2014 The Profit on CNBC 500

2014 The Profit on CNBC 500
Race details[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10]
Race 2 of 36 in the 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season

Date March 2, 2014
Location Phoenix International Raceway in Avondale, Arizona
Course Permanent racing facility
1.0 mi (1.6 km)
Distance 312 laps, 312 mi (502.115 km)
WeatherTemperatures reaching up to 72 °F (22 °C); wind speeds up to 15.9 miles per hour (25.6 km/h)[11]
Average speed 109.229 mph (175.787 km/h)
Pole position
Driver Brad Keselowski Team Penske
Time 25.828 seconds
Most laps led
Driver Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing
Laps 224[12]
Winner
No. 4
 Kevin Harvick
 Stewart-Haas Racing
Television in the United States
Network Fox & MRN
Announcers Mike Joy, Darrell Waltrip and Larry McReynolds (Television)
Joe Moore and Jeff Striegle (Booth)
Dan Hubbard (Backstretch) (Radio)
Nielsen Ratings 5.3/11 (Final)
4.8/9 (Overnight)
8.8 Million viewers[13]

The 2014 The Profit on CNBC 500 was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race held on March 2, 2014, at Phoenix International Raceway in Avondale, Arizona. Contested over 312 laps on the 1 mile (1.6 km) asphalt tri-oval, it was the second race of the 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Kevin Harvick won the race, his first win driving for Stewart-Haas Racing, while Dale Earnhardt, Jr. finished second. Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano, and Jeff Gordon rounded out the top five. The top rookies of the race were Kyle Larson (20th), Austin Dillon (24th), and Cole Whitt (27th).

Previous week's race

Although close on fuel and with a piece of bear bond from Ryan Newman's car stuck to his grill, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. took off on the last restart of the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway, moving in front of Jeff Gordon. Over the course of the last lap, an intense battle for the runner-up spots unfolded between Jimmie Johnson, Gordon, Brad Keselowski, and Denny Hamlin. Heading through turn 4, Kevin Harvick tried to force himself between Jamie McMurray and Kyle Busch in turn 4, and a wreck ensued as Harvick was sent into the wall, collecting a number of other cars including Busch, Carl Edwards, and Reed Sorenson. While that was happening, Earnhardt, Jr. held off Hamlin and took the checkered flag to score his second Daytona 500 victory.[14] Earnhardt, Jr. stated that his car was "awesome" and after some help from Gordon on the restart, Earnhardt, Jr. "just took care of it from there".[14]

Report

Background

Phoenix International Raceway, the race track where the race was held.

The track, Phoenix International Raceway, is one of five short tracks to hold NASCAR races, the others being Richmond International Raceway, Dover International Speedway, Bristol Motor Speedway, and Martinsville Speedway.[15] The standard track at Phoenix International Raceway is a four-turn short track oval that is 1 mile (1.6 km) long.[16] The track's first two turns are banked from 10–11 degrees, while the third and fourth turns have an 8–9 degree banking. The front stretch, the location of the finish line, is banked at 3 degrees, and the back stretch has a 10–11 degree banking.[16] The racetrack has seats for 55,000 spectators.[16] The 2013 champion was Carl Edwards.

Entry list

The entry list for The Profit on CNBC 500 was released on February 24 at 11:22 a.m. Eastern time. Forty-six drivers were entered for the race.

No. Driver Team Manufacturer
1 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet
2 Brad Keselowski (PC2) Team Penske Ford
3 Austin Dillon (R) Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet
5 Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
7 Michael Annett (R) Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet
9 Marcos Ambrose Richard Petty Motorsports Ford
10 Danica Patrick Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet
11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
13 Casey Mears Germain Racing Chevrolet
14 Tony Stewart (PC3) Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet
15 Clint Bowyer Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota
16 Greg Biffle Roush-Fenway Racing Ford
17 Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. Roush-Fenway Racing Ford
18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
20 Matt Kenseth (PC5) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford
23 Alex Bowman (R) BK Racing Toyota
24 Jeff Gordon (PC6) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
26 Cole Whitt (R) Swan Racing Toyota
27 Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
30 Parker Kligerman (R) Swan Racing Toyota
31 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
32 Travis Kvapil Go FAS Racing Ford
33 Brian Scott (i) Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
34 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford
36 Reed Sorenson Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet
38 David Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford
40 Landon Cassill (i) Circle Sport Chevrolet
41 Kurt Busch (PC4) Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet
42 Kyle Larson (R) Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet
43 Aric Almirola Richard Petty Motorsports Ford
47 A. J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet
48 Jimmie Johnson (PC1) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
51 Justin Allgaier (R) HScott Motorsports Chevrolet
55 Brian Vickers Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota
66 Joe Nemechek (i) Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota
77 Dave Blaney Randy Humphrey Racing Ford
78 Martin Truex, Jr. Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet
83 Ryan Truex (R) BK Racing Toyota
88 Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
95 Michael McDowell Leavine Family Racing Ford
98 Josh Wise Phil Parsons Racing Chevrolet
99 Carl Edwards Roush-Fenway Racing Ford
Official entry list
Key Meaning
(R) Rookie
(i) Ineligible for points
(PC#) Past champions provisional

Practice

First practice

Dale Earnhardt, Jr. was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 25.951 and a speed of 138.723 mph (223.253 km/h).

Pos No. Driver Team Manufacturer Time Speed
1 88 Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 25.951 138.723
2 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 26.022 138.344
3 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 26.042 138.238
Official first practice results

Qualifying

In the first running of NASCAR's new-for-2014 knockout qualifying system, Brad Keselowski won the pole with a new track record time of 25.828 and a speed of 139.384 mph (224.317 km/h).[17] Keselowski was intrigued as to how the qualifying session looked to the general public, stating "I'm more curious the feedback we get from our fans" and that "at the end of the day it's not about whether I like it, it's about whether they liked it".[17] Kevin Harvick, who missed out on the top 12 placings by 0.001 seconds in the first part of the session, complained about the cooling of the cars, defining it as "dumb", while also praising the qualifying concept as "really cool, but they need to let you cool the cars down. One of these times somebody is going to get clobbered in the back".[17] NASCAR did not allow teams to use cool-down units and teams were forced to run cool down laps on the track while other drivers were making qualifying laps.[17] Defending champion Jimmie Johnson opined that everyone understood "what NASCAR is trying to do, and I'm confident that if there is a problem they'll make some changes".[17] NASCAR vice president for competition Robin Pemberton stated that the organization would "continue to talk to the drivers and teams and solicit feedback and how, if anything, we can improve".[17] Justin Allgaier crashed his car during the opening session, switched to a backup car and started last as a result.[17]

Qualifying results

Pos No. Driver Team Manufacturer R1 R2
1 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 25.968 25.828
2 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 25.864 25.850
3 1 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 26.091 25.905
4 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 26.057 26.021
5 88 Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 26.090 26.022
6 16 Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Racing Ford 26.054 26.023
7 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 25.995 26.027
8 42 Kyle Larson (R) Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 26.046 26.027
9 43 Aric Almirola Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 26.091 26.034
10 41 Kurt Busch Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 26.040 26.078
11 5 Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 26.089 26.108
12 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 26.121 26.217
13 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 26.122
14 15 Clint Bowyer Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 26.123
15 31 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 26.126
16 55 Brian Vickers Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 26.127
17 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 26.136
18 13 Casey Mears Germain Racing Chevrolet 26.165
19 20 Matt Kenseth Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 26.173
20 14 Tony Stewart Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 26.185
21 17 Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 26.187
22 27 Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 26.211
23 99 Carl Edwards Roush Fenway Racing Ford 26.236
24 3 Austin Dillon (R) Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 26.239
25 47 A. J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 26.243
26 95 Michael McDowell Leavine Family Racing Ford 26.265
27 78 Martin Truex, Jr. Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet 26.296
28 38 David Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 26.303
29 9 Marcos Ambrose Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 26.317
30 34 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 26.318
31 26 Cole Whitt (R) Swan Racing Toyota 26.330
32 33 Brian Scott Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 26.331
33 10 Danica Patrick Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 26.365
34 83 Ryan Truex (R) BK Racing Toyota 26.495
35 23 Alex Bowman (R) BK Racing Toyota 26.546
36 30 Parker Kligerman (R) Swan Racing Toyota 26.591
37 35 Blake Koch Front Row Motorsports Ford 26.615
38 66 Joe Nemechek Identity Ventures Racing Toyota 26.670
39 36 Reed Sorenson Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 26.687
40 32 Travis Kvapil FAS Lane Racing Ford 26.712
41 7 Michael Annett (R) Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 26.836
42 87 Morgan Shepherd Identity Ventures Racing Toyota 27.908
43 51 Justin Allgaier (R)[N 1] HScott Motorsports Chevrolet —
Did Not Qualify (DNQ)
98 Josh Wise Phil Parsons Racing Chevrolet 26.610 —
40 Landon Cassill Circle Sport Chevrolet 26.644 —
77 Dave Blaney Randy Humphrey Racing Ford 26.818 —
Official qualifying results

Practice (post-qualifying)

Second practice

Harvick was the fastest in the second practice session with a time of 26.133 and a speed of 137.757 mph (221.698 km/h).

Pos No. Driver Team Manufacturer Time Speed
1 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 26.133 137.757
2 1 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 26.310 136.830
3 42 Kyle Larson (R) Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 26.310 136.830
Official second practice results

Final practice

Kevin Harvick was also the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 26.285 and a speed of 136.960 mph (220.416 km/h).

Pos No. Driver Team Manufacturer Time Speed
1 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 26.285 136.960
2 42 Kyle Larson (R) Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 26.355 136.596
3 31 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 26.372 136.508
Official final practice results

Race

First half

Start

The race started at 3:20 p.m. with Brad Keselowski leading the field to the green flag, but he did not keep the lead for long as his teammate Joey Logano passed him to lead the first lap. Logano led the race for the entire first stint, ahead of a competition caution on lap 36, due to overnight downpours. Keselowski won the race off pit road to assume the lead, for the restart on lap 41. Just as it was at the first start, Logano assumed the lead on the first lap following the restart, and he held the lead until Kevin Harvick moved ahead on lap 75. Harvick held the lead until a scheduled pit stop on lap 111; Keselowski reassumed the lead before a pit stop of his own on lap 113, and Harvick returned to the head of the race for the next stint. The second caution of the race flew on lap 163 after Brian Vickers' car cut down a right-front tire and hit the wall in turn 3.

Second half

Halfway

The race restarted on lap 170, but was almost immediately back under yellow flag conditions, after a multi-car incident. Danica Patrick made contact with Justin Allgaier going into turn 1 and both spun out. Travis Kvapil made contact with Patrick trying to avoid her.[18] Allgaier and Patrick discussed the incident post-race, with Allgaier telling the media that Patrick "was just upset because she got involved in the crash that we had", and that "she's been through this and that she felt like I needed to settle down at that point".[18] The race restarted on lap 176, with Harvick maintaining the lead. The fourth caution of the race flew on lap 187 after Patrick went high into the groove in turn 1, cut the left-rear tire and spun through 180 degrees before coming to a stop.

The race restarted on lap 192, with Harvick leading once again for the next stint, leading all the way to his next pit stop, with 76 laps to go and Carl Edwards assumed the lead position. Jeff Gordon and Ryan Newman also had stints at the head of the race, with Newman leading the race at the time of the fifth caution of the race, caused by debris on the backstretch, with 66 laps to go. Newman swapped positions with Clint Bowyer on pit road and the lead cycled back to Harvick, for the restart with 61 laps to go. The sixth caution of the race flew with 35 laps to go for debris in turn 1, with the restart coming with 30 laps to go. With 27 laps to go, David Gilliland's left-rear tire delaminated in turn 1, and in the circuit's dogleg, he over-corrected the car and spun around bringing out the seventh caution of the race. The race restarted with 21 laps to go, before the eighth caution of the race flew with 16 laps to go, after Kurt Busch's engine failed.

Finish

The race restarted with nine laps to go and Harvick held off Dale Earnhardt, Jr. to score the victory.[19] Harvick praised his Stewart-Haas Racing team for the efforts in the early part of the season, since his move from Richard Childress Racing, stating "to add an extra team, bring in a bunch of new guys, new driver, Rodney Childers has just done a phenomenal job of putting this team together. These guys all want to win that is why they came here".[19] He added that he was "really happy" with the engine that had been provided by Hendrick Motorsports.[19] Earnhardt, Jr. was disappointed to miss out on the victory, stating that he "would have loved to have won the race, am a little disappointed to have come that close", but like Harvick, praised his team for their performances, adding that they have "a lot of great chemistry and good communication going back and forth. Everybody's confidence is very high. Everybody's mood and morale is really high".[19]

Race results

Pos Grid No. Driver Team Manufacturer Laps Points
1 13 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 312 48
2 5 88 Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 312 42
3 1 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 312 42
4 2 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 312 41
5 17 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 312 40
6 4 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 312 38
7 15 31 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 312 38
8 23 99 Carl Edwards Roush Fenway Racing Ford 312 37
9 7 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 312 35
10 3 1 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 312 34
11 11 5 Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 312 33
12 19 20 Matt Kenseth Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 312 32
13 14 15 Clint Bowyer Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 312 32
14 18 13 Casey Mears Germain Racing Chevrolet 312 30
15 9 43 Aric Almirola Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 312 29
16 20 14 Tony Stewart Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 312 28
17 6 16 Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Racing Ford 312 27
18 21 17 Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 312 26
19 12 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 312 25
20 8 42 Kyle Larson (R) Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 312 24
21 29 9 Marcos Ambrose Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 311 23
22 27 78 Martin Truex, Jr. Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet 311 22
23 22 27 Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 311 21
24 24 3 Austin Dillon (R) Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 311 20
25 16 55 Brian Vickers Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 311 19
26 25 47 A. J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 310 18
27 31 26 Cole Whitt (R) Swan Racing Toyota 310 17
28 30 34 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 310 16
29 28 38 David Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 309 16
30 43 51 Justin Allgaier (R) HScott Motorsports Chevrolet 309 14
31 39 36 Reed Sorenson Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 308 13
32 32 33 Brian Scott Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 308 0
33 26 95 Michael McDowell Leavine Family Racing Ford 307 11
34 41 7 Michael Annett (R) Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 307 10
35 34 83 Ryan Truex (R) BK Racing Toyota 307 9
36 33 10 Danica Patrick Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 306 8
37 37 35 Blake Koch Front Row Motorsports Ford 306 0
38 40 32 Travis Kvapil FAS Lane Racing Ford 302 6
39 10 41 Kurt Busch Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 292 5
40 38 66 Joe Nemechek Identity Ventures Racing Toyota 292 0
41 35 23 Alex Bowman (R) BK Racing Toyota 230 3
42 36 30 Parker Kligerman (R) Swan Racing Toyota 226 2
43 42 87 Morgan Shepherd Identity Ventures Racing Toyota 28 0

Media

Television

Fox Sports
Booth announcersPit reporters
Lap-by-lap: Mike Joy
Color-commentator: Larry McReynolds
Color commentator: Darrell Waltrip 		Matt Yocum
Steve Byrnes
Krista Voda
Jeff Hammond

Radio

MRN Radio
Booth announcersTurn announcersPit reporters
Lead announcer: Joe Moore
Announcer: Jeff Striegle 		Backstretch: Dan Hubbard Winston Kelly
Steve Post
Alex Hayden
Woody Cain

Standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings[20][21]
Pos Driver Points
1 Dale Earnhardt, Jr. 90
1 2 Brad Keselowski 84 (−6)
1 3 Jeff Gordon 80 (−10)
8 4 Kevin Harvick 79 (−11)
5 Jimmie Johnson 78 (−12)
5 6 Joey Logano 75 (−15)
1 7 Matt Kenseth 70 (−20)
6 8 Denny Hamlin 68 (−22)
7 9 Carl Edwards 65 (−25)
2 10 Greg Biffle 64 (−26)
1 11 Casey Mears 64 (−26)
1 12 Jamie McMurray 64 (−26)
6 13 Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. 63 (−27)
4 14 Kyle Busch 61 (−29)
6 15 Ryan Newman 60 (−30)
7 16 Austin Dillon (R) 56 (−34)
Manufacturers' Championship standings
Pos Manufacturer Points
1 Chevrolet 96
2 Ford 84 (−12)
3 Toyota 78 (−18)
  • Note: Only the first sixteen positions are included for the driver standings.

Note

  1. ↑ Justin Allgaier started from the rear after crashing his car in qualifying.

References

  1. ↑ "2014 Schedule". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. October 3, 2013. Retrieved November 20, 2014.
  2. ↑ "January 3, 2013". NASCAR.com. Retrieved November 20, 2014.
  3. ↑ "Entry List". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. February 24, 2014. Retrieved November 20, 2014.
  4. ↑ "First Practice Results". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. February 28, 2014. Retrieved November 20, 2014.
  5. ↑ "Qualifying Results". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. February 28, 2014. Retrieved November 20, 2014.
  6. ↑ "Second Practice Results". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. March 1, 2014. Retrieved November 21, 2014.
  7. ↑ "Final Practice Results". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. March 1, 2014. Retrieved November 21, 2014.
  8. ↑ "The Profit on CNBC 500 Results". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. March 2, 2014. Retrieved November 21, 2014.
  9. ↑ "Points Standings". jayski.com. NASCAR Statistics. March 2, 2014. Retrieved November 21, 2014.
  10. ↑ "Manufacturer Standings". jayski.com. NASCAR Integrated Marketing Communications. March 2, 2014. Retrieved November 21, 2014.
  11. ↑ "Weather History: Past Weather Reports – Phoenix, AZ – March 2, 2014". Old Farmer's Almanac. Yankee Publishing, Inc. March 2, 2014. Retrieved August 17, 2014.
  12. ↑ "Results". NASCAR. Retrieved March 2, 2014.
  13. ↑ "Nielsen Ratings". Jayski.com. Jayski LLC. Retrieved March 24, 2014.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Pistone, Pete (February 23, 2014). "Earnhardt Wins Daytona 500". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. Retrieved November 20, 2014.
  15. ↑ "Tracks". NASCAR. Turner Sports. Archived from the original on February 7, 2011. Retrieved February 24, 2013.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 "Phoenix International Raceway". CBS Sports. Retrieved February 24, 2013.
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 17.3 17.4 17.5 17.6 Long, Dustin (February 28, 2014). "Keselowski First 'Knockout' Pole Winner". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. Retrieved November 20, 2014.
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 Long, Dustin (March 2, 2014). "Patrick and Allgaier Talk after Race". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. Retrieved November 21, 2014.
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 19.2 19.3 Pistone, Pete (March 2, 2014). "Harvick Dominates in the Desert". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. Retrieved November 21, 2014.
  20. ↑ "Standings". MRN Radio. Retrieved March 2, 2014.
  21. ↑ "Standings". NASCAR. Retrieved March 2, 2014.
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2014 Daytona 500		 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
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2014 Kobalt 400