2014 DRIVE4COPD 300

The 2014 DRIVE4COPD 300 was the first stock car race of the 2014 NASCAR Nationwide Series season, and the 33rd iteration of the event. The race was held on Saturday, February 22, 2014, in Daytona Beach, Florida at Daytona International Speedway, a 2.5 miles (4.0 km) permanent asphalt quad-oval superspeedway. The race was extended from 120 laps to 121 laps, due to a NASCAR overtime finish. At race's end, Regan Smith, driving for JR Motorsports, would hold off Brad Keselowski in a photo finish for his 4th career NASCAR Nationwide Series win. Smith would beat Keselowski by 0.013 second.^[1] To fill out the podium, Trevor Bayne of Roush Fenway Racing would finish third, respectively.

Background

The race was held at Daytona International Speedway, which is a race track in Daytona Beach, Florida, United States. Since opening in 1959, it has been the home of the Daytona 500, the most prestigious race in NASCAR as well as its season opening event. In addition to NASCAR, the track also hosts races of ARCA, AMA Superbike, IMSA, SCCA, and Motocross. The track features multiple layouts including the primary 2.500 mi (4.023 km) high-speed tri-oval, a 3.560 mi (5.729 km) sports car course, a 2.950 mi (4.748 km) motorcycle course, and a 1,320 ft (402.3 m) karting and motorcycle flat-track. The track's 180-acre (72.8 ha) infield includes the 29-acre (11.7 ha) Lake Lloyd, which has hosted powerboat racing. The speedway is operated by NASCAR pursuant to a lease with the City of Daytona Beach on the property that runs until 2054.

Entry list

• (R) denotes rookie driver.
• (i) denotes driver who is ineligible for series driver points.

Practice

First practice

The first practice session was held on Thursday, February 20, at 12:00 PM EST, and would last for 85 minutes.^[2] Elliott Sadler of Joe Gibbs Racing would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 47.876 and an average speed of 187.986 miles per hour (302.534 km/h).

Second and final practice

The third and final practice session, sometimes referred to as Happy Hour, was held on Thursday, February 20, at 3:00 PM EST, and would last for 85 minutes.^[2] Bobby Gerhart of Bobby Gerhart Racing would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 47.533 and an average speed of 189.342 miles per hour (304.716 km/h).

Qualifying

Qualifying was held on Friday, February 21, at 1:10 PM EST.^[2] Since Daytona International Speedway is at least 1.25 miles (2.01 km), the qualifying system was a multi-car system that included three rounds. The first round was 25 minutes, where every driver would be able to set a lap within the 25 minutes. Then, the second round would consist of the fastest 24 cars in Round 1, and drivers would have 10 minutes to set a lap. Round 3 consisted of the fastest 12 drivers from Round 2, and the drivers would have 5 minutes to set a time. Whoever was fastest in Round 3 would win the pole.^[3]

Qualifying was cancelled after the first round, due to inclement weather. Dylan Kwasniewski of Turner Scott Motorsports would win the pole after setting a fast enough time in the round, with a time of 46.856 and an average speed of 192.078 mph (309.120 km/h).^[4]

Nine drivers would fail to qualify: David Ragan, Tanner Berryhill, Chris Buescher, Willie Allen, Matt Carter, Matt DiBenedetto, Carl Long, Carlos Contreras, and Clay Greenfield.

Full qualifying results

Race results

Standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 Regan Smith 47 2 Trevor Bayne 41 (-6) 3 Elliott Sadler 39 (-8) 4 Brendan Gaughan 38 (–9) 5 Ty Dillon 37 (–10) 6 Dylan Kwasniewski 36 (–11) 7 Joe Nemechek 32 (–15) 8 Mike Wallace 31 (–16) 9 Chase Elliott 29 (–18) 10 James Buescher 28 (–19) Official driver's standings Note: Only the first 10 positions are included for the driver standings.

References