2014 Auto Club 400

Auto Club Speedway, the race track where the race was held.

The track, Auto Club Speedway, is a four-turn superspeedway that is 2 miles (3.2 km) long.[13] The track's turns are banked from fourteen degrees, while the front stretch, the location of the finish line, is banked at eleven degrees. Unlike the front stretch, the backstraightaway is banked at three degrees.[13] The track has a seating capacity of 92,100 people.[13] The race consisted of 200 laps, equivalent to a race distance of 400 miles (640 km).[13] The defending race winner was Kyle Busch.

The entry list for the Auto Club 400 was released on Tuesday, March 18 at 1:49 p.m. Eastern time. Forty-three cars were entered for the race which meant no one would fail to qualify.

Jimmie Johnson was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 38.163 and a speed of 188.664 mph (303.625 km/h). Landon Cassill wrecked his primary car during the session and was forced to roll out the backup car. Because this change took place prior to qualifying, he did not have to start from the rear of the field.

Kevin Harvick was the fastest in the second practice session with a time of 38.706 and a speed of 186.018 mph (299.367 km/h). Martin Truex, Jr. hit the wall in turn 1 after his car cut down the left-rear tire, and this necessitated the rolling out of his backup car. Because this was a post-qualifying change, he was forced to start from the rear.[15]

Brian Vickers was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 38.725 and a speed of 185.926 mph (299.219 km/h). Joey Logano hit the wall in turn 2 after cutting down the left-rear tire. Like Truex, he was forced to start at the rear.[15] Logano put the issue down to a combination of air pressure and car setup.[15]

The night before the race, Denny Hamlin went to the infield care center at Auto Club Speedway due to an irritation in his eye. The irritation continued overnight, and it was reported at the time that he had a sinus infection. After being referred to a local hospital, the cause of the irritation was discovered to be a small piece of metal in his eye.[16] J. D. Gibbs, president of Joe Gibbs Racing announced that Hamlin would not start the race less than an hour before the start.[17] Sam Hornish, Jr., who was on standby for Matt Kenseth in the previous day's Nationwide Series race, drove the No. 11 car in his place.[17]

The race started at 3:16 p.m. Eastern time with Kenseth leading the field to the green flag. He was passed by Brad Keselowski on the first lap. The first caution of the race flew on lap 19 after Kevin Harvick cut down his right-rear tire on the front stretch. Jeff Gordon exited pit road third, but was caught speeding and had to restart from the rear. David Ragan stayed out when Keselowski pitted to lead a lap before pitting. The race restarted on lap 24 with Keselowski leading the way, but Kyle Busch soon passed him for the lead. Keselowski retook the lead on lap 27, and held the lead until the second caution of the race flew on lap 43 after Dale Earnhardt, Jr. cut down the left-front tire and scraped the wall in Turn 1. Jimmie Johnson exited pit road first and assumed the lead for the restart on lap 48.

The third caution of the race flew on lap 57 after Tony Stewart spun out exiting turn 2. Clint Bowyer stayed out when Johnson pitted, believing that the light at the entrance to pit road to be red. Gordon and Keselowski did likewise, but Bowyer and Gordon pitted the following lap. The race restarted on lap 61 and Johnson had no trouble passing Keselowski for the lead with four new tires. The fourth caution of the race flew on lap 70 after Brian Scott got into Aric Almirola and sent them both spinning into the infield grass just past the entrance of pit road. Almirola had to back off the throttle when his forward progress was interrupted by Hornish. Scott was moving to the top of the race track and was caught by surprise. Upon being released from the infield care center, Almirola frankly stated that Scott was "out there having fun because his daddy gets to pay for it". Ryan Newman stayed out and took the lead.

Kyle Busch won the race.

The race restarted on lap 75 and just like the previous restart, Kenseth had no trouble passing Newman with four new tires. Johnson retook the lead on lap 84, just before the fifth caution of the race flew on lap 86 after Parker Kligerman got loose and backed into the Turn 3 wall. Johnson and Kenseth swapped the lead on pit road, and Kenseth exited the leader. The race restarted on lap 91 and Johnson did not take long to pass Kenseth for the lead. Gordon took the race lead for the first time on lap 106, holding the lead to the sixth caution of the race, which flew on lap 118 after Carl Edwards cut down his left-rear tire and spun out in turn 2. Kenseth won the race off pit road and assumed the lead for the restart on lap 123. Johnson took back the lead on lap 127. Harvick was running third when he had another cut tire, this time the left-rear, with 63 laps to go.

Debris in turn 3 brought out the seventh caution of the race with 60 laps to go; Johnson and Gordon swapped the lead on pit road, but Johnson exited first, and the led the field to the restart, with 52 laps to go. The eighth caution of the race flew with 34 laps to go after David Gilliland rear-ended the wall in turn 4. Just like the previous pit cycle, Johnson and Gordon swapped the lead on pit road, and Johnson once again led off pit road, for the restart with 27 laps to go. With seven laps to go, Johnson cut down his left-front tire and Gordon took the lead. A number of cars started cutting down their tires including points leader Keselowski (right-rear), Marcos Ambrose (left-rear) and Bowyer who cut down his right-front tire; Bowyer spun out and brought out the ninth caution of the race with three laps to go, to cause a green–white–checker finish. Landon Cassill stayed out when Gordon pitted to assume the lead.

The race required only one attempt for the green–white–checker finish. Cassill did not put up a fight and Kurt Busch moved to the front. On the final lap, Kyle Busch passed his brother and held off a hard charging Kyle Larson to win the race.[18] Upon exiting his car, Kyle Busch stated that the finish was exciting, and that "what do you expect when you have a green-white-checkered finish and everyone comes down pit road to put on four tires", believing the finish to be like something out of the movie Days of Thunder.[18] After winning his first Nationwide Series race the previous day, Larson stated that it had "been a really good weekend" and that he had been battling "probably a 12th place car for most of the day".[18]

• Lead changes: 35 among different drivers
• Cautions/Laps: 8 for 38
• Red flags: 0
• Time of race: 3 hours, 5 minutes and 53 seconds
• Average speed: 132.937 miles per hour (213.941 km/h)