CHARLOTTE, N.
Hydro Flask Clearance .C. - Jimmie Johnson believes NASCARs new championship format produced the correct champion and a Ryan Newman victory would have been tough to swallow for the sport.Johnson began the season as the six-time and defending champion, but he was eliminated from title contention in the revamped Chase for the Sprint Cup format. A 16-driver field was whittled down to four for Sundays finale, where Kevin Harvick beat Newman, Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano to claim his first title.I feel like Kevin winning was the right thing when you look at the winners and the dominant cars throughout the year, Johnson said Thursday.Harvick had to win the race to wrap up the title, and found himself in a late shootout with Newman for the victory. Newman, in his first season for Richard Childress Racing, advanced to the finale through consistency after a winless season.The Chase format this year was touted by NASCAR chairman Brian France as one that would put an emphasis on winning, and Harvick won three Chase races, including the final two. But, he nearly lost the title to Newman, who finished second in the finale. The highest-finishing driver Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway was guaranteed the title.Ryan had every right in the world to be the champion, the rules were laid out that way, said Johnson, who was eliminated after the second round, or the sixth of 10 races. But if (Newman) wins the championship, I think that would have been tough to swallow for the sport. Its not taking anything away from Childress or Ryan, they had an awesome year and collected a ton of points. Theres some danger for the sport with this format.Johnson said he discussed the new format with France at the start of the season. He believed, based on performance during the regular season, the finale should have been between Harvick, Team Penske drivers Logano and Brad Keselowski, and Jeff Gordon, his Hendrick Motorsports teammate. Those four drivers combined for 12 wins in the first 26 races, and eight wins in the 10 Chase races.But Gordon and Keselowski were both eliminated after the third round, and Gordon last week called on NASCAR to set a separate points system for the Chase drivers. Gordon felt it was unfair for the Chase drivers to be scored against the entire 43-car field, and they should only be scored against the Chase drivers.Still, drivers have praised the new elimination system, with Newman saying the intensity of the sport has gone through the roof, because of the Chase. The high stakes produced drama on and off the track, including a pair of brawls in in the final seven races.The system is fine. Its exciting. Every race is exciting, Hamlin said. Theres not been one boring race. This is the best thing thats happened to this sport in a really long time.But Johnson said attendance and television ratings are the true measure. Although attendance was improved at many tracks this season, TV ratings were flat. The 10-race Chase drew an average of 4.41 million viewers for ESPN/ABC, and a 2.7 rating. Last season drew an average of 4.5 million viewers and a 2.8 rating.We need to do something to drive the viewership up, said Johnson, who supports heat races capped by a final A main-style race slotted into a television window.Maybe we qualify on Saturday and thats televised, and then run some heat races and a feature on Sunday, in a four-hour time window, he said. It sticks to our roots, sticks with what weve always had and done, gives some natural pauses for the show for the social element at the track. I think that would be a pretty entertaining format.
Water Bottle Hydro Flask Coffee 12 oz Coffee Lemon . The club says its first-choice centre back "underwent medical tests on Wednesday morning" which confirmed he has injured his right hamstring. The injury was caused in the second minute of Tuesdays 4-1 league win over Real Sociedad in the Camp Nou when teammate Sergio Busquets accidentally struck Mascherano just above the knee with an outstretched boot.
Hydro Flask Water Bottle Australia . - The Pittsburgh Pirates plan on keeping promising left fielder Starling Marte playing alongside National League MVP Andrew McCutchen for years to come.Mark Reynolds and the St. Louis Cardinals have agreed to a one-year contract.The team announced the move Thursday night.The 31-year-old Reynolds hit 22 home runs last season in his only year with Milwaukee. He batted .196 with 45 RBIs in 130 games.Reynolds made 100 starts for the Brewers — 72 at first base, 29 at third and one in the outfield.The righty-hitting Reynolds figures to boost the bench for the two-time defending NL Central champions.
Water Bottle Hydro Flask 24 oz Standard Mouth Pacific. . Matt Adams starts at first base for St. Louis and Matt Carpenter is at third.Reynolds has hit 224 home runs in eight major league seasons with Arizona, Baltimore, Cleveland, the New York Yankees and the Brewers. He also strikes out a lot, and four times has led the league in that category.Reynolds is one of six major leaguers who has hit at least 20 home runs in each of his last seven seasons. ' ' '