Review: NASCAR's Final Four Drivers of 2014
By Richard Tix
It seems like just like the 2014 season just started and Dale Earnhardt Jr was winning his second Daytona 500. Yet, we find ourselves with only one race left in the season. NASCAR's finale in its new Chase format heads to Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Four drivers remain after an exciting 9 race Chase to get to the championship race at Miami where the highest finisher of the four wins the 2014 Sprint Cup Championship. Kevin Harvick, Joey Logano, Denny Hamlin, and Ryan Newman all will fight it out for the chance to become a first time Sprint Cup Champion. Each driver made it to this point differently, making there stories all the more interesting. So, lets take a look at each driver's path to the Championship and how they have done at Homestead in there careers.
If you want to check out the full race preview (not just the Chase drivers), check out Week 36 Preview: Homestead.
Kevin Harvick and his #4 team has been one of the fastest car's throughout the entire 2014 season. Harvick, entering his first season with Stewart-Haas Racing in 2014, has turned the table in his career with his new team. Harvick got to the final four on speed and wins. In 2014 Harvick won 5 races before Miami, including last week at Phoenix where he has won four of the last five races. Even more important, the win was the thing that locked him into this last race. Another huge key to his season that can't be overlooked is the swapping of pit crews to start the Chase with Tony Stewart. His crew hasn't has as many hiccups as his original team did throughout the regular season.
Homestead Stats:
Races: 13
Wins: 0
Top 5: 5
Top 10: 11
Pole: 0
Avg Finish: 8.1
Harvick doesn't have a win at Miami in his 13 starts here, but he does have the second best average finish of any current Cup driver (only Carl Edwards is better). So, add that with the fact that Harvick has been fast all season and he has a good shot at leaving the 2014 Sprint Cup Champion. Of course, it may come down to who wins the race, but if a Chase racer doesn't win the race Harvicks high finish may help him out. He does have straight top 10's going right now at Miami.
Joey won the 7th race of the season (Texas) and then won again two races later, which pretty much locked him into the Chase no matter what crazy outcome happened along the way. Logano didn't stop there as he put up 5 wins before this weeks race at Miami, which is second only to Penske teammate Brad Keselowski. 2013 was Joey's first year with Penske and he started to turn a corner, well 2014 was that corner and he truly made himself into a title contender. Joey started the Chase off with 5 straight top 4's including two wins. He had to fight his way back into the Chase final at Phoenix, but he did it and now has a chance to mark his spot as a Champion.
Homestead Stats:
Races: 5
Wins: 0
Top 5: 0
Top 10: 1
Pole: 1
Avg Finish: 20.8
When it comes to Logano's short career you may have to look past his career stats at Miami. Whats important to look at is how fast he has been this year and that his finishes here have been getting better (2011-19th, 2012-14th, and 2013-8th). So, just because he doesn't have a long history here, I wouldn't count him out just yet.
Coming into 2014 I thought Denny Hamlin would have a bounce back year (heck, I thought JGR would be strong in general). Most of the season my prediction didn't look promising, but then the Chase rolled around and Denny did just enough to keep advancing. Looking at his stats for the season you would say, no way Denny should be here, but the new system is open to making it to the final in many different ways. If you think back to 2012, Denny was a rising star in NASCAR, so I think even in his down year, it is good to see him here in Miami with a chance.
Homestead Stats:
Races: 9
Wins: 2
Top 5: 4
Top 10: 5
Pole: 0
Avg Finish: 11.2
Denny Hamlin is the only driver remaining in the Chase to have a win at Miami (two wins to be exact). That has to give him a great mental edge heading into the final race of 2014. Heck, in 2013 when he was trying to recover from an early season injury he left Miami the last winner of the season. Could he do it again? If he does, he will leave a first time Sprint Cup Champion.
To the majority of NASCAR fans, Newman is the most controversial Chase Finalist. That's because he enters Miami without a single win in 2014. I am not going to use this spot to hold my stance that NASCAR wanted wins to mean more (and they do), but win's dont mean everything. This Chase makes certain you can make the finals in many other ways. One of those ways? Being consistent like Newman without many devastating finishes. 22nd, 24th, 31st, and 41st are the only finishes Newman had out of the top 20. 25 He may only have 5 top 5's on the season, but he has 25 top 15's (meaning not many terrible finishes) in 35 races, plus 15 top 10's. If anything, this Chase system is showing that not only is winning more valuable (Harvick made it in by winning, BK made it to the Eliminator round by a win at Talladega, and most the Chasers got into the Chase because of a win), but also that consistency and points days can still be used to a drivers advantage. Is he more deserving than Havrick, Logano, Gordon (out), Keselowski (out)? Maybe not, but when has life and sports always been fair? It's all about taking advantage of the opportunity in front of you. This has been Newman's opportunity, can he take full advantage?
Homestead Stats:
Races: 12
Wins: 0
Top 5: 1
Top 10: 4
Pole: 0
Avg Finish: 17
Homestead hasn't been Newman's best track over his career. Most of this is due to a rough stretch from 2006-2009. In the last four years he has gone every other race having a quality finish (7, 12, 3, and 17). If you go by that theory then Newman might have a shot at another good finish. Newman is not only the long shot because he doesn't have a win in 2014, but also because the other three drivers seem to have a brighter outlook for Miami. However, he has made it this far, will the Cinderella slipper continue to fit?
There you have it NASCAR fans. Four drivers, one title, and all it takes is just one race. You can imagine every team will be laying it out on the line. For these four drivers, every lap, every pit stop, every strategic call could mean the difference in being the Champion or finishing 2-4th in points.
Thanks again for checking out NASCAR Behind the Wall. Check back in for the review and all offseason for NASCAR news!
Homestead Stats:
Races: 12
Wins: 0
Top 5: 1
Top 10: 4
Pole: 0
Avg Finish: 17
Homestead hasn't been Newman's best track over his career. Most of this is due to a rough stretch from 2006-2009. In the last four years he has gone every other race having a quality finish (7, 12, 3, and 17). If you go by that theory then Newman might have a shot at another good finish. Newman is not only the long shot because he doesn't have a win in 2014, but also because the other three drivers seem to have a brighter outlook for Miami. However, he has made it this far, will the Cinderella slipper continue to fit?
There you have it NASCAR fans. Four drivers, one title, and all it takes is just one race. You can imagine every team will be laying it out on the line. For these four drivers, every lap, every pit stop, every strategic call could mean the difference in being the Champion or finishing 2-4th in points.
Thanks again for checking out NASCAR Behind the Wall. Check back in for the review and all offseason for NASCAR news!
