Fast Forward ~ The The Quicken Loans Race For Heroes 500 At Phoenix Fantasy Race Picks And Preview
“The future is like a corridor into which we can see only by the light coming from behind.”
–Edward Weyer, Jr.
The
Track: Phoenix International Raceway
Location:
Avondale, Arizona
Length:
1.0 Mile
Banking:
11 degrees in turns 1-2;
9 degrees in turns 3-4;
9 degrees on the
backstretch;
3 degrees on the front
stretch
Pit
Road Length/Speed: 1140 feet/45 MPH
The
Race: The Quicken Loans Race For Heroes 500
312
Laps (500 Kilometers)
2013
Purse: $5,115,165
Defending
Champion: Kevin Harvick, 105.733 MPH
Most
recent winner: Kevin Harvick, 109.229
MPH
Track
Record: Tony Stewart, 118.132 MPH, November, 1999
Event
Record: Denny Hamlin, 110.085 MPH, March, 2012
Qualifying
record: Brad Keselowski, 139.384 MPH, February 2014
TV:ESPN, 3:00PM EST
Radio:
MRN (www.motorracingnetwork.com); Sirius XM 90
The
History:
1964
– Construction completed, consisting of a one-mile oval and a 2.5 mile road
course.
11/6/1988
- The first race at Phoenix was run and won by 1992 Sprint Cup Champion Alan
Kulwicki. This is also the race for the
slowest average speed at 90.457 MPH.
4/23/2005
– The first early season race and night race was run, won by Kurt Busch
11/13/2005
– Kyle Busch becomes the youngest race winner at 20 years, 5 months, 11 days
4/18/2009
– Mark Martin becomes the oldest race winner at the track at 50 years, 3
months, 9 days.
4/10/2010
– The closest margin of victory was set when Ryan Newman defeated Jeff Gordon
by 0.13 seconds
2011
– The track underwent a change in configuration and a repave.
The
Contenders:
Top 10 Driver Ratings at Phoenix:
#48-Jimmie Johnson 116.5
#4-Kevin Harvick (CH) 103.9
#24-Jeff Gordon (CH) 99.9
#99-Carl Edwards (CH) 99.9
#14-Tony Stewart 98.3
#18-Kyle Busch 97.7
#11-Denny Hamlin (CH) 97.1
#41-Kurt Busch 96.7
#16-Greg Biffle 91.0
#2-Brad Keselowski (CH) 88.9
Note: Driver Ratings compiled from 2005-2014 races (19 total) among active
drivers at Phoenix International Raceway.
CH = Chase driver
The
Picks:
Here
is a look at how we all did with our picks last week at Texas…
Player |
Selection |
Race Pts |
Previous Pts |
Total Pts |
Behind |
Wins |
DNFs |
Jim Fitzgerald |
48 |
48 |
4011 |
4059 |
-27 |
3 |
2 |
Vivian |
2 |
42 |
4044 |
4086 |
0 |
5 |
2 |
Barbara |
18 |
40 |
4033 |
4073 |
-13 |
1 |
3 |
Kevin Abraham |
22 |
32 |
4040 |
4072 |
-14 |
3 |
4 |
Darrell |
20 |
20 |
4044 |
4064 |
-22 |
3 |
2 |
Mr. Pole |
20 |
20 |
4029 |
4049 |
-37 |
6 |
2 |
Mr. Winner |
48 |
48 |
2217 |
2265 |
-1821 |
1 |
3 |
Alabama Fitz |
22 |
32 |
2212 |
2244 |
-1842 |
2 |
7 |
PattyKay Lilley |
16 |
31 |
2205 |
2236 |
--1850 |
1 |
1 |
Brian Marchetti |
20 |
20 |
2214 |
2234 |
-1852 |
1 |
4 |
Nate |
24 |
16 |
2151 |
2167 |
-1919 |
1 |
3 |
Mr. Seven |
42 |
37 |
1309 |
1346 |
-2750 |
0 |
0 |
Here
are our picks for Phoenix:
KEVIN
ABRAHAM: I was going to take Harvick,
but I was unsure if there would be any penalties against him after the fracas
in Texas. I’m sticking with Joey Logano.
JIM
FITZGERALD: I would be surprised if there were any penalties that would keep any
of the drivers out of the cars. I was
going to go with Matt Kenseth in a revenge move from last year, but the numbers
don not lie here. No matter what team
he’s driving for, no matter what car, Kevin Harvick is a winner here and has
this thing down right now. He’s my pick.
ALABAMA
FITZ: I think Matt is snake bit and I've never been too keen on Mr. Newman, but
if a non-winner wins this, I think it will be Newman, not Matt. I think Brian is seeing just how much this
new Chase format is affecting the temperaments of the drivers. Some fans might like it, but nobody seems to
be paying attention to the dangerousness of it.
To me, it seems to be getting worse and worse...hell, even the Boy
Wonder and former Darling of NASCAR, Jeff Gordon, is fighting mad, and we all
know he is not like that. However, I
doubt that Brian sees, understands or cares about the writing on the wall. So, just to say "I ain't skeered o' no Brads", I'll go Harvicking
this week.
PATTYKAY
LILLEY: Well gang, I think most here have figured out that Mama hasn't exactly
been resting the past couple of days, but nevertheless, I'll make the pick that
doesn't count. It's Phoenix, and it's flat. Flat to me says one driver and
that's Denny Hamlin. Nah, he hasn't won anything recently or even done
particularly well lately, but he's my pick for the little flat track in the
desert. Go Denny!
BRIAN
MARCHETTI: Frustrated is an understatement.....and I just took a more serious
look at this Grid structure, and how it works. Who came up with this? Anyway, Matt Kenseth, loved watching you run
near the front for a good portion of the day last week, missed the last of the
race, don't know what you did, and don’t even care at this point. NASCAR has taken the fun out of this for me,
as one needs to be a skilled mathematician, and not
necessarily the most consistent, best overall driver this season to be declared
the winner. Somebody let me know when that
starts to make sense. This week, I'm not
shy, I hate Kevin Harvick. I think he's
a cry baby. He's a bit arrogant. With that said, I also think he's going to
finish with a Top 5 this week. He's won
the last 2 races at Phoenix, and has an average finish of 3rd in the last 5
races here. Kind of hard
not to pick this him. I remember the day he debuted the 29, after the
untimely death of Dale Sr, and I didn't like him then
either. I don't like Budweiser, and I've
never eaten at a Jimmy John's.....maybe this should be my new approach.
Now
let’s see what our fans are saying about the race this week in Phoenix…
Barbara:
In spite of things, I'm sticking with my previous thinking for Phoenix - I grit
my teeth as I submit #4, Harvick.
Nate:
I'm going with Harvick at Phoenix as well.
Vivian:
As I said last week, it is checkers or wreckers and this week I am taking Happy
Harvick to win at Phoenix and if he doesn't win, then I think it will be
wreckers for him!
Darrell:
It will be Happy Harvick #Harvicking in victory lane
in Phoenix this week!
We
have Hamlin (1), Harvick (7), and Logano (1) as hopefuls. We’ll see how all of that works out, as well
as who Mr. Pole and Mr. Seven end up with at Phoenix. Until then, good luck, best wishes, and keep
the shiny side up.
Our Picks For This Week!
Kevin Abraham |
Alabama Fitz |
Jim Fitzgerald |
PattyKay Lilley |
Brian Marchetti |
Darrell |
Nate |
Who is YOUR pick to win this week?
Correctly choose the winner before the green flag drops on Sunday, and you'll be entered into a drawing to win some racing stuff!