# 2014 Camping World RV Sales 301

The 2014 Camping World RV Sales 301 was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race that was held on July 13, 2014, at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, New Hampshire. Contested over 301 laps, it was the 19th race of the 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. This race was the last NASCAR broadcast for TNT until 2025, ending a 32-year broadcast partnership with Turner Sports. Brad Keselowski won the race after leading 138 laps. Kyle Busch was second, while Kyle Larson (finishing as the best rookie), Matt Kenseth, and Ryan Newman rounded out the top five. Behind Larson, the top rookies of the race were Austin Dillon in 14th, and Cole Whitt in 28th.

## Previous week's race

Aric Almirola scored his first career victory in the rain-shortened Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway. He said he could not "dream" of a better place to get his first win.

## Report
### Background

The track, New Hampshire Motor Speedway, opened June 5, 1990, as a four-turn oval track, 1.058 miles (1.703 km) long. The track's turns are banked at two to seven degrees, while the front stretch, the finish line, and the back stretch are banked at one degree and are 1,500 feet in length. The track has a grandstand seating capacity of 93,521 spectators. Brian Vickers was the defending race winner from the 2013 race.

### Entry list

The entry list for the Camping World RV Sales 301 was released on Tuesday, July 8, 2014 at 11:18 a.m. Eastern time. Forty-three drivers were entered for the race.
| No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer |
| 1 | Jamie McMurray | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet |
| 2 | Brad Keselowski (PC2) | Team Penske | Ford |
| 3 | Austin Dillon (R) | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet |
| 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Chevrolet |
| 5 | Kasey Kahne | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 7 | Michael Annett (R) | Tommy Baldwin Racing | Chevrolet |
| 9 | Marcos Ambrose | Richard Petty Motorsports | Ford |
| 10 | Danica Patrick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Chevrolet |
| 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
| 13 | Casey Mears | Germain Racing | Chevrolet |
| 14 | Tony Stewart (PC3) | Stewart-Haas Racing | Chevrolet |
| 15 | Clint Bowyer | Michael Waltrip Racing | Toyota |
| 16 | Greg Biffle | Roush-Fenway Racing | Ford |
| 17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Roush-Fenway Racing | Ford |
| 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
| 20 | Matt Kenseth (PC5) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
| 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford |
| 23 | Alex Bowman (R) | BK Racing | Toyota |
| 24 | Jeff Gordon (PC6) | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 26 | Cole Whitt (R) | BK Racing | Toyota |
| 27 | Paul Menard | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet |
| 31 | Ryan Newman | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet |
| 32 | Eddie MacDonald | Go FAS Racing | Ford |
| 33 | Morgan Shepherd (i) | Hillman-Circle Sport LLC | Chevrolet |
| 34 | David Ragan | Front Row Motorsports | Ford |
| 36 | Reed Sorenson | Tommy Baldwin Racing | Chevrolet |
| 38 | David Gilliland | Front Row Motorsports | Ford |
| 40 | Landon Cassill (i) | Hillman-Circle Sport LLC | Chevrolet |
| 41 | Kurt Busch (PC4) | Stewart-Haas Racing | Chevrolet |
| 42 | Kyle Larson (R) | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet |
| 43 | Aric Almirola | Richard Petty Motorsports | Ford |
| 47 | A. J. Allmendinger | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet |
| 48 | Jimmie Johnson (PC1) | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 51 | Justin Allgaier (R) | HScott Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 55 | Brian Vickers | Michael Waltrip Racing | Toyota |
| 66 | Jeff Burton | Michael Waltrip Racing | Toyota |
| 78 | Martin Truex Jr. | Furniture Row Racing | Chevrolet |
| 83 | Ryan Truex (R) | BK Racing | Toyota |
| 87 | Timmy Hill | Identity Ventures Racing | Toyota |
| 88 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 93 | Mike Bliss (i) | BK Racing | Toyota |
| 98 | Josh Wise | Phil Parsons Racing | Chevrolet |
| 99 | Carl Edwards | Roush-Fenway Racing | Ford |
| Official entry list ||||
| Key | Meaning |
| (R) | Rookie |
| (i) | Ineligible for points |
| (PC#) | Past champions provisional |

## Practice
### First practice

Jimmie Johnson was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 28.148 and a speed of 135.313 mph (217.765 km/h). Joey Logano crashed his car in turn one after blowing a left-rear tire; he likened the blowout to a similar occurrence in the race in 2013, adding that he was not "even close to saving that. I needed about 500 more yards of straightaway to save that one".
| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Time | Speed |
| 1 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 28.148 | 135.313 |
| 2 | 42 | Kyle Larson (R) | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 28.169 | 135.212 |
| 3 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 28.179 | 135.164 |
| Official first practice results |||||||

## Qualifying

Kyle Busch won the pole with a new track record lap time of 27.574 and a speed of 138.130 mph (222.299 km/h). After qualifying second, Johnson stated that "it's so tough to get a good lap around here...but Kyle found a little bit more out there than us".

### Qualifying results

| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | R1 | R2 |
| 1 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 27.820 | 27.574 |
| 2 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 27.828 | 27.642 |
| 3 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 27.762 | 27.785 |
| 4 | 14 | Tony Stewart | Stewart-Haas Racing | Chevrolet | 27.893 | 27.786 |
| 5 | 1 | Jamie McMurray | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 27.900 | 27.798 |
| 6 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 27.776 | 27.839 |
| 7 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 27.791 | 27.841 |
| 8 | 15 | Clint Bowyer | Michael Waltrip Racing | Toyota | 27.870 | 27.862 |
| 9 | 78 | Martin Truex Jr. | Furniture Row Racing | Chevrolet | 27.861 | 27.877 |
| 10 | 5 | Kasey Kahne | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 27.910 | 27.970 |
| 11 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 27.880 | 27.994 |
| 12 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Chevrolet | 27.884 | 28.024 |
| 13 | 42 | Kyle Larson (R) | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 27.927 | — |
| 14 | 99 | Carl Edwards | Roush-Fenway Racing | Ford | 27.945 | — |
| 15 | 20 | Matt Kenseth | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 27.953 | — |
| 16 | 27 | Paul Menard | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 27.953 | — |
| 17 | 55 | Brian Vickers | Michael Waltrip Racing | Toyota | 27.960 | — |
| 18 | 41 | Kurt Busch | Stewart-Haas Racing | Chevrolet | 27.968 | — |
| 19 | 43 | Aric Almirola | Richard Petty Motorsports | Ford | 27.971 | — |
| 20 | 47 | A. J. Allmendinger | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 27.975 | — |
| 21 | 9 | Marcos Ambrose | Richard Petty Motorsports | Ford | 27.982 | — |
| 22 | 17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Roush-Fenway Racing | Ford | 28.022 | — |
| 23 | 3 | Austin Dillon (R) | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 28.043 | — |
| 24 | 31 | Ryan Newman | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 28.064 | — |
| 25 | 51 | Justin Allgaier (R) | HScott Motorsports | Chevrolet | 28.112 | — |
| 26 | 34 | David Ragan | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 28.133 | — |
| 27 | 16 | Greg Biffle | Roush-Fenway Racing | Ford | 28.150 | — |
| 28 | 88 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 28.168 | — |
| 29 | 10 | Danica Patrick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Chevrolet | 28.189 | — |
| 30 | 66 | Jeff Burton | Identity Ventures Racing | Toyota | 28.189 | — |
| 31 | 13 | Casey Mears | Germain Racing | Chevrolet | 28.283 | — |
| 32 | 98 | Josh Wise | Phil Parsons Racing | Chevrolet | 28.332 | — |
| 33 | 38 | David Gilliland | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 28.363 | — |
| 34 | 40 | Landon Cassill | Hillman-Circle Sport LLC | Chevrolet | 28.506 | — |
| 35 | 26 | Cole Whitt (R) | BK Racing | Toyota | 28.514 | — |
| 36 | 23 | Alex Bowman (R) | BK Racing | Toyota | 28.583 | — |
| 37 | 36 | Reed Sorenson | Tommy Baldwin Racing | Chevrolet | 28.591 | — |
| 38 | 83 | Ryan Truex (R) | BK Racing | Toyota | 28.816 | — |
| 39 | 7 | Michael Annett (R) | Tommy Baldwin Racing | Chevrolet | 28.916 | — |
| 40 | 32 | Eddie MacDonald | Go FAS Racing | Ford | 28.951 | — |
| 41 | 93 | Mike Bliss | BK Racing | Toyota | 29.124 | — |
| 42 | 87 | Timmy Hill | Identity Ventures Racing | Toyota | 29.439 | — |
| 43 | 33 | Morgan Shepherd | Hillman-Circle Sport LLC | Chevrolet | 29.783 | — |
| Official qualifying results |||||||

## Practice (post-qualifying)
### Second practice

Brad Keselowski was the fastest in the second practice session with a time of 28.478 and a speed of 133.745 mph (215.242 km/h). Aric Almirola was forced to unload his backup car after suffering a left-rear tire blowout like Logano and crashing in turn three. Almirola was perplexed as to the reason why the blowout occurred, describing the situation as "weird".
| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Time | Speed |
| 1 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 28.478 | 133.745 |
| 2 | 1 | Jamie McMurray | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 28.619 | 133.086 |
| 3 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 28.630 | 133.035 |
| Official second practice results |||||||

### Final practice

Brad Keselowski was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 28.583 and a speed of 133.254 mph (214.452 km/h).
| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Time | Speed |
| 1 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 28.583 | 133.254 |
| 2 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 28.687 | 132.771 |
| 3 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 28.694 | 132.739 |
| Official final practice results |||||||

## Race
### First half

The race was scheduled to start at 1:16 p.m. Eastern time, but the start was delayed by a few minutes due to technical difficulties before the pre-race command. Kyle Busch eventually led the field to the start. Jimmie Johnson had to make an unscheduled stop for a flat left-rear tire on lap seven, losing a lap in the process. A second blowout for Johnson – a left-front tire – five laps later, saw him hit the wall and brought out the first caution of the race on lap 14. The damage to the car ended Johnson's race, scored in 42nd position. The race restarted on lap 21 with Busch leading the field; he held the lead until the 63rd lap, when his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Denny Hamlin assumed the lead. Hamlin gave up the lead on lap 74 to make his first stop, and Brad Keselowski assumed the lead. Keselowski ceded the lead to Kyle Larson when he made his pit stop, before the lead cycled back to Hamlin at the completion of green flag pit stops.

### Second half

Keselowski retook the lead on lap 90, and held the lead until the second caution of the race on lap 112, caused by debris. Keselowski lost the lead during the pit cycle; he was beaten out of the pits by Kyle Busch, but Larson had stayed out and assumed the lead. Larson led the field to the restart on lap 119, holding the lead until lap 127, when Matt Kenseth took the lead. On lap 139, Keselowski returned to the lead of the race, and maintained his position until the third caution period of the race, due to debris on the backstretch on lap 153. Joey Logano took the lead during the pit stops, but lost the lead to Clint Bowyer at the restart on lap 158. Keselowski retook the lead on lap 177, just as another debris caution was called for. Keselowski maintained his lead for the next stint of the race, before the caution flag was flown again, on lap 212.
On this occasion, the caution period was down to a collision in turn three, between Logano and Morgan Shepherd, who at 72, was further extending his record of being the oldest driver to compete in a Sprint Cup race. Logano complained that he had “just got taken out by the slowest guy out there", while also stating that NASCAR should implement a driver's test. NASCAR defended Shepherd, saying he passed all the requirements, had his speed monitored, and ran well enough in relation to the leaders not to be black-flagged. NASCAR required that a driver run within 115% of the fastest final practice lap, which was 32.87 seconds at Loudon. Shepherd was well within the limits, running 31-second laps. Shepherd would ultimately finish the race as the last car running, 27 laps down in 39th position. During the pit stops, Bowyer exited first, and led the field to the restart on lap 219.

#### Final laps

Keselowski retook the lead on lap 230, holding the lead to the sixth caution of the race, on lap 249 for debris. Jeff Gordon stayed out while the leaders pitted and assumed the lead. Gordon held the lead until 32 laps to go, when Keselowski returned to the lead of the race. Keselowski maintained his lead until the end, despite a seventh caution – which caused a green–white–checker finish – with four laps to go, when Justin Allgaier hit the wall in turn three. Keselowski held off the advances of Kyle Busch to win for the second time in three races, and for the third time in 2014. Keselowski described the performance as "definitely good for when we come back here in September", but also stated that his team "have to keep working and plugging away". Gordon maintained his championship lead, despite running out of fuel in the closing stages, and ultimately finished 26th.

### Race results

| Pos | Grid | No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Laps | Points |
| 1 | 7 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 305 | 48 |
| 2 | 1 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 305 | 43 |
| 3 | 13 | 42 | Kyle Larson (R) | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevy | 305 | 42 |
| 4 | 15 | 20 | Matt Kenseth | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 305 | 41 |
| 5 | 24 | 31 | Ryan Newman | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 305 | 39 |
| 6 | 8 | 15 | Clint Bowyer | Michael Waltrip Racing | Toyota | 305 | 39 |
| 7 | 4 | 14 | Tony Stewart | Stewart-Haas Racing | Chevrolet | 305 | 37 |
| 8 | 3 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 305 | 37 |
| 9 | 22 | 17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Roush-Fenway Racing | Ford | 305 | 35 |
| 10 | 28 | 88 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 305 | 34 |
| 11 | 10 | 5 | Kasey Kahne | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 305 | 33 |
| 12 | 9 | 78 | Martin Truex Jr. | Furniture Row Racing | Chevrolet | 305 | 32 |
| 13 | 14 | 99 | Carl Edwards | Roush-Fenway Racing | Ford | 305 | 31 |
| 14 | 23 | 3 | Austin Dillon (R) | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 305 | 30 |
| 15 | 27 | 16 | Greg Biffle | Roush-Fenway Racing | Ford | 305 | 29 |
| 16 | 5 | 1 | Jamie McMurray | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 305 | 28 |
| 17 | 18 | 41 | Kurt Busch | Stewart-Haas Racing | Chevrolet | 305 | 28 |
| 18 | 20 | 47 | A. J. Allmendinger | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 305 | 26 |
| 19 | 16 | 27 | Paul Menard | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 305 | 25 |
| 20 | 30 | 66 | Jeff Burton | Identity Ventures Racing | Toyota | 305 | 24 |
| 21 | 17 | 55 | Brian Vickers | Michael Waltrip Racing | Toyota | 305 | 23 |
| 22 | 29 | 10 | Danica Patrick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Chevrolet | 305 | 22 |
| 23 | 19 | 43 | Aric Almirola | Richard Petty Motorsports | Ford | 305 | 21 |
| 24 | 33 | 38 | David Gilliland | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 305 | 20 |
| 25 | 26 | 34 | David Ragan | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 305 | 19 |
| 26 | 11 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 305 | 19 |
| 27 | 21 | 9 | Marcos Ambrose | Richard Petty Motorsports | Ford | 304 | 17 |
| 28 | 35 | 26 | Cole Whitt (R) | BK Racing | Toyota | 304 | 16 |
| 29 | 32 | 98 | Josh Wise | Phil Parsons Racing | Ford | 304 | 15 |
| 30 | 12 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Chevrolet | 304 | 14 |
| 31 | 36 | 23 | Alex Bowman (R) | BK Racing | Toyota | 303 | 13 |
| 32 | 39 | 7 | Michael Annett (R) | Tommy Baldwin Racing | Chevrolet | 303 | 12 |
| 33 | 37 | 36 | Reed Sorenson | Tommy Baldwin Racing | Chevrolet | 302 | 11 |
| 34 | 34 | 40 | Landon Cassill | Hillman-Circle Sport LLC | Chevrolet | 301 | 0 |
| 35 | 40 | 32 | Eddie MacDonald | Go FAS Racing | Ford | 300 | 9 |
| 36 | 38 | 83 | Ryan Truex (R) | BK Racing | Toyota | 300 | 8 |
| 37 | 25 | 51 | Justin Allgaier (R) | HScott Motorsports | Chevrolet | 296 | 7 |
| 38 | 31 | 13 | Casey Mears | Germain Racing | Chevrolet | 292 | 6 |
| 39 | 43 | 33 | Morgan Shepherd | Hillman-Circle Sport LLC | Chevrolet | 278 | 0 |
| 40 | 6 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 211 | 5 |
| 41 | 42 | 87 | Timmy Hill | Identity Ventures Racing | Toyota | 76 | 3 |
| 42 | 2 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 11 | 2 |
| 43 | 41 | 93 | Mike Bliss | BK Racing | Toyota | 6 | 0 |

### Race statistics

* Lead changes: 18 among different drivers
* Cautions/Laps: 7 for 35
* Red flags: 0
* Time of race: 2 hours, 58 minutes and 3 seconds
* Average speed: 108.741 miles per hour (175.002 km/h)

## Media
### Television

TNT Sports :
| Booth announcers | Pit reporters |
| Lap-by-lap: Adam Alexander Color-commentator: Wally Dallenbach Jr. Color commentator: Kyle Petty | Matt Yocum Marty Snider Chris Neville Ralph Sheheen |

### Radio

PRN Radio :
| Booth announcers | Turn announcers | Pit reporters |
| Lead announcer: Doug Rice Announcer: Mark Garrow | Backstretch: Rob Albright | Brett McMillan Steve Richards Jim Noble Wendy Venturini |

## Standings after the race

| | Pos | Driver | Points |
| | 1 | Jeff Gordon | 670 |
| | 2 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | 658 (−12) |
| 1 | 3 | Brad Keselowski | 634 (−36) |
| 1 | 4 | Matt Kenseth | 621 (−49) |
| 2 | 5 | Jimmie Johnson | 598 (−72) |
| 1 | 6 | Carl Edwards | 574 (−96) |
| 1 | 7 | Ryan Newman | 573 (−97) |
| 1 | 8 | Kyle Busch | 567 (−103) |
| 3 | 9 | Joey Logano | 551 (−119) |
| 2 | 10 | Clint Bowyer | 548 (−122) |
| 1 | 11 | Paul Menard | 541 (−129) |
| 2 | 12 | Denny Hamlin | 530 (−140) |
| 2 | 13 | Kevin Harvick | 528 (−142) |
| 3 | 14 | Kyle Larson (R) | 524 (−146) |
| 2 | 15 | Austin Dillon (R) | 524 (−146) |
| 1 | 16 | Greg Biffle | 519 (−151) |
| Pos | Manufacturer | Points |
| 1 | Chevrolet | 848 |
| 2 | Ford | 834 (−14) |
| 3 | Toyota | 766 (−82) |