to the point of no return. Can we please spend the second ha
Posté: Sam Oct 07, 2017 12:59 pmJOLIET, Ill. New York Knicks Hoodie . -- Martin Truex Jr.s?tire became completely unraveled, and that left him a lap down, but he took the lead at the NASCAR Chase for the Sprint Cup for the first time in his career.He can thank a late caution in what has been an emotional year for the small-team driver.Truex shot to the front after a late restart and pulled away to give Furniture Row Racing a NASCAR Sprint Cup playoff-opening victory Sunday at Chicagoland Speedway.Ive had a lot of practice at it, Truex said about the on-track obstacles. I think my approach really changed two years ago, when (girlfriend) Sherry got diagnosed with cancer. My approach to all those things changed and made me a better driver.NASCAR announced after the race that Truexs No. 78 Toyota failed the laser inspection, but the infraction was not at the level of negating the victory for Chase qualification purposes. Truex is expected to receive a point penalty this week.Rookie Chase Elliott appeared on his way to an easy win until Michael McDowell blew a tire and spun out to bring a caution with five laps left.Elliott and Truex came in to pit for tires, with some non-Chase drivers Ryan Blaney and Kasey Kahne and Chase contender Carl Edwards staying on the track.Truex restarted fourth and Elliott fifth, and Truex quickly got to the front and held off Joey Logano on the final lap for his third victory of the season. Truex is guaranteed to move on when the Chase field is cut from 16 to 12 in two weeks.Truex, whose team gets technical support from Joe Gibbs Racing, made the last four in the 2015 Chase. His 2016 season started with a near-miss at the Daytona 500 and a Coca-Cola 600 win, while Sherry Pollex battled ovarian cancer. Shes now in remission.You have to understand, this isnt the end of the world, Truex said of racing setbacks. We can overcome it. Thats what we did today.Elliott, a rookie, finished third, followed by Blaney and Chase driver Brad Keselowski, who sits second in points.Its not yours until its over, the 20-year-old Elliott said. Thats part of life, man. Youre not dumb. Weve all watched this stuff long enough to know these races dont go green that long.Truex led early in the race only to have his tire come completely unraveled. It led to an unscheduled stop that left him a lap down in the 400-mile race.The hard compound came off it, said Cole Pearn, Truexs crew chief. I guess [Goodyear] saw a couple other tires and came down and told us a certain sequence number had an issue.Truex had no other tire issues on the 1.5-mile oval and outraced Kevin Harvick, who also got into early trouble, to be in position for the free pass to the lead lap on the next caution.Jimmie Johnson dominated the middle of the race, leading 118 laps, until Elliott got by him on lap 176 of 267.Johnson was running second when he was caught speeding on pit road during the last green-flag stop, yelling no way! on his radio when told he had to serve a pass-through penalty. Johnson finished 12th, but his car also failed laser inspection and he could plummet in the points standings.Elliott led for 75 laps in what was a clean race with only three cautions until McDowells late wreck changed the dynamic of the race.I feel for Chase. I know what hes going through, Truex said. I wasnt going to catch him.WHOS ....: Chase drivers Truex, Logano, Elliott, Keselowski, Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch and Matt Kenseth all finished in the top 10. Jamie McMurray was 11th, Kurt Busch 13th and Tony Stewart 14th.WHOS NOT: Kyle Larson, who had the fastest car in Saturdays practice, had to change a transmission and start from the back. He finished 18th. ... Harvick ended up 20th amid multiple issues. ... Rookie Chris Buescher fell a lap down 41 laps in and two laps down before the 100th lap. He finished 28th.PENALTIES: Based on new rules announced last week, Johnson could receive a 10-point penalty, which would drop him into a tie for 12th in the Chase standings. Truex could be docked 15 points, but the win locks him into the second round.DILLON SUBS: Ty Dillon finished 27th filling in for Regan Smith in the No. 7 Chevrolet. Smith left the track Friday and returned to North Carolina after his wife went into labor.COWABUNGA: With Nickelodeon as the race sponsor, the winning trophy was a gold base with the four Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on top in various poses. Truex plans to put it in his shop so visiting kids can get a picture with it.UP NEXT: Two races remain before the Chase field is cut to 12. Next Sunday is a 300-mile race at New Hampshire, where Kenseth won in July. Kristaps Porzingis Knicks Jersey . The mixed zone is not a place to make friends. Willis Reed Jersey . No. 13-seeded John Isner and No. 21 Philipp Kohlschreiber were among six players who dropped out of the tournament on Tuesday, joining No. 12 seed Tommy Haas and two other players who withdrew on Monday. http://www.nbaknicksauthority.com/derri ... rsey-c-21/ . Aduriz headed home Markel Susaetas cross in the sixth minute to open the scoring at San Mames Stadium. He bettered that with a long-range blast that went in off the goal frame in the 18th, and converted a penalty in the 72nd after Diego Mainz was sent off for fouling Aduriz with only the goalkeeper to beat. Our experts weigh in on four of the biggest questions in NASCAR:Turn 1: Did NASCAR make the right call on Martin Truex Jr. for passing on pit road?Ricky Craven, ESPN NASCAR analyst: By the letter of the rule, yes. But the primary concern all drivers will have headed into this weekends drivers meeting is this: Where is the line of judgment when it comes to this rule? Because it feels like a gray area in terms of how far it can or cannot be pushed. Steve ODonnell has made it clear that it will be addressed in detail on Sunday. Im eager to hear Martins response.Ryan McGee, ESPN.com: According to the rulebook ... yes? I usually make a sandwich or take a nap instead of pay attention to the prerace drivers meetings. They tend to be a bit Groundhog Day-ish, especially since Jeff Gordon and his weekly questions retired. ?But this week I will pay close attention to how it is addressed, as NASCAR has promised, and what the reaction is to whatever is said.John Oreovicz, ESPN.com: Ultimately yes, assuming that NASCAR consistently makes similar calls in the future. Truex and the No. 78 team didnt break the letter of the law, but they did violate it in spirit, and the advantage he gained was plainly obvious in video replays. Drivers and teams are going to push the limits of the rules, and for NASCAR, this was the proverbial straw that broke the camels back.Bob Pockrass, ESPN.com: NASCAR made a judgment call and it leans more toward the wrong call than the right call. It certainly wasnt horrible and NASCAR rules indicate a driver cant pass to the left. But considering Truex didnt speed, what he did Saturday night could be -- and considering NASCARs no-calls in the past should be -- viewed as in the act of pitting. At worst, NASCAR should have warned Truex, considering earlier in the race it warned Brad Keselowski about laying back on a restart and told him not to do it again. The bottom line is that the leader could have done what Truex did without penalty -- and is that the type of advantage/perk a leader should get? That could be a huge advantage.Turn 2: Does the big lobster in Victory Lane at New Hampshire make you hungry, scared or creep you out?Craven: None of the above. Im a Maine Boy and I dont know a lot, ?but I know this: Never look forward to eating a large lobster. They are tougher than a $2 steak. In fact, never order larger than a 2-pound lobster or you will be cheating your palate. A lobster that size serves two purposes ... photo ops, and making baby lobsters!McGee: I love it. I actually offered to interview it for an ESPN.com story once. However, I have no interest in holding it or eating it. Unlike crab legs, where bigger is better, I have heard that Godzilla lobsters are dang near inedible. But I defer to our resident Mainer, Mr. Craven, when it comes to all things race cars and crustaceans.?Oreovicz: All of the above. Lobster is usually a treat to eat, but Im fundamentally scared of things with stingers and/or claws and the thought of how old such a huge creature must be kind of creeps me out.Pockrass: Creeps me out. Sorry not sorry, this Yankee-born dude just doesnt like seeing live creatures with their claws tied. Yeah, its tradition and its a photo op. But it still is creepy, especially knowing that the winning team gets sent the meat of that lobster in the days following the victory.Turn 3: The trucks race at Eldora next Wednesday. Should therre be more NASCAR races on dirt?Craven: I would be in favor of Cup races on dirt. Joakim Noah Knicks Jersey. Seems obvious to me fans are seeking something different. Our sport frequented dirt tracks in the early days, and today, short-track racing across the country seems more vibrant on dirt than asphalt. Lets have a dirt-track race beginning in 2017, then add a second at Bristol for the Chase in 2018 (yes, that means hauling in loads of dirt). It will work! Im very open-minded on the subject.McGee: No. This event is special and its the one time the Truck Series really gets to stand out anymore. So leave it be.?Dont let it become night racing or interleague baseball, which used to be special but have been killed by over-repetition.?If Cup guys want to run it, they can file an entry form.Oreovicz: No. Its fun once a year, but dirt-track racing is fundamentally a grassroots sport and should be kept that way. A midweek race on pavement is a better way to shake things up.Pockrass: No. The Eldora race is special and unique because it is the one and only. Tony Stewart wouldnt mind having an Xfinity race at the track, but maybe it would be better if it was an all-star Xfinity event for 20 cars for young drivers whose teams can afford it. Maybe NASCAR should mandate all the car numbers that field a Sprint Cup driver during the season must field a car at Eldora for an Xfinity all-star race for a full-time series regular. That could mean drivers for smaller teams getting a shot in a Cup-backed effort for this one race.Turn 4: Should NASCAR experiment with its 2017 package again this year or were races at Michigan and Kentucky enough?Craven: I have had enough experimenting. Im reduced-downforced to the point of no return. Can we please spend the second half of the year talking about drivers, rivalries, ticket prices or any damned thing other than low downforce, aero change bulls---?McGee: No. Doing it twice is enough. The next time I want to see it in a race is at Atlanta next year. If they want to add a Thursday test day and make everyone run some full simulated green-flag race runs, fine. But theres entirely too much at stake for too many teams between now and the end of the season to be conducting real-time test sessions.Oreovicz: Two races was plenty. Midseason rule changes are never desirable, and its unfair to ask teams to develop a different package for the playoffs because it might give an advantage to those organizations with more resources than others. The two races gave the teams some direction as they prepare for 2017, but it minimizes the distraction that would have come from having to develop two separate setups for the 2016 stretch run.Pockrass: It really should use it at Charlotte, a more traditional 1.5-mile track than Kentucky. NASCAR could have a test at Charlotte between Michigan and Darlington for teams to prepare and hopefully Goodyear could make gains on the tire. It would throw a little wrench in the Chase, but its the second round and first race of that round -- teams would have Kansas the following week to use what theyve learned all season and then roll the dice again at Talladega. The whole Chase is in some ways a roll of the dice with only three races per round. Another twist wouldnt hurt. But dont plan on it happening. Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap Jerseys From China Cheap NFL Jerseys Authentic Wholesale Jerseys China Cheap NFL Jerseys China NFL Cheap Jerseys ' ' '