2014 Championship Recap

What. A. Chase!!!

That's all I have to say about last night's finish in Homestead-Miami Speedway.  Kevin Harvick is your 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Champion and he held off Ryan Newman in a 3-lap shootout for the win!

Kevin Harvick was brought up in the Cup series in 2001 following the death of Dale Earnhardt, won his 1st ever Cup race in only his 3rd career start, won the Busch Series championship that same year and again in 2006, and now is a Sprint Cup Champion!

In his first season with Stewart-Haas Racing, Harvick won 5 races, including the final 2, and was definitely a contender throughout the Chase.  He led 54 laps, including the final 7 in a wild ending at Homestead due to debris cautions and crashes including A.J. Allmendinger, Greg Biffle, J.J. Yeley & Brett Moffitt.  During, the race, Harvick was virtually the Championship leader, but the highest finisher counted and he scores a W.  Ryan Newman finished 2nd and was a threat throughout the race but on the final restart, Harvick had the faster car.  Denny Hamlin led 50 laps but faded on that restart to finish 6th and 3rd in the standings.  Joey Logano also was in the top-5 early, but had bad pit stops and brushed the wall during the race, making his car slower and finished 18th and 4th in standings.

So with that said, this is Stewart-Haas Racing's 2nd Championship (first being Tony Stewart in 2011) and Chevrolet gets another win.  Kevin Harvick's 1st and a lot to look forward to in the coming weeks and into 2015.

LOOKING AHEAD
As the 2014 season comes to a close, it will be a new era in NASCAR as NBC Sports reacquires the 2nd half of the NASCAR season in 2015, so no more TNT or ESPN.  Also, there have already been driver moves as Marcos Ambrose will return to V8 Supercars Racing in Australia, and Sam Hornish, Jr. will return to full-time Cup racing in the 9-car for Richard Petty Motorsports.  Carl Edwards will leave Roush after a 10-year stint and moves to Joe Gibbs Racing, making it a 4-team stable.  Trevor Bayne leaves the Wood Brothers and finally gets his chance at a title, racing for Roush-Fenway.  Ryan Blaney, who finished 2nd in the Truck Series championship, will drive part-time for the Wood Brothers.

In conclusion, it was a great 2014 season, probably the best since 2011.  The new Chase format was a success, and it will be around for years to come.

Bring on 2015.