FORT WORTH, Texas -- After the rain, Carl Edwards will be racing for a championship in NASCARs season finale.Jimmie Johnson was already locked into one of the title-contending spots at Homestead.So that leaves two spots for the final four in the deciding Sprint Cup race Nov. 20. And there are six drivers -- half of them Edwards teammates with Joe Gibbs Racing -- with one more chance to claim them next Sunday at Phoenix.Edwards got the victory he so desperately needed to advance when he won a rain-shortened race at Texas. It was cut by 41 laps because of rain late Sunday night after the start was delayed nearly six hours.I feel like this is what we needed to do. We were able to do that. Theres a lot of pride in that, Edwards said. To be able to run like we did tonight, for the pit crew to perform the way they did, its really great. I think its a testament to the team that Coach Gibbs put together.Gibbs drivers Kyle Busch, Matt Kenseth and Denny Hamlin are still in contention for the final spots. They go to Phoenix third through fifth in the points standings, though separated by only two points.Next week will be super competitive, Gibbs said. For us and our guys, I know all three of them want this. They really want it bad.Team Penske driver Joey Logano, who led a race-high 178 laps at Texas before finishing second, is listed second in the points with a tiebreaker over Kyle Bush. Kenseth is only one point back, with Hamlin one behind him.Kevin Harvick is sixth in points, 18 back, but goes to Phoenix where he won his track-record eighth race in March and has won six of the last eight.We will just go there and do what we always do and race as hard as we can, Harvick said.If one of the remaining six contenders doesnt win at Phoenix, the final two spots will be determined by points.Harvick and Kurt Busch, his Stewart-Haas teammate who is 34 points back in eighth, are both likely in the position of needing a victory at Phoenix for a title chance.That is pretty much the situation Edwards faced when he got to Texas eighth in points among the drivers still eligible for the championship, a week after a cut tire and crash led to a 36th-place finish at Martinsville.Winning a rain-shortened race provided a bit of vindication for Edwards.Last years race at Phoenix was delayed nearly seven hours as a series of storms passed through the area, and then once it started at night, it was called after 218 laps. Edwards finished fifth, leaving him five points out of the final spot for the Chase finale.This rain was a lot more welcome than that rain, Edwards said. That was frustrating.Edwards took the lead on lap 258 after beating Martin Truex Jr.?off pit road, and led the rest of the way.Light rain was already falling and plenty more was on the radar around the track, when the caution came out with 45 laps remaining of the originally scheduled 334-lap race.All cars were brought to pit road four laps later, and it was only a few more minutes before NASCAR declared the race over and official after 293 laps. It could have taken two hours or more to dry to track, even though it ended up being only a brief shower.Some other things from Texas
RIVE FOR FIVE SHORT: Johnson had won the previous four fall races at Texas, but finished 11th after starting 19th.LONG GAP: Edwards had last won at Texas in 2008, when he swept both Cup races at the track. Those were among his nine wins overall that season when he finished second in points. Three years later, Edwards was the season runner-up again even though he matched Tony Stewart for the most points. Stewart won the championship on a tiebreaker since he had five wins to Edwards one.UP NEXT: An elimination race Sunday at Phoenix. Assuming Harvick wins again, the playoff picture is realistically five drivers racing for the final slot in the finale. Martinas Rankin Super Bowl Jersey. -- Former San Diego Chargers safety Paul Oliver was found dead at his Atlanta-area home Tuesday night, and a medical examiner said Wednesday that the ex-player committed suicide. Bashaud Breeland Super Bowl Jersey. Wilson hit Schenn from behind during Tuesday nights game in Philadelphia, earning a five-minute major for charging and a game misconduct. He has a phone hearing with the department of player safety, which limits any potential suspension to five or fewer games. http://www.officialkcchiefspro.com/Dorian-odaniel-chiefs-jersey/. The native of Mont-Tremblant, Que., captured a World Cup downhill event Saturday, his second this year and fifth career victory on the circuit. Len Dawson Super Bowl Jersey. Each of Houstons starters scored in double figures as the Rockets improved to 2-0 against the Spurs this season, with both victories coming on the road. They also moved within 3 1/2 games of San Antonio (22-7) for the lead the Southwest Division. Charvarius Ward Super Bowl Jersey. The Clippers were angry about blowing a big lead; the Kings didnt like being in that kind of hole and nearly digging themselves out only to lose. WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W.Va. -- When the New Orleans Saints conclude practice Wednesday at the $30 million training center built for them at the luxury Greenbrier Resort, the three fields there are expected to be used by disaster-affected youth football teams whose regular fields were contaminated by flooding of historic proportions.Beyond that, the future of the athletic facilities Greenbrier owner Jim Justice built in 2014 remains uncertain.When the Saints depart for Houston on Wednesday night for joint practices with the Texans, an initial three-year agreement for New Orleans to hold the bulk of training camp at the historic mountain retreat in West Virginia will effectively expire.Justice said he and the Saints have discussed an open-ended extension that would allow either side to end the agreement with a minimum of two years notice, but there have been no commitments yet.It would be an enormous disappointment to me and the people of West Virginia if they dont come back, compounded by this terrible disaster weve had, said Justice, a coal mining magnate who is also running for governor of West Virginia. It has been a tremendous economic boost for West Virginia and a tremendous morale and spiritual boost for the people -- especially now.These people dont need another cannon ball right now, Justice added. But if thats what it is, you deal with it.The Saints have gone 7-9 following each of their first two training camps at the resort, which was founded as a health spa on the site of natural springs in the midst of a scenic, rugged, densely forested landscape near the West Virginia-Virginia state line.Many Saints fans now question whether the luxurious surroundings -- marked by Classic Revival architecture similar to the White House -- have made players soft. Others simply question why the club cant find a suitable training site much closer than the nearly 900-mile drive from New Orleans. After all, the Saints lone Super Bowl season followed a training camp held at team headquarters in 2009.Saints coach Sean Payton got to know Justices resort while attending the PGA Tours Greenbrier Classic (which was canceled by flooding this summer). Payton readily shows his affection for the Greenbrier and dismisses the notion that the posh surroundings are responsible for the Saints recent struggles. He has said the relative seclusion makes it easier to work without distraction, and that the facilities, sitting at an elevation of about 2,000 feet, provide summer practice conditions considerably less hot and humid than in south Louisiana.At the same time, its not clear that the Saints believe that conntinuing to train at the Greenbrier serves their best interest.ddddddddddddWell evaluate that. We do that at the end of each year, Saints executive vice president and general manager Mickey Loomis said shortly after the club arrived in West Virginia this summer. Ultimately, it comes down to what gives us the best chance to be successful.What was clear from comments made by Loomis, Payton and several players was that the teams bond with the people of White Sulphur Springs was strengthened by the decision not to move camp from the resort following devastating June floods. The Saints, who a decade ago embraced their role in New Orleans recovery from Katrina, canceled conditioning tests on their first full day in West Virginia and instead helped fix up a public recreational area that included a playground, tennis and basketball courts, and playing fields.Any time youre there to help and really work, it transcends regions and states and theres an element of the human spirit thats consistent, Payton said.Stephen Gustard, who expects to be displaced from his flooded White Sulphur Springs home for months, called the Saints effort to rebuild the park a huge morale booster.Thats a place where kids can go play and get away from the depressing avenue where everyones at right now, said Gustard, the chef at a French bistro known for its goat cheese mousse served with figs on crostini in nearby Lewisburg. Its exciting even just having a professional team that supports our community by coming here.Last weekend, the Saints invited high school football teams from flood-damaged communities near Charleston, the state capital, to attend practice and meet with players and coaches.The Greenbrier is rebuilding from damage to its golf courses and other amenities, but the hotel sits above where floodwaters rose, as do the terraced, hillside facilities the Saints use.If the Saints dont return, Justice said hell see if other NFL teams are interested. But Justice stressed that his initial hope was that the Saints would make the Greenbrier their home-away-from-home for many years. He has tried to make it affordable, charging the club a $150 room rate instead of the usual $400-plus during summer. Justice said his catering staff provides team meals at a discount and sticks to a menu devised by the teams nutritionist.Ive adopted them, said Justice, whose Greenbrier office is adorned with Saints memorabilia.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and AP NFL Twitter feed: http://twitter.com/AP-NFL Wholesale Jerseys ' ' '
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