The 2014 season began in the Sprint Unlimited, in which Gordon was collected in a nine-car crash on the sixth lap of segment two. Gordon started the season with a fourth-place finish in the Daytona 500. In the following races at Phoenix, Las Vegas and Bristol, Gordon finished fifth, ninth and seventh, and was the only driver to finish in the top ten in every race up to the Bristol race; the four top tens to start the season is a career-best. In the Auto Club 400, Gordon was penalized for speeding on pit road, along with trouble with a pit entrance warning light, but later managed to take the lead on lap 106; Jimmie Johnson later became the leader, with Gordon following. Despite leading by .720 seconds by lap 178, and Gordon starting to suffer from a vibration with 15 laps to go, Johnson's flat tire with six laps remaining allowed Gordon to take the lead, but Clint Bowyer's spin with two laps left and the ensuing pit stop relegated Gordon to seventh. Gordon finished 13th after a green-white-checker finish. At Texas, a caution with two laps remaining led to Gordon taking only two tires, and despite leading on the restart, Gordon was passed by Joey Logano on the final lap, and finished second. However, Gordon managed to take the points lead after the race, his first time leading the standings since May 2009. In the Toyota Owners 400, Gordon led a race-high 173 laps, but finished second to Logano, marking his seventh top ten in nine races, tied with Matt Kenseth for the most.