Kenseth Wins Nationwide Finale; Elliott and Penske Celebrate Championships

In a thrilling green-white-checkered finish, Matt Kenseth, behind the wheel of the No. 20 GameStop/Rock Candy Toyota, held both Kyle Busch and Kyle Larson at bay to win the 20th annual Ford EcoBoost 300.

This was Kenseth’s first win of the 2014 Nationwide Series season and his second victory in 13 races at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

“Well, we kept getting those restarts at the end of the race, and the first couple got away okay,” Kenseth said. “I felt good about it.”

“We had a really good car tonight, especially on a short- to mid-range run, and that kind of fell into our hands except for the last two or three cautions we didn’t need, but it kind of worked out where we got in the front and had the speed on the front side of the run where we needed it.”

”It’s been a long time since I’ve won a race in anything.”

Following closely behind race winner Kenseth, with what has become known as the ‘Kyle and Kyle show’, Busch and Larson finished second and third respectively. This was Busch’s seventh top-10 finish in eight races and Larson’s seventh top-10 finish in just two races at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

“Yeah, we had a strong car,” Kyle Busch said. “Somewhere in the middle part of the race we started falling behind a little farther than I wanted to, just ill handling, being loose, tight, loose, and everything going on. But Adam made some great race calls and some good adjustments to get our car handling a little bit better, to get ourselves farther up toward the front. The 20 was kind of off there early on in the race, but there at the end he really came on strong and the 42 was really good.”

“So it was kind of a race amongst us three, I thought, and that’s kind of what it came down to there at the end,” Busch continued. “All in all, can’t be prouder of my team, Adam Stevens and Curtis and everyone that works so hard on the Monster Energy 54 at Joe Gibbs Racing, all the guys at the shop.”

“We did our part and we had some great races, and we did have a successful year, so nothing to hang our hats about, but there’s one other guy or team out there that was a little bit better than us.”

“Yeah, we were able to lead a lot of laps today, a lot more than I’ve probably ever led in my career,” Kyle Larson said. “That was fun. I had good restarts up there until the last 50 laps or so, and then I finally got a good one underneath Matt, was able to get to the lead, and was about 15 feet short of the win.”

“Almost had second, but Kyle was able to squeeze around me,” Larson continued. “I probably could have shut the door on him, but we weren’t going to win, so there was no point in maybe tearing up two cars. Disappointed, super disappointed. Really close to a win today.”

The Homestead finale race also officially crowned Chase Elliott as the Nationwide Series champion, an honor he had clinched last weekend. In spite of finishing 17th in the last race of the season, Elliott still made history as the youngest champ in NASCAR history.

“I know it was ugly,” Elliott said. “We didn’t have a very good run, but we’ll take it.”

The title was not just special for Chase Elliott and his family, NASCAR Hall of Famer Bill Elliott and wife Cindy, but was also the first ever for the team owned by Dale Earnhardt, Jr., his sister Kelly and Rick Hendrick.

Roger Penske also clinched a championship, that of the Nationwide owner’s title. He did so with six wins and not just with one, but five different drivers, in the No. 22 Hertz Ford Mustang.

“It was a great day,” Penske said. “I thought that race would never get over. I think we had a green-white-checker and all we had to do was finish 25th, but you never know with all the action up front.”

“Brad (KeselowskI) ran a great race and when you think about five different drivers it’s really a credit to Jeremy Bullins and the job he’s done in preparing the car for different drivers and with six wins.”

“So, to me, this was a team effort at Team Penske,” Penske continued. “Everyone did so much to make this happen and obviously it didn’t come down until the last lap there that we knew we had it.”

With the final race in the books, NASCAR also bid a fond adieu to Nationwide, who has ended their title sponsorship, turning the reigns over to Xfinity.

“We have truly enjoyed our time as the series sponsor and are grateful for the relationships we’ve made with the drivers, teams, owners, and fans,” Jim McCoy, director of sports marketing for Nationwide Insurance, said.

The full race and points results are as follows:

2014 NNS Ford EcoBoost 300 Race Results

Fin Str Car Driver Team Lap Pts BPts Status TLd LLd
1 3 20 Matt Kenseth(i) GameStop/Rock Candy Toyota 206 0 Running 3 52
2 6 54 Kyle Busch(i) Monster Energy Toyota 206 0 Running 2 5
3 2 42 Kyle Larson(i) Cartwheel by Target Chevrolet 206 0 Running 5 111
4 5 12 Ryan Blaney(i) Discount Tire Ford 206 0 Running 1 24
5 10 60 Chris Buescher # Humalog Ford 206 39 Running
6 15 7 Regan Smith TaxSlayer.com Chevrolet 206 38 Running
7 21 3 Ty Dillon # WESCO Chevrolet 206 37 Running
8 1 22 Brad Keselowski(i) Hertz Ford 206 0 Running 1 5
9 4 11 Elliott Sadler OneMain Financial Toyota 206 35 Running
10 7 2 Brian Scott Shore Lodge Chevrolet 206 34 Running
11 13 6 Trevor Bayne AdvoCare Ford 206 34 1 Running 1 3
12 31 33 Paul Menard(i) Alert Today Florida/Boy Scouts of America Chevrolet 206 0 Running 3
13 20 51 Jeremy Clements All South Electric/Repairable Vehicles Chevrolet 206 32 1 Running 1 1
14 25 10 Ross Chastain(i) watermelon.org Toyota 206 0 Running
15 30 93 TJ Bell(i) Dedicated to Electrical Linemen Dodge 206 0 Running
16 17 28 JJ Yeley Texas 28 Spirits Stage Toyota 206 28 Running
17 14 9 Chase Elliott # NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet 206 28 1 Running 1 1
18 24 99 James Buescher Rheem Toyota 206 26 Running
19 9 31 Dylan Kwasniewski # Rockstar/AccuDoc Solutions Chevrolet 206 25 Running
20 19 43 Dakoda Armstrong # WinField Ford 206 24 Running
21 28 4 Jeffrey Earnhardt GCL/Polyglass Chevrolet 206 23 Running
22 22 44 Blake Koch Celsius Flo Fusion Toyota 206 23 1 Running 1 1
23 18 19 Mike Bliss Tweaker Energy Shot Toyota 206 21 Running
24 35 26 Jake Crum(i) MyFreedomSmokes.com Chevrolet 206 0 Running
25 12 5 Josh Berry Ragu Chevrolet 206 19 Running
26 27 14 Eric McClure Hefty Ultimate/Reynolds Wrap Toyota 206 18 Running
27 11 16 Ryan Reed # ADA Drive to Stop Diabetes/Lilly Diabetes Ford 206 17 Running
28 33 36 Ryan Preece Accell Construction/East West Marine Chevrolet 206 16 Running
29 8 62 Brendan Gaughan South Point Chevrolet 205 15 Running
30 29 55 David Starr Niece Equipment Chevrolet 205 14 Running
31 40 17 Tanner Berryhill # New Gulf Resources Toyota 204 13 Running
32 37 23 Carlos Contreras Circle K Chevrolet 203 12 Running
33 26 25 John Wes Townley(i) Zaxby’s Toyota 201 0 Running
34 39 87 Milka Duno CanTV Toyota 201 10 Running
35 23 1 Landon Cassill Flex Seal Chevrolet 190 9 Engine
36 32 39 Ryan Sieg # Huntinator Chevrolet 179 8 Suspension
37 16 98 Corey LaJoie(i) Medallion Financial/Smithfield Ford 116 0 Accident
38 36 40 Matt DiBenedetto Curtis Key Plumbing Chevrolet 57 6 Transmission
39 38 52 Joey Gase FindDieselEngines.com Chevrolet 54 5 Engine
40 34 91 Jeff Green SupportMilitary.org Toyota 3 4 Vibration

# = Rookie, Fin = Finish, Str = Start, Pts = Total Points, BPs = Lap Leader Bns Pts, TLd = Times Led, LLd = Laps Led. (i) Ineligible for driver points in this series

2014 NASCAR Nationwide Series Unofficial Point Standings Final

Pos Driver BPts Points Ldr Nxt Starts Poles Wins T5s T10s DNF PPos G/L
1 Chase Elliott # 26 1213 0 0 33 2 3 16 26 0 1 0
2 Regan Smith 13 1171 -42 -42 33 0 1 7 26 0 2 0
3 Elliott Sadler 13 1154 -59 -17 33 1 1 7 25 1 4 1
4 Brian Scott 10 1154 -59 0 33 3 0 6 23 1 3 -1
5 Ty Dillon # 11 1148 -65 -6 33 3 1 7 24 1 5 0
6 Trevor Bayne 7 1086 -127 -62 33 1 0 5 21 3 6 0
7 Chris Buescher # 9 1014 -199 -72 32 0 1 5 14 1 7 0
8 Brendan Gaughan 14 954 -259 -60 33 0 2 2 7 2 8 0
9 Ryan Reed # 1 889 -324 -65 33 0 0 1 1 2 9 0
10 James Buescher 3 868 -345 -21 33 0 0 0 2 1 11 1
11 Dylan Kwasniewski # 0 867 -346 -1 33 1 0 0 3 4 10 -1
12 Landon Cassill 0 800 -413 -67 33 0 0 0 3 7 12 0
13 Dakoda Armstrong # 2 788 -425 -12 33 1 0 0 3 1 13 0
14 Mike Bliss 1 779 -434 -9 33 0 0 0 1 4 14 0
15 Jeremy Clements 8 757 -456 -22 33 0 0 0 2 2 15 0
16 Ryan Sieg # 1 682 -531 -75 33 0 0 1 2 5 16 0
17 Jj Yeley 2 651 -562 -31 30 0 0 1 2 5 17 0
18 Jeffrey Earnhardt 1 586 -627 -65 33 0 0 0 0 9 18 0
19 Eric McClure 0 521 -692 -65 28 0 0 0 0 4 19 0
20 Joey Gase 1 482 -731 -39 33 0 0 0 0 11 20 0
21 Matt Dibenedetto 0 369 -844 -113 29 0 0 0 0 17 22 1
22 Tanner Berryhill # 1 365 -848 -4 29 0 0 0 0 14 23 1
23 Derrike Cope 0 364 -849 -1 28 0 0 0 0 12 21 -2
24 Blake Koch 2 317 -896 -47 28 0 0 0 0 18 25 1
25 Jamie Dick 1 314 -899 -3 21 0 0 0 0 7 24 -1
26 David Starr 2 293 -920 -21 14 0 0 0 1 1 26 0
27 Sam Hornish Jr. 10 242 -971 -51 8 2 1 4 4 3 27 0
28 Mike Wallace 1 229 -984 -13 11 0 0 0 1 2 28 0
29 Chad Boat 1 227 -986 -2 14 0 0 0 0 6 29 0
30 Carlos Contreras 0 204 -1009 -23 14 0 0 0 0 5 30 0
31 Jeff Green 0 172 -1041 -32 20 0 0 0 0 16 31 0
32 Kevin Swindell 0 157 -1056 -15 10 0 0 0 0 4 32 0
33 Mike Harmon 0 153 -1060 -4 16 0 0 0 0 13 33 0
34 Kevin Lepage 0 137 -1076 -16 14 0 0 0 0 10 34 0
35 Tommy Joe Martins 0 124 -1089 -13 11 0 0 0 0 8 35 0
36 Josh Reaume 0 116 -1097 -8 11 0 0 0 0 8 36 0
37 Ryan Ellis 0 104 -1109 -12 12 0 0 0 0 10 37 0
38 Carl Long 0 104 -1109 0 16 0 0 0 0 16 38 0
39 Alex Tagliani 1 82 -1131 -22 2 1 0 2 2 0 39 0
40 Austin Theriault 0 78 -1135 -4 3 0 0 0 0 0 40 0
41 Will Kimmel III 0 74 -1139 -4 5 0 0 0 0 1 41 0
42 Robert Richardson Jr. 0 72 -1141 -2 7 0 0 0 0 4 42 0
43 Cody Ware 0 71 -1142 -1 4 0 0 0 0 1 43 0
44 Kenny Habul 0 61 -1152 -10 3 0 0 0 0 1 44 0
45 Justin Marks 0 58 -1155 -3 2 0 0 0 1 0 45 0
46 Daniel Suarez Garza 0 54 -1159 -4 2 0 0 0 0 0 46 0
47 Morgan Shepherd 0 54 -1159 0 8 0 0 0 0 8 47 0
48 Kelly Admiraal 0 53 -1160 -1 3 0 0 0 0 1 48 0
49 Martin Roy 0 53 -1160 0 5 0 0 0 0 3 49 0
50 Josh Berry 0 51 -1162 -2 2 0 0 0 0 0 59 9
51 Stanton Barrett 0 49 -1164 -2 3 0 0 0 0 2 50 -1
52 Kevin O’connell 0 48 -1165 -1 2 0 0 1 1 1 51 -1
53 Ryan Preece 0 46 -1167 -2 2 0 0 0 0 0 61 8
54 Ruben Garcia Mateos 0 41 -1172 -5 3 0 0 0 0 1 52 -2
55 Harrison Rhodes 0 40 -1173 -1 6 0 0 0 0 6 53 -2
56 Daryl Harr 0 39 -1174 -1 3 0 0 0 0 1 54 -2
57 Andy Lally 0 37 -1176 -2 1 0 0 0 1 0 55 -2
58 Hermie Sadler III 0 37 -1176 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 56 -2
59 Bobby Reuse 0 35 -1178 -2 2 0 0 0 0 1 57 -2
60 Hal Martin 0 34 -1179 -1 2 0 0 0 0 0 58 -2
61 Scott Lagasse Jr. 0 31 -1182 -3 2 0 0 0 0 0 60 -1
62 Matt Frahm 0 28 -1185 -3 3 0 0 0 0 2 62 0
63 Tim Cowen 0 26 -1187 -2 1 0 0 0 0 0 63 0
64 Paulie Harraka 0 25 -1188 -1 1 0 0 0 0 0 64 0
65 Kenny Wallace 0 25 -1188 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 65 0
66 Jason White 0 25 -1188 0 2 0 0 0 0 1 66 0
67 Ryan Gifford 0 24 -1189 -1 1 0 0 0 0 0 67 0
68 Bobby Gerhart 0 19 -1194 -5 2 0 0 0 0 1 68 0
69 Mackena Bell 0 15 -1198 -4 1 0 0 0 0 0 69 0
70 John Jackson 0 15 -1198 0 4 0 0 0 0 4 70 0
71 Matthew Carter 0 15 -1198 0 3 0 0 0 0 3 71 0
72 Roger Reuse 0 14 -1199 -1 2 0 0 0 0 1 72 0
73 Tim Schendel 0 14 -1199 0 3 0 0 0 0 3 73 0
74 Milka Duno 0 14 -1199 0 2 0 0 0 0 1 76 2
75 Kyle Fowler 0 12 -1201 -2 1 0 0 0 0 0 74 -1
76 Richard Harriman 0 12 -1201 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 75 -1
77 Kyle Busch(I) 0 0 -1213 -12 26 7 7 25 25 0 77 0
78 Brad Keselowski(I) 0 0 -1213 -12 11 5 5 10 11 0 78 0
79 Kevin Harvick(I) 0 0 -1213 -12 15 1 4 12 15 0 79 0
80 Kyle Larson(I) 0 0 -1213 -12 28 1 2 14 21 2 80 0
81 Ryan Blaney(I) 0 0 -1213 -12 14 1 1 10 13 0 81 0
82 Matt Kenseth(I) 0 0 -1213 -12 19 0 1 10 15 1 87 5
83 Paul Menard(I) 0 0 -1213 -12 8 0 1 3 5 0 82 -1
84 Kasey Kahne(I) 0 0 -1213 -12 3 0 1 2 2 1 83 -1
85 Marcos Ambrose(I) 0 0 -1213 -12 1 0 1 1 1 0 84 -1
86 Joey Logano(I) 0 0 -1213 -12 10 3 0 8 9 0 85 -1
87 Michael McDowell(I) 0 0 -1213 -12 3 0 0 1 3 0 86 -1
88 Dale Earnhardt Jr.(I) 0 0 -1213 -12 4 0 0 3 3 0 88 0
89 David Ragan(I) 0 0 -1213 -12 6 0 0 1 2 0 89 0
90 Erik Jones(I) 0 0 -1213 -12 3 0 0 0 3 0 90 0
91 Cale Conley(I) 0 0 -1213 -12 11 0 0 0 1 2 91 0
92 Joe Nemechek(I) 0 0 -1213 -12 6 0 0 0 1 0 92 0
93 Darrell Wallace Jr.(I) 0 0 -1213 -12 2 0 0 0 1 0 93 0
94 Austin Dillon(I) 0 0 -1213 -12 1 0 0 0 1 0 94 0
95 Justin Boston(I) 0 0 -1213 -12 2 0 0 0 1 0 95 0
96 Ross Chastain(I) 0 0 -1213 -12 7 0 0 0 1 0 96 0
97 Alex Bowman(I) 0 0 -1213 -12 3 0 0 0 0 0 97 0
98 Matt Crafton(I) 0 0 -1213 -12 1 0 0 0 0 0 98 0
99 Aric Almirola(I) 0 0 -1213 -12 2 0 0 0 0 0 99 0
100 John Wes Townley(I) 0 0 -1213 -12 11 0 0 0 0 2 100 0
101 Chase Pistone(I) 0 0 -1213 -12 3 0 0 0 0 0 101 0
102 Johnny Sauter(I) 0 0 -1213 -12 3 0 0 0 0 0 102 0
103 Josh Wise(I) 0 0 -1213 -12 17 0 0 0 0 6 103 0
104 Tj Bell(I) 0 0 -1213 -12 2 0 0 0 0 1 117 13
105 Jeb Burton(I) 0 0 -1213 -12 1 0 0 0 0 0 104 -1
106 Corey Lajoie(I) 0 0 -1213 -12 5 0 0 0 0 3 105 -1
107 Brennan Newberry(I) 0 0 -1213 -12 4 0 0 0 0 1 106 -1
108 Danica Patrick(I) 0 0 -1213 -12 1 0 0 0 0 0 107 -1
109 Tomy Drissi(I) 0 0 -1213 -12 2 0 0 0 0 0 108 -1
110 Timmy Hill(I) 0 0 -1213 -12 7 0 0 0 0 4 109 -1
111 Jake Crum(I) 0 0 -1213 -12 4 0 0 0 0 1 111 0
112 Jennifer Jo Cobb(I) 0 0 -1213 -12 1 0 0 0 0 0 110 -2
113 Todd Bodine(I) 0 0 -1213 -12 2 0 0 0 0 1 112 -1
114 Chris Cockrum(I) 0 0 -1213 -12 2 0 0 0 0 0 113 -1
115 Caleb Roark(I) 0 0 -1213 -12 1 0 0 0 0 1 114 -1
116 Denny Hamlin(I) 0 0 -1213 -12 1 0 0 0 0 1 115 -1
117 Derek White(I) 0 0 -1213 -12 2 0 0 0 0 2 116 -1
118 Jimmy Weller(I) 0 0 -1213 -12 1 0 0 0 0 1 118 0
119 Willie Allen(I) 0 0 -1213 -12 0 0 0 0 0 0 119 0
120 Benny Gordon 0 0 -1213 -12 0 0 0 0 0 0 120 0
121 Clay Greenfield(I) 0 0 -1213 -12 0 0 0 0 0 0 169 48

BPts – Bonus Points, -Ldr/-Nxt = Points behind Leader/Next higher, PPos = Previous Position, G/L = Points standing gain/loss, (i) Ineligible for driver points in this series

Source: Timing and Scoring provided by NASCAR Media/NASCAR Statistics

 

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of SpeedwayMedia.com

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