2014 AAA 400

The 2014 AAA 400 was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race that was held on September 28, 2014, at Dover International Speedway in Dover, Delaware. Contested over 400 laps, it was the 29th race of the 36 race 2014 Sprint Cup Series championship, and the third race in the Chase for the Sprint Cup. Jeff Gordon won the race, his fourth win of the season and first at Dover since 2001. Brad Keselowski finished second while Jimmie Johnson, Joey Logano and Matt Kenseth rounded out the top five. The top rookies of the race were Kyle Larson (6th), Austin Dillon (24th), and Justin Allgaier (29th).

Quick Facts Date, Location ...

2014 AAA 400

Race details[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10]
Race 29 of 36 in the 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Layout of Dover International Speedway
Date	September 28, 2014 (2014-09-28)
Location	Dover International Speedway in Dover, Delaware
Course	Permanent racing facility 1 mi (1.6 km)
Distance	400 laps, 400 mi (643.737 km)
Weather	Mostly sunny with a temperature of 76 °F (24 °C); wind out of the southeast at 5 miles per hour (8.0 km/h)
Average speed	130.541 mph (210.085 km/h)
Pole position
Driver	Kevin Harvick	Stewart-Haas Racing
Time	22.095
Most laps led
Driver	Kevin Harvick	Stewart-Haas Racing
Laps	223
Winner
No. 24	Jeff Gordon	Hendrick Motorsports
Television in the United States
Network	ESPN & MRN
Announcers	Allen Bestwick, Dale Jarrett and Andy Petree (Television) Joe Moore and Jeff Striegle (Booth) Mike Bagley (Backstretch) (Radio)
Nielsen Ratings	2.3/5 (Final) 2.1/5 (Overnight) 3.786 Million viewers[11]

Close

Joey Logano took off on the first Green-White-Checker attempt to score his fourth victory of the season. “It feels good to go into the next one,” Logano said. “We’ve got to keep doing what we’re doing though. We’ve got to keep our eye on the prize and think about the big trophy at the end.”^[12]

Harvick won the pole with a time of 22.095 and a speed of 162.933 mph (262.215 km/h). "It’s been an amazing year for everybody," Harvick said of his team. "They do a great job in preparing the racecars and put a lot of effort into qualifying, and it’s translated into a lot of good finishes." "This is the most important race of my career," Hamlin said. "This is the most important race now because it's in the present. If we’re going to live to race another day, we’ve got to get past this weekend. If not, we become somewhat irrelevant."^[19] Forty-three cars were entered so no one failed to qualify.

The race was scheduled to begin at 2:15 p.m. Eastern time but started at 2:19 p.m. when Kevin Harvick led the field to the green. Debris in turn four brought out the first caution of the race on lap 62. The race restarted on lap 68. Caution flew for the second time on lap 75 after Ricky Stenhouse Jr. made contact with the wall in turn 2. The race restarted on lap 80. Debris on the backstretch brought out the third caution of the race on lap 125. The race restarted on lap 130.

After leading the first 147 laps, Harvick surrendered the lead to Brad Keselowski on lap 148. He was dealing with a problem with the left-front suspension.^[22]

J. J. Yeley brought out the fourth caution on lap 171 after brushing the wall in turn 2. Keselowski traded the lead with Harvick on pit road thanks to pitting before the start/finish line. Harvick retained the lead off pit road.^[23]

The race restarted on lap 176. Kevin Harvick ducked onto pit road on lap 249 and handed the lead to Matt Kenseth. Kenseth made his stop the next lap and handed the lead to Clint Bowyer. Bowyer made his stop the next lap and handed the lead to Jamie McMurray.

Harvick cut his left front tire and brought out the fifth caution of the race on lap 254. Keselowski assumed the lead as a result.^[24]

The race restarted on lap 261. Jeff Gordon took the lead on lap 305. Gordon made his final pit stop on lap 328 and handed the lead to Matt Kenseth. Kenseth made his final stop on lap 329 and handed the lead to Carl Edwards. Edwards made his final stop on lap 330.

Jeff Gordon cycled back to the lead and kept it to score his 92nd career win. “I knew we could compete with the 2 car [Keselowski],” Gordon said. “The 2 was really good on short runs but we could run them down. He made us work for it there at the end... He got to me and I was really, really tight in traffic there at the end, so I didn't know if we were gonna pull it off.” Kevin Harvick, who led a race high 223 laps before cutting a left-front tire, finished 13th one lap down. "I don't know what happened to Kevin Harvick," Gordon said. "That was unfortunate for him. He was the class of the field. ... I was really tight in traffic there at the end. I didn't know if we were going to pull it off." "We can beat every car on the race track. We just need some good luck," Harvick adds. "We'll win races and have a shot at the championship."^[25] Kasey Kahne secured the twelfth and final spot in the points to advance to the Contender Round. “I had to push hard,” Kahne said. “I'm glad NASCAR just let us go and let us race for it. It was pretty interesting, but I'm glad we made it. We had to fight hard, and I think we had a Top-2 or 3 car today – just didn't get to show it.” With this being the final race of the Challenger Round, A. J. Allmendinger, Kurt Busch, Greg Biffle and Aric Almirola were the bottom four drivers in points that were eliminated.^[26]