INDIANAPOLIS (Saturday, May 19, 2012) - Ryan Briscoe had two hours to mentally prepare himself to qualify for the 100th Anniversary Indianapolis 500 after crashing in practice on Pole Day 2011.
"That was very difficult to get back in the car and go out to qualify," related the Team Penske driver, who started 26th.
On May 27, he'll have a decidedly better view of the first turn.
Briscoe's four-lap time of 2 minutes, 38.9514 seconds (average speed of 226.484 mph) in the 90-minute shootout for the top nine qualifiers bested the time of 2:38.9537 (226.481) posted by James Hinchcliffe to earn the pole position for the 96th Running of the 500 Mile Race.
The time differential of 0.0023 of a second is the closest 1-2 in race qualifying history (equivalent to 9.168 inches over the four laps). The 1970 time trials yielded a difference of 0.01 of a second between pole winner Al Unser (3:31.49) and Johnny Rutherford.
"Yeah, the smallest of margins; it's heartbreaking in a sense," said Hinchcliffe, who recorded the best lap of the session (39.6591 seconds on Lap 1 of his second attempt). "I'm going to lose a little bit of sleep over how small that margin was to Ryan and knowing that we had it there for
CONCORD, N.C.—-Jimmie Johnson joined an elite club on Saturday night.
In beating Brad Keselowski to the finish of the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway by .841 seconds, Johnson won the exhibition event for the third time, tying Dale Earnhardt Sr. and Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jeff Gordon for most all-time.
Matt Kenseth ran third, followed by Kyle Busch and Dale Earnhardt Jr., who qualified for the event by winning the preliminary Sprint Showdown.
The All-Star Race win and accompanying seven-figure first prize ended a spectacular eight days for Johnson, who delivered victory No. 200 to owner Rick Hendrick May 12 at Darlington and on Thursday night cheered his crew to its first victory in the NASCAR Sprint Pit Crew Challenge in Charlotte, N.C.
All told, Johnson won $1,071,340 for his third win in 11 All-Star starts.
"It means a ton to me," Johnson said of tying Earnhardt Sr. and Gordon. "Those are two of the greatest drivers that have ever been in a stock car. I want to set my goals high, and I want to be considered one of the best to sit in a stock car, and the only way you can do that is by winning big races and piling up those stats."
The All-Star Race victory was the seventh as a car owner for Hendrick, who sat on the window ledge and took a ride on
Jason Dufner shot a 69 to keep the lead going into the final day at the HP Byron Nelson Championship. Dufner has shot 67-66-69 for a total of 8-under to lead the field.
Dufner has previously held at least a share of the 54-hole lead three times, with the Zurich Classic of New Orleans being the only one to result in a victory. The last 54-hole leader/co-leader to go on to win the HP Byron Nelson Championship was Adam Scott (2008).
With more than 78 players making the 36-hole cut (79), a 54-hole cut was made following the third round to reduce the field to the low 70 and ties (71 players).
With his third-round, 3-under 67, 2010 HP Byron Nelson Championship winner Jason Day recorded his eighth round in the 60s at TPC Four Seasons Resort 11 overall. He begins the final round trailing by a stroke.
After his 2010 win in his first start in the HP Byron Nelson Championship, Day finished fifth last year.
Day is making just his eighth start of the season this week, with his only top-10 finish being a T9 at the Wells Fargo
The Texas Rangers defeated the Houston Astros 4-1 Friday night in Houston. Beginning next season this in-state rivalry will become a divisional rivalry as well when the Astros move to the American League West.
Starting pitcher Neftali Feliz only lasted 4 2/3 innings as he had problems with control all night. After Feliz gave up his 5th base on balls, Rangers manager Ron Washington had seen enough and pulled mid-inning. "I was upset at myself, not completing the inning. I wanted to complete five innings. I understand it happens. It's part of the game. I need to accept it and move on," said Feliz.
Feliz ended the game with 101 pitches thrown. He struck out 6 and gave up 3 hits. The one run scored against him was the result of a walked batter.
Robbie Ross earned the win, going 2 1/3 scoreless innings. Ross moves to 5-0 on the season. Joe Nathan earned his 9th save of the year.
Adrian Beltre powered the Rangers offense. Beltre went 2-for-3, with a solo home run in the 7th inning. Beltre also had a double, along with Ian Kinsler and Michael Young.
Game 2 of the Silver Boot series is tonight at 6:15pm at Minute Maid Park. Derrick Holland is expected to be on the mound for the Rangers against Lucas Harrell.
ANN ARBOR, Mich.—TCU put the wraps on its third NCAA Championship berth in the last four seasons Saturday by finishing in fifth place during the final round of the NCAA Central Regional at the University of Michigan Golf Course. Freshmen Julien Brun and Thomas Mantovanini both finished near the top of the individual leaderboard.
The Horned Frogs combined to shoot a 3-over-par 287 Saturday to post a comfortable 10-stroke edge over sixth-place Notre Dame and North Carolina State for the Central Regional's fifth and final NCAA Championship bid. TCU finished the week -3 overall thanks in large part to a fantastic opening-round 278 that gave the squad an eight-shot lead on the rest of the field entering Day 2.
TCU entered the tournament as the No. 8 seed in a field that featured six of the nation's top-30 teams according to the latest Golfweek/Sagarin ratings system. The Frogs finished in front of higher-seeded squads Baylor (No. 5), Oklahoma State (No. 6) and Kennesaw State (No. 7).
The NCAA Championship qualification marks the 16th in program history and the 13th under the direction of head coach Bill Montigel, who took over the TCU program prior to the 1987-88 campaign. The Frogs will break a one-year absence from the national tournament after falling just one stroke short of the No. 5 spot at last year's NCAA West Regional.
TCU will be joined by 29 other teams May 28-June 3 in Pacific Palisades, Calif., for the NCAA Championship at
Jason Dufner's 4-under 66 on Friday moved him to 7-under 133 and a one-stroke lead over six players at the HP Byron Nelson Championship.
Dufner's first seven rounds at the HP Byron Nelson were in the 70s, but he has since posted his last three rounds in the 60s (69/R4/2011, 67-66/2012).
Dufner holds the 36-hole lead/co-lead for the fourth time this season (Transitions Championship, Masters Tournament, Zurich Classic of New Orleans, HP Byron Nelson Championship) and the seventh time in his career. He recently won for the first time after holding the 36-hole lead at the 2012 Zurich Classic of New Orleans.
Dufner is currently No. 12 in the FedExCup standings. After missing the cut in his first start of his season at the Sony Open in Hawaii, he has since reeled off 12 consecutive made cuts.
The last 36-hole leader/co-leader to go on to win the HP Byron Nelson Championship was Rory Sabbatini (2009). The second-round leader/co-leader has won just five times in 20 stroke-play events this season, most recently Jason Dufner at
