Post by lingzi on Sept 27, 2012 1:12:48 GMT -5
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. Lance Alworth Chargers Jersey . -- Instead of leading the field to the green flag in the Daytona 500, Dale Earnhardt Jr. will start from the back of the pack after wrecking his primary race car in practice. Earnhardt still could win Sundays season-opening race -- hell just have his work much harder to do so. Earnhardt mangled his pole-winning car in practice Wednesday, colliding with five-time defending NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson and sliding into a wall. "Weve got plenty of race cars," Earnhardt said. "I aint worried about how fast well be or whether well be as good. "Well be fine. But it never feels good tearing them up." Earnhardt was pushing Johnson, his Hendrick Motorsports teammate, in a two-car draft when Johnson had to back off the gas for slower-moving traffic in front of him. Earnhardt plowed into Johnsons back bumper and nearly spun him out, but Johnson saved his car from skidding. A second pack of cars led by Martin Truex Jr. closed quickly on Earnhardts bumper, causing the No. 88 Chevrolet to spin across the track and into the inside wall. Johnson said he had to slow down suddenly when a pack of three cars ahead of them on the track -- driven by Robby Gordon, Michael Waltrip and David Gilliland -- drifted high from the bottom of the track toward the top. "I was running out of space, and I thought that hole was going to close, and I lifted, and I got turned sideways from behind," Johnson said. The accident was largely a function of the two-car drafting style that has become the fastest way around Daytona International Speedway this year. Working together, two cars are so much faster than a single car or a larger pack that Earnhardt says other drivers have to watch the closing speed of the cars coming up behind them. "Youve got to pay attention out there, man," Earnhardt said. "You want to come out here and race, youve got to pay attention." Hendrick Motorsports immediately pulled out a backup car for Earnhardt. He will have to forfeit the top starting spot in his qualifying race Thursday and Sundays season opener. Earnhardts wreck wasnt the only big development in an eventful Wednesday at Daytona, where NASCAR continued to tinker with its rules. The track opened with NASCAR officials ordering a change to the restrictor plate designed to back speeds off the 206 mile-an-hour mark reached earlier in Speedweeks. The move to a smaller plate is expected to slow cars by two or three miles an hour when they are drafting. Waltrip topped 206 m.p.h. in last weekends exhibition Budweiser Shootout. "I dont think you are going to hear one driver complain about that because it isnt going to affect the racing," defending Daytona 500 champion Jamie McMurray said. "You really cant tell in the car, when everyone is moving the same speed." The Nationwide series also made a move to reduce speeds, changing the size of the tapered spacer that serves a similar function as a restrictor plate in the Cup series. The changes have all come since Saturday nights race, which had a very different style of racing than the big drafting packs everyone had grown accustomed to at Daytona and Talladega. New pavement at Daytona created a smooth, fast surface, and teams have capitalized by figuring out that a two-car draft is the fastest way around. Reviews on the new style have differed, and NASCAR issued two technical changes following qualifying Sunday designed to limit the amount of time two cars can stay hooked together. Four-time NASCAR champion Jeff Gordon believes fans simply need to accept the new style of racing. "I think there is some very exciting and entertaining aspects of it," Gordon said. "Ive had a lot of people have mixed emotions and several people have said to me, Hey, I thought that was pretty cool. It wasnt what Im used to, but its pretty cool. "So, I just dont think youre going to be able to change that." Meanwhile, Earnhardt will have to figure out how to work his way through the field. It is the third car Earnhardt has used during Daytona Speedweeks. He also wrecked one in last weekends exhibition Budweiser Shootout. The team will repair the Shootout car, and it will become his backup car for Sunday. "I didnt feel good about getting out there practising, and didnt think I needed to be out there practising," Earnhardt said. "I just had a bad feeling about it. "We come running up on some guys that didnt have their heads on straight and got into an accident." Matt Cassel Jersey . Kirilenko, who recently signed a 2-year, US$20 million deal with the Minnesota Timberwolves, also had nine rebounds as Russia easily took care of China its second defeat in Group B. Emmanuel Sanders Womens Jersey . 9 Duke survived a huge comeback effort from eighth-ranked Wake Forest to pick up a much-needed 101-91 victory over the Demon Deacons in a high-scoring ACC clash. Eric Weddle Jersey . The Spurs said Oberto felt abnormal sensations in his chest on Thursday and an EKG exam confirmed atrial fibrillation -- a type of abnormal heart rhythm. LaMarr Woodley Jersey . The Red Wings entered last season off of back-to-back Stanley Cup Finals appearances, winning a championship in 2008 before losing a rematch with the Pittsburgh Penguins the following year. They then took a step backwards in 2009-10, having a string of eight straight Central Division titles snapped by the Chicago Blackhawks before losing in the second round of the playoffs to the San Jose Sharks. Mike Wallace Womens Jersey . Eventually, they handled the Kings challenge. Dwyane Wade had 30 points and 10 assists, Mario Chalmers and Chris Bosh each scored 20 points and the NBA-leading Heat stretched their winning streak to seven games with a 120-108 win over the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday night.Bobby Sanguinetti scored two goals and added an assist and Matt Duchene potted a pair of his own as the Brampton Battalion cruised to a 6-1 victory over the Ottawa 67s Sunday afternoon. With the victory the Battalion (36-20-1-3) extended its home win-streak to a franchise-best seven games. Kody Musselman opened the scoring for Brampton 3:06 into the game, fooling goaltender Adam Courchaine on a wrist shot from in close. Sanguinetti then made it 2-0 on the power play at 11:02 of the opening period, firing a shot that touched inside the post before crossing the goal line. Sanguinettis second of the afternoon, also with the man advantage, gave the Battalion a 3-0 advantage after 20 minutes. Michael Latta scored for Ottawa (26-28-2-3) early in the second period to cut the lead to 3-1. But Mike Lomas restored Bramptons three-goal lead midway through the second. Duchene scored his first goal late in the second, with his second coming in the third period. Elsewhere in the OHL, it was: Guelph 4 Sarnia 3; Kingston 7 Peterborough 4; Niagara 4 Sudbuury 1; Sault Ste. Ryan Tannehill Womens Jersey. Marie 3 London 2 (OT) and Kitchener 6 Erie 1. At Brampton, Ont., Bryan Pitton was effective between the pipes for the Battalion, turning aside 30 of 31 shots. Courchaine and Chris Perugini combined to stop 40 shots for Ottawa. Storm 4 Sting 3 At Guelph, Ont., Brandon Buck scored twice to lead the Storm (29-21-5-4) to a win over the Sting (32-25-2-0). Frontenacs 7 Petes 4 At Kingston, Ont., Bobby Mignardi scored twice and added three assists, while Kyle Paige also scored a pair and got two assists as the Frontenacs (18-37-0-2) beat the Petes (24-32-0-3). IceDogs 4 Wolves 1 At St. Catharines, Ont., Luca Caputi had a goal and two assists as the IceDogs (35-23-0-1) defeated the Wolves (15-42-2-2). Greyhounds 3 Knights 2 (OT) At London, Ont, James Livingston scored the shootout-winner as the Greyhounds (39-15-2-4) edged the Knights (33-21-4-2). Rangers 6 Otters 1 At Erie, Pa., Justin Azevedo scored a goal and added an assist as the Rangers (47-9-1-2) beat the Otters (13-42-2-2). ' ' '