Sprint Cup Chase 2014: NASCAR Standings and Schedule After Kansas 400
May 11, 2014
Saturday's Kansas 400 featured an exhilarating finish, as Jeff Gordon edged out Kevin Harvick to notch his first win of the season.
The finish shook up the season Sprint Cup standings in a big way. After the race, here's how things stand:
| 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Driver Standings | ||
| Position | Driver | Points |
| 1 | Jeff Gordon | 394 |
| 2 | Matt Kenseth | 379 |
| 3 | Kyle Busch | 373 |
| 4 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | 368 |
| 5 | Carl Edwards | 367 |
| 6 | Joey Logano | 346 |
| 7 | Jimmie Johnson | 340 |
| 8 | Ryan Newman | 332 |
| 9 | Greg Biffle | 328 |
| 10 | Brian Vickers | 327 |
| NASCAR.com | ||
Full season standings can be found on NASCAR.com.
Harvick had the pole and led the field into Turn 1 of the race. Gordon began back in 13th, but it didn't take him long to get rolling, as he moved into the top 10 by the 10th lap.
With 119 laps led—the most of any driver by a long shot—Harvick held his position nicely throughout the majority of the race; however, in the end, Gordon was simply too strong.
Passing Harvick with just eight laps remaining, Gordon took a lead he would not relinquish.
Kentucky Speedway's Twitter account noted some comments from Harvick after the race:
It was a two-car race in the end, with Harvick and Gordon jockeying for position. Gordon notched a close victory, defeating Harvick by just 0.112 seconds. Third-place finisher Kasey Kahne finished a full 10.851 seconds behind them.
Gordon's victory came with a record-setting feat, as he was the first three-time winner at Kansas Speedway, according to Randy Covitz of the Kansas City Star:
Dale Earnhardt Jr. continued his solid showings this season with a fifth-place finish, and Danica Patrick notched her career-best finish in seventh place.
Tom Jensen of Fox Sports tweeted Danica's accomplishment:
Here's a look at the top 10 finishers from Saturday night:
| NASCAR Kansas 400 Results | |||
| Position | Driver | Laps Led | Points |
| 1 | Jeff Gordon | 9 | 394 |
| 2 | Kevin Harvick | 119 | 302 |
| 3 | Kasey Kahne | 22 | 294 |
| 4 | Joey Logano | 63 | 346 |
| 5 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | 9 | 368 |
| 6 | Carl Edwards | 6 | 367 |
| 7 | Danica Patrick | 0 | 213 |
| 8 | Aric Almirola | 0 | 278 |
| 9 | Jimmie Johnson | 24 | 340 |
| 10 | Matt Kenseth | 1 | 379 |
| NASCAR.com | |||
Full race results can be found on NASCAR.com.
Next on the slate is the Charlotte Motor Speedway. The Sprint Showdown and NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race take place on Friday, May 16 and Saturday, May 17 followed by the Coca-Cola 600 on Sunday, May 25.
Here's a look at the upcoming schedule:
| 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Schedule | |||
| Date | Time | Race | Track |
| Fri., May 16 | 7 p.m. | Sprint Showdown | Charlotte Motor Speedway |
| Sat., May 17 | 9 p.m. | All-Star Race | Charlotte Motor Speedway |
| Sun., May 25 | 6 p.m. | Coca-Cola 600 | Charlotte Motor Speedway |
| Sun., June 1 | 1 p.m. | FedEx 400 | Dover International Speedway |
| Sun., June 8 | 1 p.m. | Pocono 400 | Pocono Raceway |
| NASCAR.com | |||
The full schedule can be viewed at NASCAR.com.
Gordon will look to keep his hot hand alive as plenty of other drivers continue to nip at his heels. With a good deal of races left on this year's schedule, this is a long way from over.
After all, Gordon is chasing a big racing milestone, according to a tweet from The NASCAR Country:
We'll see how long it takes him to get there.