Homestead, Fla. – The 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Championship will be decided on Sunday in the Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Team
Flowmaster Drivers Kevin Harvick, Denny Hamlin and Ryan Newman, as well as Joey Logano will battle head-to-head in what is sure to be a classic.
NASCAR made drastic changes to the Chase format this season with a series of eliminations rounds cutting the field from the original 16 to the final four. On Sunday, the first one of the four to the finish line at the end of the 400-mile race will be Champion.
Harvick drives the Budweiser Chevrolet SS for Stewart-Haas Racing, his first season with the team. He has four wins, including a dramatic must-win on Sunday at Phoenix assuring him a spot in the Championship Round.
“This is all about winning a championship,” said Harvick, 38, of Bakersfield, Calif. “That’s what we all show up for. I’ve been fortunate to have won all the marquee races and won at different tracks, Nationwide Championships, Truck Championships as an owner, so we’ve been able to achieve a lot of things.
“That Cup trophy is the one thing that’s eluded us up until this point. I definitely want to check that off the list and be able to experience that not only for myself, but for all the guys that work on my car and haven’t been able to win that championship either.”
Hamlin wheels the FedEx Express Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing. He won at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway in May. He has surged in the last few weeks scoring five top-10 finishes in the last six races. Hamlin won this race last year here at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
“I feel pretty optimistic,” said Hamlin, 33, of Chesterfield, Va. “I thought we had a good test, and obviously no one saw that win coming last year. We were a lot less competitive at the end of last year, and we popped up and won that race.
“It’s just a track the suits me for some reason. It’s wide, tires wear out and if your car is working well, you can make up positions there. Love the opportunity – we’re on house money now, so let’s go have fun.”
Ryan Newman drives the Caterpillar Chevrolet SS for Richard Childress Racing. While NASCAR established a premium on winning races, Newman has yet to win this season. He has shown there is still a place for consistency in the sport scoring top-15 finishes in the last seven races.
“I’m so proud of my guys and the effort they have put into this,” said Newman, 36, of South Bend, Ind. “We’ve been fighting very hard all year long. We flew under the radar and turned in the solid performances to earn one of the four positions.
“There’s been so much on the line week in and week out during this new Chase format. We’ve been able to dig in and move on. We are going to keep digging and hope it will be good enough to win a Sprint Cup Series Championship.”
Logano drives the Shell-Pennzoil Ford for Team Penske Racing. He is a five-time winner this year, his second season for the potent team owned by Roger Penske.
“It is exactly how you would think it feels – it’s the accumulation of a whole season of hard work,” said Logano, 24, of Middletown, Ct. “This team has been strong all year and I think we deserve to be competing for this Championship.
“All of the teams are strong, but I think (our) team is just as strong if not stronger, than all of them. I think we have as good of a shot as anyone, and I’d put my money on me. It will be fun to watch as a fan for sure.”
The four teams will compete within the standard 43-car NASCAR Sprint Cup Series field.
Flowmaster is the Exclusive Performance Exhaust of NASCAR and many of the top teams in the sport have the company’s decal on the side of their cars. Team
Flowmaster Drivers have won 24 of the 35 races this season as well as the Sprint Unlimited and the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race.
Ford EcoBoost 400 Race Information:
Sunday, November 16, 2014, 3:00 p.m. ET
Homestead-Miami Speedway: 267 laps/400 miles
Television: ESPN
Radio: MRN and SIRIUS/XM NASCAR Radio Channel 90