2014 AAA Texas 500: Johnson Wins, Then a Pit Road Brawl Follows

Jimmie Johnson took the win at the 2014 AAA Texas 500 on 2 November 2014 at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas. The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race ran 341 laps, longer than the 334 scheduled, after two green-white-checkered attempts. The race was the 34th of the season, and it is remembered as much for a fight in the post-race impound area as for the finish.

Where is Texas Motor Speedway?

Texas Motor Speedway is an oval in the northern part of Fort Worth, in Denton County, Texas. The track is 2.4 km (1.5 mi) around and banked 24 degrees in the turns. It can seat more than 190,000 people, which gives it the largest capacity of any NASCAR venue after Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Speedway Motorsports, Inc. owns the venue, and the same firm also runs Atlanta and Charlotte, plus the short track at Bristol. The front straightaway juts outward slightly, and the layout resembles those two tracks.

Forty-three drivers were entered, and the race was the eighth event of the Chase for the Sprint Cup.

A Texas finish decided late, followed by a pit road brawl and fines of up to $50,000.

How fast was qualifying at Texas?

Matt Kenseth took the pole with a time of 27.095 seconds, a speed of 320.741 km/h (199.299 mph). Brian Vickers had been quickest in the first practice session at 320.610 km/h (199.218 mph), and Jimmie Johnson was fastest in the final practice at 311.876 km/h (193.791 mph). Danica Patrick changed her transmission before the race and started at the back.

Kenseth said the cold conditions gave the cars plenty of grip, and he marvelled at how much throttle a Cup car could use through the turns. He also said that all three of his qualifying laps were the only ones he could get. Carl Edwards was fastest in the second practice at 315.982 km/h (196.342 mph), and his time was 27.503 seconds.

Tony Stewart missed his third-round lap and accepted the blame himself. He still said that being the first to average 200 mph on a 1.5-mile track was pretty cool. Jeff Gordon said his team had a fast car all day and was glad to back that up in qualifying.

How did the race unfold?

The race started at 3:20 p.m. Eastern, after a scheduled start of 3:16 p.m., with Kenseth leading the field to green. Kenseth passed Johnson early on to become the all-time laps leader at the track. Patrick made an unscheduled stop on lap 37 for a flat tyre, and Kenseth led the first 53 laps before Johnson took over on lap 54.

The first caution flew on lap 42 when Josh Wise got loose and hit the turn 2 wall. Racing resumed on lap 47. Leaders pitted at different points in the race, and the lead passed between drivers each time the field cycled through pit road. Harvick led after Johnson's stop on lap 92, and Gordon took over after Johnson pitted on lap 138.

The second caution, on lap 175, was triggered by debris in turn 2. Johnson and Gordon traded the lead through the pit stops, and Johnson came out ahead when racing resumed on lap 183. Kyle Busch, who had already won Truck and Nationwide races that weekend, hit the wall on lap 205 and lost a tyre, bringing out the third caution.

Gordon retook the lead on lap 217. A Ford grille plate that came off Carl Edwards' car caused the fourth caution on lap 223, and Denny Hamlin took two tyres when the leaders took four. Debris in turn 4 caused the fifth caution on lap 241. Johnson got past Gordon on pit road and regained the lead.

A sixth caution flew on lap 252 when debris from Danica Patrick's car hit the track. Brad Keselowski stayed out when the leaders pitted and took the lead. Gordon passed him with 59 laps to go, and the two traded the lead over the next several laps before Gordon got clear.

A.J. Allmendinger lost control in turn 3 with 50 laps left to bring out the seventh caution. Debris left by Brett Moffitt caused the eighth caution with 39 laps to go, and Matt Kenseth took the lead on the restart. Kurt Busch led before Joey Logano cut a tyre and spun in turn 2, causing the ninth caution with 31 laps to go.

How did the final laps play out?

On the final green-white-checkered restart, Gordon lost the lead after contact with Keselowski, spun and brought out the thirteenth caution. Johnson held off Keselowski and Harvick at the finish. The win was his 70th career victory and his third straight in the fall Texas race.

The late cautions were frequent. Kasey Kahne made contact with Marcos Ambrose and went through the grass with 21 laps to go. Trevor Bayne hooked Kahne into the backstretch wall with 15 laps left, and Clint Bowyer slammed the front stretch wall with four laps to go. Gordon had taken the lead with nine laps to go before his spin.

Over the whole race, 23 lead changes took place among different drivers. There were 13 cautions for 61 laps, and the race time was 3:52:05.

What happened after the race?

A brawl broke out on pit road in the post-race impound area, where cars finishing second through sixth are held for inspection. Jeff Gordon, Brad Keselowski and Kevin Harvick were at the centre of it, and crews from several teams joined in. ESPN's Jamie Little was caught in the middle.

Gordon parked his car beside Keselowski's and had a level-headed conversation with him, which seemed to make Gordon angrier. Harvick then shoved Keselowski towards Gordon, and Gordon grabbed Keselowski's firesuit. Keselowski's impound spot sat in the pit stall of the No. 27 car, which put him close to the crews involved.

Keselowski said he was racing for the win and had gone for an open gap, and that the contact was simply part of the sport. Harvick said he told Keselowski that a driver who races like that has to be willing to fight. Gordon later criticised Keselowski in a nationally televised ESPN interview, saying the driver had to face the consequences of his actions.

NASCAR senior vice president of competition Robin Pemberton said officials would review what had taken place. He said that holding on to one another was one thing, while landing punches was a different matter.

What penalties did NASCAR hand out?

NASCAR penalised four crew members and two crew chiefs over the fight. Fines ranged from $10,000 to $50,000, and suspensions ran for three or six points races. The penalties were announced on Tuesday, 4 November.

Jeremy Fuller, the rear tyre changer on the No. 5 team, along with mechanics Dwayne Doucette and Jason Ingle from the No. 24 team, were each fined $25,000 and suspended through the next six points races. All three were found in breach of conduct sections 12-1 and 12-4.9, which cover detrimental actions and behaviour during physical altercations on pit road.

Dean Mozingo, a mechanic and hauler driver for the No. 24 team, was fined $10,000 and suspended for three points races. Crew chiefs Kenny Francis of the No. 5 team and Alan Gustafson of the No. 24 team each faced a $50,000 fine, plus probation that runs six races. Rule 9-4A makes a crew chief responsible for the actions of his team members.

Pemberton said the crew members had crossed the line by punching others, and that NASCAR would not let that behaviour go unchecked when others could be put in harm's way. The suspensions ran until the Auto Club 400 at Auto Club Speedway, which was held on March 22.

What were the race results and statistics?

Johnson won, Harvick finished second, and Keselowski, Kyle Busch and Jamie McMurray completed the top five. Kyle Larson took seventh as the best of the top rookies, while Justin Allgaier and Austin Dillon finished 20th and 21st. The summary below lists the core figures from the race.

Why does this race still matter?

The race counted toward the Chase, and it gave Johnson his fourth win of the season. It also confirmed his strength at Texas in the fall, where he had now won three straight. The brawl and the penalties that followed made the race better known for its aftermath than for its finish.

Johnson said his team would never give up and would keep working to make its cars better while fighting for the championship. That attitude carried the race, even though the fight that followed is the moment most fans remember.