Race Preview: Phoenix- The Profit on CNBC 500, Presented by Small Business Fueling America

What's the first thing you think about this race? Why the hell is the name so long and confusing. I know the sponsored race names can get interesting (and by interesting I mean boring), but this may be the most ridiculous one I've ever seen, slightly edging out Party in the Poconos 400 Presented by Walmart. Can't hate it though, go small business.

I'm still on a high from Daytona, but let's move on to Phoenix. Dale has a pretty solid average finish here of 11 since the 2012 season, which is good for 7th among active drivers. Here's a fun fact: Juan Pablo was 7th on the list of highest average finishes since 2012. Who would've thought?

Penske had an awesome round of qualifying, taking the top row. But more importantly, Dale has also looked great so far, qualifying 5th, being the fastest in Friday practice and 4th fastest in the Saturday morning practice. Gotta be pumped to see the position he's putting himself in early on, especially at a track like Phoenix where track position is important. My second place pick (since Jr. is obviously going back to back this weekend) from the RTT4 blog was Denny Hamlin, who qualified 11th. Just to be clear, I'm not proud of this pick.

Phoenix Quick Facts

Opened: 1964

Size and Shape: 1 D-shaped trioval

Last Race: 11/10/13

Last Winner: Kevin Harvick

Defending Champ: Carl Edwards

Qualifying Track Record:

Feb 28, 2014

Brad Keselowski

Time: 25.828 seconds

139.384 mph

Driver Stats since 2012 (from driveraverages.com)

Rank	Driver	Average Finish	Races	Wins	Top 5's	Top 10's	Laps Led	Average Start	High Finish	Low Finish	Average Rating
1	Kevin Harvick	4.25	4	2	3	3	173	10.8	1	13	124
2	Brad Keselowski	6.5	4	0	2	3	56	16.3	4	11	111.2
3	Denny Hamlin	8.5	4	1	3	3	125	6.5	1	28	104.1
4	Kyle Busch	9.75	4	0	1	3	289	5.3	3	23	104.3
5	Greg Biffle	10	4	0	1	2	40	15.5	3	17	86.2
6	Jimmie Johnson	10.25	4	0	3	3	57	8	2	32	111.5
7	Juan Pablo Montoya	10.25	4	0	0	1	12	18.5	6	12	85.1
8	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	11	4	0	2	2	49	21	4	21	87.9
9	Carl Edwards	12.5	4	1	1	1	158	18.8	1	21	95.7
10	Mark Martin	13.75	4	0	0	2	78	7	9	21	92.2
11	Kurt Busch	13.75	4	0	1	2	2	14.5	5	27	90.2
12	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	14	2	0	0	0	0	19.5	12	16	72.9
13	Matt Kenseth	14.25	4	0	0	1	1	17.8	7	23	90.3
14	A.J. Allmendinger	14.5	2	0	0	0	0	19	11	18	70.4
15	Kasey Kahne	14.75	4	0	2	2	41	5.8	2	34	94.8
16	Jeff Gordon	15.25	4	0	0	2	50	12.8	8	30	98.1
17	Aric Almirola	15.5	4	0	0	0	0	15.5	12	19	79.1
18	Tony Stewart	16.33	3	0	0	1	9	5.7	8	22	91.6
19	Joey Logano	18	4	0	0	2	33	14.8	9	27	88.7
20	Jeff Burton	18.25	4	0	0	1	7	19.8	10	33	79

Jr's Finishes at Phoenix (thanks driver averages)

Race Date	Finish	Start	Car #	Team	Make	Laps	Led	Status	Rating	Winnings
11/10/2013	4	11	#88	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	312 of 312	2	Running	107.3	$131135
3/3/2013	5	21	#88	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	316 of 316	47	Running	107.9	$130750
11/11/2012	21	23	#88	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	317 of 319	0	Running	63.2	$81985
3/4/2012	14	29	#88	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	312 of 312	0	Running	73.1	$84625
11/13/2011	24	22	#88	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	310 of 312	0	Running	57.9	$79925
2/27/2011	10	35	#88	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	312 of 312	0	Running	79.8	$93950
11/14/2010	14	31	#88	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	312 of 312	0	Running	76	$81975
4/10/2010	12	5	#88	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	378 of 378	0	Running	80	$90975
11/15/2009	35	18	#88	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	256 of 312	0	Running	59	$84825
4/18/2009	31	15	#88	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	310 of 312	63	Running	71.2	$84660
11/9/2008	6	5	#88	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	313 of 313	0	Running	113.1	$100975
4/12/2008	7	13	#88	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	312 of 312	87	Running	127.3	$99125
11/11/2007	43	35	#8	Dale Earnhardt Inc.	Chevrolet	118 of 312	0	accident	54.3	$107820
4/21/2007	19	15	#8	Dale Earnhardt Inc.	Chevrolet	312 of 312	0	Running	89.7	$110058
11/12/2006	9	4	#8	Dale Earnhardt Inc.	Chevrolet	312 of 312	0	Running	105.6	$88050
4/22/2006	23	11	#8	Dale Earnhardt Inc.	Chevrolet	310 of 312	0	Running	86.5	$102291
11/13/2005	40	19	#8	Dale Earnhardt Inc.	Chevrolet	112 of 312	0	accident	70.6	$107583
4/23/2005	4	15	#8	Dale Earnhardt Inc.	Chevrolet	312 of 312	0	Running	89.4	$150018
11/7/2004	1	14	#8	Dale Earnhardt Inc.	Chevrolet	315 of 315	118	Running		$274503
11/2/2003	1	11	#8	Dale Earnhardt Inc.	Chevrolet	312 of 312	87	Running		$203017
11/10/2002	5	3	#8	Dale Earnhardt Inc.	Chevrolet	312 of 312	105	Running		$97850
10/28/2001	37	30	#8	Dale Earnhardt Inc.	Chevrolet	287 of 312	0	engine		$73248
11/5/2000	27	18	#8	Dale Earnhardt Inc.	Chevrolet	311 of 312	0	Running		$49625
Average	17.04	17.5				93.3%	509	20/23