FlowmasterMufflers

Charlotte, N.C. - Team Flowmaster Driver Kevin Harvick drove his Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet SS to the win Saturday night Bank Of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The victory gives Harvick a berth into the Eliminator Round (final 8 drivers) for the 2014 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.

“Everybody on our team just continues to build better race cars,” said Harvick after his first win since the Southern 500 at Darlington in April. His cars have been fast, leading the most laps in six races, but they have struggled getting victories.

“We know that we’ve had the cars to run up front and lead laps,” continued Harvick. “Things just haven’t gone right and we’ve made some mistakes; things haven’t gone right more than not. So, I’m really proud of all the guys on this team.”

Harvick again led the most laps, 162 of 334, and took the lead for the final time 17 laps from the end. He did survive a late caution and restart to score his 26th career-victory and third of the season.

Team Flowmaster Drivers Jeff Gordon and Jamie McMurray finished second and third. Joey Logano was fourth with Kyle Busch scoring a fifth-place finish.

The Chase intensity boiled over following the race when Brad Keselowski, Denny Hamlin and Matt Kenseth all had “cool-down-lap” crashes. Kenseth and Keselowski scuffled briefly in the garage area. Four drivers will be eliminated from Championship contention following Sunday’s race at Talladega Superspeedway.

Flowmaster is the Exclusive Performance Exhaust of NASCAR and many of the top teams in the sport have the company’s decal on the side of their car. Team Flowmaster Drivers have won 21 of the 31 races this season as well as the Sprint Unlimited and the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race.

Top-10 Finishers:
1. Kevin Harvick**
2. Jeff Gordon**
3. Jamie McMurray**
4. Joey Logano
5. Kyle Busch**
6. Kyle Larson**
7. Ryan Newman**
8. Carl Edwards**
9. Denny Hamlin**
10. Kasey Kahne**

Next Race: GEICO 500, Talladega Superspeedway
Sunday, October 19, 2014

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TALLADEGA, Ala. – Brad Keselowski wheeled his Ford Fusion to a thrilling clutch victory Sunday in the Geico 500 at Talladega Superspeedway. It was his sixth win of the season and took him from outside the Championship field back into the Eliminator Round of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.

Six Team Flowmaster Drivers advanced following Talladega to the three-race Eliminator Round that begins Sunday at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway. Those drivers are: Kevin Harvick, Ryan Newman, Denny Hamlin, Matt Kenseth, Carl Edwards and Jeff Gordon.

At Talladega, Keselowski was masterful on the final lap holding the top spot, knowing a win was his only chance to advance in the Chase.

“Talladega is such a wild card and to be able to win here you have to catch breaks and make your own breaks,” said Keselowski of his third Talladega victory. “This race is the scariest of the three in the bracket. To be able to win here is really a privilege, it really is.”

Keselowski overcame damage on his car in a lap 60 crash and was able to get the best on the field in a second “overtime” green-white-checked portion of the race to get the win.

“We just persevered,” Keselowski said. “We didn’t give up.”

Keselowski scored the win with Matt Kenseth second and Clint Bowyer third. Team Flowmaster Driver Landon Cassill scored his career-best finish of fourth with Ryan Newman completing the top five.

Flowmaster is the Exclusive Performance Exhaust of NASCAR and many of the top teams in the sport have the company’s decal on the side of their cars. Team Flowmaster Drivers have won 21 of the 32 races this season as well as the Sprint Unlimited and the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race.

Top-10 Finishers:

1. Brad Keselowski
2. Matt Kenseth**
3. Clint Bowyer
4. Landon Cassill**
5. Ryan Newman**
6. Travis Kvapil**
7. Kurt Busch**
8. Marcos Ambrose**
9. Kevin Harvick**
10. Casey Mears

**Indicates Team Flowmaster Driver

Next Race: Goody’s Headache Relief Shot 500, Martinsville (Va.) Speedway
Sunday, October 26, 2014

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MARTINSVILLE, Va. – Team Flowmaster Driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. drove to the popular win Sunday after some frenzied final laps in the Goody’s Headache Relief Shot 500 at historic Martinsville Speedway. It was his first win at the track, and fourth of the season.

Earnhardt was in contention most of the race, but a late race caution and pit stop left him fifth on a restart with five laps remaining. He was the first car in the preferred inside line with fresh tires, as other drivers stayed on the track with worn tires in front of him.

Earnhardt pounced on the green flag and was in second by turn three tracking down leader Tony Stewart.

“As soon as I got clear of everyone buy Tony, I remember going into turn three and seeing him struggle,” said Earnhardt. “I thought, I got to get by him really fast because he’s going to hold me up.

“I really wasn’t under Tony, but I think he knew that the position was lost and he’d give me the inside going into three. As soon as we got in the center corner; I gassed it, ‘doored’ him pretty hard. But I had to go.”

Earnhardt got the lead and was able to keep a few car lengths between himself and teammate Jeff Gordon at the end of the win. It was his 23rd-career victory.

Team Flowmaster Drivers took the next three spots with Gordon, Ryan Newman and Tony Stewart matching his best finish of the season with a fourth. Joey Logano was fifth.

Sunday was the first round in the three-race Eliminator Round in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. Jeff Gordon was the top-finishing Eliminator Eight driver and leads the points. A race win at Texas or Phoenix in the next two weeks for any of the eight drivers is a berth in the Championship Round in three weeks, the balance of the four-driver round will be made of top point getters.

Flowmaster is the Exclusive Performance Exhaust of NASCAR and many of the top teams in the sport have the company’s decal on the side of their cars. Team Flowmaster Drivers have won 22 of the 33 races this season as well as the Sprint Unlimited and the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race.

Top-10 Finishers:

1. Dale Earnhardt Jr.**
2. Jeff Gordon**
3. Ryan Newman**
4. Tony Stewart**
5. Joey Logano
6. Matt Kenseth**
7. Clint Bowyer
8. Denny Hamlin**
9. A.J. Allmendinger**
10. David Ragan**

** Indicates Team Flowmaster Driver

Next Race: AAA Texas 500, Texas Motor Speedway
Sunday, November 2, 2014

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Fort Worth, Tex. – While much of the emphasis in 2014 has been on the importance of winning NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races, there is still the very critical element of the point standings. Team Flowmaster Driver Ryan Newman is making that work for his team.

While Newman is winless this season, he is second in the standings and in a spot -- as it stands now -- to make it into the Championship Round of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup on November 16 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Newman has been the model of consistency all year and most importantly in the Chase. In the Challengers Round he averages a finish just above 10th with finishes of 15th, 18th and 8th. In the second round, the Contenders Round, he averaged a sixth-place finish with 6th, 7th and 5th-place finishes. And, he launched strong in this Eliminator Round with a third-place finish at Martinsville.

Newman rolls into Sunday’s AAA Texas 500 with momentum on his side aiming for a second Texas victory; he won here back in 2003.

2014 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Standings:

1. Jeff Gordon, 4,044**
2. Ryan Newman, 4,041**
3. Joey Logano, 4,040
4. Matt Kenseth, 4,039**
5. Denny Hamlin, 4,037**
6. Carl Edwards, 4,024**
7. Brad Keselowski, 4,013
8. Kevin Harvick, 4,011**

** Indicates Team Flowmaster Driver

AAA Texas 500 Race Information:

Sunday, November 2, 2014
Texas Motor Speedway, Fort Worth, Tex.

Race Length: 367 laps/500 miles
Television: ESPN
Radio: PRN and SIRIUS/XM NASCAR Radio Channel 90

FlowmasterMufflers

Phoenix, Ariz. – Phoenix International Raceway has always been a good track for Team Flowmaster Driver Kevin Harvick. A dominant victory Sunday in the Quicken Loans Race for Heroes 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race put Harvick into the Championship Round in the 2014 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.

“I don’t think we ever talked about anything but trying to come here and win the race,” said Harvick, who entered last among the eight drivers in the Championship hunt. “You never know how the circumstances are going to play out. Somebody can just make a goofy mistake, and you would be in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

The place Harvick was at on Sunday was at the front of the field. He led 264 of the 312 laps, including all but one of the final 224.

“It was a fun week,” said Harvick of his fourth win of the season and 27th of his career. “But these moments are what you live for when you’re racing as a professional athlete. You want these moments. You want to capitalize and get that feeling of gratification, of being able to do things that other people can’t do.”

Team Flowmaster drivers Jeff Gordon and Matt Kenseth finished second and third. Brad Keselowski was fourth with Denny Hamlin fifth.

Harvick, Hamlin, Joey Logano and Ryan Newman advance to the Championship Round this Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway. For Newman, it was a dramatic paint-swapping last turn pass that gave him the final point needed to run for the Championship.

Three of the four Championship contenders (Harvick, Hamlin and Newman) are Team Flowmaster Drivers.

Flowmaster is the Exclusive Performance Exhaust of NASCAR and many of the top teams in the sport have the company’s decal on the side of their cars. Team Flowmaster Drivers have won 24 of the 35 races this season as well as the Sprint Unlimited and the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race.

Top-10 Finishers:
1. Kevin Harvick**
2. Jeff Gordon**
3. Matt Kenseth**
4. Brad Keselowski
5. Denny Hamlin**
6. Joey Logano
7. Kurt Busch**
8. Dale Earnhardt Jr.**
9. Greg Biffle**
10. Marcos Ambrose**
**Indicates Team Flowmaster Driver

Next Race: Ford EcoBoost 400, Homestead-Miami Speedway
Sunday, November 16, 2014

FlowmasterMufflers

Homestead, Fla. – The 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Championship will be decided on Sunday in the Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Team Flowmaster Drivers Kevin Harvick, Denny Hamlin and Ryan Newman, as well as Joey Logano will battle head-to-head in what is sure to be a classic.

NASCAR made drastic changes to the Chase format this season with a series of eliminations rounds cutting the field from the original 16 to the final four. On Sunday, the first one of the four to the finish line at the end of the 400-mile race will be Champion.

Harvick drives the Budweiser Chevrolet SS for Stewart-Haas Racing, his first season with the team. He has four wins, including a dramatic must-win on Sunday at Phoenix assuring him a spot in the Championship Round.

“This is all about winning a championship,” said Harvick, 38, of Bakersfield, Calif. “That’s what we all show up for. I’ve been fortunate to have won all the marquee races and won at different tracks, Nationwide Championships, Truck Championships as an owner, so we’ve been able to achieve a lot of things.

“That Cup trophy is the one thing that’s eluded us up until this point. I definitely want to check that off the list and be able to experience that not only for myself, but for all the guys that work on my car and haven’t been able to win that championship either.”

Hamlin wheels the FedEx Express Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing. He won at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway in May. He has surged in the last few weeks scoring five top-10 finishes in the last six races. Hamlin won this race last year here at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

“I feel pretty optimistic,” said Hamlin, 33, of Chesterfield, Va. “I thought we had a good test, and obviously no one saw that win coming last year. We were a lot less competitive at the end of last year, and we popped up and won that race.

“It’s just a track the suits me for some reason. It’s wide, tires wear out and if your car is working well, you can make up positions there. Love the opportunity – we’re on house money now, so let’s go have fun.”

Ryan Newman drives the Caterpillar Chevrolet SS for Richard Childress Racing. While NASCAR established a premium on winning races, Newman has yet to win this season. He has shown there is still a place for consistency in the sport scoring top-15 finishes in the last seven races.

“I’m so proud of my guys and the effort they have put into this,” said Newman, 36, of South Bend, Ind. “We’ve been fighting very hard all year long. We flew under the radar and turned in the solid performances to earn one of the four positions.

“There’s been so much on the line week in and week out during this new Chase format. We’ve been able to dig in and move on. We are going to keep digging and hope it will be good enough to win a Sprint Cup Series Championship.”

Logano drives the Shell-Pennzoil Ford for Team Penske Racing. He is a five-time winner this year, his second season for the potent team owned by Roger Penske.

“It is exactly how you would think it feels – it’s the accumulation of a whole season of hard work,” said Logano, 24, of Middletown, Ct. “This team has been strong all year and I think we deserve to be competing for this Championship.

“All of the teams are strong, but I think (our) team is just as strong if not stronger, than all of them. I think we have as good of a shot as anyone, and I’d put my money on me. It will be fun to watch as a fan for sure.”

The four teams will compete within the standard 43-car NASCAR Sprint Cup Series field.

Flowmaster is the Exclusive Performance Exhaust of NASCAR and many of the top teams in the sport have the company’s decal on the side of their cars. Team Flowmaster Drivers have won 24 of the 35 races this season as well as the Sprint Unlimited and the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race.

Ford EcoBoost 400 Race Information:

Sunday, November 16, 2014, 3:00 p.m. ET
Homestead-Miami Speedway: 267 laps/400 miles

Television: ESPN
Radio: MRN and SIRIUS/XM NASCAR Radio Channel 90

FlowmasterMufflers

Homestead, Fla. – Team Flowmaster Driver Kevin Harvick won the Ford EcoBoost 400 and the 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Championship on Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway. It was his fifth win of the season, 28th in his career and his first series Championship.

“This new format has been so stressful,” said the 38-year-old Champion from Bakersfield, Calif. “I’m going to go sleep for a week. I’m really happy. I’ve been trying to win this for 13 years.”

Harvick was impressive last week with the must-win at Phoenix just to qualify for the final round, and followed that up with the thrilling victory on Sunday. The Chase for the NASCSAR Sprint Cup format was simple for the finale; first car to the finish line was Champion.

And the race delivered the expected excitement with the four contenders spending most of the day racing with each other in the top-10 spots. In the end it was differing strategy that gave Harvick the advantage.

A late race caution found Hamlin staying on the track in the lead, Newman opting for two tires and starting near the front, Harvick taking four tires and starting deeper in the top 10. Logano saw his hopes go away on the pit stop when a miscue put him at the end of the field.

The fresher tires for Harvick proved to be the winning call as he blasted forward and took the lead from Hamlin seven laps for them end.

“I was just holding the pedal down and hoping for the best,” said Harvick. “I was fortunate to start on the outside. The seas kind of parted there as I came off turn 2; it was time to go for broke at that particular point.”

Harvick maintained the lead on a restart three laps from the end and roared to the victory and into the history books.

Newman raced to a second place finish with Brad Keselowski third. Paul Menard finished fourth with Jamie McMurray fifth. Hamlin dropped to seventh at the finish and Logano finished a disappointing 16th.

Flowmaster is the Exclusive Performance Exhaust of NASCAR and many of the top teams in the sport have the company’s decal on the side of their cars. Team Flowmaster Drivers won the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Championship, 25 of the 36 races and the Sprint Unlimited and NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race.

Top-10 Finishers:

1. Kevin Harvick**
2. Ryan Newman**
3. Brad Keselowski
4. Paul Menard
5. Jamie McMurray**
6. Matt Kenseth**
7. Denny Hamlin**
8. Clint Bowyer
9. Jimmie Johnson**
10. Jeff Gordon**

**Indicated Team Flowmaster Driver

FlowmasterMufflers

As NASCAR Champion's Week nears a close, we must congratulate Team Flowmaster Driver Kevin Harvick once more on his 1st NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Championship!

The 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Awards will be held tonight at Wynn Las Vegas. Be sure to check out the live stream from the Red Carpet at NASCAR.com from 4-5 p.m. EST. The celebration will air live tonight at 9 p.m. EST on FOX Sports 1. You can also tune into SiriusXM NASCAR Radio for coverage beginning at 8 p.m. EST.