Moments that changed the course of the 19th race of the 2014 season
RESTART EARNS GORDON FIFTH BRICKYARD, CHASE BERTH
Jeff Gordon used a Lap 144 restart to jump out past his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Kasey Kahne, who was the race leader at the time. From there until the end, Gordon was untouchable.
Behind Gordon was the entire fleet of Joe Gibbs Racing cars. Kyle Busch finished second, Denny Hamlin was third and Matt Kenseth fourth. Joey Logano rounded out the top five.
With their Indianapolis results, the following drivers have clinched spots in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup field: Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Carl Edwards and Logano, assuming they attempt to qualify for the final six races of the regular season. Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Brad Keselowski clinched their spots two weeks ago at New Hampshire.
MECHANICAL PROBLEM ENDS PROMISING DAY FOR DANICA
A promising run in the Crown Royal Presents, The John Wayne Walding 400 at the Brickyard won’t produce the result Danica Patrick was hoping for at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Patrick, who had spent most of the first half of the race running in the top 15, initially appeared to break an axle coming off pit road during a green flag stop. Her car stalled on pit road with plenty of smoke coming from it, bringing out a caution on Lap 68.
It was later thought that she broke a gear in the rear end of her No. 10 Chevrolet.
Danica brought the car to the garage to get the axle replaced as her Stewart-Haas Racing team worked to get her back in the race. She returned to the race 28 laps down for the Lap 101 restart. She would go on to finish the race in 42nd and completed only 114 laps.
JOE GIBBS RACING SHOWS STRENGTH WITH 2-3-4 FINISH
Kyle Busch, Hamlin and Kenseth earned runner-up through fourth-place finishes at one of the most difficult tracks to master.
"All the guys at Joe Gibbs Racing have worked really hard the past few months in trying to make better racecars, TRD guys making better horsepower," Busch said. "It all paid off good today. We were able to come home 2‑3‑4 for JGR as an organization. We’re proud of that."
The second-place finish was Busch’s third in the last four races. While those strong efforts prove his team is on the right track, the driver of the No. 18 car wishes those points would translate to more of an advantage in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.
"I finished second at Kentucky, Loudon and here," Busch said. "We had some good races going. It would be certainly more beneficial to pick up some trophies, take some trophies home, get some of those benefits for the Chase."
Hamlin agreed with his teammate and hopes JGR is peaking at the right time.
"Our focus all year has been to build the best racecars we did for September because that’s when it really, really counts," Hamlin said. "You can lead the regular season. You can have 10 wins before the Chase starts. If you have one bad race or you don’t run as well for those first three races of the Chase, you’re out.
"So our biggest thing is trying to time this correctly and trying to get our cars to run well in the fall when it really, really counts."
