Entry list The entry list for the Irwin Tools Night Race was released on Monday, August 18, 2014 at 11:05 a.m. Eastern time. Forty-three drivers were entered for the race. Practice First practice Kyle Larson was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 14.638 and a speed of . David Gilliland hit the wall as a result of a stuck throttle; he was forced to switch to a backup car as a result. Final practice Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 14.642 and a speed of . Qualifying Kevin Harvick won the pole with a new track record time of 14.607 and a speed of . Harvick saw his qualifying position as an advantage, as he deemed that "track position is definitely as important as it is anywhere here with the current groove and where you are running" and also "felt good about our car during practice and just have to stay in there all night and do the best we can". Jeff Gordon joined Harvick on the front row, and stated that he "thought our car was a little bit better in race trim than it was in qualifying trim when we swapped over", and also stated that the conditions of the track were very tricky. Aric Almirola, Kyle Larson and Cole Whitt hit the wall during qualifying, with Almirola lamenting the fact and stating he had "probably the best race car I've ever had at Bristol and I screwed up and hit the fence". Qualifying results Race First half Start The race was scheduled to start at 7:46 p.m. Eastern time but started three minutes late when Kevin Harvick led the field to the green. Harvick led the race until lap 38 when Jeff Gordon took the lead. He led until lap 55 when Kyle Busch assumed the lead of the race, and held it to the first caution of the race; at lap 61, there was a competition caution that had been scheduled due to overnight rain showers around the vicinity of the circuit. Harvick retook the lead during the caution period; Kyle Busch came off pit road as the leader, but he was sent to the rear of the field for speeding in the pits and Matt Kenseth assumed the lead for the restart on lap 68. Calamity The caution came out a