Ihr seit dran » Thursday after coming off the bench in his first two games

KANSAS CITY, Kan. - The first sign that Kansas Speedway was going to be a heartbreaker for Hendrick Motorsports should have come during qualifying when Jimmie Johnson inexplicably spun and earned one of his worst starting spots since 2005.Even that couldnt prepare the organization for the trouble it encountered during Sundays race.Johnson was involved in an early accident and finished 40th, which dropped the six-time and defending NASCAR champion to last in the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship standings. It was Johnsons worst Chase finish since the 2005 season finale.It only got worse from there for the Hendrick cars. Dale Earnhardt Jr. had a tire problem while leading and hit the wall, causing him to finish 39th. Then Kasey Kahne also hit the wall — he too believed it was caused by a tire problem — and finished 22nd.Even Jeff Gordon, who finished a team-best 14th, had a problem. A tire got away from his pit crew during a stop, earning a penalty for the four-time series champion.A lot of people had trouble, so today was a real survival day, Gordon said.But Kahne, Earnhardt and Johnson are now at the bottom of the 12-driver field, and four will be eliminated in two weeks after Talladega. It means theyve got to be above average Saturday night at Charlotte to avoid having their championship hopes depend on Talladega.A win earns a driver an automatic berth into the next round, and on Sunday it went to Joey Logano, who picked up his fifth victory of the season.Johnson wants to also earn that automatic berth.It just means weve got to be on our game at Charlotte and Talladega, Johnson said. Certainly need Ws, I would assume, going forward.Here are some other major developments from the fourth race in the 10-race Chase:LOGANO SURGES: With his win on Sunday at Kansas, Logano once again proved hes going to be tough to beat in this race for the Sprint Cup.Hes won in both rounds of the Chase to stay alive in the elimination format, and his career-best five wins this season is tied with teammate Brad Keselowski for most in the series.Getting us to the next round, thats awesome, Logano said. Im having a blast this year, and weve got a real shot to win this championship. I feel like were one of the teams to beat.MIXED BAG: Although Keselowski visited his teammate in Victory Lane, the Team Penske group had mixed emotions at the end of the race.He was also felled by a tire problem and finished 36th, lamenting after that the Goodyear issues turned the race into a game of Russian Roulette and it was our turn at the gun.Team owner Roger Penske said the focus must now turn to Charlotte and not what happened to Keselowski at Kansas.These races, when theyre over, theyre over, Penske said. Obviously well do whatever we can to help him. The whole team will. But the thing we cant do is make a big right or left turn here. Weve got to take on the same track were on.HARVICK NOT HAPPY: Kevin Harvick once again had one of the fastest cars on the track and nothing to show for it at the end of the race.He led 61 laps and was third when he headed to pit road with what he believed was a flat tire. His Stewart-Haas Racing crew found nothing wrong with the tires, but the damage was done: Harvick had dropped to 23rd, was out of contention for the victory and had to charge his way back to a 12th-place finish. He apologized to his crew over his radio.I thought I had a flat tire and pitted because you see all the trouble that is going on, he said after the race, explaining his car simply didnt turn.LARSON, AGAIN: Kyle Larson continued to creep closer and closer to his first career Sprint Cup Series victory with his second-place finish.Larson, a rookie who did not qualify for the Chase, has finished second in two of the last three races and was in a late battle for the win at Chicago before finishing third. Hes not finished lower than sixth since the Chase began.I definitely feel like Ive been running a lot better than what I thought I would to start the season, but I thought I would make the Chase, too, Larson said. I think midpoint through the season, I noticed I was running better than what our goals were and raised those goals into top 10s, and now the way weve been running, we want to be top-5 every week.BIG DAY FOR BUSCH: Kyle Busch has seen his championship hopes come to a crashing halt many times at Kansas, a track that he simply couldnt get a grasp of in the Cup Series.He finally ended his unlucky streak Sunday, a day after he won the Nationwide Series race, with a career-best third-place finish. It gave Busch a top-five finish at every active track on the Cup schedule, and moved him to second in the Chase standings.I won today, I just didnt get champagne and a trophy, he said. To get through Kansas feels nice. Nike Vapormax Miehet . Philbin said Thursday he wants players to treat one another with civility and he wont tolerate anything less. In taking questions for the first time since Ted Wells released his report into the bullying scandal that rocked the league, Philbin made it clear things would be cleaned up. Vapormax Flyknit 3 Suomi . The Calgary Stampeders running back received the West Division nomination for the CFLs top individual award Thursday in voting by the Football Reporters of Canada and leagues eight head coaches. http://www.vapormaxsuomi.com/ . Tony Parker had 33 points and nine assists and San Antonio never trailed in a resounding 116-92 victory over Portland, bullying the younger Trail Blazers in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals. Vapormax Plus Ale . - Benched Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Josh Freeman said he has Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and voluntarily entered the NFL substance abuse program more than a year ago after mistakenly taking a medication to treat the condition. Nike Vapormax Plus Suomi . 1. CAVALIERS: At 19-20, theyre a mess. Watched the game Tuesday night vs. Phoenix and their defence was poor (107 points and 52 per cent for Suns). Where is the high level play from Kyrie Irving and LeBron James (13 turnovers!)? Kevin Love looks like a man thats wondering what he got himself into.(SportsNetwork.com) - The Milwaukee Bucks will try to get another win on this homestand Thursday night when they welcome the Utah Jazz to the Bradley Center. The Bucks are 1-1 on this current residency, which will end Saturday against the Detroit Pistons. Milwaukee toppled the New York Knicks to start the stay, then fell to the Toronto Raptors on Monday. Toronto prevailed 92-89, although the Bucks made valiant efforts to try and steal the win. Milwaukee took a one-point lead midway through the fourth, but the Raptors countered with a 7-0 run. Three more times the Bucks got within a point, but couldnt get over the hump. Khris Middletons layup with 49 seconds left made it 88-87, but late in the shot clock at the other end, Terrence Ross hit a baseline jumper. Brandon Knight then got a difficult layup to fall and the Bucks allowed Ross to get behind the defense for an uncontested dunk with 15 seconds to play. Knight had a clean look from 3 to tie the game after a terrific pick by Ersan Ilyasova, but it was off the mark and Kyle Lowry secured the rebound. He missed two free throws to leave the door open, but O.J. Mayo lost the ball trying to rush it up the court as the game ended. We felt good, but we have to get better at our pace and rebounding the ball, said Bucks coach Jason Kidd. Knight had 20 poiints, five rebounds and five assists in the setback, posting at least those numbers for the third straight game.dddddddddddd Ilyasova chipped in 14 in a reserve role. Ilyasova is expected to return to the starting lineup Thursday after coming off the bench in his first two games back from a long absence due to a concussion. Mayo added 13 in the loss. The Jazz are 0-2 on their road trip, which ends on Thursday. Utah fell to the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday, then lost to the Cleveland Cavaliers, 106-92, on Wednesday. Were not a great offensive team, and when some of our best offensive players have off nights its difficult for us to score, Jazz coach Quinn Snyder said. They scored 40 points in the first half three days after getting just 27 in the first 24 minutes of an 89-69 loss at San Antonio, their worst offensive game of the season. Enes Kanter had 24 points and 17 rebounds to lead the Jazz, who have dropped five of their last six. Gordon Hayward added 14, followed by 12 apiece from Derrick Favors and Elijah Millsap, and 10 from Elliot Williams. Utahs starting backcourt of Joe Ingles and Trey Burke combined for just five points on 2-for-14 shooting. The two squads have split the last four meetings with the home team victorious. The Bucks are 4-1 in their last five as the host in this series. ' ' '