chance to punctuate his strong second half in the final game of | Forum
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Mar 5 '19
Jeff Gordon had a moment in practice Saturday at Darlington Raceway that hed never experienced before. Randy Johnson Jersey . At least not like this. It was a little bit of shock, a little bit of savoring the moment.Im out there running laps, and I had a moment where I was like, Wow, Im out here at Darlington. What in the world am I doing here at Darlington? Gordon said Saturday afternoon. But it was a cool moment. I was excited about it.So things are going well. Im having fun here.Having fun at the track was part of the reason Gordon will run just three more races while Alex Bowman will do eight races in place of Dale Earnhardt Jr. (concussion) for the remainder of the season.Its no surprise Gordon, who has competed in five races in place of Earnhardt while Bowman has been in two, agreed to do more short-track races as he will run the 0.75-mile Richmond, 1-mile Dover and 0.5-mile Martinsville tracks.Bowman, 23, will take care of all the 1.5-mile tracks left -- Chicagoland, Charlotte, Kansas, Texas and Homestead -- as well as the 1-milers New Hampshire and Phoenix and the superspeedway race at Talladega.Gordon said he had some conflicts with some of the intermediate-track races, so Hendrick Motorsports opted for Bowman to take care of all of them. Bowman also did the race earlier this year at New Hampshire and it made sense for him to go back there a second time.The four-time Cup champion Gordon had come out of retirement to substitute for Earnhardt but never really wanted to be in the car full time on a substitute basis. When Earnhardt learned a couple weeks ago he would be out the rest of the year, the team took about 10 days to set the schedule for the remainder of the season.Its a combination of whats best for the team, whats best for the sponsors and sort of Juniors wishes as well, Gordon said. Hes big on Alex Bowman, and the team has really enjoyed having him in the car.We want to make sure our sponsors are getting everything out of it as well. ...I was just happy to do whatever they wanted me to do.Gordon remains an equity owner at Hendrick and his time in the car will help the team as it seeks to improve performance.It also will give Gordon an opportunity to run Martinsville again, a track where he has nine career wins, including a victory in November 2015 that vaulted him into having a shot at the title at Homestead.When you leave there as a winner, you kind of dont want to mess that up, Gordon said. But its also a track that I like a lot, and I feel confident at.Gordon also knows that it could be possible the Hendrick No. 88 team is still eligible for the owners championship, although it enters this weekend at Richmond at 24 points behind the current cutoff. If Ryan Newman is penalized, though, that could cut the gap between the No. 88 and Newmans Richard Childress Racing team for the last spot -- the owners (team) championship is determined in the same format as the drivers Chase.Whether they advance into the owners championship or not, Gordon will view this as a valuable experience. The Hendrick organization is split a little bit into two two-car teams, with the Jimmie Johnson and Earnhardt teams sharing one shop and the Chase Elliott-Kasey Kahne teams sharing the other. This is Gordons first experience working with the 48-88 shop.Gordon has finished from 11th to 14th in four of his five starts. He still seeks his first top-10 of 2016.Its really been a great experience for me because Ive spent so much time with the 24 team over the last 23 years, that going into the shop of the 48-88 guys, spending time with [crew chief Greg Ives] and their team, its been great for my new role at Hendrick, Gordon said.Its really allowed me to bond with those guys as well as the bond that I have with my [former 24] guys and see kind of how the teams work separately and together.With Earnhardt out the rest of the year, the Hendrick team has the challenge of keeping focus while its driver remains sidelined.This team cares about Junior so much, Gordon said. They love him. They want him back. But theyre handling it amazing. They really are.Theyre in a really tough situation because not only is Junior not coming back this year, but theyve got two different drivers theyve got to work with. ... Their demeanor and attitude about it has been phenomenal. Ketel Marte Jersey . LOUIS -- Roman Polak was celebrating even before Alexander Steen scored the winning goal in Saturdays 4-2 win over the Carolina Hurricanes. Patrick Corbin Jersey .com) - The Montreal Canadiens will try to halt their longest losing streak of the season when they host the struggling New York Islanders in tonights clash at the Bell Centre. http:///...rad-boxberger-jersey .ca looks back at the stories and moments that made the year memorable. PHILADELPHIA -- After the Mets clinched a playoff berth and home field for the National League wild-card game on Saturday with a 5-3 victory over the Phillies, all eyes shift to longtime Phillies slugger Ryan Howard on Sunday afternoon.Howard said hes not taking anything extra in right now and is only focused on playing baseball, but even his manager knows thats hardly likely.He says hes not but I think hes got to, Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said. Its just human nature. Tomorrows going to be fun to watch.Howards two-run homer to tie the game in the fifth inning against the Mets on Saturday could be Howards last. It moved him into 67th place on the career home run list list, tying him with Jim Rice and Frank Howard with 382.It was cool, Howard said. Being able to hit the home run and tying the game up. Tried to spoil it for them a little bit today but they got us and youve gotta congratulate those guys because theyve scratched and clawed.Mackanin said he hopes his first baseman has just a little more left in him for what could be his final game in Phillies pinstripes.Hopefully hell hit another one tomorrow, he said. Hes been swinging the bat well in the second half to have 25 home runs and almost 60 RBI. Hes been phenomenal.The Phillies will celebrate Howards career before the first pitch tomorrow, but the 36-year old first baseman says its just another game.Tomorrow is Sunday, Howard said when asked about tomorrows game. Im just going to show up. Ill deffinitely take it in. Yasmany Tomas Jersey. I think itll be something cool.The Mets are overjoyed to have the burden of home-field advantage wrapped up. Jay Bruce knows just how important it is to have secured that heading into Sunday.Home field means a lot, he said. I think home field means a whole lot. I played with Jim Edmonds in 2010 and he said that one play, one pitch can change the outlook of the whole thing and its so true. I think we have a group of guys who are ready for it.The Mets are undecided as to who starts Sunday as it appears they might save right-hander Noah Syndergaard (14-9, 2.60 ERA) for Wednesdays wild-card game. The Phillies send right-hander Jerad Eickhoff (11-14, 3.72) to the hill Sunday.Mets manager Terry Collins may not put Syndergaard on the hill very long, or at all Sunday.We are going to be able to save Noah (Sundergaard), Collins said. Im not sure were going to pitch him, he might just throw side instead. I just thought it might be good to face some hitters for him tomorrow.Eickhoffs start last Tuesday was cut short because of rain as he only pitched four innings against the Braves, but hell have a chance to punctuate his strong second half in the final game of the season.Phillies shortstop Freddy Galvis, who left Fridays game with right hamstring tightness, missed Saturdays game and his season is likely over. ' ' '
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