Phoenix Weekend TV Schedule

ALL TIMES LOCAL TO TRACK

Friday, February 28
12:00 - 1:30 PM 2014 The Profit on CNBC 500k PRACTICE (FS1)
4:40 PM 2014 The Profit on CNBC 500k QUALIFYING (FS1)

Saturday, March 1
9:00 - 9:55 AM 2014 The Profit on CNBC 500k PRACTICE (FS1)
10:10 AM Blue Jeans Go Green 200 QUALIFYING (FS1)
12:00 - 12:50 PM 2014 The Profit on CNBC 500k FINAL PRACTICE (FS1)
1:45 PM 2014 Blue Jeans Go Green 200 (ABC)

Sunday, March 2
1:00 PM 2014 The Profit on CNBC 500k (FOX)

Pepsi MAX & Jeff Gordon Present: "Test Drive 2"

"This is absolutely, 100%, totally legit," Okulski told Yahoo Sports. "Not fake in any way at all. I was really that terrified."

France speaks on Jr winning Daytona 500 & Daytona 500 being raced at night

• Dale Earnhardt Jr. winning the Daytona 500 is considered a good thing for NASCAR. Its most popular driver the last 11 years winning its most prestigious event certainly should generate interest in the sport. But NASCAR Chairman Brian France says it's not just the Earnhardt win that could help the sport. "The really great thing is how authentic he's been throughout the week here as he's doing (the media tour)," France said in a phone interview Wednesday. "That's great. We'll have to see (on the impact)." Earnhardt won the Daytona 500 for the second time, with the first coming in 2004 before the world of Twitter and in the infancy of social media. Now, Earnhardt is tweeting photos during his winner's media tour and that has gotten an already enthusiastic Junior Nation looking forward to the rest of the season even more. The victory also all but guarantees him a spot in the Chase. "Anytime his fanbase gets revved up, that's a good thing," France said. "That's good for him, and that's good for us."
  With rain pushing the Daytona 500 to night for the second time in the last three years, it brings up the question of whether NASCAR would consider a move to night for that race. France says the sanctioning body already has considered it but Fox and the racetrack would also want to move it for it to happen. "We have considered it and for lots of reasons have not done that," France said. "But it's always a consideration. Of course, it's not just our decision. Fox has to believe that's the right time and all the rest."(Sporting News)(2-27-2013)

Dale Jr Wins Rain Delayed Daytona 500

After a six hour rain delay Dale Earnhardt Jr won the 2014 Daytona 500, the second Daytona 500 victory of his career. During his post race comment he said that this Daytona 500 is just as important if not more because of the journey that he has gone though. Earnhardt Jr's victory last night makes him the first driver elegible for the Chase for the Sprint Cup. The race was rain delayed shortly after 2pm with just over 35 laps completed. The race returned to green flag racing around 8:45pm. Following the rain delay there was a very long strech of green flag racing. As always once the end of the race neared the carnage of restrictor plate racing was evident. Accidents involved Danica Patrick, Kyle Larson, Austin Dillon, Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards, Michael Waltrip among others. This was the 8th Daytona 500 victory for car owner Rick Hendrick.

Smith Wins at Daytona

Regan Smith won the DRIVE4COPD 300 at Daytona, beating Brad Keselowski by .013 seconds which was the 7th closest finish in Nationwide Series history. They were followed by Trevor Bayne, Kyle Busch, Elliott Sadler, Brendan Gaughan, Ty Dillion, Dylan Kwasniewski, Ryan Sieg, and Kyle Larson. Following the checkered flag the field slowed down quicker than expected by Dale Earnhardt Jr, who bumped Kyle Larson which set off a multi-car crash. The race consisted of 5 cautions for 20 laps and 9 lead changes among 6 leaders. The Nationwide next races at Phoenix on 3/1/2014.

Gibbs Wins Both Duels

Denny Hamlin & Matt Kenseth won their Budweiser Duel race on Thursday night locking in their grid position on the 2nd row for the Daytona 500. This puts Joe Gibbs Racing in a good position to win a Daytona 500, something that has eluded the organization for the past 21 years.Hamlin also won last Saturday's exhibition Sprint Unlimited, and he goes into Sunday's season-opening Daytona 500 trying to become the first driver in history to sweep Speedweeks.Those left broken-hearted this year were Michael McDowell, Joe Nemechek, Ryan Truex, Eric McClure and Morgan Shepherd, who at 72 was trying to become the oldest driver in the field. Dave Blaney withdrew from the qualifying race after wrecking his only car in Wednesday's practice.But it was euphoria for the small teams of Swan Racing, which got both Cole Whitt and Parker Kligerman in the race a day after both drivers wrecked in practice, and Hillman Racing, which will be in the Daytona 500 with Landon Cassill, who was hit by a car Saturday while riding his bike in Daytona. The first race was uneventful as Kenseth led two times for 31 of the 60 laps. Harvick pulled out on the final lap to make his bid for the victory. Then Kasey Kahne pulled out of line to make it three-wide.
After the race, Harvick was informed while sitting in the Fox Sports 1 studio as an analyst for the second race that his Chevrolet, sponsored by Budweiser, had failed post-race inspection for the first Budweiser Duel.But the second race ended in chaos, making everyone unsure of anything as defending Daytona 500 winner Jimmie Johnson ran out of gas on the final lap to trigger a crash that caused Clint Bowyer's car to flip. - Article credit to Tim Woodward of Around The Track & Jenna Fryer of AP

Daytona 500 Starting Lineup

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Daytona 500 Starting Lineup
Daytona International Speedway
Provided by NASCAR Statistics

Starting Position	Car#	Driver	Sponsor / Manu	Qualifying Speed	Reason for making Daytona 500
1	3	Austin Dillon #	Chevy	196.019	Pole
2	78	Martin Truex. Jr.(B)	Chevy	195.852	Outside Pole
3	20	Matt Kenseth(PC5)	Toyota	194.574	Finished 1st in Duel 1
4	11	Denny Hamlin	Toyota	194.477	Finished 1st in Duel 2
5	5	Kasey Kahne	Chevy	194.544	Finished 2nd in Duel 1
6	24	Jeff Gordon(PC6)	Chevy	195.042	Finished 2nd in Duel 2
7	9	Marcos Ambrose	Ford	194.894	Finished 3rd in Duel 1
8	41	Kurt Busch(PC4)	Chevy	194.078	Finished 3rd in Duel 2
9	88	Dale Earnhardt. Jr.	Chevy	195.211	Finished 4th in Duel 1
10	27	Paul Menard	Chevy	194.919	Finished 4th in Duel 2
11	98	Josh Wise	Ford	192.061	Finished 5th in Duel 1
12	33	Brian Scott(i)	Chevy	194.776	Finished 5th in Duel 2
13	43	Aric Almirola	Ford	194.658	Finished 6th in Duel 1
14	21	Trevor Bayne(i)	Ford	194.334	Finished 6th in Duel 2
15	47	AJ Allmendinger	Chevy	194.108	Finished 7th in Duel 1
16	42	Kyle Larson #	Chevy	194.410	Finished 7th in Duel 2
17	38	David Gilliland	Ford	193.736	Finished 8th in Duel 1
18	40	Landon Cassill	Chevy	193.732	Finished 9th in Duel 2
19	31	Ryan Newman	Chevy	195.707	Finished 9th in Duel 1
20	15	Clint Bowyer(B)	Toyota	194.523	Finished 10th in Duel 2
21	14	Tony Stewart(PC3)(E)	Chevy	193.365	Finished 10th in Duel 1
22	1	Jamie McMurray(B)	Chevy	192.695	Finished 11th in Duel 2
23	26	Cole Whitt #	Toyota	192.538	Finished 11th in Duel 1
24	32	Terry Labonte(PC8)	Ford	192.135	Finished 12th in Duel 2
25	16	Greg Biffle	Ford	195.818	Finished 12th in Duel 1
26	52	Bobby Labonte(PC7)(E)	Chevy	191.493	Finished 13th in Duel 2
27	10	Danica Patrick(E)	Chevy	194.380	Finished 13th in Duel 1
28	13	Casey Mears	Chevy	194.582	Finished 14th in Duel 2
29	23	Alex Bowman #	Toyota	189.685	Finished 14th in Duel 1
30	99	Carl Edwards	Ford	195.712	Finished 15th in Duel 2
31	55	Brian Vickers	Toyota	192.798	Finished 15th in Duel 1
32	48	Jimmie Johnson(PC1)(B)	Chevy	194.637	Finished 16th in Duel 2
33-SPD	2	Brad Keselowski(PC2)	Ford	195.296	6th fastest speed
34-SPD	17	Ricky Stenhouse. Jr.	Ford	195.004	9th fastest speed
35-SPD	22	Joey Logano	Ford	194.582	15th fastest speed
36-SPD	7	Michael Annett #	Chevy	194.574	6th fastest speed
37-OP	18	Kyle Busch	Toyota	194.502	2013 owners points 4th
38-OP	4	Kevin Harvick	Chevy	194.422	2013 owners points 11th
39-OP	36	Reed Sorenson	Chevy	194.066	2013 owners points 35th
40-OP	51	Justin Allgaier #	Chevy	193.815	2013 owners points 30th
41-OP	30	Parker Kligerman #	Toyota	193.594	2013 owners points 33rd
42-OP	66	Michael Waltrip(B)	Toyota	193.428	2013 owners points 24th
43-OP	34	David Ragan	Ford	192.328	2013 owners points 29th
44-DNQ	35	Eric McClure(i)	Ford	192.905	DNQ
45-DNQ	95	Michael McDowell	Ford	192.291	DNQ
46-DNQ	87	Joe Nemechek(i)	Toyota	190.480	DNQ
47-DNQ	83	Ryan Truex #	Toyota	190.347	DNQ
48-DNQ	93	Morgan Shepherd(i)	Toyota	189.542	DNQ
49-WD	77	Dave Blaney	Ford	0.000	Withdrew
(B) - drops to rear before start, in a backup car (E) - drops to rear before start, engine change PC1 = is the first past champ eligible, PC2 is the 2nd...and so on if more # Sunoco Rookie of the Year candidate (i) = driver not running for 2014 Sprint Cup Series Championship Drivers Points NOTE: the 6 cars [and 7 if Champ provisional is not used] eligible for the provisional spots are chosen by highest owners points rank THEN set in order by their qualifying speed NOT by their owners points rank/standings

FOX to Alter New Race Ticker

Fox Sports' attempt to modernize the scoring crawl is going back in for repairs. The network ditched the usual rolling leaderboard at the top of the screen for a rectangular box on the right side of the TV screen. Eric Shanks, Fox Sports chief operating officer and executive producer, says changes are coming after fans complained the new scoring screen blocked a portion of on-track action. He says the network has "some tweaks" that will adjust the layout for Sunday's Daytona 500. Fox ditched the traditional crawl because it took too long for the entire field to come around. The modernized screen gets fans the running order they want in a faster, more readable layout. The leaderboard changes by lap. For Daytona 500 qualifying, the scoreboard only listed names and running order, not speeds. Fans complained on social media about the scoreboard during the exhibition Sprint Unlimited.(AP)

Daytona Fencing Holds Up

During today's Sprint Cup practice, a multi-car accident occured which sent the no. 30 of Parker Kligerman into the fence not far from where Kyle Larson went into the fence during last years Drive4COPD Nationwide race at Daytona. The fence had 2 minor tears in it following the crash, but all cabling & support poles stood their ground. No drivers or fans have been reported to be injured & we will post updates as they come available.

Launch of NASCAR '14

As the Daytona 500 approaches, NASCAR is hitting the gas on the racetrack and into gamers' homes with the release of NASCAR '14. Deep Silver announced that the racing game NASCAR '14, developed by ETX Racing, is available in North America on the Xbox 360 games and entertainment system from Microsoft, PlayStation3 computer entertainment system and Steam for Windows PC for the suggested retail price of $49.99. NASCAR '14 includes the most requested gaming feature: online leagues, allowing gamers to band together to overtake rivals on the track. NASCAR '14 also delivers skill-based matchmaking for the first time in franchise history. Tony Stewart, the three-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion and winner of the "Drive For the Cover" contest, was chosen by more than 700,000 fans to appear on the front of the box. For racing fans headed to Daytona, they will have the chance to play NASCAR '14 at the Sprint Unlimited Experience, win copies of the game and four lucky fans will play against Brad Keselowski and Miss Sprint Cup on the 42-foot Jumbotron 2/21 at 3:30pm/et.(Tinsley-PR for Deep Silver)

Remembering Dale Earnhardt

Thirteen years ago today the NASCAR community learned that its star had died during a crash in turn four on the last lap of the 2001 Daytona 500. Every year we continue to remember him & celebrate the legacy he left behind.The Charlotte skyline will illuminate with 45,730 blue LED lights atop the Duke Energy Building in honor of Dale Earnhardt on Tuesday, February 18. The light presentation at the 786 foot tall Duke Energy Building, as well as the annual Candlelight Tribute at Dale Earnhardt Inc. in Mooresville NC, is presented by The Dale Earnhardt Foundation. The foundation's mission is to "Continue the Legend" that sustains Dale's lifelong commitment to Children, Education and Environmental/Wildlife Preservation. The Candlelight Tribute with open showroom is held from 6:00-8:00pm/et at Dale Earnhardt Inc. in Mooresville, NC. Those unable to attend are encouraged to light a candle at home that evening in honor of Dale Earnhardt's remarkable spirit. (DEI)

Budweiser Duel #2 Lineup

Starting Line Up by Row
Daytona International Speedway
Budweiser Duel #2
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Provided by NASCAR Statistics

Pos	Car#	Driver	Manu / Sponsor	Reason
1	78	Martin Truex. Jr.	Chevy	outside pole
2	99	Carl Edwards	Ford	4th in qualifying
3	2	Brad Keselowski(PC2)	Ford	6th in qualifying
4	24	Jeff Gordon(PC6)	Chevy	8th in qualifying
5	27	Paul Menard	Chevy	10th in qualifying
6	33	Brian Scott(i)	Chevy	12th in qualifying
7	48	Jimmie Johnson(PC1)	Chevy	14th in qualifying
8	13	Casey Mears	Chevy	16th in qualifying
9	7	Michael Annett #	Chevy	18th in qualifying
10	15	Clint Bowyer	Toyota	20th in qualifying
11	11	Denny Hamlin	Toyota	22nd in qualifying
12	42	Kyle Larson #	Chevy	24th in qualifying
13	21	Trevor Bayne(i)	Ford	26th in qualifying
14	41	Kurt Busch(PC4)	Chevy	28th in qualifying
15	51	Justin Allgaier #	Chevy	30th in qualifying
16	40	Landon Cassill	Chevy	32nd in qualifying
17	66	Michael Waltrip	Toyota	34th in qualifying
18	35	Eric McClure(i)	Ford	36th in qualifying
19	1	Jamie McMurray	Chevy	38th in qualifying
20	34	David Ragan	Ford	40th in qualifying
21	32	Terry Labonte(PC8)	Ford	42nd in qualifying
22	52	Bobby Labonte(PC7)	Chevy	44th in qualifying
23	83	Ryan Truex #	Toyota	46th in qualifying
24	93	Morgan Shepherd(i)	Toyota	48th in qualifying