2014 Coca-Cola 600
2014 Coca-Cola 600
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2014 Coca-Cola 600

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2014 Coca-Cola 600

The 2014 Coca-Cola 600, the 55th running of the event, was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race held on May 25, 2014, at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina. Contested over 400 laps on the 1.5 miles (2.4 km) oval, it was the twelfth race of the 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Jimmie Johnson won the race, his first of the season and fourth overall Coca-Cola 600 win, while Kevin Harvick finished second and Matt Kenseth, Carl Edwards and Jamie McMurray rounded out the top five. The top rookies of the race were Austin Dillon (16th), Kyle Larson (18th) and Cole Whitt (27th).

The entry list for the Coca-Cola 600 was released on Monday, May 19, 2014 at 11:37 a.m. Eastern time. Forty-five drivers were entered for the race.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. was the fastest in first practice with a time of 27.941 and a speed of 193.264 mph (311.028 km/h).

Jimmie Johnson won the pole with a time of 27.705 and a speed of 194.911 mph (313.679 km/h). “We’ve watched other cars get faster through qualifying sessions,’’ Johnson said. “That’s something the (Hendrick Motorsports) cars really haven’t had a lot. We did that tonight. We’re hitting on some things that should help us run faster longer.’’ Matt Kenseth and Kevin Harvick didn't get a lap in before time expired in the final round and started eleventh and twelfth as a result. “We had a big miscommunication tonight and didn’t get @KevinHarvick off of pit road in time to run a lap in the final qualifying session,’’ Childers tweeted. “Apologies to all of the sponsors and fans. We will make sure it doesn’t happen again.’’ While three of the Hendrick cars made it to the final round of qualifying, Jeff Gordon didn't make it out of the first round. “It just disappoints us,’’ Gordon said of his qualifying performance. “We know our car is much better than this. These are about as challenging conditions as you can have when you have a really hot day like this and the sun goes down and it’s a total guessing game. We guessed wrong. We just missed the setup. The car has plenty of speed in it, so I’m not concerned about the race.’’ The two drivers who failed to qualify were Dave Blaney and J. J. Yeley.

Carl Edwards was the fastest in second practice with a time of 28.008 and a speed of 192.802 mph (310.285 km/h).

Kyle Busch was the fastest in final practice with a time of 28.626 and a speed of 188.640 mph (303.587 km/h) in the final practice session. However, he had to start at the back of the field, after crashing during the session, which necessitated a change to a backup car. Joe Gibbs Racing were able to get Busch's backup onto the track for the final 20 minutes of final practice. In his first run Busch radioed that the backup was "not even close to the other one," but by the end the driver was turning competitive laps that would keep him in contention. "We got the backup on the race track, and he ran some decent laps. They were competitive," Jimmy Makar said. "I think it's a good race car, so I think we should be in OK shape there. There were a couple of really fast cars in practice today that you'll have to contend with. But we'll have something he can race with, for sure."

Points leader Jeff Gordon sat out the final practice session due to back spasms. In fact, he only ran 11 laps in the second session before getting out of the car. "It doesn't do me any good to be out there in the car right now especially when the car is as good as it is," Gordon told Fox Sports 1. "It's really about getting prepared for 600 miles. I have no doubts that I can be in this car and be competitive if I take it easy over the next 24 hours." Gordon had a similar problem before the 2009 Coca-Cola 600, where he underwent a facet block procedure a few days before the event. Gordon suffered back spasms Thursday during qualifying. With no track activity Friday, Gordon rested his back but was still in pain Saturday. "I know he'll do everything he can to get in there and go," crew chief Alan Gustafson said about Gordon driving in the race. Nationwide Series championship leader Regan Smith was on standby if Gordon was not able to run the entire race. "We've tested a lot with Regan and have a really good baseline," Gustafson said, noting Smith drove Gordon's car at the NASCAR test at Charlotte in December. "We're real confident knowing what he'll need as far as the car drives."

The Coca-Cola 600 was scheduled to start at 6:18 p.m. but started five minutes late with Jimmie Johnson leading the field to the green flag.

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