NASCAR survivor pool: NASCAR.com’s 36 for 36 picks for Phoenix

Steve Luvender

2 years ago

NASCAR

NASCAR.com's 36 for 36 continues at Phoenix Raceway. With 36 races and 36 full-time Charter cars, our players select one car per race, but there's a simple twist: Once they've made the pick, they can't choose that car again for the rest of the 36-race season. Yes, that means every car will be selected exactly once … a survivor pool, by another name. Follow along weekly as our panel of pickers -- Dustin Albino from Jayski, along with Steve Luvender and Cameron Richardson from NASCAR.com -- embarks on a season-long journey to think like strategists and prove their picking prowess. We'll also feature a fourth "community" 36 for 36 pick each week, as decided by fan vote on the r/NASCAR subreddit. Can the collective vote topple our trio of full-timers?

Standings after Race 3:

[table id=145 /]

Race 4 of 36: Phoenix

Las Vegas wasn't particularly kind to our pickers, as Vegas tends to sometimes go. Steve Luvender's points lead crumbled a bit after his Kyle Busch pick went south, and the No. 8 finished 26th after leading 18 laps. Dustin Albino, Cameron Richardson and the r/NASCAR subreddit all went with 2022 race winner Alex Bowman, who had a quiet afternoon and came home 18th. How will our panel play Phoenix? It's a unique track -- the shortest and flattest so far in 2024 -- yet it's only three points-paying races removed from the 2023 championship race. Jayski's Dustin Albino: No. 12, Ryan Blaney

Dustin's pick last week (Las Vegas): No. 48, Alex Bowman Points earned last week: 22 (18th-place finish) Total season points: 52 (third place) Dustin: With three mediocre runs to start the 2024 season, it's time for me to start swinging for the fence. When the Cup Series visited Phoenix in the fall, it was Blaney standing tall as the 2023 Cup Series champion. The last five Phoenix races have all resulted in top-five efforts for the No. 12 team. The last three races have all been runner-up finishes for Blaney. Maybe he's the next Kevin Harvick of Phoenix? NASCAR.com's Steve Luvender: No. 41, Ryan Preece

Steve's pick last week (Las Vegas): No. 8, Kyle Busch Points earned last week: 18 (26th-place finish) Total season points: 89 (first place) Steve: Since I got burned last week, I'm returning to my strategy of bargain hunting -- identifying a driver with better-than-average results at a particular track. This week, it's Ryan Preece. Preece drove the No. 41 to a 12th-place finish in last year's Phoenix spring race and came home 14th in the championship race. He won't be part of my Fantasy Live lineup, but his recent Phoenix results are markedly better than his 20.8 average finish since joining Stewart-Haas Racing. Preece's teammate Josh Berry was among those I considered for this week for similar reasons, but I'm planning to save rookie drivers for later in the year when they get a bit more acclimated. For now, it's Preece Lightning, baby. Head, shoulders, Preece and toes. Sorry, I'll Preece and desist now. NASCAR.com's Cameron Richardson: No. 14, Chase Briscoe

Cameron's pick last week (Las Vegas): No. 48, Alex Bowman Points earned last week: 22 (18th-place finish) Total season points: 40 (fourth place) Cameron: It's a long shot for this weekend, but I liked the speed both Chase Briscoe and Noah Gragson had at Las Vegas last week. Briscoe has been strong at the 1-mile Phoenix oval, scoring three top 10s in the four Next Gen races at the track, highlighted by his maiden Cup Series victory in the spring of 2022. I'm looking for a big swing in points on Sunday, so hopefully, my fellow competitors won't follow suit with taking Briscoe. r/NASCAR Community: No. 14, Chase Briscoe r/NASCAR's pick last week (Las Vegas): No. 48, Alex Bowman Points earned last week: 22 (18th-place finish) Total season points: 59 (second place) The NASCAR subreddit went with one of their own in the weekly voting thread -- Chase Briscoe, a regular r/NASCAR participant. Briscoe, of course, won at Phoenix in 2022. u/LeapsFrog: "This is definitely the time to pick Briscoe. Phoenix is his best track and I don't want to wait till the final race for him. Also Fords are supposed to be stronger on Short Tracks compared to other track types so picking a Stewart Haas driver would be a great start for the first short track." u/ChaseTheFalcon: "This is absolutely the correct pick, he's always in the mix late at this track" u/michigan_matt: "Briscoe's one win is at Phoenix and he has three top 7s in his past four races there. In order, his best tracks in terms of driver rating are Road America, Bristol Dirt, Indy Road Course, Martinsville, Phoenix. The top 3 are all now off the schedule, and Martinsville has a multitude of drivers to pick from. This week is Briscoe's." Check back next week to see how our pickers fared at Phoenix as the season-long 36 for 36 journey continues. And, if you've got a competitive itch beyond meticulously managing your Fantasy Live lineup each week, feel free to save or print your own 36 for 36 sheet and see if you can beat our pickers and the Reddit community!