Stars und Sternchen! » and who gets the rig

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- David Gilliland might have summed up Daytona qualifying best. "Its uncontrolled chaos out there," Gilliland said Friday after landing the pole in a rain-shortened and somewhat hairy session that set the field for the Coke Zero 400 on Saturday night at Daytona International Speedway. Gillilands top speed during a hectic, cat-and-mouse qualifying session was 199.322 mph, earning him his third Sprint Cup pole and first since landing the top spot for the 2007 Daytona 500. All three of his poles have been at restrictor-plate races, with the first one coming at Talladega in 2006. "Front Row Motorsports, our strong point is definitely speedway racing," said Gilliland, who finished third in the 2011 Daytona 500. "It is something thats circled on our calendar from the start of the year. We put a lot of emphasis on it. The restrictor-plate tracks are good equalizers. David Ragan and I both have good enough cars to win, and that is an exciting feeling. Its something we dont have every week." The top 24 drivers Friday in the first knockout stage were supposed to advance to the next round, but rain prompted NASCAR to cancel the final two sessions. Reed Sorenson qualified second, followed by Landon Cassill, Bobby Labonte and Jimmie Johnson. Daytona 500 winner Dale Earnhardt Jr., who will attempt to become the sixth drive to sweep both annual races at NASCARs most famous track Saturday, was seventh. All the talk during and after was about how the qualifying session shook out. It was the first time NASCARs new qualifying rules were used at Daytona, and it produced some hairy moments as groups of cars slowed to a crawl around the 2 1/2-mile superspeedway. The small packs -- most of them formed by teammates -- were hoping to pull behind bigger groups to produce fast laps. But no one was eager to lead the way. "Its a mess," Earnhardt said. "You have to be in the very back and try to get a big tow. I aint ever seen anything like it. Its the funniest thing Ive ever seen." Risky, too. Several cars turned down pit road to get away from the disorder. But the most common concern was the speed differences, with some packs creeping along while others ran full speed. "It was really wild and it was pretty dangerous," Matt Kenseth said. "Theres car doing 80 and there were cars doing 200 and nobody wanted to go. Everybody wanted to be in the back of the pack and try to catch the front to get a (fast) lap, so it was pretty chaotic." Similar qualifying took place at Talladega in May, when teammates stuck together in hopes of besting the field. But drivers clearly tweaked some things from those sessions. "There was just so much going on out there and its a wonder we havent wadded a bunch of cars up," Brian Vickers said. "A lot of guys running even slower than at Talladega and then some guys even taking chances on blocking the field, which was what really almost caused a few wrecks." Penske Racing teammates Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano were among those who did not advance past the first stage. Danica Patrick, Clint Bowyer, Kyle Larson, Jamie McMurray, Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch also did not get to the second knockout round. Joe Nemechek was the only driver who did not qualify for Saturdays 400-mile race. "Its just about being lucky as to who can make it through and who gets the right run," McMurray said. "Its just so crazy that everyone pulls out and doesnt go and then stops. It is what it is. Everyone has the same conditions. It just doesnt feel like racing ... because half the time people are running 40 mph. I dont even really know what to say because its so messed up that I cant explain it." Anthony Brown Jersey . Five straight losses (and six in the past seven) now dot the schedule – matching their longest skid of the year – after they fell again in New Jersey on Sunday night, topped 3-2 by Cory Schneider and the Devils. Karl-Anthony Towns Jersey . Richard Jefferson scored 17 points and Diante Garrett had a career-high 15 points as the Jazz had seven players with 10 points or more in Utahs largest margin of victory this season. http://www.timberwolvesgear.com/authentic-dario-saric-timberwolves-jersey/ . Louis Blues and Buffalo Sabres came to an agreement on a big trade that may only offer incremental improvement to the Blues in their quest for a Stanley Cup. Taj Gibson Jersey . TSN 1290s Jordan Cieciwa, Big Marv and Toby are here to give their predictions on who will leave with the belt and who will take some of the other key bouts on the card. Johny Hendricks vs. Derrick Rose Jersey . As the schedule flipped from November to December, they would go on to drop five straight, falling six games below the .500 mark before a franchise-altering trade turned them into an unrecognizable team.MIAMI -- Slugger Giancarlo Stanton hasnt changed his opinion about spacious Marlins Park. He still considers it a pitchers park and dislikes the dimensions. His Miami Marlins teammates are trying mightily to change his mind. The Marlins begin a six-game homestand Tuesday against Philadelphia with a 17-5 home record, best in the majors. In a ballpark considered unfriendly to hitters, Miami is averaging 5.7 runs per game, second-best in the majors at home. Stantons leading the way. He has found the distant fences annoying since the park opened in 2012, but he nonetheless has 31 RBIs at home, the most in the majors. In Miami he has seven homers, a .354 batting average and a 1.166 OPS. However, Stanton still insists the Marlins home is a pitchers park. "It is in terms of power, but this conversation is not relevant," he said with a frown. "I dont want to talk about complaining about the ballpark." That would be unseemly when the Marlins have outscored opponents 125-70 at home. The differential is especially eye-popping because theyve been outscored 114-79 on the road, where their record is 6-17, worst in the majors. They concluded another dismal trip Sunday, going 4-7 and losing ace Jose Fernandez to a season-ending elbow injury. But theyve been the mighty Marlins at home, which is a big change. In their first two seasons at Marlins Park, the home team averaged 3.6 runs per game, third-worst in the majors. But theyve altered their lineup and their approach at the plate. As a result, the Marlins home batting average is .296, second-best in the majors. "Its really extraordinary what theyre doing this year -- a perfect example of how youve got to attack your home field," New York Mets manager Terry Collins said. With the distances to the wall 386 feet in left centre, 398 in right centre and 418 in centre, Marlins hitters have stopped grousing and started driving the ball into the roomy power alleys. They rank among the major-league leaders with 47 doubles and six triples at home. "We knew it was going to be tough to hit home runs," manager Mike Redmond said. "But we talked during spring training about leading the league in doubles and puttting balls in the gaps.dddddddddddd The field is so big you dont have to hit home runs to do damage. You can hit triples and doubles, and you can go first to third on a single up the middle. You dont have to swing for the fences. You can stay within yourself and still be rewarded." Even Stanton agrees. He has seen a lot of 400-foot flyouts since Marlins Park opened, but he has also watched his team score runs in bunches this year. "Youre not going to win by hitting homers here," Stanton said. "But if you understand that the guy on first is in scoring position, thats going to work to our advantage. On a normal double, here you can score from first standing up a lot of the time. We understand that and are taking advantage of it." The Marlins tailored their lineup to the ballpark last off-season by acquiring left-handed hitter Garrett Jones and switch-hitter Jarrod Saltalamacchia. Both have homered into the upper deck in right field, where the stands are most reachable. "The easier way to hit home runs in this ballpark is for a left-handed hitter, so we did try to bring in some left-handed power," Redmond said. Miami also signed Casey McGehee, a right-handed hitter who bats mostly cleanup. He has only one homer but is hitting .422 with runners in scoring position. "Theyve done here of using the field to hit all sorts of different ways -- a drag bunt, balls hit up the middle," Collins said. "Youve got to tip your hat that theyve made those adjustments. This is a tough park to hit in. What theyve done is found guys who put the ball in play and are difficult to defence." Other opponents agree, but some also speculate about hidden reasons for the way the Marlins hit in their home park. When Miami scored 23 runs to sweep a three-game series at home against Atlanta last month, Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez jokingly wondered if the Marlins had a spy in the outfield tipping their hitters on pitches. "We got in their heads a little bit," Redmond said. Its good to have visiting teams scratching their heads. And for the Marlins, who are above .500 despite their woeful road record, its good to be home. 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