Here is a summary of the ten races that made up this year's Chase for the Sprint Cup, the first with the new format.
Chicagoland, September 14: Rain sets the field based on practice speeds. Polesitter Kyle Busch and Jamie McMurray lead early. Kevin Harvick takes the lead around the middle of the race. During pit stops late in the race Aric Almirola has a blown engine while running fifth. McMurray's teammate Kyle Larson then finds himself in the lead but is passed by Harvick and Brad Keselowski after two final cautions. Keselowski goes on to win his second straight while his teammate Joey Logano blows his engine, but still finishes fifth.
New Hampshire, September 21: Dale Earnhardt Jr. loses a couple of laps early after an unscheduled pit stop and has to fight his way back to the front. A crash involving four Chasers including Kasey Kahne and Kyle Busch takes place on lap 188. Brad Keselowski and Matt Kenseth get into each other a few laps later. With seven laps left in the scheduled distance Jeff Gordon crashes, and one last crash with Tony Stewart and David Gilliland sets up a green-white-checkered finish. Joey Logano, after crashing in the July race, pulls away to take his second series win at the track, and seventh overall.
Dover, September 28: This was the last race of the Contender round and four drivers were facing elimination. The Chase grid gets shuffled many times throughout the race. There are few cautions and several long green flag runs. Polesitter Kevin Harvick leads more than 200 of 400 laps, but he cuts a tire while leading and has to go to pit road, he finishes 13th one lap down. A similar problem befell Harvick late in the June race. Brad Keselowski leads some laps, but then Jeff Gordon finds himself out front. Gordon leads the last 71 laps to get his fourth win of the season and advance to the second round of the Chase, along with Keselowski, Logano and nine others. The first four Chase drivers eliminated are A.J. Allmendinger, Aric Almirola, Greg Biffle and Kurt Busch, who was making his 500th series start.
Kansas, October 5: Once again, Kevin Harvick wins the pole, but after a pair of early cautions he falls back. Dale Earnhardt Jr., driving the same car with which he swept Pocono, eventually takes the lead, but then hits the wall after leading several laps and has to get repairs. Earnhardt's teammate Jimmie Johnson and Greg Biffle also get into a crash on the backstretch with Josh Wise and Justin Allgaier, who also had a hard crash with David Gilliland during the May race. Chasers Brad Keselowski and Kasey Kahne run into problems as well. Joey Logano first takes the lead at lap 123, and ends up leading 122 of 267 laps to score his fifth win of 2014 and his second of the Chase.
Charlotte, October 11: The first 25 laps are missed by TV due to other sports games that ran over. ABC finally joins the race during an early competition caution. Dale Earnhardt Jr., who turned 40 years old the day before, takes two tires and comes out in the lead. Several cars have issues and cause a string of oil cautions. Earnhardt later breaks his shifter and ends up a lap down. On lap 247 Danica Patrick and Chasers Joey Logano and Ryan Newman get in a crash, leading to some frustration on the part of all three drivers. Brian Vickers also spins and then later lays down some oil on the track. During the final caution, Brad Keselowski makes Denny Hamlin mad. Kevin Harvick leads the most laps to get his first series win since Darlington in April. and after the checkered flag Hamlin hits Keselowski's car. On pit road a few minutes later, Keselowski bumps into Tony Stewart and Stewart retaliates by backing into Keselowski's car, damaging both cars. In the garage Hamlin and some of his crew members go after Keselowski. When Keselowski is walking to his trailer, Hamlin's teammate Matt Kenseth comes out of nowhere and jumps Keselowski. After exchanging shouts, Keselowski, Kenseth and mayn crew members are sent to the NASCAR hauler.
Talladega, October 19: This race is the Contender round finale. Two-time champion Terry Labonte makes his final start, qualifying ninth in a weird session that sees a driver from a top team (Ricky Stenhouse Jr. of Roush) fail to qualify, Joe Nemechek disqualified and Tony Stewart and Jeff Gordon having to get in on champion's provisionals. Truck Series driver Ryan Blaney leads several of the opening laps. Dale Earnhardt Jr., on the brink of elimination, slowly makes his way up front, but later gets shuffled back due to getting stuck in the middle lane. Kyle Busch gets into a crash that collects A.J. Allmendinger, Brian Vickers and others. Martin Truex Jr. and Danica Patrick both get up front late before Ryan Newman gets on the point. A caution with a handful of laps left prompts a green-white-checkered and on the first attempt, Greg Biffle touches off a crash that also involves Earnhardt and Paul Menard. Then on the final lap, Brad Keselowski gets by Newman with help from Matt Kenseth to win and advance to the Eliminator round. Busch, Earnhardt and Earnhardt's teammate Kasey Kahne and Jimmie Johnson are eliminated from the Chase.
Martinsville, October 26: Jamie McMurray wins the pole and leads the first 83 laps. Soon, Jeff Gordon takes over and his teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. gets up to the lead pack after starting in 23rd. Brian Vickers and Kasey Kahne have a couple of angry run-ins on the track, and NASCAR tells the to stop. A little later, Matt Kenseth gets into Kevin Harvick, after Harvick had been in the garage for repairs from a spin into the wall. Several spins and debris cautions later, there are two red flags for big crashes in the final 100 laps, one of which involves Kahne, Brad Keselowski and Danica Patrick. After the first stoppage, Earnhardt gets by Clint Bowyer to take the lead. After the second red flag, Gordon leads at the restart but Earnhardt passes him to take his fourth win of the season and his first at Martinsville.
Texas, November 2: Jimmie Johnson leads much of the 500-mile race. The top-ten doesn't change much during the race. As usual, there are multiple debris cautions. There is a long string of yellow flags near the end of the race, starting when Brett Moffitt gets into the wall. Joey Logano and Kasey Kahne also get into trouble. Clint Bowyer brings out a caution to prompt a green-white-checkered finish, and on the first attempt Jeff Gordon is bumped from behind by Brad Keselowski, who has fresher tires. Gordon gets a flat tire and spins, causing a second GWC. Johnson ultimately wins, while Kevin Harvick pushes Keselowski on pit road and then Gordon and Keselowski get into a scuffle along with crew members.
Phoenix, November 9: Four more drivers prepare for elimination as the four who advance get set to race for the championship. Denny Hamlin wins the pole but has some early issues. Joey Logano also spins and has to fight his way back to the front to stay in championship contention. Jimmie Johnson has a pair of spins and ends up in the garage. Late in the race, Matt Kenseth finds himself suddenly pushed out of the running for the championship round. Kevin Harvick once again dominates and pulls away from the field on a late restart to take his sixth series win at the Arizona track and the season sweep. Meanwhile, Ryan Newman sends Kyle Larson into the wall on the final turn to send Jeff Gordon out of the Chase. Kenseth, Carl Edwards and Brad Keselowski are also eliminated.
Homestead, November 16: Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano, Ryan Newman and Kevin Harvick prepare tp compete for the Sprint Cup championship, which none of them have won before. Polesitter Jeff Gordon leads the most laps and stays out of trouble. The race sees a mixture of cautions for debris and crashes. Dale Earnhardt Jr. makes an unscheduled pit stop but later gets a lucky dog. There is a long series of yellows in the closing laps, one for a crash involving Blake Koch. Joey Logano's pit crew loses a lot of time on their last stop, sending Logano way back in the field. On one of the last restarts, Harvick and Newman get by Hamlin. Harvick pulls ahead of Newman during the last laps to win the race and the championship in dramatic fashion.
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