As we go into the Chase for the Sprint Cup, here is a summary of the eight Sprint Cup Series races between New Hampshire in July and Richmond on Saturday night.
New Hampshire, July 13: The race is slowed by a series of debris cautions. Jimmie Johnson also runs into trouble early in the race. Kyle Busch and Kyle Larson lead early, and then Clint Bowyer leads several laps. Later in the race, Joey Logano and veteran Morgan Shepherd get into a crash, which frustrates Logano. Justin Allgaier wrecks with a few laps left, and Brad Keselowski pulls away on the ensuing green-white-checkered finish to take his third win of the season. This was the last NASCAR race for cable network TNT.
Indianapolis, July 27: To celebrate the 20th anniversary of Jeff Gordon's win in the inaugural Brickyard 400 in 1994, the day is declared "Jeff Gordon Day" by the speedway. Polesitter Kevin Harvick leads a few laps, but Gordon soon takes the lead from him. Gordon's teammate Kasey Kahne also leads several laps throughout the race. Danica Patrick and Trevor Bayne both get into single-car wrecks and their race ends early. On the final restart, Gordon passes Kahne for the lead and stays out front to win his fifth Brickyard 400, and 90th Sprint Cup race.
Pocono, August 3: Kyle Larson gets his first official series pole. Jeff Gordon leads during much of the first half of the race. Chase contenders Kyle Busch and Jimmie Johnson have issues with their cars and lose some positions in the point standings. On a restart, a 13-car crash takes out drivers like Tony Stewart, Brian Vickers and Matt Kenseth. Late in the race Dale Earnhardt Jr. passes Greg Biffle, who had a slower car, and takes the checkered flag to complete a season sweep of Pocono.
Watkins Glen, August 10: Tony Stewart hit a driver during a sprint car race the previous evening, and the driver, Kevin Ward Jr., died. Regan Smith subbed for Stewart in the #14 Chevrolet. Polesitter Jeff Gordon leads some laps but has a power issue that takes him out of contention. The race features a hard crash involving Ryan Newman and Michael McDowell, which causes the race to be red-flagged for fence repair. Cole Whitt also spins and hits the wall early. The race is stopped again when Denny Hamlin, Alex Kennedy and Reed Sorenson crash. A.J. Allmendinger then holds off Marcos Ambrose to win his first Cup race.
Michigan, August 17: Ryan Truex crashes in practice and has to miss the race, so J.J. Yeley drives the #83 Toyota. Jeff Burton subs for Tony Stewart, who still didn't want to race. Jeff Gordon gets his second straight pole, and he and Logano trade the lead during much of the race. Danica Patrick, Justin Allgaier and others get caught up in a crash just after an early restart. Ryan Newman ends up pitting by himself during green flag runs, because he was on a different strategy. At the last restart, Gordon get by Logano for the lead, with Kevin Harvick, Paul Menard and Dale Earnhardt Jr. right behind them. Logano then falls back and Gordon gets his third win of the season.
Bristol, August 23: For the third week in a row, Jeff Gordon starts on the front row, but he soon has a tire going down and spends several laps in his pit stall getting it fixed. At about the same time, Kyle Busch and Jimmie Johnson get caught speeding on pit road and have to serve penalties. Busch then gets into a wreck with Aric Almirola, Clint Bowyer, Kyle Larson and Brian Vickers. A little later, Kevin Harvick spins Denny Hamlin while Hamlin is leading, causing Hamlin's car to hit the left side of Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s car. An angry Hamlin then throws his HANS device at Harvick's car as it passes by. Later, Jamie McMurray and Brad Keselowski trade the lead, and then Keselowski's teammate Joey Logano gets out front. Not far from the finish, Kyle Busch and his crew chief exchange angry words, causing Busch to retire from the race. Logano goes on to make it a five-way tie for three wins in the series.
Atlanta, August 31: Tony Stewart returns to racing and gets up near the front early in the race. Kevin Harvick and Brad Keselowski spot a squirrel on the track early in the race. The race is filled with debris cautions and some crashes. Jeff Gordon also has another tire problem. Kevin Harvick leads the most laps. After losing the lead to Matt Kenseth and then getting it back, Harvick is passed by Kasey Kahne. A late caution for a crash involving Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr. gives Kenseth the jump on the restart, but then Harvick, Joey Logano, Paul Menard and Jimmie Johnson get into a wreck. Kahne gets the lead back on the second green-white-checkered attempt and wins to join his three Hendrick teammates in the Chase.
Richmond, September 6: Polesitter Brad Keselowski gives up the lead to Kevin Harvick early in the race, but soon gets it back and goes on to lead 383 of 400 laps. The race is very uncompetitive and does not feature much action, and the racing is surprisingly clean for a regular season finale. Probably the biggest highlight was a spectator climbing on top of the fence between the stands and the track, causing NASCAR to throw a caution as security personnel told him to get down. Keselowski wins and gets the first Chase seed, with four regular season victories, while Ryan Newman and Greg Biffle get the final two Chase spots based on points. After the race, Jimmie Johnson suddenly falls faint and is taken to the infield medical center. He is treated for dehydration and released.
The 2014 Sprint Cup regular season has been filled with a lot of exciting moments. The Chase, with its new 16-driver elimination format, will certainly be even better.
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