06-27-2016, 03:30 AM
JOLIET, Ill. Angel Correa Atletico Madrid Jersey . - The opening round in the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship wont decide the NASCAR champion. What it could do, though, is separate the contenders from the pretenders. "Its so important not to have a bad day in that first race," said five-time defending champion Jimmie Johnson. "Well have a pretty good idea of who will be strong and who wont right out of the gate." The 10-race Chase opens Sunday at Chicagoland Speedway with Matt Kenseth, ranked fourth in the 12-driver field, starting from the pole. Its a prime piece of real estate considering track position is so critical these days. With more and more passing done on pit road as opposed to the actual race track, Kenseth will be blessed with the best pit stall and, at least at the start of the race, no traffic as he attempts to open the Chase with a victory. "I think it is always important and starting up front and having a good pit stall is nice," Kenseth said. "Hopefully, you get a good start and get bonus points and try to keep up with the track a little better." Kenseth had the fastest qualifying lap with a speed of 183.243 miles per hour in his Roush Fenway Racing Ford. It easily held off Paul Menard, who turned a lap at 183.125 m.p.h. in a Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet, and Kurt Busch, who qualified third at 183.032 m.p.h. in a Penske Racing Dodge. Its just the sixth pole in 12 full seasons for Kenseth, and second this year. "My cars have just been fast and driving really good," Kenseth said. "I have always tried really hard. I have probably done a little better job at not overdriving the car. That has been a fault of mine in qualifying in the past, overdriving and driving the corner too hard and messing up the rest of the corner. "Back in the day when it was easier to pass it probably wasnt as important to us as it is today. Maybe I am a little better at it, but the main thing is the cars have been really fast." Busch, winner of the inaugural 2004 Chase, was pleased to qualify third. "It was a great qualifying effort for us. We feel like getting off to a strong start in the Chase is important, and it starts with qualifying," Busch said. "We just cant get ahead of ourselves. Each opportunity that were out on the track, we have to maximize." Chase drivers took spots four through six, as Ryan Newman, Carl Edwards and Brad Keselowski kept Kenseth in sight. Non-Chase drivers Greg Biffle and Brian Vickers were seventh and eighth, and points co-leader Kyle Busch was ninth. His Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Joey Logano, who is not Chase eligible, rounded out the top 10. Johnson qualified 12th, and Hendrick Motorsports teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. 19th. Four-time champion Jeff Gordon was 23rd, Tony Stewart qualified 26th and Denny Hamlin was 27th. Stewart, who struggled through two Friday practice sessions, felt his Chevrolet had improved in part to it being 11 degrees warmer Saturday than it was Friday. "It was much better than we were yesterday," he said. "Tomorrow is supposed to be even warmer, so that will help us some more." But Hamlin, an eight-race winner last season who needed the new "wild card" provisional to get a spot in the Chase, seemed discouraged. "Our cars have not been really fast on the short go all weekend," Hamlin said. "So, weve got to figure out what we have to do to get a little bit more of the speed that we need." Kevin Harvick was the lowest qualifying Chase driver at 30th. Because Sundays race is on a 1.5-mile track, it could be a solid indicator of how the championship field will shape up. Five of the 10 Chase races are run on intermediate-length tracks, and if drivers struggle at Chicagoland, it could be a bad omen of whats to come in their title bids. But Kenseth said the remaining intermediate tracks still have unique qualities that present different challenges. "I know we always group them together because they are the same size track and there are guys that seem to run good at all of them or not as good," Kenseth said. "They are all really a lot different." Custom Real Madrid Jersey . - Former Sweden international midfielder Stefan Ishikazi has signed with the Los Angeles Galaxy. Toni Kroos Real Madrid Jersey . - From his perch atop Regan Smiths pit box, team owner Dale Earnhardt Jr.PITTSBURGH -- The playoffs must be coming. The Los Angeles Kings are starting to look like the Los Angeles Kings. Drew Doughty broke a tie 3:51 into the third period with his ninth goal of the season, and the surging Kings beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-2 Thursday night for their franchise-record tying eighth straight road win. "To be hitting our stride at this point and beating some very good teams we had to play in the East right now, thats a confidence booster," Doughty said. Alec Martinez and Jeff Carter also scored for Los Angeles, and Martin Jones made 35 saves. The Kings, who have won five straight overall, tied the club road record set from Dec. 18, 1974-Jan. 16, 1975 by earning one-goal victories during a three-game swing through Philadelphia, Washington and Pittsburgh. "All three teams are in different places in their standings, so if you can get six points you take it," Kings coach Darryl Sutter said. The Penguins rallied from a 2-0 deficit to tie it on goals by Chris Kunitz and Taylor Pyatt. Jeff Zatkoff stopped 29 shots but couldnt get a handle on Doughtys booming slap shot early in the third. A potential tying goal by Penguins forward Brandon Sutter midway through the third was waved off due to goaltender interference following an extended scramble around the Kings net. Sutter eventually poked it by Jones while getting cross-checked from behind just before the net came off its moorings. After a brief conference, the call stood. While that galvanized the Penguins, it didnt exactly rattle the Kings. "I didnt have much of a view, but I just felt the puck under me," Jones said. "I just honestly saw the replay, but I felt like I got pushed in. Its the refs judgment there, so Im happy we got the call there." Los Angeles escaped by stifling Pittsburghs top-ranked power play. The Penguins went 0 for 7 with the man advantage as the unit continues to struggle without centre Evgeni Malkin, who is out for at least two weeks with a foot injury. Pittsburgh is 0-2 without Malkin and has dropped three straight overall. Though the Penguins remain in firm control of the Metropolitan Division, they failed to earn a point, postponing their eighth straight trip to the playoffs. "We did some good things," Pittsburgh centrre Sidney Crosby said. Jese Jersey. "It just couldnt go in. Its disappointing when you have that many opportunities. Its not common when you get that many. You want to make sure you try to make them count. We didnt do that." The Kings have spent most of the season muddling in the middle of the loaded Western Conference but are peaking as the post-season nears. They pulled out a 5-4 shootout win in Washington on Tuesday, roaring back from two goals down in the third to earn the victory. There would be no heroics necessary this time. Despite the series of penalties, the Kings looked every bit the stingy bunch that won the Stanley Cup in 2012 and made it to the conference finals last year. "Our penalty kill was unbelievable," Jones said. "Everybody who was out there was awesome, blocking shots. Thats a pretty good power play to do it against, so we did a good job all night." The Penguins took the day off on Wednesday, cancelling practice after a lacklustre 3-2 loss to Phoenix the day before. Pittsburgh held a brief players-only meeting after the loss, which dropped the team to 6-6-2 since the break. It was hard to tell whether the rest helped early, as the Kings sprinted to a 2-0 lead. Carter deflected Marian Gaboriks slap shot past Zatkoff for his 26th goal of the season 15:23 into the game. The Kings made it 2-0 on a similar play 6:59 into the second as Tyler Toffoli was parked in front of Zatkoff and provided a perfect screen for Martinezs shot from the point. Pittsburgh responded 34 seconds later when Kunitz poked in a rebound for his 33rd goal. Pyatt added his fourth of the season to tie it. His knuckling wrist shot hit Jones in the blocker pad and flipped over the goalies shoulder and rolled into the net. No matter, Jones responded with a no-look blocker save on defenceman Matt Niskanen moments later that kept the game tied long enough for Doughty to win it. NOTES: Penguins C Marcel Goc left in the second period after injuring his left leg while getting checked into the boards behind the Los Angeles net and didnt return. ... The Kings are 33-8-4 when scoring first. ... Carter has 13 points in his last 17 games. ... The Penguins play at Columbus on Friday. ... The Kings begin a three-game homestand on Saturday against Winnipeg. Cheap China Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap Jerseys From China China NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Cheap Jerseys China ' ' '
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