NASCAR Sprint Cup 2014 Winner: Recapping Road to Kevin Harvick's 1st Title
Kevin Harvick took his first ever Sprint Cup Series title Sunday with a come-from-behind victory, but the thrilling ending was the culmination of a year-long road to glory.
The 38-year-old held off Ryan Newman, one of the four remaining Chase contenders, who was set to win it in second place before Harvick's late surge. He went from 12th to first in the final 15 laps, making his pit crew erupt with excitement, as Bleacher Report shows:
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
Harvick is a two-time Nationwide Series winner, but neither of those titles come close to matching what he pulled off in 2014.
Here's a look at his notable season stats:
| 5 | 14 | 20 |
In his first year with Stewart-Haas Racing, Harvick started out hot and never really cooled off. After an incredible season, he saved his best for last and stepped up when it mattered most.
Let's go back to February and recap Harvick's season from start to finish.
Phoenix, Darlington Wins Spark Hot Streak
In just the third race of the 2014 season and his fourth Sprint Cup race under Stewart-Haas, Harvick nearly took the Daytona 500 before a last-lap crash doomed his chances. The next week, he wouldn't be denied—winning at Phoenix for his first victory under the new organization.
He would go on to finish in 36th or worse in four of his next five races, but he bounced back with a huge victory at Darlington, during which he led 238 laps.
Harvick's first season with Stewart-Haas was stealing a lot of headlines entering the middle stretch of 2014, as NASCAR shows:
That would be the last time he'd hit the winner's circle for a while, but he became a constant presence at the top of leaderboards. He had one span with three straight second-place finishes and went seven of nine with Top 10 outings.
Harvick's two early-season victories gave him the cushion he needed in the points, and he rode a consistent streak of good finishes to easily make the 16-driver Chase field.
Harvick Proves Clutch as Chase Erupts
If it was going to be a season to remember for Harvick, he needed everything to go his way in Charlotte on Oct. 11 with his spot in the next round of the Chase on the line.
That's exactly what happened, as he led 162 laps and held off Jeff Gordon to win the Bank of America 500 and move into the third round of the Chase.
"Kevin was tough," Gordon told USA Today's Jeff Gluck that night. "I knew when he got out front it was going to tough to beat him."
Of course, that wasn't the big talking point from the race in Charlotte—that was Matt Kenseth's spat with Brad Keselowski. After Harvick began the Eliminator Round with a ninth-place finish at Talladega, he got his own taste of some saltiness with other drivers.
While checking up in a midway point at Martinsville, Kenseth came in too fast and caused major damage to Harvick's car, which doomed him to a 33rd-place finish. And Harvick was quite heated afterward, per ESPN's Marty Smith:
"After the race, Kevin Harvick said Matt Kenseth will not win the championship. “He won’t win this championship. If we don’t, he won’t."
— Marty Smith (@MartySmithESPN) October 26, 2014"
Instead of being negatively affected by that, Harvick seemed to be determined. He followed up with a second-place finish at Texas and a victory at Phoenix to clinch a spot in the final four and put him on the brink of a championship.
For what it's worth, Kenseth was eliminated.
History at Homestead
Entering Sunday's final in Miami, Harvick didn't necessarily have to win the race. He just had to finish ahead of Ryan Newman, Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano—the other three remaining Chase contenders.
But from the opening dozen laps, anyone watching the race could tell that nothing short of a victory would win seal the title. All four drivers showed up determined, and they were in the top six together repeatedly throughout the race.
None of them led more laps than Harvick (54), but with 15 laps to go, he faced quite an uphill battle. He fell back to 12th place, with Newman, Hamlin and Logano all ahead of him.
However, Harvick's fast car came through when he needed it most, brisking past the field on the outside and getting into the lead down the stretch. It was only fitting that second-place finisher Newman—who hadn't won a race all season—was the one unable to overtake him for the title.
The Associated Press' Jenna Fryer and Jeff Burton chimed in:
With the victory, Harvick tied for second for the season for most wins, showing that despite all of the criticism, winning indeed mattered a lot. But his 20 Top 10 finishes also show that consistency has its own reward.
Either way, there's really no debating that Harvick undoubtedly deserved his first Sprint Cup Series championship. There were spectacular performances abound this season, but nobody came through in the clutch better and more often than him.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
