The Profit on CNBC 500 Race Preview

The Profit on CNBC 500 at Phoenix International Raceway (one-mile speedway, Avondale, AZ)

No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil Ford Fusion driven by Joey Logano

Sunday, March 2, 3:00 pm ET

• WANTING MORE AFTER DAYTONA: While an 11th-place finish in the Daytona 500 is better than how 32 other drivers fared, Joey Logano isn’t content heading into Phoenix. The 23-year-old driver felt he had a better car than the finish showed and just got stuck in the wrong lane several times late in the race at Daytona, which kept him from contending for the victory. Logano had to back off several times over the last couple laps to avoid accidents around him, which forced him to fall. He did race his way up to the front from his 35th-place starting position and led two laps in the “Great American Race.”
• DRIVER RATING TELLS THE STORY: Logano ran well in Daytona in the No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil Ford. In fact, he recorded the fourth-best driver rating of all those in the field with a 104.1, proving he ran up front and was in contention most of the night. NASCAR’s driver rating formula is calculated by combining wins, finishes, top-15 results, average running position while on lead lap, average speed under the green flag, fastest lap, laps led and lead-lap finishes.
• SOME PHOENIX SUCCESS: Logano has had mixed results at Phoenix in his career. In 10 Sprint Cup Series races at the track, he’s earned one top-five and four top-10 finishes. Last year, he finished 26th in the spring race despite running in the top five with a handful of laps to go when the car developed fuel pickup problems. He finished ninth in the 2013 fall race at PIR. Logano has also won at the track in the Nationwide Series.
• COMMERCIAL STAR: While in Phoenix, Logano will film a commercial for Team Penske Nationwide Series sponsor Discount Tire – which is based in the area – with his Team Penske teammates Brad Keselowski and Ryan Blaney.
• FRIENDS OF 9-1-1: Shell Pipeline will be featuring a “Friends of 9-1-1” decal on the deck lid of the No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil Ford at this weekend’s race at Phoenix in partnership with NENA -The National Emergency Number Association. “Friends of 9-1-1” supports our 9-1-1 professionals and elevates 9-1-1 education and training.

IS THERE A BIG MENTAL CHANGE WHEN YOU MOVE FROM A PLACE LIKE DAYTONA TO PHOENIX ON BACK-TO-BACK WEEKENDS?

“Yeah, it’s a totally different style of racing. At Daytona, you are mentally worn out after the race because you are aware and on edge the whole time. When you get to Phoenix, you can get more into a zone. It’s more racing where handling and car prep really comes into play. And you just approach it different from the very beginning. Daytona is Daytona. But you really feel like you start the season when you get to Phoenix.”

WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON SEEING DALE JR. WIN THE DAYTONA 500?

“Of course we wanted to win the race. That is why we go to the track. And if we weren’t going to win, I would have liked to have seen Brad win the race because he’s my teammate and I knew he had a good car. But everyone loves seeing Dale Jr. win the race. It will be good for our sport. It will bring a lot of attention our way in the coming weeks. That’s probably our biggest star winning the biggest race. That’s got to be good, right? Hopefully, we as a sport can take the extra attention and make it pay off with some big races in the next couple of weeks. And hopefully we can win both of those.”