NASCAR at Phoenix 2014: Start Time, Lineup, TV Schedule and More
Two races remain before a champion is crowned for the 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. The penultimate stop on the 36-race journey is the Quicken Loans Race for Heroes 500 at Phoenix, where Kevin Harvick won earlier in the campaign.
Harvick is one of the eight drivers left standing in the championship chase. Sunday's race marks the final one of the Eliminator Round. Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin are tied for the lead with every contender with 18 points. When the dust clears, the top four will race for the title next week.
The conclusion to AAA Texas 500 showed emotions can run extremely high when a Sprint Cup championship is within reach. Expect more of the same on Sunday. Let's check out all of the key race details, followed by the qualifying order, drivers to watch and a prediction.
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Race Info
Where: Phoenix International Raceway in Avondale, Arizona
When: Sunday, Nov. 9 at 3 p.m. ET
Watch: ESPN
Live Steam: WatchESPN
Radio: Motor Racing Network
Qualifying Order
| 1 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | 142.113 |
| 2 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | 142.079 |
| 3 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | 141.995 |
| 4 | 22 | Joey Logano | 141.794 |
| 5 | 20 | Matt Kenseth | 141.794 |
| 6 | 18 | Kyle Busch | 141.771 |
| 7 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | 141.665 |
| 8 | 42 | Kyle Larson | 141.321 |
| 9 | 55 | Brian Vickers | 141.287 |
| 10 | 41 | Kurt Busch | 141.188 |
| 11 | 27 | Paul Menard | 140.889 |
| 12 | 13 | Casey Mears | 139.746 |
| 13 | 99 | Carl Edwards | 140.488 |
| 14 | 78 | Martin Truex Jr. | 140.411 |
| 15 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | 140.356 |
| 16 | 88 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | 140.285 |
| 17 | 15 | Clint Bowyer | 140.192 |
| 18 | 17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 140.187 |
| 19 | 1 | Jamie McMurray | 140.160 |
| 20 | 31 | Ryan Newman | 140.127 |
| 21 | 9 | Marcos Ambrose | 140.045 |
| 22 | 5 | Kasey Kahne | 139.969 |
| 23 | 43 | Aric Almirola | 139.958 |
| 24 | 47 | AJ Allmendinger | 139.746 |
| 25 | 3 | Austin Dillon | 139.697 |
| 26 | 33 | Ty Dillon | 139.432 |
| 27 | 51 | Justin Allgaier | 139.394 |
| 28 | 16 | Greg Biffle | 139.340 |
| 29 | 14 | Tony Stewart | 139.195 |
| 30 | 7 | Michael Annett | 139.104 |
| 31 | 95 | Michael McDowell | 138.873 |
| 32 | 10 | Danica Patrick | 138.851 |
| 33 | 36 | Reed Sorenson | 138.691 |
| 34 | 38 | David Gilliland | 138.307 |
| 35 | 34 | David Ragan | 138.281 |
| 36 | 98 | Josh Wise | 137.942 |
| 37 | 23 | Alex Bowman | 137.878 |
| 38 | 40 | Landon Cassill | 137.857 |
| 39 | 37 | Mike Bliss | 137.515 |
| 40 | 26 | Cole Whitt | 137.420 |
| 41 | 83 | J.J. Yeley | 136.846 |
| 42 | 32 | Joey Gase | 136.199 |
| 43 | 66 | Mike Wallace | 134.088 |
Drivers to Watch
Brad Keselowski
Keselowski has never been a driver who's let the opinion of others impact his approach. He's always been somebody who takes chances and some may say the 2012 champion is overly aggressive late in races. Jeff Gordon certainly felt that way last week, leading to a massive post-race brawl.
Don't expect anything to change from Keselowski as a result, though. Bob Pockrass of Sporting News passed along comments from the 30-year-old driver, who maintains he wasn't in the wrong at Texas and is just looking to move forward.
"I'm not looking to become what everyone else wants me to become, so I have not spent a lot of time on that rhetoric and I don't wish to spend a lot of time trying to justify anything I do or don't do. I feel pretty good about the actions I've taken.
"
Alas, the polarizing star wasn't able to get the win he was seeking when making the bold move last week. So he heads to Phoenix in seventh place and in need of a very strong result to keep himself in the championship mix for the finale.
That means the risky moves are likely to start even earlier for Keselowski. It certainly won't be fun to race against him for position. While there's no guarantee that means he'll make the final four, he isn't going to go down with a serious fight.
Denny Hamlin
No driver is in a better position than Hamlin. He's currently tied for the points lead and will start the race from the pole position. The Joe Gibbs Racing star has come close to a title before having finished second and third. This is a chance to finally break through.
The situation he finds himself in is also an example of how the new Chase format alters the outlook from round to round. Tom Jensen of Fox Sports notes No. 11 hasn't performed as well as his co-leader over the past eight races, but he's up top anyway:
Phoenix has been an interesting track for Hamlin. He has just one win in 18 career starts but an average finish of 11.3. For the sake of comparison, he's won four times at Pocono Raceway with an average finish of 11.9. So he's often in the mix but just can't consistently nail down those wins.
Starting from the pole will obviously help his cause. The main focus is simply advancing to the final round rather than winning, though. So don't expect him to push too hard during the final laps unless it's absolutely necessary.
Carl Edwards
Edwards has been flying below the radar in recent weeks. For a driver who's used to a lot of attention, that's probably a welcome change at this stage of the season. It allows him to concentrate on the task at hand rather than outside distractions like so many other Chase drivers, especially after Texas.
He comes into the race outside of the top four by just a single point. And he's tied with Matt Kenseth in that position. It illustrates exactly how bunched up the remaining contenders are, which points toward some wild moments near the end.
The good news for Edwards is that he's enjoyed success at Phoenix. In 20 career starts, he's registered 12 top-10 finished and a pair of victories. In this season's first race at the track, he started 23rd but fought his way to eighth by the end.
Given the amount of time spent talking about other drivers, it seems like a good time for Edwards to sneak up from behind and potentially steal the championship. But first he must survive this round, and that's going to take a strong finish on Sunday.
Prediction
Ultimately, the best word to describe what's likely to happen is chaos. While there were some questions about how the new Chase format would work out, it certainly adds a boatload of extra intrigue to a race that would normally feature many drivers playing it safe before the finale.
One driver that always seems to rise during times of chaos is Keselowski. While there's been plenty of debate about his actions last week, he's faded into the background away from the controversy. He's focused on the next two races, not the past.
That should bode well for him on Sunday, so don't be surprised if he ends up in Victory Lane.
Pick: Brad Keselowski
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