tooltip[1] | |||||
| Bobby Labonte Template:Tooltip | |||||
| Morgan Shepherd Template:Tooltip | |||||
| Travis Kvapil Template:Tooltip | |||||
| Stewart-Haas Racing | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Rodney Childers | Camaro | |
| 10 | Danica Patrick | Tony Gibson Template:Tooltip Daniel Knost Template:Tooltip[2] | |||
| 14 | Tony Stewart | Greg Zipadelli | |||
| Tommy Baldwin Racing | 7 | Michael Annett (R) | Kevin Manion | Camaro | |
| 36 | Reed Sorenson | Tommy Baldwin Jr. | |||
| Dodge | Chip Ganassi Racing | 40 | Bryan Clauson | Jeff Vandermoss | Challenger |
| 41 | Kenny Irwin, Jr. | Mike Shiplett | |||
| 42 | Kyle Larson (R) | Chris Heroy | |||
| Petty Enterprises | 9 | Marcos Ambrose | Drew Blickensderfer | ||
| 43 | Aric Almirola | Mike Ford | |||
| 44 | Chad McCumbee | Mark Tudor | |||
| 45 | Adam Petty | Billy Wilburn | |||
| 46 | Austin Petty | Chris Hussey | |||
| Ford | Brett Favre Racing | 16 | Parker Kligerman (R) | Chad Johnston | Mustang |
| 61 | Steve Park | Slugger Labbe | |||
| 90 | Tony Roper | Darrell Bryant | |||
| Front Row Motorsports | 34 | David Ragan[3] | Jay Guy Template:Tooltip Derrick Finley Template:Tooltip |
Fusion | |
| 38 | David Gilliland[3] | Frank Kerr Template:Tooltip Jay Guy Template:Tooltip | |||
| Go FAS Racing | 32 | Terry Labonte Template:Tooltip | Ben Leslie Template:Tooltip Clinton Cram Template:Tooltip |
Fusion | |
| Travis Kvapil Template:Tooltip | |||||
| Blake Koch Template:Tooltip | |||||
| Boris Said Template:Tooltip | |||||
| Eddie MacDonald Template:Tooltip[4] | |||||
| J. J. Yeley Template:Tooltip | |||||
| Joey Gase Template:Tooltip[5] | |||||
| Timmy Hill Template:Tooltip | |||||
| Kyle Fowler Template:Tooltip | |||||
| Orr Motorsports | 37 | Michael McDowell | John Page | Fusion | |
| Robert Yates Racing | 28 | Jamie McMurray | Greg Erwin | Fusion | |
| 88 | Jeremy Mayfield | Todd Parrott | |||
| 96 | Jason Leffler | Larry Carter | |||
| Roush Fenway Racing | 6 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Chad Norris | Roush Mustang | |
| 17 | Trevor Bayne | Mike Kelley | |||
| 60 | Greg Biffle | Matt Puccia | |||
| Team Penske | 2 | Blaise Alexander | Paul Wolfe Template:Tooltip Greg Erwin Template:Tooltip[6] |
Mustang | |
| 22 | Joey Logano | Todd Gordon | |||
| Wood Brothers Racing | 21 | Travis Pastrana (R) | Donnie Wingo | Shelby GT500 | |
| Toyota | BK Racing | 23 | Alex Bowman (R) | Dave Winston | Avalon |
| 26 | Cole Whitt (R) | Randy Cox | |||
| 83 | Ryan Truex (R) Template:Tooltip | Dale Ferguson Template:Tooltip Doug Richert Template:Tooltip Joe Williams Template:Tooltip | |||
| J. J. Yeley Template:Tooltip | |||||
| Travis Kvapil Template:Tooltip | |||||
| Identity Ventures Racing 33
Michael Waltrip Racing 6 |
66 | Michael Waltrip Template:Tooltip[7] | Chad Walter | Camry | |
| Jeff Burton Template:Tooltip[7] | |||||
| Brett Moffitt Template:Tooltip[8] | |||||
| Timmy Hill Template:Tooltip | |||||
| Tomy Drissi Template:Tooltip | |||||
| Mike Wallace Template:Tooltip | |||||
| Joe Gibbs Racing | 11 | Denny Hamlin Template:Tooltip | Darian Grubb Template:Tooltip Michael Wheeler Template:Tooltip |
Camry | |
| Sam Hornish Jr. Template:Tooltip[9] | |||||
| 18 | Kyle Busch | Dave Rogers | |||
| 20 | Elliott Sadler | Jason Ratcliff | |||
| Michael Waltrip Racing | 51 | Clint Bowyer | Brian Pattie | Camry | |
| 55 | Brian Vickers | Billy Scott | |||
| 56 | Jerry Nadeau | Scott Eggleston | |||
| NEMCO Motorsports | 87 | John Nemechek | Eric Phillips | Camry | |
| Ford Template:Tooltip Chevrolet Template:Tooltip |
Phil Parsons Racing | 98 | Josh Wise | Gene Nead | Mustang
2012 Impala |
| Toyota 8 Dodge 30 |
Swan Racing8 Chip Ganassi Racing30 |
27 | David Stremme | Steve Lane | 2013 Avalon 8 Challenger30 |
Limited schedule
| Manufacturer | Team | No. | Race Driver | Crew Chief | Round(s) | Model |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chevrolet | Beard Motorsports | 75 | Clay Rogers | Darren Shaw | Template:Tooltip | SS |
| HScott Motorsports | 52 | Bobby Labonte | Jimmy Elledge | 1 | SS | |
| Team XTREME Racing | Template:Tooltip | J. J. Yeley | Walter Giles Template:Tooltip Joe Lax Template:Tooltip Steve Lane Template:Tooltip |
Template:Tooltip | 2011 Impala | |
| Timmy Hill | Peter Sospenzo | Template:Tooltip | ||||
| Tommy Baldwin Racing | 37 | Bobby Labonte | Tommy Baldwin Jr. | Template:Tooltip | 2013 SS | |
| Dave Blaney | Zach McGowan | Template:Tooltip | ||||
| Mike Bliss | Template:Tooltip | |||||
| Ford | Front Row Motorsports | 35 | Eric McClure | Todd Anderson Template:Tooltip Derrick Finley Template:Tooltip |
Template:Tooltip | 2013 Fusion |
| Blake Koch | Template:Tooltip | |||||
| David Reutimann | Template:Tooltip | |||||
| Leavine Family Racing | 95 | Scott Speed | Wally Rogers | Template:Tooltip[10] | Fusion | |
| Randy Humphrey Racing | 77 | Dave Blaney | Peter Sospenzo | Template:Tooltip | 2011 Mustang | |
| Nelson Piquet Jr. | Steve Lane | Template:Tooltip | ||||
| Joe Nemechek | Template:Tooltip | |||||
| Corey LaJoie | Template:Tooltip | |||||
| Team Penske | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Jeremy Bullins | Template:Tooltip | Mustang | |
| Juan Pablo Montoya | Greg Erwin | Template:Tooltip | ||||
| Toyota | BK Racing | 93 | Morgan Shepherd | Rick Ren | Template:Tooltip | Avalon |
| Mike Bliss | Doug Richert | Template:Tooltip | ||||
| Johnny Sauter | Template:Tooltip | |||||
| J. J. Yeley | Template:Tooltip | |||||
| Clay Rogers | Template:Tooltip | |||||
| Identity Ventures Racing | 49 | Mike Wallace | Scott Eggleston | Template:Tooltip | Camry | |
| 97 | Joe Nemechek | Template:Tooltip | ||||
| Morgan Shepherd | Template:Tooltip | |||||
| Timmy Hill | Template:Tooltip | |||||
| RAB Racing | 29 | Joe Nemechek | Chris Rice Template:Tooltip Matt Lucas Template:Tooltip |
Template:Tooltip | 2011 Camry | |
| Matt Crafton | Template:Tooltip |
Local Leasing entries
| Manufacturer | Team | No. | Race Driver | Crew Chief | Round(s) | Model and year |
|---|
Manufacturer changes
- Ford began fielding the Shelby GT500 for Wood Brothers Racing, marking Shelby's NASCAR debut.
Changes
Rules changes
One major change was the banning of coil-binding, and a rigid inspection process to ensure crew chiefs weren't cheating the system by binding the coils.
Body rules were tightened to ensure teams weren't trying to create artificial aerodynamic advantages. Bodywork was required to be symmetrical, with no flaring; teams managed to exploit a loophole saying the front fenders couldn't be flared, as nothing in the rulebook mentioned the rear fenders.
Finally, the field was expanded from 43 to 46 cars, after NASCAR introduced the Local Leasing Program, allowing one-off and local entries into races. These homegrown entries often use cars straight from the showroom, as well as older car models, since there are no rules mandating that Local Leasing teams use the SSC; the rules forbid the use of hatchbacks, vans, minivans, SUVS, pickup trucks, convertibles, cars with a rotary engine, hybrids, electrics, open-wheeled cars like IndyCars or Formula 1 cars, Daytona or Le Mans Prototypes, Whelen Modified cars, dirt stocks, super stocks, mini stocks, supercars, exotics, really old cars (the rulebook specifically calls out the Ford Model T and any AMC cars), steam-powered cars, horse-drawn chariots (a rule added after an amusing incident at the 2015 Southern 500 where a driver attempted to enter a replica Roman chariot drawn by a horse, which was rejected on animal welfare grounds; the incident quickly became an internet meme, with many fans jokingly calling for a "NASCAR Chariot Series"), race horses in general, anything remotely resembling a go-kart (several ignorant drivers tried entering go-karts with nitrous bottles attached so they could remain competitive; all were rejected on safety grounds), drag racers (again, ignorant drivers have tried entering ex-NHRA and NASCAR DieHard Drag Racing Series cars, all of which were rejected for having absolutely no handling to speak of at speed, and having an unfair aerodynamic advantage over the SSC), and anything remotely resembling a potential lemon. This also meant the return of the older-style car to Cup Series competition for the first time since 2002.
Schedule
The final calendar was released on October 15, 2013, comprising 38 races, as well as two exhibition races. The schedule also includes two Gatorade Duels, which are the qualifying races for the Daytona 500.
| No. | Race Title | Track | Date | TV |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Budweiser Shootout | Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach | February 15 | CBS | |
| Gatorade Duels | February 20 | CBS | ||
| 1 | Daytona 500 | February 23 | CBS | |
| 2 | Subway Fresh Fit 500 | Rockingham Speedway, Rockingham | March 2 | Fox |
| 3 | Kobalt 400 | Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Las Vegas | March 9 | Fox |
| 4 | Axalta 300 | Road America, Elkhart Lake | March 16 | Fox |
| 5 | Budweiser 400 | Riverside Speedway, Moreno Valley | March 23 | Fox |
| 6 | STP 500 | Martinsville Speedway, Ridgeway | March 30 | Fox |
| 7 | Duck Commander 500 | Texas World Speedway, College Station | April 7† | Fox |
| 8 | Old Spice 400 | Gateway Motorsports Park, Madison | April 12 | Fox |
| 9 | Clarence 400 | Nazareth Speedway, Nazareth | April 26 | Fox
Nickelodeon Cartoon Network |
| 10 | Aaron's 499 | Talladega Superspeedway, Talladega | May 4 | Fox |
| 11 | 5-hour Energy 400 | Kansas Speedway, Kansas City | May 10 | Fox |
| NASCAR Open | Charlotte Motor Speedway, Concord | May 15 | FS1 | |
| NASCAR All-Star Race | May 17 | FS1 | ||
| 12 | Coca-Cola 600 | May 25 | Fox | |
| 13 | FedEx 400 | Dover International Speedway, Dover | June 1 | Fox |
| 14 | Pocono 400 | Pocono Raceway, Long Pond | June 8 | TBS |
| 15 | Howard Johnson's 400 | Pikes Peak International Raceway, Fountain | June 15 | TBS |
| 16 | McDonald's 400 | Chicago Motor Speedway, Cicero | June 22 | MGM |
| 17 | MyAFibStory.com 400 | Chicagoland Speedway, Joliet | June 28 | TBS |
| 18 | Coke Zero 400 | Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach | July 6† | MGM |
| 19 | Camping World RV Sales 301 | New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Loudon | July 13 | TBS |
| 20 | Crown Royal Presents The John Wayne Walding 400 | Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Speedway | July 27 | ESPN |
| 21 | Gobowling.com 400 | Pocono Raceway, Long Pond | August 3 | ESPN |
| 22 | Cheez-It 355 at The Glen | Watkins Glen International, Watkins Glen | August 10 | MGM |
| 23 | Pure Michigan 400 | Michigan International Speedway, Brooklyn | August 17 | MGM |
| 24 | Irwin Tools Night Race | Bristol Motor Speedway, Bristol | August 23 | ABC |
| 25 | Jacob's Grand Prix | Brands Hatch, West Kingsdown, Kent, England | August 31 | ESPN |
| 26 | Bojangles Southern 500 | Darlington Raceway, Darlington | September 6 | MGM |
| 27 | Quaker State 400 | Kentucky Speedway, Sparta | September 14 | MGM |
| 28 | TNN 420 | Fairgrounds Speedway, Nashville | September 21 | TNN |
| 29 | Tyson Holly Farms 400 | North Wilkesboro Speedway, North Wilkesboro | September 28 | TBS |
| 30 | Auto Club 400 | Auto Club Speedway, Fontana | October 5 | MGM |
| 31 | Keystone Light 400 | Milwaukee Mile, West Allis | October 11 | TBS |
| 32 | Bank of America Roval 500 | Charlotte Motor Speedway, Concord (Roval) | October 19 | ABC |
| 33 | GEICO 500 | Talladega Superspeedway, Talladega | October 26 | MGM |
| 34 | Ford EcoBoost 400 | Homestead-Miami Speedway, Homestead | November 2 | ESPN |
| 35 | Toyota Save/Mart 350 | Sonoma Raceway, Sonoma | November 9 | TBS |
| 36 | Quicken Loans Race for Heroes 500 | Phoenix International Raceway, Avondale | November 16 | MGM |
| 37 | Sega 350 | Suzuka Circuit, Suzuka, Japan | November 23 | MGM |
| 38 | Oral-B USA 500 | Atlanta Motor Speedway, Hampton | November 30 | MGM |
Results and standings
Races
| No. | Race | Pole position | Most laps led | Winning driver | Make/Model |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sprint Unlimited at Daytona | Toyota Camry | ||||
| Budweiser Duel 1 | Toyota Camry | ||||
| Budweiser Duel 2 | Toyota Camry | ||||
| 1 | Daytona 500 | Austin Dillon | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Mark Martin | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 2 | Subway Fresh Fit 500 | Tony Stewart | Adam Petty | Adam Petty | Dodge Challenger |
| 3 | Kobalt 400 | Ford Mustang | |||
| 4 | Food City 500 | Chevrolet Camaro | |||
| 5 | Auto Club 400 | Matt Kenseth | Jimmie Johnson | Kyle Larson | Dodge Challenger |
| 6 | STP 500 | Kurt Busch | Chevrolet SS | ||
| 7 | Duck Commander 500 | Ford Mustang | |||
| 8 | Bojangles' Southern 500 | Kevin Harvick | Kevin Harvick | Kenny Irwin Jr. | Dodge Challenger |
| 9 | Toyota Owners 400 | Ford Fusion | |||
| 10 | Aaron's 499 | Brian Scott | Greg Biffle | Austin Dillon | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 11 | 5-hour Energy 400 | Chevrolet Camaro | |||
| NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race | Ford Fusion | ||||
| 12 | Coca-Cola 600 | Jimmie Johnson | Jimmie Johnson | Adam Petty | Dodge Challenger |
| 13 | FedEx 400 | Chevrolet Camaro | |||
| 14 | Pocono 400 | Chevrolet Camaro | |||
| 15 | Quicken Loans 400 | Kevin Harvick | Kevin Harvick | Tony Stewart | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 16 | Toyota/Save Mart 350 | Jamie McMurray | A. J. Allmendinger | Marcos Ambrose | Dodge Challenger |
| 17 | Quaker State 400 | Ford Mustang | |||
| 18 | Coke Zero 400 | Dodge Challenger | |||
| 19 | Camping World RV Sales 301 | Kyle Busch | Brad Keselowski | Bryan Clauson | Dodge Challenger |
| 20 | Brickyard 400 | Kevin Harvick | Tony Stewart | Jeff Gordon | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 21 | Gobowling.com 400 | Chevrolet Camaro | |||
| 22 | Cheez-It 355 at The Glen | Chevrolet SS | |||
| 23 | Pure Michigan 400 | Chevrolet Camaro | |||
| 24 | Irwin Tools Night Race | Kevin Harvick | Jamie McMurray | Tony Roper | Ford Mustang |
| 25 | Oral-B USA 500 | Chevrolet Camaro | |||
| 26 | Federated Auto Parts 400 | Brad Keselowski | Adam Petty | Adam Petty | Dodge Challenger |
| 27 | MyAFibStory.com 400 | Kyle Busch | Kevin Harvick | Brad Keselowski | Ford Mustang |
| 28 | Sylvania 300 | Brad Keselowski | Tony Stewart | Tony Stewart | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 29 | AAA 400 | Chevrolet Camaro | |||
| 30 | Hollywood Casino 400 | Ford Mustang | |||
| 31 | Bank of America 500 | Chevrolet Camaro | |||
| 32 | GEICO 500 | Brian Vickers | Jimmie Johnson | Adam Petty | Dodge Challenger |
| 33 | Goody's Headache Relief Shot 500 | Chevrolet Camaro | |||
| 34 | AAA Texas 500 | Chevrolet Camaro | |||
| 35 | Quicken Loans Race for Heroes 500 | Denny Hamlin | Kevin Harvick | Tony Stewart | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 36 | Ford EcoBoost 400 | Jeff Gordon | Tony Stewart | Tony Stewart | Chevrolet Camaro |