02-20-2016, 03:13 AM
AVONDALE, Ariz. New Balance 574 online . -- Kevin Harvick had a nice send-off with Richard Childress Racing, winning his penultimate race with the team at Phoenix International Raceway. Back at Phoenix four months later, he stamped his arrival at Stewart-Haas Racing by winning the second race with his new team -- doing it on the same weekend he celebrated his 13th wedding anniversary, no less. Yeah, Harvick kind of likes it here in the desert. Disappointed at the Daytona 500 after a last-lap crash, Harvick bounced back quickly by charging to the front and dominating the rest of the way Sunday to win consecutive races at PIR with different teams. "Man, this is awesome," Harvick said. Harvick won the fall race after Carl Edwards ran out of fuel at the white flag. He needed no help Sunday. Harvick had the fastest car in practice and kept it rolling in the race, charging to the front after starting 13th and pretty much staying there. He led 224 of 312 laps on the odd-shaped mile oval and pulled away on several late restarts for his fifth NASCAR Sprint Cup victory at PIR, passing Jimmie Johnson for the most at the track. Not bad for someone whos still trying to feel his way around with a new team and new crew chief Rodney Childers. "It took long enough," SHR co-owner Gene Haas joked. "This phenomenal. I think there was a lot of skepticism last year about what myself and Tony (Stewart) what we were up to, was there a lot of madness to this. Quite frankly, its a great team, theres a lot of synergy at the shop, people working together. I dont know what we did, but I think we put together a great organization." Daytona 500 winner Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished second, pole sitter Brad Keselowski was third and Penske Racing teammate Joey Logano fourth. Jeff Gordon rounded out the top five on a warm and partly cloudy day after downpours wiped out the final 32 laps of Saturdays Nationwide race, won by Kyle Busch Harvick won at Phoenix during the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship in the fall, giving him an outside shot at catching Johnson for the series title in his final season with Richard Childress Racing. He came up short, but the victory and a third-place finish in the standings gave him a bit of momentum heading into for his first season with Stewart-Haas. Harvick had a solid finish in his sights at Daytona last week before a last-lap crash dropped him to 13th. At Phoenix, Harvick just missed the final stage of knockout qualifying, nipped by 0.001 seconds, but had the fastest car in Saturday mornings final practice session. He had no trouble making his way through the field after the green flag dropped in the race, passing Keselowski on the apron, then Logano for the lead on lap 74. Harvick maintained the lead coming out of green-flag pit stops with just under 200 laps left and again with about 70 laps left. A series of cautions came out late in the race and Harvick easily pulled away each time to earn a quick win with SHR a nice capper to his anniversary weekend with wife DeLana. "Im just the lucky guy who gets to drive around the race track when they have dialed in like they did today," Harvick said. "We were able to put it altogether." Earnhardt had a whirlwind week after winning his second Daytona 500, needing his girlfriend to get him extra clothes while he went on a media tour. He had a solid follow-up, putting the distractions aside to qualify fifth. Earnhardt worked his way up in the opening third of the race, passing Logano and Keselowski to pull up behind Harvick. He dropped back a couple times and fought back to get Harvick within his sights again, but didnt have enough to track him down. "Ive got to congratulate Kevin. Those guys were two-tenths faster than everyone all weekend in practice. They were just phenomenal," Earnhardt said. "To be able to run with them all day was a big confidence builder for us." NASCARs new knockout qualifying system made its Sprint Cup debut at Phoenix and Keselowski came out on top, edging Logano for his fourth career pole. Not long after that, Keselowski found out he would be without his crew chief for the race; Paul Wolfe left the desert back to North Carolina for the birth of his first child. With team engineer Brian Wilson and its Nationwide Series competition director Greg Erwin at the helm, Keselowski ran near the front all day, but, like everyone else, didnt have the speed to keep up with Harvick. "They beat everybody before they came to the track today," Keselowski said. "Its a great combination. They were prepared for the weekend. To me, Randy Childers is like a rubber-stamp, carbon-copy of Paul Wolfe. Hes a great crew chief and it was just a matter of time before he found a combination that he excelled with." Cheap New Balance 574 trainers . Toronto hasnt led a playoff series since 2001 and has been fighting an uphill battle with the Nets from the moment Game 1 tipped off last weekend. New Balance 574 UK . -- The streaking Houston Texans are gaining confidence by the victory.NEW YORK -- Derek Jeters farewell tour. Family and friends in the stands. On the fringes of a playoff race. Marcus Stroman was making dream start, and it sure had a happy ending. Stroman pitched six gritty innings, Jose Bautista hit his eighth homer of the year against New York and the Toronto Blue Jays ended a season-worst six-game skid to beat the Yankees 6-3 Saturday and keep their faint playoff hopes alive. "It was an awesome environment," said the rookie right-hander who is from nearby Medford. "It was special, being from here, watching Jeter growing up. I definitely rank it pretty high." With eight games to play for both teams, Toronto is 5 1/2 games back for an AL wild card and the Yankees are 4 1/2. Seattle and Cleveland all played later Saturday night. Danny Valencia hit a go-ahead, two-run double in the sixth, helping hand the Yankees their first loss of Jeters final homestand after two wins over Toronto. New York had won three in a row overall. With most of the 47,292 fans at Yankee Stadium standing and chanting "Der-ek Je-ter!" his every at-bat, the retiring captain doubled and singled for his third straight multihit game. He also scored his 1,920th run to pass suspended teammate Alex Rodriguez for ninth place on the career list. Jeter hit an RBI double down the left-field line off Brandon Morrow in the ninth to cut the lead to 6-3 as cameras flashed throughout the packed ballpark. Casey Janssen relieved and hit Brian McCann with a pitch before getting two outs for his 24th save. "The guy never stops fighting and believing in himself," manager Joe Girardi said of Jeter. "Its an attitude thats infectuous and its an attitude that you want in your players." Awaiting word on his appeal of a six-game suspension for throwing over the head of Orioles catcher Caleb Joseph on Monday, Stroman (11-6) gave up two runs and eight hits. He struck out seven without allowing a walk. Bautista scored four times and reached base all five plate appearances, walking three times to pass 100 for the third time in his career. The All-Star right-fielder connected leading off the seventh against Chase Whitley, giving him 34 homers and 101 RBIs this year. His eight homers against New York are tied for most against one team this season, according to STATS. New Balance 1080 UK. The Cubs Anthony Rizzo has eight against Cincinnati. "I think its a good performance that obviously helps in meaningful games in September," Bautista said, reflecting on his day. "Its going to be tough, but mathematically were still in it." Edwin Encarnacion had an RBI double in the first off Chris Capuano (2-4) but the Yankees took a lead with runs in the third and fourth. Jeter singled off the glove of diving second baseman Steve Tolleson and scored on McCanns single after advancing on a wild pitch in the third. FAKE OUT Yankees fans booed Bautista as he left the field at the end of the seventh inning after he caught the last out in right field, turned and faked tossing the ball into the bleachers. Bautista had a ball in his back pocket upon his return for the bottom of the eighth and flipped it into the crowd. A fan feigned giving it to a woman in a Blue Jays jersey and threw it right back onto the field. "At first I thought it was some innocent back and forth," he said. "But after the ball was thrown I decided not to continue to have the interaction because, what was going to happen next?" TRAINERS ROOM Blue Jays: 1B Adam Lind was out of the lineup because his "back locked up a little bit (Friday)," according to manager John Gibbons. Gibbons hopes the injury does not sideline Lind too long. Yankees: 1B Mark Teixeira was pinch hit for in the fifth inning. He left with a sore right wrist and will consult with the surgeon who operated on the wrist last year. ... CF Jacoby Ellsbury was out of the lineup a day after straining his right hamstring. UP NEXT Blue Jays: RHP Drew Hutchinson (10-12) takes the mound in the finale of the season series between the teams. Yankees: Masahiro Tanaka (12-4) is scheduled to make his first start since July 8. Hes has been out with a partial tear of an elbow ligament and is trying to avoid Tommy John surgery. LEANING LEFT The Blue Jays started a lineup against Capuano with two switch-hitters, Dioner Navarro and Dalton Pompey, and seven righties. 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