Kevin Harvick has won the 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup title in style by taking the final race of the year at Homestead-Miami.
NASCAR’s new version of the Chase for the Cup came up trumps with Harvick having to hold-off a determined Ryan Newman; a driver who did not score a race win all year, to take his first championship.
In an ironic twist the battle at the end came down to two drivers which switched teams ahead of the season, with Harvick’s new ride of Stewart-Haas Racing taking the title from Richard Childress Racing.
The four drivers contesting the championship, Harvick, Newman, Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano were all line-astern with 30 laps to run.
The final run to the flag was set-up with a caution period 18 laps from the end when a range of strategies played out. Hamlin stayed out, while Newman took right-side tyres only and both Harvick and Logano stopped for four tyres. However, it was a disaster for Logano who had his car fall of the jack and had to re-start from the rear.
A re-start with nine laps to go had Hamlin in first and Newman in second, while Harvick was back in sixth. Then Harvick came through to the lead just one lap later before another caution.
The final three lap run had Harvick under plenty of pressure from Newman, but he had too much and he came around to take the victory and the championship.
“I really don’t know what to say but I really appreciate everyone on this team,” Harvick.
“That came down to a pit call and I thought man we are in big trouble here. To Rodney Childers (Crew Chief) and this entire team they did an amazing job.
“I have been trying to do this for 13 years. I really have to thank Tony Stewart and Jimmie Johnson for helping me through this week.
“This new format has been so stressful. The racing has been phenomenal and I need to go and sleep for a week!
“Tony Stewart and Gene Haas said ‘whatever you need you go and get’. We never talked about money and we just went did what we needed to win. This new format really helped us build as a team and all those character building moments have come to this right here. To close out that deal there with the championship is pretty awesome.”
In what was the last race for Australia’s Marcos Ambrose he came home in 27th after a tough race with an ill-handling car. He was forced to start off the rear after his car failed pre-race inspection and Ambrose came back three times from a lap down. In the end too many caution periods put a lot cars on the lead lap and although his crew tried a big change, he did not have the car to fight for a strong result.
VIDEO: Harvick wins the race and title
VIDEO: Harvick speaks in Victory Lane
VIDEO: Championship Presentation
RESULTS: Ford EcoBoost 400 – Homestead- Miami Speedway
| POS. | CAR | DRIVER | MANUFACTURER | STARTING POS. | LAPS | LAPS LED | + / – CHANGE IN POINTS | FINAL STATUS | POINTS | BONUS POINTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Kevin Harvick |  |
5 | 267 | 54 |
0
|
Running | 43 | 0 |
| 2 | 31 | Ryan Newman | |
21 | 267 | 0 |
0
|
Running | 42 | 0 |
| 3 | 2 | Brad Keselowski |  |
4 | 267 | 0 |
0
|
Running | 41 | 0 |
| 4 | 27 | Paul Menard | |
16 | 267 | 0 |
0
|
Running | 40 | 0 |
| 5 | 1 | Jamie McMurray | |
19 | 267 | 0 |
0
|
Running | 39 | 0 |
| 6 | 20 | Matt Kenseth |  |
3 | 267 | 0 |
0
|
Running | 38 | 0 |
| 7 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | |
8 | 267 | 50 |
0
|
Running | 37 | 0 |
| 8 | 15 | Clint Bowyer | |
6 | 267 | 0 |
0
|
Running | 36 | 0 |
| 9 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | |
12 | 267 | 0 |
0
|
Running | 35 | 0 |
| 10 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | |
1 | 267 | 161 |
0
|
Running | 36 | 2 |
| 11 | 41 | Kurt Busch | |
2 | 267 | 1 |
0
|
Running | 34 | 1 |
| 12 | 5 | Kasey Kahne | |
23 | 267 | 0 |
0
|
Running | 32 | 0 |
| 13 | 42 | Kyle Larson | |
27 | 267 | 0 |
0
|
Running | 31 | 0 |
| 14 | 88 | Dale Earnhardt Jr | |
11 | 267 | 0 |
0
|
Running | 30 | 0 |
| 15 | 51 | Justin Allgaier | |
14 | 267 | 0 |
0
|
Running | 29 | 0 |
| 16 | 22 | Joey Logano | |
9 | 267 | 0 |
0
|
Running | 28 | 0 |
| 17 | 78 | Martin Truex Jr | |
10 | 267 | 0 |
0
|
Running | 27 | 0 |
| 18 | 10 | Danica Patrick | |
32 | 267 | 0 |
0
|
Running | 26 | 0 |
| 19 | 43 | Aric Almirola | |
18 | 267 | 0 |
0
|
Running | 25 | 0 |
| 20 | 13 | Casey Mears | |
29 | 267 | 0 |
0
|
Running | 24 | 0 |
| 21 | 95 | Michael McDowell | |
38 | 267 | 0 |
0
|
Running | 23 | 0 |
| 22 | 17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr | |
22 | 267 | 0 |
0
|
Running | 22 | 0 |
| 23 | 55 | Brian Vickers | |
13 | 267 | 0 |
0
|
Running | 21 | 0 |
| 24 | 36 | Reed Sorenson | |
36 | 267 | 0 |
0
|
Running | 20 | 0 |
| 25 | 3 | Austin Dillon | |
24 | 267 | 0 |
0
|
Running | 19 | 0 |
| 26 | 26 | Cole Whitt | |
42 | 267 | 0 |
0
|
Running | 18 | 0 |
| 27 | 9 | Marcos Ambrose | |
17 | 267 | 0 |
0
|
Running | 17 | 0 |
| 28 | 33 | Brian Scott | |
30 | 267 | 0 |
0
|
Running | 0 | 0 |
| 29 | 40 | Landon Cassill | |
33 | 267 | 0 |
0
|
Running | 0 | 0 |
| 30 | 34 | David Ragan | |
31 | 267 | 0 |
0
|
Running | 14 | 0 |
| 31 | 38 | David Gilliland | |
35 | 267 | 0 |
0
|
Running | 13 | 0 |
| 32 | 98 | Josh Wise | |
37 | 267 | 0 |
0
|
Running | 12 | 0 |
| 33 | 23 | Alex Bowman | |
41 | 264 | 0 |
0
|
Running | 11 | 0 |
| 34 | 99 | Carl Edwards | |
15 | 263 | 0 |
0
|
Running | 10 | 0 |
| 35 | 7 | Michael Annett | |
39 | 263 | 0 |
0
|
Running | 9 | 0 |
| 36 | 66 | Brett Moffitt | |
43 | 262 | 0 |
0
|
Running | 8 | 0 |
| 37 | 83 | J.J. Yeley | |
34 | 254 | 0 |
0
|
Accident | 0 | 0 |
| 38 | 32 | Blake Koch | |
40 | 254 | 1 |
0
|
Accident | 0 | 0 |
| 39 | 18 | Kyle Busch | |
7 | 246 | 0 |
0
|
Running | 5 | 0 |
| 40 | 47 | AJ Allmendinger | |
25 | 235 | 0 |
0
|
Accident | 4 | 0 |
| 41 | 16 | Greg Biffle | |
20 | 220 | 0 |
0
|
Running | 3 | 0 |
| 42 | 21 | Trevor Bayne | |
26 | 204 | 0 |
0
|
Accident | 0 | 0 |
| 43 | 14 | Tony Stewart | |
28 | 182 | 0 |
0
|
Accident | 1 | 0 |
CHAMPIONSHIP
| POS | DRIVER | POINTS | BEHIND | STARTS | WINS | TOP 5 | TOP 10 | DNF |
| 1 | Kevin Harvick | 5043 | Leader | 36 | 5 | 14 | 20 | 2 |
| 2 | Ryan Newman | 5042 | -1 | 36 | 0 | 5 | 16 | 1 |
| 3 | Denny Hamlin | 5037 | -6 | 35 | 1 | 7 | 18 | 2 |
| 4 | Joey Logano | 5028 | -15 | 36 | 5 | 16 | 22 | 4 |
| 5 | Brad Keselowski | 2361 | -2682 | 36 | 6 | 17 | 20 | 1 |
| 6 | Jeff Gordon | 2348 | -2695 | 36 | 4 | 14 | 23 | 0 |
| 7 | Matt Kenseth | 2334 | -2709 | 36 | 0 | 13 | 22 | 2 |
| 8 | Dale Earnhardt Jr | 2301 | -2742 | 36 | 4 | 12 | 20 | 2 |
| 9 | Carl Edwards | 2288 | -2755 | 36 | 2 | 7 | 14 | 2 |
| 10 | Kyle Busch | 2285 | -2758 | 36 | 1 | 9 | 15 | 4 |
| 11 | Jimmie Johnson | 2274 | -2769 | 36 | 4 | 11 | 20 | 4 |
| 12 | Kurt Busch | 2263 | -2780 | 36 | 1 | 6 | 11 | 6 |
| 13 | AJ Allmendinger | 2260 | -2783 | 36 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 4 |
| 14 | Greg Biffle | 2247 | -2796 | 36 | 0 | 3 | 11 | 1 |
| 15 | Kasey Kahne | 2234 | -2809 | 36 | 1 | 3 | 11 | 5 |
| 16 | Aric Almirola | 2195 | -2848 | 36 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 6 |
| 17 | Kyle Larson | 1080 | -3963 | 36 | 0 | 8 | 17 | 4 |
| 18 | Jamie McMurray | 1014 | -4029 | 36 | 0 | 7 | 13 | 3 |
| 19 | Clint Bowyer | 979 | -4064 | 36 | 0 | 5 | 15 | 5 |
| 20 | Austin Dillon | 958 | -4085 | 36 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| 21 | Paul Menard | 944 | -4099 | 36 | 0 | 5 | 13 | 2 |
| 22 | Brian Vickers | 921 | -4122 | 36 | 0 | 3 | 9 | 3 |
| 23 | Marcos Ambrose | 870 | -4173 | 36 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 1 |
| 24 | Martin Truex Jr | 857 | -4186 | 36 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 3 |
| 25 | Tony Stewart | 799 | -4244 | 33 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 4 |
| 26 | Casey Mears | 782 | -4261 | 36 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 |
| 27 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr | 757 | -4286 | 35 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 2 |
| 28 | Danica Patrick | 735 | -4308 | 36 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 |
| 29 | Justin Allgaier | 636 | -4407 | 35 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| 30 | David Gilliland | 554 | -4489 | 36 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 31 | Cole Whitt | 532 | -4511 | 36 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 32 | David Ragan | 531 | -4512 | 36 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| 33 | Michael Annett | 531 | -4512 | 36 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| 34 | Reed Sorenson | 516 | -4527 | 36 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 35 | Alex Bowman | 412 | -4631 | 36 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| 36 | Josh Wise | 405 | -4638 | 35 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 37 | Michael McDowell | 255 | -4788 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| 38 | Travis Kvapil | 214 | -4829 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 39 | Ryan Truex | 193 | -4850 | 23 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| 40 | Terry Labonte | 88 | -4955 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 41 | Jeff Burton | 87 | -4956 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 42 | Michael Waltrip | 76 | -4967 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 43 | David Stremme | 75 | -4968 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 44 | Timmy Hill | 62 | -4981 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 45 | Brett Moffitt | 60 | -4983 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 46 | Bobby Labonte | 54 | -4989 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 47 | Parker Kligerman | 54 | -4989 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 48 | Juan Pablo Montoya | 47 | -4996 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 49 | Alex Kennedy | 47 | -4996 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 50 | Dave Blaney | 46 | -4997 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 51 | David Reutimann | 37 | -5006 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 52 | Boris Said | 28 | -5015 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 53 | Nelson Piquet Jr | 18 | -5025 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 54 | Eddie MacDonald | 9 | -5034 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 55 | Tomy Drissi | 6 | -5037 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 56 | Clay Rogers | 2 | -5041 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 57 | Landon Cassill | 0 | -5043 | 34 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| 58 | Sam Hornish Jr | 0 | -5043 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 59 | Trevor Bayne | 0 | -5043 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 60 | Ryan Blaney | 0 | -5043 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 61 | Ty Dillon | 0 | -5043 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 62 | Brian Scott | 0 | -5043 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 63 | Mike Wallace | 0 | -5043 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 64 | Kyle Fowler | 0 | -5043 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 65 | J.J. Yeley | 0 | -5043 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| 66 | Joe Nemechek | 0 | -5043 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 67 | Blake Koch | 0 | -5043 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 68 | Joey Gase | 0 | -5043 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 69 | Mike Bliss | 0 | -5043 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| 70 | Corey Lajoie | 0 | -5043 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 71 | Regan Smith | 0 | -5043 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 72 | Morgan Shepherd | 0 | -5043 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 73 | Johnny Sauter | 0 | -5043 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 74 | Eric McClure | 0 | -5043 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 75 | Matt Crafton | 0 | -5043 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
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