Dein erstes Forum » scored five in the sixth off Winnipeg starter Nick

RICHMOND, Va. -- Jeff Gordon will try to race his way into NASCARs playoffs from the pole position. The four-time series champion turned a track-record qualifying lap of 130.599 mph at Richmond International Raceway on Friday night to win his 73rd career pole position, and his first this season. "I can breathe now," Gordon joked after seeing the time hold up. His lap pushed Kurt Busch to the outside of the front row, meaning the tension win be palpable once the green flag drops Saturday night for the 400-lap race around the 0.75-mile, D-shaped oval. Busch is 10th in points, and the top 10 after Saturday nights race earn automatic berths in the 10-race playoffs to finish the season. Gordon is 11th, six points behind, and needs to pass Busch or one of the other drivers now in the top 10 to assure himself a berth in the Chase for the championship. In all, 10 drivers are fighting for the last five spots. "Theres no doubt we all recognize whats on the line here," Gordon said. The pole extended to 21 Gordons NASCAR-record string of consecutive seasons with a pole position, breaking a tie with David Pearson, and gave him the No. 1 pit stall on the front stretch at RIR. "I didnt think it was going to come this year. Ill be honest," Gordon said of the top starting spot. "Qualifying has not been very good for me and for our team this year. Very proud of this one. Boy, it comes at a great time. ... We know how important that number one pit stall is and starting up front." Busch, the 2004 series champion, rallied after being 19th-fastest in practice, possible with the help of cloud cover that moved in front of the sun just as he was wheeling onto the track for his run. "We will take the cloud cover and we will take those adjustments we made," Busch said, adding that "we just threw a couple of things at it, and it stuck. ... That lap came out of nowhere. Awesome lap." Defending series champion Brad Keselowski, who is 15th in points and still has a remote chance of racing his way into the Chase, will start third, followed by Clint Bowyer and Matt Kenseth. Bowyer and Kenseth are among the drivers already locked into the Chase, meaning all eyes will be on the front once the race starts, with Gordon and Busch no doubt battling to lead the first lap, or any lap, top gain a bonus point that could prove critical as the race winds down under the lights. "It depends on what everybodys attitude and goals are," Gordon said of the tone that could be set right away. "This is a long race. Youve got to be smart. We found that out last year." Gordon arrived at RIR last year still needing to lock up a spot in the playoffs, went a lap down early on and kept battling. He eventually rallied to finish second and made it into the Chase field. Busch, too, said getting to the finish in good shape is what will matter most. "We want to make sure we pace ourselves, do the right thing," he said. "We are feeling good about this. I love these challenges and right now, Gordon and I are one-two." Vans Old Skool Black Sale . "If we could score a six in every game, obviously I would be pretty excited," Jones said. "Its a long week but a short week. Its a pretty short round robin from what were used to so you dont want to get behind the eight ball early. Cheap Vans Shoes . Certainly not Monday night. George Hill took care of the early work, scoring a season-high 26 points, and Paul George closed it out by scoring 11 of his 26 points during a decisive second-half stretch that finally allowed Indiana to pull away from Minnesota 98-84 for yet another win. http://www.vansshoesclearancesale.com/vans-old-skool-sale.html .com) - Delon Wright scored 17 points and No. Vans Sk8 Hi Clearance .The other side of the Bruins special teams unit delivered in the end.Gregory Campbell netted the game-winner with less than 10 minutes remaining and the Bruins fended off a late four-minute San Jose power play to earn a wild 5-3 win over the Sharks. Vans Shoes Outlet . In a pregame tribute commemorating his final contest at Coors Field on Wednesday night, Helton caught the ceremonial first pitch from his daughter with his wife, younger daughter and good friend Peyton Manning watching from the field.For awhile it looked like video-game baseball: The Winnipeg Goldeyes just kept hitting and running and scoring and it didnt matter who was pitching, the Kansas City T-Bones couldnt stop them. When the dust (pixels?) cleared at Shaw Park on Thursday night, the Goldeyes had set a team home record with 25 hits – 20 of which were singles – and blasted the T-Bones 18-10. Ray Sadler belted a homer and had three hits, while Reggie Abercrombie, Casey Haerther and Donnie Webb each had had four hits and Brock Bond, Luis Alen and Ryan Pineda all had three-hit nights. Pineda and Bond each had three RBI, while Sadler, Haerther and Alen had two each and Webb and Kuhn had one each. The Goldeyes scored two runs as a result of wild pitches and another on a passed ball. Sadler, Abercrombie and Bond each scored three runs while Kuhn, Haerther, Webb and Alen all scored twice. With the victory, the Goldeyes swept back-to-back series at home from the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks and Kansas City. The Goldeyes have now won eight straight games (seven straight at home), 11 of their last 12, are 31-14 on the season and remain at least 6 1/2 games ahead of Fargo and the St. Paul Saints in the race for first in the American Associations North Division. "Ive been struggling, so Im just trying to put a good swing on the ball," said Sadler. "I havent been getting many of my pitches to hit. During this series, it seems theyve been busting me inside all the time so on the home run, I just looked for something inside then tried to get my hands in and put a good swing on it. I didnt know it was out when I hit, but when I heard the crowd, thats when I knew." After going down one-two-three in the first, the Goldeyes opened it up in the second. Sadler led off withh a solo homer and then Donnie Webb singled, Abercrombie singled, Brock Bond singled and Luis Alen singled to drive in Webb.dddddddddddd Then Pineda singled to drive in Abercrombie and Bond. Tyler Kuhn was safe on a fielders choice and then Haerther singled to drive in Alen. A passed ball then scored Kuhn and the Goldeyes had put up a six spot in the second. The Fish scored one in the third as Pineda drove home Bond and then, in the fourth, Winnipeg added three more as Haerther singled, Sadler singled, Abercrombie singled and Bond singled to drive home Haerther and Sadler. Alen then singled to drive home Abercrombie. The Goldeyes scored two more in the fifth with three straight doubles: With one out, Haerther doubled, Sadler doubled to score Haerther and Webb doubled to score Sadler. In the eighth, the Goldeyes added six more runs. The T-Bones scored five in the sixth off Winnipeg starter Nick Hernandez and five in the ninth off reliever Kyle Bellamy. Hernandez (5-0, 3.88 ERA) picked up the win for Winnipeg, while K.C. starter Kyle Devore (2-2, 4.37 ERA) suffered the loss. There was no save, but Taylor Sewitt threw 2.2 innings of outstanding scoreless relief for the Fish. The Goldeyes will now head out onto the road for a three-game series in Fargo. Matt Jackson (6-2, 2.98 ERA) will get the start on Friday night for Winnipeg. Fargo manager Doug Simunic has yet to name his starter. Fridays game can be heard live with Steve Schuster at the microphone beginning with the pre-game show at 6:30 p.m. on The Jewel 101 (100.7 on your dial). The Goldeyes will return home to open three-game series with the Sioux City Explorers next Tuesday night. It will be the first game of a homestand in which the Goldeyes will play 11 games in nine days. ' ' '