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

TheDaleGuys DAYTONA 500 Recap - Chapter 3: Meeting Dale-(Second) Green Flag

The beers were flowing (we brought 74 for 4 guys, for those of you trying to plan out your first trip to a NASCAR race) and the sun was still shining. After meeting Junior again, I'm pretty sure we were floating around the Midway. High as kites. Well, except for the !, who really had to pee and is noticeably absent from all of our pictures with Dale. OUCH.

Anyway, we headed towards the sprint experience to see our girl Brooke. She pretends to not remember us every time. Cute Brooke, go ahead and big league the Dale Guys. We'll find the hot new thing on the block.

Anyway, Brooke was there and she was supposed to interviewing an OG Alabama Gang member, Donnie Allison. Instead, Donnie told a totally kick ass story about the 1979 500 and the fight with Cale. Sh*t legends are made of. Anyway, Donnie came off stage and decided we were gonna be the "DA" (get it, Donnie Allsion) guys for a couple minutes. Told the L and the E to scram and we took a couple of pictures togather. Awesome dude.

The Donnie Allison guys? #legend pic.twitter.com/0U2F8yZSEQ
— The Dale Guys (@Thedaleguys) February 23, 2014

After that we were quickly approaching Noon and it was almost time for the Great American Race. We headed towards the budweiser party porch in the backstretch, running even lower on beer. Then, just side turn 4, the ghost of Dale Sr. dropped off a present for us we wouldn't soon forget. Sure they were about 98 degrees, but after 15 of em, beer is beer.

We took 6 of them, clearly not planning ahead for the inpending rain and headed in. Phase 1 of getting good Daytona seats involved moving up 25 rows in the backstretch. Not bad seats for the flyover, if I do say so myself.

The beginning race was promising for Junior, but honestly pretty boring. Looked like last year's 500 was developing all over again. A few beers and about 30 laps went by and we could feel the rain. Felt like 2012 all over again, but we still figured, "Hey, it's a Florida thunderstorm, how long could it last." Well we made our way under the grandstands and figured we'd  better start making friends. Who else would the Dale Guys become friends with during what would end up being probably the longest rain delay ever?? Well this kid.

We laid to rest probably 30+ beers during the rain delay, and each was crushed by our two newest 6 year old friend. Can't think of a better way to spend my Sunday afternoon.

As the rain subsided, it was obvious what we were going to do. The frontstretch was calling our names, because why the hell not. NEVER be afraid to try anything at NASCAR races, because as 8:30 rolled around, everything was still coming up Dale Guys.

Solid seat upgrade for the Daytona 500 pic.twitter.com/7Yc3Y4fz8w

— The Dale Guys (@Thedaleguys) February 24, 2014

TheDaleGuys DAYTONA 500 Recap - Chapter 2: Sunday AM-Meeting Dale Jr.

Sunday was THE day, the 2014 Daytona 500. Since we got a hotel in downtown Daytona Beach this time, I had the privlidge of setting my alarm at 5:30 AM rather than 4:30 AM this year. Still, the first bud was cracked on the beach and the longest day of drinking of my entire life began at 6:45 AM. The 'E' and myself watched as the sun came up, and imagined what that day could possibly bring... There's a place in Florida where they say dreams come true, could that place be Tona?

Dreaming of the 88 in victory lane @DISupdates pic.twitter.com/2sa8wnzmA0
— The Dale Guys (@Thedaleguys) February 23, 2014

TheDaleGuys DAYTONA 500 Recap - Chapter 1: Friday-Saturday

Well it was a hell of a weekend for TheDaleGuys, that's for sure. I think I'm still in shock and can't believe what a time we had. After we learned early last week we'd get to do the 488hangout with Dale and Jimmie, we adopted a slogan for the weekend.... Everything's coming up Dale Guys. Well, safe to say it didn't seem like the case early on.

Real Talk Turn 4- Daytona 500

Ok we're bringing it back. The weekly blog that takes ESPN's Turn 4 questions and answers them with no insider knowledge, no political correctness and no holding back.

Turn 1: Dale Earnhardt Jr. ended a long winless streak at Daytona. Who will be the next driver to break a drought that goes back a season or more to get a Cup win?

The two obvious choices here are Kurt Busch and Clint Bowyer. I like Clint, I don't like Kurt so my pick is Clint. Besides that, Clint is more comfortable in his ride, while Kurt and his team are still feeling each other out and learning how everyone works together so I think Clint has a better chance of getting a win early on this season.

Disclaimer: I'm taking Marcos Ambrose to end his if nobody else's winless streak has ended by Watkins Glen. Going out on a limb, I know.

TheDaleGuys Fantasy Recap: Daytona 500

WOW, what a weekend. There is a full recap from our time coming shortly, but lets see how everyones fantasy teams did first.

Obviously the L sniping Jr. just ahead of me with pick #2 pays off early, and Denny Hamlin in the 3rd didn't hurt either. Have no idea what the D was doing passing on him with the 10th and 11th picks. I took a big hit with Tony's struggles, but I love where my team is headed. Too bad I'll never get a win with Dale Jr taking every checkered this year. The ! was rocked by the luck of the restrictor plate tracks. One motor and two crashes have him 70 points behind after only 1 week. I definitely like this style over just picking a winner every week.

- The A

	Player	TOTAL	Player	TOTAL	Player	TOTAL	Player	TOTAL	Player	TOTAL
	1. L	147	2. D	123	3. A	104	4. E	101	5. !	77
Drivers	Dale JR	48	Jimmie Johnson	40	Kevin Harvick	31	Clint Bowyer	2	Matt Kenseth	38
	Kyle Busch	26	Jeff Gordon	40	Tony Stewart	9	Brad K	43	Kasey Kahne	14
	Denny Hamlin	43	Greg Biffle	37	Carl Edwards	28	Joey Logano	34	Kurt Busch	24
	Jamie Mac	30	Aric Almirola	6	Austin Dillon	36	Ryan Newman	22	Martin Truex Jr	1
Wins	1		0		0		0		0
Previous	-		-		-		-		-
+/-	-		-		-		-		-

2014 TheDaleGuys Fantasy NASCAR

We meant to post this before the season started, but things got kind of weird this weekend after our flight got cancelled friday...oh yeah and also since we were drinking from Friday afternoon through Monday morning.

Here are the rules for our fantasy NASCAR league this season

• 4 drivers per team
• Scoring is based on driver's points each week
• Waivers is reverse order of the standings

Simple enough- here are the teams

D	L	A	E	!
Jimmie Johnson	Dale Jr.	Kevin Harvick	Clint Bowyer	Matt Kenseth
Jeff Gordon	Kyle Busch	Tony Stewart	Brad Keselowski	Kasey Kahne
Greg Biffle	Denny Hamlin	Carl Edwards	Joey Logano	Kurt Busch
Aric Almirola	Jamie McMurray	Austin Dillon	Ryan Newman	Martin Truex Jr.

D: With first pick, I had to go with JJ. Too much talent behind the wheel and brains in the garage to pass up. Gordon should consistently run well, but Biffle could go either way. Kind of wishing I picked up Hamlin instead. Then, by the time the last pick came back to me, I was left deciding between a bunch of also-rans. Picked Almirola, but to be honest that was really just a shot in the dark(horses), if you will. The team could be strong up top, but poor performances by the 4 spot, and particularly the Biff in the 3hole, could spell disaster for my team. 

A: Real Pissed the L took Dale ahead of me, REAL PISSED. Total JGR-esque bitch move. Anyway, had to go with a top 5 guy for me, Happy Harv in round 1. I think Tony bounces back so I snagged him #8. Couldn't believe Carl came all the way back to me at #13. STEAL. Then to add the #3, could not have really gone better. If the #88 went to me as he was supposed to in round 1, I'd just write myself the check for this season now. 

L:  I couldn't be happier with how the draft turned out, not only did I end up with a great team but we got some truly laughable picks from my competitors (I mean seriously what was the exclamation point thinking picking Kasey Kahne 6th overall?).  I started things off picking our boy, the J to the R.  Jr. was great in the chase and is ready to have the best year of his career and hopefully pick up a handful of checker flags on the way. Now my next two picks, the 18 and Denny Hamlin, both know how to win and that's why I picked them even though they are JGR clowns.  Now my judgement may have been somewhat clouded for those last two picks but I think I made a solid pick in round 4 with Jamie Mac.  Jamie isn't great but he'll finish races and pick up some solid points for a number four.  I may have made some unpopular picks amongst my fellow Dale Guys, sorry A, but all in all I think my team has what it takes to win the season.

E: I didn't get any home run hitters, but I'm all about consistency here. I think 3 out of my 4 will be in the top 10-12 each week. I was really hoping to scoop up Carl in the 3rd round, but the A got him right before me. I can't believe he fell that low. I'm all in on Penske this year so let's get it done boys.

!: Can't say I'm too excited about my team. Kenseth will be solid. I'm really looking for some underdogs looking to prove something with their new teams in Kurt Busch and Martin Truex Jr. And Kasey Kahne may have been a lapse in judgement. But hey, anything can happen and I may need a miracle to win. And at least I didn't draft Kyle Busch