RICHMOND, Va.
[b]A.J. Derby Dolphins Jersey[/b] . -- 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."
[b]Custom Miami Dolphins Jerseys[/b] . Needing to bulk up on both sides of the line, the Falcons agreed to terms with guard Jon Asamoah, defensive end Tyson Jackson and defensive tackle Paul Soliai. Asamoah and Jackson played last season with Kansas City, where Asamoah lost his starting job.
[b]Mike Gesicki Jersey[/b] . Simona Halep of Romania claimed the fifth title of her career by beating Samantha Stosur of Australia 7-6 (1), 6-2 in the womens final. After trading sets, Gasquet trailed 4-3 in the decider but broke back to 4-4 in a game that went to seven deuces with Kukushkin constantly failing on his forehand shots.SAN DIEGO -- The NFL acknowledged that referees erred in not penalizing the San Diego Chargers for an illegal formation on a missed 41-yard field goal attempt by Ryan Succop of the Kansas City Chiefs with 4 seconds left in regulation on Sunday. Succop was wide right on the kick, and the Chargers went on to win 27-24 in overtime to claim the AFCs final playoff spot. The Pittsburgh Steelers would have been in the post-season had Kansas City won the game. San Diego lined up with seven men on one side of the snapper, and NFL rules state no more than six players can be on the line of scrimmage on either side of the snapper. The NFL said in a statement Monday that the penalty should have been called by referee Bill Leavys crew, moving the ball 5 yards closer to the end zone and giving Succop another attempt at the game-winning field goal. Succop was 15 of 16 this season from within 40 yards. The NFL did not say whether Leavys crew would be disciplined. "We misaligned on it. Im not going to deny it," Chargers rookie coach Mike McCoy said Monday. "But hey, those calls all balance themselves out over the year. Theyre part of the game. Were all human. ... Things happen for a reason. We didnt do it on purpose, I can tell you that." Chiefs coach Andy Reid actually called his final timeout after the missed field goal and tried to convince the officiating crew of the illegal formation. But because illeggal formations are not reviewable, Reid had no other recourse and the play stood.
[b]Albert Wilson Dolphins Jersey[/b]. "I called a timeout right there. That was for a reason," Reid said. "I couldnt challenge, all I had was a timeout, so maybe theyd take a peek and read through the timeout and see what took place, but listen, human error. ... Theres not much more you can say." The outcome of the game didnt have any bearing on the Chiefs, who rested most of their starters. Kansas City was already assured of the No. 5 seed in the AFC playoffs and will head to Indianapolis on Saturday for a rematch of a game won two weeks ago by the Colts. The result had significant repercussions for the Chargers and Steelers, though. San Diego (9-7) earned the final AFC playoff spot when Nick Novak kicked a 36-yard field goal in overtime to win the game. The Chargers will visit Cincinnati in the wild-card round Sunday. The Steelers (8-8), meanwhile, would have claimed the playoff spot through a series of tiebreakers had Kansas City won, and Pittsburgh coach Mike Tomlin even said Monday he knew the Chargers were lined up illegally before the field goal attempt. "What transpired yesterday was unfortunate for our hopes moving forward. Well have to find a way to accept that and move forward," Tomlin said. "Im not going to lose any sleep over something that happened in a stadium that we werent even in."
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