Brad Keselowski: Keselowski was in shape for a top-5 finish before Kevin Harvick’s blown engine littered the track with oil. Keselowski’s No. 2 Miller Lite Ford rammed Jamie McMurray’s No. 1 car, which had checked up. Keselowski still managed a 14th and took over the Sprint Cup points lead from Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
Earnhardt’s engine sputtered on the final lap at Las Vegas, allowing Brad Keselowski to pass for the win as fuel mileage cost the No. 88 its second win of the year. Still, Earnhardt has a win and two runner-ups, and leads Keselowski in the points standings by one.
Three races in, and the story of the 2014 Cup season is the success of Dale Earnhardt Jr. He wins at Daytona, finishes second in Phoenix, and a hiccup in his fuel pick up was all that kept him from victory at Las Vegas. That and Brad Keselowski. Still, take a gamble, have it turn sour, and still come home second is not all that bad.
Busch finishes second in the Sprint Cup point standings, winning five races, and caps his year with a win at Homestead and his first Sprint Cup championship.
The final two stops on day two of the tour featured Furniture Row Racing and Hendrick Motorsports. Furniture Row found its most success last season with Kurt Busch in the driver’s seat, but Busch has been replaced by Martin Truex, Jr., who piloted a Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota in 2013.
Jeff Gordon will always be, at the very, very least, one of the top ten best drivers in NASCAR history on any list. The guy whose Racing Reference page costs $95 to sponsor. The Tom Brady of racing. He's the driver of the 1990's who will probably end his career with over 90 wins, a first ballet Hall of Famer, and helped a team go from race winners to champions.