know," Carpenter said. "But its not the fact that hes a rookie that makes me nervous, or anything that | Forum
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Jan 10 '19
WATKINS GLEN, N. Cheap Air Max 2018 Sale .Y. -- Chris Bueschers unlikely victory at Pocono Raceway last Sunday put an interesting twist into NASCARs Chase for the Sprint Cup.I know we are throwing a wrench at a lot of peoples brackets for the Chase, Buescher said. Its going to be a pretty wild ride to the end.No question.And another twist could be added this weekend on the Watkins Glen International road course.Nobody really expected Pocono to spit a surprise race winner out of the Pennsylvania mountain fog, but Buescher and Front Row Motorsports took advantage of the circumstances to land a provisional berth in NASCARs 16-driver playoffs.A much more likely venue for a shocking result is Watkins Glen. As one of two road races out of 36 on the Sprint Cup schedule, it truly stands out in advance as a wild-card event.The days of one-off road-course ringers are gone, but Watkins Glen gives full-time Cup drivers with substantial road racing experience the opportunity to win their way into the Chase, even if they are not regular front-runners in a series dominated by ovals.In the not-too-distant past, road racing specialists Robby Gordon, Juan Pablo Montoya and Marcos Ambrose grasped the opportunity to win Cup races at Watkins Glen and would have qualified for the Chase had the current format been in effect. More recently, A.J. Allmendinger triumphed at The Glen in 2014 for JTG Daugherty Racing to become the first driver to earn his way into the 16-driver Chase as a road course wild-card winner.For an ex-road racer like Allmendinger and a small team like JTG Daugherty, the road races tilt the playing ground in their favor, allowing them to overcome the greater resources that NASCARs superteams enjoy.With such a perceived advantage, the danger for Allmendinger is to not let the pressure of being a favorite to win get to him.Watkins Glen and Sonoma -- just road course racing in general -- are places where I think a driver can make more of a difference, but youve still got to have the right package, Allmendinger said.Obviously, for a win youre going to take whatever risk you have to, he added. We just have to go out there and do our jobs. Road races also tend to put a premium on fuel and tire strategy, which also occasionally produces a surprise winner.But more often than not, when fuel strategy comes into play, it works in favor of the more experienced teams and drivers and their ability to read the race and react quickly to unexpected developments.Passing is more difficult than it is on most ovals, so track position is king and an experienced driver who gets out front is generally able to defend his position.Maybe thats why the most successful road racers of NASCARs modern era are Tony Stewart and Jeff Gordon, who lead the series with five and four wins respectively at Watkins Glen.Fuel and tire strategy is expected to be even more critical than usual at Watkins Glen this year. Teams found they could not stretch their fuel long enough to complete this years road race at Sonoma on two stops. More important, Watkins Glen was just fully repaved and Goodyear has brought an extremely conservative tire that has shown very little wear in testing and practice.On Friday, drivers were setting their best times 10 or even 15 laps into a run, with some predicting that the 90-lap race could be completed without a tire change.The biggest thing is pit strategy, said?Kyle Busch, a two-time Watkins Glen winner. Obviously, youve got to pick and choose when youre going to pit and stick to your plan. Whether or not we can still do it on two stops, Im unsure of because Sonoma turned into a three-stop race for us all because the new fuel mileage is a little bit off from where we were last year.The tires are lasting a long time, but its like youre on ice the first few laps, he added. Its a conservative tire, and that way, we are not going to have any tire issues, but it just provides for a lack of grip early in the run.Fellow Toyota driver Martin Truex Jr. says he believes the track will continue to pick up speed as rubber is put down over the weekend.The track is definitely a lot more challenging with the new pavement, Truex said. The tires are really hard -- they dont wear out -- which is typical for repave whether its an oval or a road course. So you dont really change tires or wear tires out, you just keep running on them and they get faster and faster and faster.I think its really challenging just to figure out where your car is, because at some point in the race you have to put tires on. Thats a big challenge, but well see where it goes.The other part of the repave is that many of the curbs lining the 2.45-mile, nine-turn course have been raised or reprofiled. That led to some cars getting slightly airborne during practice as drivers worked out just how much of an advantage they could gain by bouncing over curbs rather than going around them.I dont remember all of my old [braking and turn-in] marks, I just remember there are new ones out there and it took me a little while to kind of get my marks right, Toyota driver Carl Edwards?said. I ran over the curbs wrong a couple times and found some slick spots on the curbs.Its fun to show up at a place and have to catalog everything and remember where all the speed is.Even Allmendinger, the 2014 winner and 2015 pole sitter, struggled to adapt. He had a rough first practice session and overcame a loose oil line in the afternoon to set the fastest time of the day.It looks the same but it drives different, he said. Theres a lot of new things around this place. Grey Air Max 2018 . The Lightning are 2-0 so far on a four-game road trip, giving the club five straight wins as the guest and improving Tampas away record this season to 11-8-2. Cheap Air Max 2018 China . -- San Francisco 49ers linebacker Ahmad Brooks was fined $15,570 by the NFL on Wednesday for his hit on Saints quarterback Drew Brees last Sunday. http://www.wholesaleairmaxsale.com/ . On Saturday night, the normally free throw-challenged centre did just that. Howard scored 18 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter, including 13 of 19 free throws in a 2 1/2-minute stretch, and the Houston Rockets beat the Denver Nuggets 122-111.INDIANAPOLIS -- Carlos Munoz remembers spilling into the streets of his native Bogota the minute that Juan Pablo Montoya crossed the finish line to win the Indianapolis 500. He was just a boy back in 2000, but Munoz looked around at everyone celebrating the triumph and understood what it meant: That someone from Colombia could break through on one of motor racings grandest stages, swill some celebratory milk and kiss the famed yard of bricks. "Hes my idol," Munoz said, "and you have to admire someone like that, the first Colombian to win an F-1 race, and the first to win here. You have to admire that. Hes an example." Hes an example Munoz hopes to follow. The 21-year-old sensation will start in the middle of the front row on Sunday, just as Montoya did as a rookie more than a decade ago. He hopes to go straight to the front, too, just like his hero, and dominate the race in the same fashion that launched Montoya to stardom. "One of the cool things about him, he is a really nice kid, really down to earth," Montoya said from Charlotte, N.C., where hes racing in Sunday nights Sprint Cup race. "I think he has a good future, and its nice to see another Colombian racing in Indy and doing so well." Munoz said that he doesnt know Montoya well -- hes actually better friends with Montoyas brother, Federico. So he was surprised when Montoya reached out to him recently with a few pointers. What exactly did Montoya say? "Its a secret," Munoz said with a smile. "He said its going to be 500 miles and you have to keep your head. ... I have to go step by step and not make any mistakes." Therein lays the rub, the stark truth that has so much of the field on edge. Montoya may have been an Indy rookie in 2000, but he was also the defending champion in CART, back when that series rivaled the Indy Racing League. So he had plenty of experience running against elite open-wheel competition, including on high-speed ovals such as Michigan. Munoz, the Indy Lights point leader, will be in uncharted territory. "Hes had a couple of wild moments out there," said Pippa Mann, who helps call Indy Lights races for IMS Radio, and who will start near the back of the pack on Sunday. "So the analyst in me is going to say, Id love to see him settle down a little bit," Mann said, "and the driver whos going to be on the track him would love to see him settle down a little bit, too. Hes super-fast. Hes just young and inexperienced." In the case of Munoz, though, inexperience may play to his advantage. He knows no better than to run wide open. "Hes getting away with a lot of stuff Ive never seen people get away with," Graham Rahal said. "On onee day last week, he literally put two wheels in the grass on the inside of one and didnt have a single snap. Cheap Air Max 2018. Thats ridiculous. Ive never seen a car have that much grip here." Former Indy 500 winner Eddie Cheever has seen Munoz make a couple of those moves. "Hes incredibly brave," said Cheever, who will help call the race for ABC. "Hell put the nose of his car anywhere and still get out of trouble. If Im sitting in the managers chair, Im thinking, How am I going to manage so much talent and so much speed for a 500-mile race?" One thing Munoz has going for him is his equipment. Hes in the fifth car fielded by Andretti Autosport, the program that has dominated the month of May. And while hes often overshadowed by defending series champion Ryan Hunter-Reay, popular teammate Marco Andretti, and even E.J. Viso and James Hinchcliffe, Munoz proved with his four-lap average of 228.342 mph during qualifying last weekend that he has one of the cars to beat. "If he finishes, hes going to be in the top five," Andretti said. "But hes got to finish. Its a long race, and the biggest thing for any rookie is youve got to not force the issue, let the race come to you, take the necessary chances but not the unnecessary chances." Yes, even Munozs own teammates are wary of his go-for-broke attitude. Theyre also curious to see how he reacts to the pressure and pageantry of Indianapolis. "The biggest thing is you drive around all month long with these grey grandstands," Hinchcliffe said, "and they all of a sudden are not these grey metal structures anymore. They become living, breathing things, and theres this sea of colour and movement and it looks completely different. "Its almost a completely different race track," he added, "and the first time you see it is at the speed of the race, hurtling into Turn 1 there. Its something you have to be ready for." Pole sitter Ed Carpenter, who will start next to Munoz on the grid, said theres no way to truly prepare for taking the green flag for the first time. Thats what makes him tense. "Youre always more comfortable racing with guys you know," Carpenter said. "But its not the fact that hes a rookie that makes me nervous, or anything that hes done this month. I just dont know him. I dont know what to expect. And hell be nervous, no doubt about that." At least, until he makes the walk from Gasoline Alley to the track. Then, Munoz said, hell begin to block everything out. "When youre inside the car," he said, "youre not nervous. Ill be nervous before going in the car, but once youre in the seat, the helmet and everything, it will all be OK." Wholesale China Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale Authentic Jerseys Nike NFL Jerseys China Wholesale Nike Basketball Jerseys Hockey Jerseys China Supply Baseball Jerseys Football Jerseys Sale Authentic College Jerseys MLB Jerseys China Stitched Soccer Jerseys Cheap Jerseys From China Cheap Nike Jerseys ' ' '
