n continues.Angels: Jered Weaver (6-6, 5 | Forum

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. Nike NFL Jerseys China .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. Wholesale Nike NFL Jerseys . -- If Henry Burris has his way, he will be the starting quarterback to lead the Hamilton Tiger-Cats back to the Grey Cup next year. Nike NFL Jerseys Outlet . Tomas Berdych and Radek Stepanek defeated Nenad Zimonjic and Ilija Bozoljac 6-2, 6-4, 7-6 (4) on the indoor hard-court at Belgrade Arena. The victory improved the Czech pairs impressive cup doubles record to 14-1. http://www.nfljerseyscheapstore.com/ . With their top three point guards and Kobe Bryant all sidelined by injury, the Lakers signed Marshall out of the D-League on Friday before their home game against Minnesota. ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Tim Lincecum realized he might have to take a few lumps while he attempts to restart his major league career with the Los Angeles Angels.He took another bruising Tuesday night at the hands of the surging Houston Astros.Carlos Correa hit a three-run homer in the first inning, and the Astros beat Lincecum and the Angels 7-1 for their ninth win in 10 games.Lincecum (1-2) couldnt get through the fifth inning in his third start for the Angels, yielding seven hits, four walks and five runs. It was the two-time Cy Young winners second straight bumpy outing after a promising debut.My fastball command was pretty terrible, Lincecum said. I didnt get a chance to establish the zone and work around that. I felt myself becoming one-dimensional again with my changeup and not really finding a way out. That team is a good hitting team. They punched the balls when they were up in the zone and made me pay for it.Lincecum has a 6.75 ERA after three starts for the Angels, who signed the longtime San Francisco Giants star to patch that rotation. While he struck out seven Astros, he also struggled with control -- throwing just 55 strikes in 101 pitches -- and served up too many hittable balls to the Astros surging lineup.Lincecum didnt want to blame his command struggles on rust after missing the second half of the 2015 season and undergoing hip surgery.Yes and no, but at the same time, Im here, and I committed to being here, and I told myself that I was ready, and Im willing to work with that, Lincecum said. I dont really accept what Im going through right now. I want to move forward and work through it and give my team a chance to win.Lincecum was in trouble again after four Houston batters. He started with a four-pitch walk to George Springer, and Jose Altuve also drew a four-pitch walk before Correa put his 13th homer far over the left field fence. Correa had never faced Lincecum before that shot.I knew he was going to try to throw some changeups and get me to chase, Correa said. Its big to score early in the game.Albert Pujols third-inniing single drove in the only run for last-place Los Angeles (32-46), which has lost eight of nine. Discount Nike NFL Jerseys. Before the game, general manager Billy Eppler said manager Mike Scioscias job is not in jeopardy with the Angels, whose injury-riddled starting rotation has been their biggest obstacle.Correa went 3 for 4 and matched his career high with four RBI as Houston easily improved to 34-20 since May 1. The Astros also beat the Angels for the seventh straight time, their longest winning streak in the rivalrys history.We expect to win the way were playing, which is good, Houston manager A.J. Hinch said. We do have a nice little vibe about us, a little swagger. Weve got our confidence back.Scott Feldman (5-3) yielded three hits in five innings to win his first start since April 24 for the Astros. Feldman was a stopgap starter after making 16 appearances out of the bullpen over the past two months, but he kept Houston moving flawlessly forward while allowing no earned runs or walks.TRAINERS ROOMAstros: Feldman filled in for RHP Lance McCullers, whose rotation turn was skipped due to a blister. McCullers expects to return Monday for his next start, although Feldman wouldnt mind another shot. I love starting, Feldman said. But I also love being on this team, and were winning a lot of games right now.Angels: 3B Yunel Escobar missed another game with a bone bruise in his left knee. Scioscia hopes he is available Friday in Boston. ... C Geovany Soto is closing in on a rehab assignment after working out in the bullpen Tuesday. He has been out since mid-May after knee surgery.UP NEXTAstros: Dallas Keuchel (4-9, 5.35 ERA) beat Kansas City last week for his first win in five June starts, but the AL Cy Young winners weird season continues.Angels: Jered Weaver (6-6, 5.24 ERA) has been solid in recent weeks, but had a rough outing against Oakland earlier in this homestand. He has a 3.26 ERA in 10 career games against Houston. ' ' '