The final 25 laps in the Ford Ecoboost 400 were unlike any other in the history of the Chase for the Sprint Cup. At one point, all 4 Chase drivers fighting for a Championship were running nose to tail at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Denny Hamlin found himself in position to seal up the Championship inside 10 laps to go after a questionable call to stay on the track and not pit for tires. However Hamlin and the #11 car may have still won the Championship if fate would not have intervened with a pair of late cautions. Those cautions allowed Kevin Harvick to drive from 8th to 1st in the final 10 laps to not only score the win in the Ford Ecoboost 400 but also score his first Sprint Cup Championship in his 14 year career.
The renewed Chase format for 2014 was highly criticized throughout the season and even into this week’s season finale at Homestead. Drivers like Denny Hamlin and especially Ryan Newman had not been close to winning races throughout the Chase which was the point of focus on the renewed format. Rather those drivers kept advancing through avoiding troubles that consumed several of the sport’s biggest names and some of the favorites in the Chase. Newman, the biggest longshot of them all, nearly destroyed the new Chase format with his performance at Homestead. Newman found himself trying to pass Harvick in the final few laps to score the victory and came up just 1 spot short of a Cinderella type story.
Still, one thing that cannot be denied is the intensity and excitement that this new Chase format presented this year. Off the track, we saw multiple fights and feuds. On the track, we witness stunning racing action marred by clutch performances. Brad Keselowski delivered on a must-win scenario at the most unlikely venue at Talladega Superspeedway. Kevin Harvick delivered in a must-win scenario on an even bigger stage at Phoenix International Raceway. Then tonight NASCAR was treated to an outstanding season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Homestead’s multiple racing grooves provided relentless racing action with 3 and sometimes 4 wide racing. At one moment late in the race, Hamlin, Harvick, and Newman were 3 wide for the top position in the Championship and that type of exciting racing carried through until the checkered flag waved on the 2014 season. As NASCAR fans first and foremost, it has been a great year of racing and from a betting standpoint we have had a great year of profits in all 3 series. In just a mere 3 months, we will crank it up and do it all over again.
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