NASCAR at Charlotte 2014 Results: Winner, Standings, Highlights and Reaction
Kevin Harvick helped out his cause in the 2014 Chase for the Sprint Cup with a win Saturday at the Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
NASCAR on ESPN explained what this means for the veteran driver:
"Harvick wins at Charlotte. Welcome to the Eliminator Round!!
— NASCAR on ESPN (@ESPNNASCAR) October 12, 2014"
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Jeff Gordon came in second place, while Jamie McMurray played the role of spoiler with a third-place finish from outside The Chase.
Things were not as good for Dale Earnhardt Jr. and a few others who are now in difficult shape with a new elimination race coming at Talladega on October 19.
Here is a look at the top 10 from Charlotte:
| 1 | Kevin Harvick | 4 | - |
| 2 | Jeff Gordon | 24 | 0.571 sec |
| 3 | Jamie McMurray | 1 | 0.981 sec |
| 4 | Joey Logano | 22 | 1.306 sec |
| 5 | Kyle Busch | 18 | 1.741 sec |
| 6 | Kyle Larson | 42 | 1.840 sec |
| 7 | Ryan Newman | 31 | 1.956 sec |
| 8 | Carl Edwards | 99 | 2.140 sec |
| 9 | Denny Hamlin | 11 | 2.472 sec |
| 10 | Kasey Kahne | 5 | 2.503 sec |
Kyle Busch earned the pole for the competition and led the first few laps, but his lead did not last as long as he hoped as Gordon passed him early in the race. Harvick then took over the top spot, but Gordon went back in front after some stops, as described by Jeff Gluck of USA Today:
Meanwhile, Busch started to fall behind with some problems of his own:
The battle between Harvick and Gordon continued for much of the early part of the race, as they seemed to separate themselves up front.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. started to make his way near the leaders and seemed to have a chance to get in front, but a broken shifter led to an early stop:
He was forced to restart at the back, putting him out of contention for the rest of the race. Things continued to get worse for the popular driver:
After his struggles Saturday, it might take a win in the next event to keep Earnhardt from elimination.
Meanwhile, Harvick extended his lead:
This lead lasted a long time until he had a problem with a tire rub and was forced to make adjustments.
As the race continued, an interesting moment took place as Joey Logano caused Danica Patrick to spin out. That led to this exchange, via Richard Allen:
Patrick ultimately decided it was not worth it.
Kyle Larson also got into the action by briefly taking the lead, leading to this comment from ESPN's Marty Smith:
In the end, though, it was Harvick who regained the lead and was ready to easily come home until a restart complicated things. Joe Gibbs Racing noted the excitement in the final two laps:
The leader was able to hold on and take the checkered flag:
Right after the race, there was a bit of a scuffle when the drivers left their cars:
Still, this night was about Harvick, as he put himself in great position in the standings and took one more step toward taking home a championship.
Before the race, points leader Joey Logano explained how close he expected the competition to be, via Jenna Fryer of The Associated Press:
"We are going to be all right in the race. This track is very much on the razor's edge. It takes just a small mistake or the car being just a little bit off to lose some time. It's fine though. We can see the front of the field and the car was good in race trim.
"
He turned out to be exactly right, as it came down to the final few moments before Harvick came away with the victory.
Next week's race at Talladega will cut the field down to the top eight. As currently situated, this would knock off some big names at the bottom of the list. Here is the latest look at the standings:
| 1 | Joey Logano | 22 | 3088 | - |
| 2 | Kyle Busch | 18 | 3082 | -6 |
| 3 | Kevin Harvick | 4 | 3081 | -7 |
| 4 | Ryan Newman | 31 | 3077 | -11 |
| 5 | Carl Edwards | 99 | 3076 | -12 |
| 6 | Jeff Gordon | 24 | 3074 | -14 |
| 7 | Denny Hamlin | 11 | 3073 | -15 |
| 8 | Kasey Kahne | 5 | 3057 | -31 |
| 9 | Matt Kenseth | 20 | 3056 | -32 |
| 10 | Brad Keselowski | 2 | 3038 | -50 |
| 11 | Jimmie Johnson | 48 | 3031 | -57 |
| 12 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | 88 | 3031 | -57 |
Earnhardt, Brad Keselowski and others will have to come through with a big performance in the next race, or else their dreams of winning a 2014 championship will be dead.
Meanwhile, Logano can be happy about still sitting on top of the standings, safe from elimination going into the heated battle. This is the reward for a great couple of races when it mattered most.
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