ssing nearly two months last y von love520s Blog

Matt Kenseth has some unfinished business at the Martinsville Speedway when he arrives at the Virginia track to start the penultimate round of the Chase. Botas Ugg Bebe Baratas .That unfinished business is to win a second Sprint Cup championship -- his first under the Chase format instead of the old season-long points battle.Never short on determination or talent, Kenseth has been trying to get back to champion status since 2003 when he and crew chief Robbie Reiser won the title with a lone victory at the Ford team owned by Jack Roush. It was not necessarily a happy occasion, since Kenseth and his crew chief were roundly criticized for stroking to the title by points racing.It was, in many respects, the birth of the Chase format, designed to make sure drivers push the accelerator to the max. Kenseth led only 354 laps in 36 races his championship season and this year has already led 717, which is slightly more than his career seasonal average of 693.Last year, Kenseth had some other unfinished business get in the way of his championship pursuit. The goal was to win the race and, as it turned out, beat front-running Joey Logano, the same driver who had rammed him out of the lead in the late stages two races earlier at the Kansas Speedway.The plan infamously went awry. Instead of beating Logano to the checkered flag, Kenseth ended up beating him into the Turn 3 wall after the Wisconsin driver tangled with Loganos Team Penske teammate Brad Keselowski on a re-start and got fed up with the Ford duo. Kenseth and Keselowski had literally fought at Charlotte several weeks earlier.Kenseth, who was forced to the sideline by a suspension from NASCAR for his frontier justice, is focused on a victory to advance to the championship finale at the Homestead-Miami Speedway. By most accounts the feud with Team Penske is over -- although another skirmish in the tight confines of Martinsville could well rekindle it.For a driver with as such down-home Wisconsin attitude, Kenseth cant seem to get away from controversy at this time of year. He comes into Martinsville on the heels of another flare-up, somewhat similar to his championship season.Along with his fellow Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards, Kenseth was a strumbo -- or an old-school points racer -- at last weeks race in Talladega, where the trio rode around in the back to avoid stealing points from fellow Chase aspirant Denny Hamlin.But as the NASCAR world turns, each race weekend brings a new perspective. The Round of 8 that starts at Martinsville sharpens every championship contenders focus on winning. A victory is the surest way to get to the finale in Homestead. Otherwise a driver needs a stellar points record -- which can easily go askew in the fender-banging at Martinsville.Before moving to JGR in 2013 from Roush-Fenway Racing, Kenseth had not fared well at Martinsville, which has not been kind to Fords in recent autumn events. Driving a Toyota and cribbing notes from his teammates, Kenseth has been more consistent at Martinsville under crew chief Jason Ratcliff, finishing sixth or better four times -- including his best ever finish of second in 2013.Its been a tough place for me for a lot of years, but the last four years since I got with Jason at JGR, weve been pretty competitive there, Kenseth said. Its certainly one that Ive always wanted to go win. Weve come up short, weve had problems there -- things like that -- but typically we run good, so Im really looking forward to getting to Martinsville and hopefully we can perform well and get a good finish and kick off the next round in a positive way.One can imagine Kenseth enjoying the prospect of returning to Martinsville with racing on his mind rather than revenge or balloon-footing it like Talladega according to team strategy. Theres that unfinished business of finally winning a championship under not only the Chase format, but the elimination structure that was launched in 2014.Prior to Talladega, Kenseth, who had two victories in the regular season, was averaging a Top 5 finish in the first five Chase races. He knows the hill gets steeper as the field is winnowed down. Man, good race cars, good race car drivers, good teams, he said.One of those good cars belongs to Talladega winner Logano, who certainly has his own unfinished business at Martinsville. It remains to be seen if Keselowski, who was eliminated from the Chase last week, will run interference for his teammate on the short track where both Penske cars have run well.We got momentum, we have speed, said Logano, who said he learned a lot about his own confidence last year after winning three straight Chase races and then getting dumped by Kenseth.This year, Logano said he once again had three good cars in the Round of 12 and thats given his team momentum.We have a lot of confidence for that reason because we know we can do it, he said. We know we can go to these next couple races, theyre good racetracks for us, all three of them are. We just got to go out there and fight, do what we know how to do ... I think were better under pressure. Thats kind of our motto this year, we can fight under those situations. We know how to do that.As for JGR, since Hamlin -- an excellent short track driver -- advanced at Talladega, all four drivers are in the Round of 8 and theres little margin for team orders.Given that last years Martinsville winner Jeff Gordon returns as a substitute for Dale Earnhardt, Jr. at Hendrick Motorsports, and that teammate Jimmie Johnson is the career leader at the track among active drivers with eight wins, the fight at the front should be furious.Former Martinsville winners Kevin Harvick and Kurt Busch, both Chevy drivers, are also in the Round of 8.Kenseth is still looking for his first career victory at Martinsville -- like Logano -- and will have his work cut out for him if hes going to get to that second championship. Say what one will about last weeks lack of racing, at least the Chase has one good ol short track on the schedule. In a setting where saving brakes might be a good idea, holding back on the accelerator or trying to protect ones fenders is a losing proposition. Botas Ugg Marron Chocolate . It was the second consecutive win for the Pacers (2-5), who lost their first five preseason games. Jeff Teague led the Hawks (1-5) with 17 points and eight assists and Al Horford had 12 points and seven rebounds. Mike Scott scored 15 of his 17 points in the second half. Zapatillas De Casa Ugg Mujer . Clarke was injured while practicing on the Doha Golf Club range after the pro-am on Tuesday. The Northern Irishman arrived at the course on Wednesday hoping to start, but after hitting a few balls on the practice putting green Clarke advised officials he was not fit to play. http://www.botasuggtiendaonline.es/botas-ugg-mujer-outlet/grises-botas-ugg.html . The Americans, skipped by John Shuster, seized the advantage in the eighth end by scoring five points for a 7-3 lead. The Czechs pulled two back in the ninth, but Shusters team of third Jeff Isaacson, second Jared Zezel and lead John Landsteiner ended with another point to secure the last Olympic berth on offer.CLEARWATER, Fla. -- Philadelphia Phillies ace Roy Halladay pitched six innings Thursday in his first rehab start since being sidelined by a shoulder injury. Halladay gave up three runs and six hits in his outing for the Gulf Coast League Phillies against Pittsburgh minor leaguers. The 36-year-old right-hander struck out four and walked three. "I am not going to get too far ahead of myself, but I feel good and I feel like each time has gotten better and better," said Halladay, who is scheduled for a bullpen session Saturday and another minor league start Tuesday . "So as long as I continue in that direction, Im fine with that." The two-time Cy Young Award winner had surgery on his shoulder in May to repair a partially torn rotator cuff and remove a bone spur. He also had some fraying of the labrum. Halladay threw 51 of 87 pitches for strikes. He had recently pitched in a simulated game. "Really, the goal was to throw as many sinkers and cutters ass possible," Halladay said. Botas Ugg Niña Rebajas. "The curveball and changeup just kind of come. So we did. We probably threw well over 80-85 per cent cutters and sinkers today, and I thought for the most part the location was pretty good. There were times where Id get in a groove then Id miss two or three, but really, for the most part, they were on the halves of the plate that I wanted." Halladay is 2-4 with an 8.65 ERA in seven starts this season after missing nearly two months last year because of a strained back muscle. "I still feel like theres more in there, but Im just very cautious of making sure Im repeating my mechanics correctly right now," Halladay said. "I dont want to try to add on until Im repeating every time. Thats important for me. Im still breaking those habits, and I feel like Im doing a good job of it. I want to make sure I do it the right way." All three runs Halladay allowed came during his final two innings. 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 ' ' '

Pinnwand

Keine Kommentare
Du musst dich anmelden, um Kommentare zu schreiben