NASCAR at Phoenix 2014: Start Time, Date, TV Schedule, Live Stream and More

The 2014 NASCAR season has officially begun, as the Daytona 500 is in the past and the Sprint Cup Series action heads west for a weekend in Phoenix.

One big wrinkle leading up to this race was the new knockout-style qualifier that NASCAR implemented. It certainly had fans and even drivers confused and disoriented the first time through.

Brad Keselowski claimed the inaugural pole based on the new group format during Saturday’s event, finishing just ahead of teammate Joey Logano for the fourth qualifying victory of his career.

It wasn’t a cinch, however, as the 30-year-old Keselowski finished behind Logano, his fellow Team Penske member in the initial, longer race and eventually edged him in the second, shorter competition. He broke a track record set by Jimmie Johnson just a year ago during that 10-minute round by completing a lap at 139.384 mph.

Keselowski attempted to describe his feelings on the process after the pole, as per the Associated Press (via ESPN):

"

It's a lot more nerve-racking. Usually a pretty good rule of thumb is that If it's more nerve-racking for the drivers, it's a lot more fun for our fans and partners and all those things, and that's a good thing. I more interested in feedback from our fans to see if they liked it.

"

It remains to be seen if NASCAR will continue tinkering with the format or let it play out until it becomes accepted. Regardless, the pole is now in the rearview and it’s time to start looking forward to the upcoming race.

Let’s take a look at where you can catch all the action, note the starting positions for each participating driver, sneak a peek at the latest weather forecast, highlight some drivers to keep an eye on and more in the 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at Phoenix preview.

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

Date: Sunday, March 2

Time: 3 p.m. ET (The national broadcast begins at 2:30 p.m. ET)

TV: Fox

Radio: Motor Racing Network and Sirius XM Channel 90

Distance: 312 miles (312 laps)

Track Race Record: Tony Stewart, 118.132 mph, Nov. 7, 1999.

Row	Pos	Car	Driver	Team	Time	Speed
1	1	2	Brad Keselowski	Alliance Truck Parts Ford	25.828	139.384*
	2	22	Joey Logano	Shell Pennzoil Ford	25.850	139.265
2	3	1	Jamie McMurray	Cessna / Bad Boy Buggies Chevrolet	25.905	138.969
	4	48	Jimmie Johnson	Lowe's Chevrolet	26.021	138.350
3	5	88	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	National Guard Chevrolet	26.022	138.344
	6	16	Greg Biffle	3M Ford	26.023	138.339
4	7	18	Kyle Busch	Skittles Toyota	26.027	138.318
	8	42	Kyle Larson	Clorox Chevrolet	26.027	138.318
5	9	43	Aric Almirola	Farmland Ford	26.034	138.281
	10	41	Kurt Busch	Haas Automation Chevrolet	26.078	138.047
6	11	5	Kasey Kahne	Farmers Insurance Chevrolet	26.108	137.889
	12	11	Denny Hamlin	FedEx Office Toyota	26.217	137.315
7	13	4	Kevin Harvick	Jimmy John's Chevrolet	26.122	137.815
	14	15	Clint Bowyer	5-hour Energy Toyota	26.123	137.810
8	15	31	Ryan Newman	Quicken Loans Chevrolet	26.126	137.794
	16	55	Brian Vickers	Aaron's Dream Machine Toyota	26.127	137.788
9	17	24	Jeff Gordon	Pepsi MAX Chevrolet	26.136	137.741
	18	13	Casey Mears	GEICO Chevrolet	26.165	137.588
10	19	20	Matt Kenseth	Home Depot / Husky Toyota	26.173	137.546
	20	14	Tony Stewart	Bass Pro Shops / Mobil 1 Chevrolet	26.185	137.483
11	21	17	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	NOS Ford	26.187	137.473
	22	27	Paul Menard	Pittsburgh Paints / Menards Chevrolet	26.211	137.347
12	23	99	Carl Edwards	SUBWAY Ford	26.236	137.216
	24	3	Austin Dillon	American Ethanol Chevrolet	26.239	137.200
13	25	47	AJ Allmendinger	Clorox Fraganzia Chevrolet	26.243	137.179
	26	95	Michael McDowell	K Love Ford	26.265	137.065
14	27	78	Martin Truex Jr.	Furniture Row Chevrolet	26.296	136.903
	28	38	David Gilliland	Love's Travel Stops Ford	26.303	136.867
15	29	9	Marcos Ambrose	MAC Tools Ford	26.317	136.794
	30	34	David Ragan	Farm Rich Ford	26.318	136.789
16	31	26	Cole Whitt	GEAR Speed Stick Toyota	26.330	136.726
	32	33	Brian Scott(i)	Whitetail Chevrolet	26.331	136.721
17	33	10	Danica Patrick	GoDaddy Chevrolet	26.365	136.545
	34	83	Ryan Truex	Borla Exhaust Toyota	26.495	135.875
18	35	23	Alex Bowman	Dr Pepper Toyota	26.546	135.614
	36	30	Parker Kligerman	Toyota	26.591	135.384
19	37	35	Blake Koch(i)	MDS Transport Ford	Owner Points
	38	66	Joe Nemechek(i)	Land Castle Title Toyota	Owner Points
20	39	36	Reed Sorenson	Chevrolet	Owner Points
	40	32	Travis Kvapil	Ask More - Get More Ford	Owner Points
21	41	7	Michael Annett	Accell Construction Chevrolet	Owner Points
	42	87	Morgan Shepherd(i)	Morris - Hardwick - Schneider Toyota	Owner Points
22	43	51	Justin Allgaier	Brandt Professional Agriculture Chevrolet	Owner Points

Sunday Weather Forecast

Ralph Freso/Associated Press

The elements played a determining role in Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s epic win at the Daytona 500, and they are threatening to once again be a factor early in the NASCAR season.

According to Weather.com, Phoenix is likely to be hit with heavy rains and winds Saturday, which could carry over through Sunday morning. Fortunately, projections call for those early-morning showers to turn to clouds and possibly sunshine by the afternoon.

It is expected to be 66 degrees Fahrenheit, with winds blowing southeasterly at a mere four mph by the time the green flag drops at 3 p.m. ET. Those conditions should allow the race to go off without a hitch and not have any major impact on drivers.

Drivers to Watch

Jeff Gordon

Terry Renna/Associated Press

Gordon has to be trying to use Sunday’s Sprint Cup Series race as an opportunity to exorcise some of the demons that have haunted him at Phoenix. The longtime NASCAR superstar has never fared too well at this track, but he did get a win after 16 attempts back in 2007. His finishes haven’t been too poor either, as he has a respectable average of 11.5.

His last win came in this event three years ago when he snapped a checkerless streak of 66 races. Gordon was understandably thrilled to finally head back to Victory Lane, telling ESPN at the time: "It feels so amazing. I can't tell you how amazing this feels. It's been a long time, I know, and I'm going to savor this one so much."

Gordon is currently fourth in driver points, and a big win at Phoenix International Raceway would have him sitting pretty early in the season.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Not many men have won at Daytona and subsequently carried that momentum to their next race. Earnhardt and his team are hoping to accomplish that feat Sunday, which would be just the third time it's happened since the Daytona 500 became NASCAR’s opening race back in 1982.

Junior has the know-how to pull off a win in Phoenix, as he won this event in back-to-back years in 2003 and 2004. He finished fifth and fourth last year during the two PIR races and seems ready to bust out and finally take another checkered flag at this exciting track.

Perhaps Earnhardt will end up taking another selfie, which is exactly how he celebrated winning at Daytona, as per ESPN:

Tony Stewart

Rick Scuteri/Associated Press

Stewart is hoping to shake off a poor showing at the Daytona 500 and rebound at a track where he still holds the fastest race time after setting it nearly 15 years ago.

The 42-year-old star finished 35th in Florida last weekend, a disappointing result that stemmed from issues with his vehicle that gave him fits early in the race.

Ross D. Franklin/Associated Press

Regardless, Smoke’s steady string of quality performances during the Speedweeks leading up to The Great American Race has him convinced that he’ll bounce back in a big way in Phoenix. The Indiana native shook off the rust after missing the last 15 races of the 2013 campaign and told the Associated Press (via Sports Illustrated) that he is "a lot more confident than I was before we got to Daytona."

If Stewart’s history on this upcoming course (one win, eight top-five and 12 top-10 finishes in 23 races) is any indicator, he is in good shape and should make up for his poor start to the season Sunday.