to take advantage

Dołączył: 19 Mar 2019 Posty: 136

JOLIET, Ill. -- Facing the biggest credibility crisis in its long history, NASCAR issued a stern warning to its drivers and teams Saturday and said it wont tolerate any more attempts to alter the outcome of races. After a scandal-filled week spent investigating teams and undoing attempts to manipulate its championship field, NASCAR came forward with a series of rules that will change the way teams have called races for years. NASCAR Chairman Brian France told teams he expects them "to give 100 per cent" at all times, meeting with them for nearly 20 minutes at Chicagoland Speedway on the eve of the opening race of the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship. "I think we wanted to be very clear and we wanted to reinforce the cornerstone of NASCAR, which is giving your all," France said. "We addressed team rules, a variety of other things, all designed to do what our fans expect, and that means that their driver and their team give 100 per cent to finish as high up in a given race as possible. We were very clear about that. Thats our expectations." The warning came after an unprecedented week for NASCAR, which has been rocked by allegations of race-fixing since Clint Bowyer spun his car with seven laps remaining last Saturday night at Richmond, the race that completed the 12-driver field for the Chase. NASCAR was forced to investigate when it became clear that Bowyer spun in an attempt to stop leader Ryan Newman from winning and give teammate Martin Truex Jr. one last chance to earn a Chase berth. The investigation uncovered at least three instances of race manipulations and led to severe sanctions against Michael Waltrip Racing and the removal of unwitting participant Truex from the Chase in favour of Newman. The central piece of evidence was radio communications, and the penalties against MWR set off a chain of events NASCAR never anticipated. Next came allegations of a scheme to sell track position and it triggered a new investigation involving deep-pocketed Penske Racing and tiny Front Row Motorsports. It culminated Friday with Frances stunning decision to expand the Chase field to 13 drivers to accommodate Jeff Gordon, who had been bumped out of the Chase by the shenanigans of three drivers. Gordon was pleased with the ruling, but uncomfortable with the way the week developed. "The integrity of the sport has been put at question," Gordon admitted. "I think we have one of the greatest sports that exists. To see our integrity questioned is very upsetting to me, and I think we, along with NASCAR, have to solve this. I wish it had not happened under these circumstances." NASCAR ultimately decided it couldnt prove Bowyer spun on purpose, but did find that MWR manipulated the race to help Truex by having Bowyer and Brian Vickers pit late in the race. The idea was that Joey Logano would bump Gordon out of a Chase spot, and Truex would get in through a wild card. But in singling out the MWR cars for pitting to help Truex, NASCAR threw into question the long-accepted practice of deal-making between teams. That brought to light a late race conversation between Front Row team members, who were willing to have David Gilliland move aside for Logano in exchange for something it had previously asked for from Penske Racing. When told to relay that information to Loganos spotter, the crew chief is told the request for track position is coming from the "whole committee." "Weve got the big dog and all of his cronies," the spotter said in an apparent reference to team owner Roger Penske and other team employees. NASCAR has tightened many of the areas that allowed the manipulations to occur in a series of new rules that were outlined for the teams and will begin Sunday. Among them: --No more deals, no offering a position in exchange for a favour or material benefit, no altering the finish, no intentionally causing a caution, no intentionally pitting to gain advantage for another competitor or intentionally wrecking another competitor. The list of things not allowed is a work in progress, NASCAR President Mike Helton said. Penalties can include suspension. --Only one spotter per team will be allowed on the spotter stand. It means Roger Penske can no longer watch the race from his preferred perch on the roof, and NASCAR will install a camera atop every roof to monitor things. --Digital radios are now banned on the spotter stand, meaning spotters can no longer communicate on a private channel with a team. Spotters will also be limited to two analog radios, scanners and a handheld fan device. All communications from the spotter stand to the team can be monitored by the public. --NASCAR said it will address new restart rules Sunday. Some drivers have complained about inconsistency on how restarts have been policed all season, and fans complained winner Carl Edwards jumped early last week past leader Paul Menard. Its been overshadowed in the Chase controversy, and will apparently be addressed before Sundays race. Gordon had hoped the meeting would lead to positive changes for the sport. "This has probably been coming for a couple years now and needed to change sooner," Gordon said. "I like the fact that some things are going to change because all we all want to do is race our guts out every single lap. None of us want to go out there and give up a spot or race somebody different because our teammate is running for a championship. We want to go out there racing for every position, every lap, as hard as we can." France said he didnt speak to any drivers after the meeting, but sensed a redefining of the rules was overdue. "This is what they want. They want to have clarity and they dont like team rules, and they dont like some of the things that have gone on in the past," France said. "Theyre never pleased when we call them to a meeting. But I also believe that they understand what we want to get back to -- its to not worry about anything but winning races and doing your best." Paul Wolfe, crew chief for defending series champion Brad Keselowski, said NASCAR was clear in its meeting. "I think it got everyones attention," Wolfe said. "I think everyone should have a pretty clear understanding ... if you go out there and run 100 per cent to your ability and run a normal race, then everything will be fine." Seven-time champion and Hall of Famer Richard Petty believes none of the events at Richmond differed from what occurred a week earlier at Atlanta. But because of the stakes -- 10 drivers vying for five Chase berths -- he said the actions of a few were magnified and NASCAR had to act. "If it had happened at Atlanta, nobody would have paid any attention to it," Petty said. "But, it was a perfect storm (at Richmond). Thats what makes such a big deal out of it." For NASCAR, the next step is getting back on track on Sunday and putting on a good, clean race. "Circumstances happen that are unhelpful in the credibility category, theres no doubt about that," France said. "You go back to what youre about, and what were about is the best racing in the world with the best drivers giving 100 per cent of their ability." Cheap NFL Jerseys Online . Poti played in 824 regular NHL games with four teams in his career; the Edmonton Oilers, New York Rangers, New York Islanders and the Washington Capitals. Wholesale Jerseys Paypal . Fellow Argentina forward Gonzalo Higuain also had a brace for Napoli. And Samuel Etoo scored for his fourth different team. On a night of standout individual performances Wednesday, Schalke goalkeeper Timo Hildebrand had a game hell want to forget. http://www.jerseyschinawholesale.us/ .Y. -- Syracuse guard Trevor Cooney was mired in a shooting slump, and his woes coincided with a late-season swoon by the Orange. China Jerseys .com) - Baltimore Ravens running back Justin Forsett is active for Sundays matchup with the Miami Dolphins. Cheap Jerseys Free Shipping . Spezza scored a power-play goal with 5 minutes left and Stephane Da Costa had the other two goals to lead the Ottawa Senators to a 3-2 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday night.ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Albert Pujols is thrilled to have a reason to forget about his first two disappointing seasons with the Los Angeles Angels. His club is on a roll this summer, and hes hoping the ride extends all the way to October. Pujols and Mike Trout drove in two runs apiece, Jered Weaver pitched seven strong innings, and the Angels completed a perfect homestand with a 6-4 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Thursday. Pujols had three hits and Josh Hamilton drove in a run to help the Angels win their season-best sixth straight and move a season-high 11 games over .500 (44-33). "Weve been playing really good the past couple of weeks," Pujols said. "You just need to take advantage of a stretch. It doesnt matter where you win as long as you get those wins. Were playing great at home, but well take them in any stadium." Trout had two doubles, including a two-run drive down the left-field line in the seventh, during the Angels 15th win in their last 17 games in Anaheim, where they have the majors best home record. Los Angeles swept Texas and Minnesota to complete its first unbeaten homestand with at least six games since May 2004. "Were starting to do some of the things we can do on the offensive side, and weve got to keep it rolling," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. "Albert, when hes swinging it well, hes going to square balls up like that. He got some big hits and got us going." Weaver (8-6) yielded eight hits -- all singles -- and struck out six in another dominant start against the Twins. The right-hander, who threw a no-hitter against Minnesota in 2012, has given up one run in 24 innings while striking out 24 in his last three home meetings with the Twins. Weaver improved to 7-0 in eight career starts against Minnesota, striking out the side on 12 pitches in the first inning and rarely struggling until the sixth. He snapped a three-start winless streak with plenty of offence from his teammates, who scored 35 runs on the homestand. "Offensively, we didnt do too much," Minnesota manager Ron Gaardenhire said.dddddddddddd. "Weaver was like weve seen him before. In this ballpark, we all know its tough to see the ball in day games, and he made it tough on us. After Minnesota loaded the bases against Ernesto Frieri in the ninth, Mauer cleared them with a two-strike double off Joe Smith, who then struck out Kendrys Morales for his seventh save. Joe Mauer hit a three-run double with two outs in the ninth for the Twins, who followed up a four-game sweep of the White Sox by getting swept in Anaheim. Mauer and Chris Parmelee had three hits apiece, but Minnesota yielded 32 hits in the three-game series. "Theyve got some good hitters," Gardenhire said of the Angels. "Those big boys come up in big situations, and they can do some things." Ricky Nolasco (4-6) yielded 11 hits and six runs while pitching into the seventh inning of his fourth straight winless start. Pujols improved to 12 for 22 in his career against Nolasco on an eventful day for the Angels slow-moving $240 million man. He singled home Kole Calhoun in the first inning and stole second when Minnesota didnt hold him on the bag. Pujols then scored when Pedro Florimon lost Erick Aybars popup in the sun behind third base. Florimon is filling in for rookie shortstop Danny Santana, who injured his left knee while running out a double in Wednesdays loss. An MRI exam Thursday revealed a bone bruise in Santanas knee, but the Twins dont know how long hell be out. The Angels added two more runs in the third on back-to-back doubles by Trout and Pujols, followed by Hamiltons RBI single. NOTES: Pujols third-inning double was the 541st of his career, tying the three-time NL MVP with Rogers Hornsby for 30th on baseballs career list. ... Angels 2B Howie Kendrick has a 10-game hitting streak. ... Minnesota recalled INF Jorge Polanco from Single-A Fort Myers. The 20-year-old prospect joined the Twins in time for Thursdays game and made his major league debut as a pinch-hitter in the ninth inning, drawing a four-pitch walk from Frieri. ' ' '