2014 Gobowling.com 400

Start

The race was originally scheduled to start at 1:18 P.M. EDT, but with the threat of thunderstorms in the forecast, NASCAR moved the start of the race up by around 10 minutes, with rookie Kyle Larson leading the field. At the second turn of the first lap, Brad Keselowski made contact with Kurt Busch and almost spun out, but saved his car and dropped back to 12th, while Joey Logano took the lead from Larson on lap 3. Jimmie Johnson's car suffered a cut tire and made contact with the wall on the front stretch on lap eight, bringing out a debris caution a lap later. Logano led the field to the restart on lap 12. On lap 16, Danica Patrick brushed the wall on the exit of turn 2, and after a tire blowout, she hit the same wall the following lap, to bring out the second caution. As the first driver who was a lap down in the field, Johnson was the recipient of the free pass, allowing him to return to the lead lap.

Logano continued to lead as the race resumed on lap 20. On lap 24, Kyle Busch's day ended early with a blown engine; he described the problem as "something between the frame rails doesn't seem to operate correctly right now" to reporters after he had exited the car. He also expressed his disappointment about having to exit the race so early: "It's unfortunate, I thought we had a good car today. Our car has been good this weekend in practices and stuff like that. Obviously you hope for better days, and this M&M's Camry team deserves better days but this ain't one of them".^[18] The third caution flag came out on lap 28 when Landon Cassill hit the wall in the same position as Patrick had done so, previously; Patrick profited from the free pass at the caution. Brian Vickers won the race off pit road but Kurt Busch, and ten other cars, stayed out when the leaders came in to pit and assumed the lead for the restart, on lap 34.

Busch's different pit cycle saw him onto pit road ten laps later, at which point Jeff Gordon took the lead. On lap 50, the fourth caution flag came out when Joe Nemechek got turned loose by Kasey Kahne and hit the wall in turn 3. The race restarted on lap 56, with Gordon holding the lead until his next pit stop, on lap 66, returning the lead to Busch. Busch pitted on lap 75, giving the lead to A. J. Allmendinger. Allmendinger made his stop on lap 78, at which point Aric Almirola and David Gilliland each led a lap before making green flag pit stops, while Gordon reclaimed the lead. On lap 84, Gordon officially became the first driver in track history to lead over 1,000 laps. He led until his next green flag pit stop on lap 95 and gave the lead to Kevin Harvick. Harvick made his stop on lap 97 and gave the lead back to Busch. Harvick dropped to the tail end of the field as he was caught speeding on pit road. Busch hit pit road on lap 103 and handed the lead to Matt Kenseth. Kenseth led for four laps before returning the lead back to Gordon.

The Big One

The race restarted on lap 116, but before the end of the first complete lap after the restart, the sixth caution flag came out for a large crash involving 13 cars on the Long Pond Straightaway. It started when Denny Hamlin got sucked around by air off of Clint Bowyer's car in an outside line of cars and started to spin out. Hamlin saved his car, but Brian Vickers collided with Matt Kenseth while checking up to avoid Hamlin, and collected Aric Almirola, Allmendinger, Brad Keselowski, Paul Menard, Tony Stewart, Justin Allgaier, Harvick, Michael Annett, Martin Truex, Jr. and Carl Edwards. While Harvick, Allgaier, and a couple of others continued, many of the cars involved were knocked out of the race; Harvick would later manage to pick his way through to a second-place finish. There were only 15 cars on the lead lap after the crash. Hamlin referred to his part in the incident as being "stuck three-wide" and that he was "sucked around" when Bowyer was passing him. Kenseth expressed his frustration at being involved in the crash, stating that his car had "been in all the big wrecks this year", and that "it seems like you're always in the wrong place at the wrong time".^[20]

While under caution – on lap 119 – Gordon achieved his 24,000th career lap led,^[21] and led the field to the restart on lap 127. Gordon made his final stop and handed the lead to Harvick on lap 133, before Greg Biffle took the lead two laps later. On lap 138, the seventh caution came out when Allmendinger, laps down with damage from the lap 117 crash, hit the wall in turn 1. The race restarted with 17 laps to go.

Final laps

On lap 147, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. passed Biffle for the lead, and had managed to build up a 3.5 second lead on Harvick by lap 153, when it was erased after the eighth caution of the race came out, after Busch hit the wall exiting turn 2. The final restart came with four laps remaining, with Earnhardt, Jr. restarting on the prevailing outside lane. He assumed the lead, with Harvick running about a car length behind and Logano just behind them. Earnhardt held off the chasers for the last three laps to win the race, completing the first Pocono sweep since Hamlin in 2006. Earnhardt, Jr. reflected on the sweep, stating that his team "definitely went home from the last race and made our car better" and that's what I'm proud of this team for". He also praised the strategy of his crew chief, Steve Letarte. Harvick was impressed with his car's speed in both Pocono races, and that his team "were able to capitalize on it and get a good finish".^[22]