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DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. Zemgus Girgensons Sabres Jersey . -- With the famed No. 3 on his car and memories of the late Dale Earnhardt fresh in his mind, Austin Dillon took the fabled number out of hibernation and straight to the top at Daytona. Dillon reawakened the days of The Intimidator and proved he can handle the spotlight thrust on his ride in the 3, winning the pole Sunday for the season-opening Daytona 500. He took the top spot with a lap at 196.019 mph in NASCARs season opener in a car Richard Childress has refused to field at NASCARs top level since Earnhardts fatal accident on the last lap of the 2001 race. But with his 23-year-old grandson ready to move to the Sprint Cup Series, Childress allowed Dillon to use the number widely associated with the seven-time champion. Earnhardt won 67 races, six championships and the 1998 Daytona 500 driving the No. 3. Dillon was a kid when he posed for a picture with Earnhardt in Victory Lane following his breakthough 1998 win. Hell have many more memories from this milestone, like the congratulatory handshake he received from Richard Petty when qualifying ended. NASCARs family roots run deep, so Childress never had to leave the family tree to find the right driver for the number. Dillon has been using it in NASCAR national competition since 2009, when he made his Truck Series debut in the No. 3. He won the Truck championship in 2011 driving the No. 3 for Richard Childress Racing, and the Nationwide title last season in the same number. So Childress knew -- he always knew and has insisted that Earnhardt gave his blessing long before his death -- that Dillon could use the number if he ever made it to Cup. Dillon doesnt take the responsibility lightly. "Everybody wants to see this number perform well, and thats what my goals are," Dillon said. "I love getting in that race car and driving it. I think once we get through some of these races here at the beginning of the year, everything will sink in and Ill get comfortable and be able to have some fun." Its the fourth time the No. 3 has won the pole for the Daytona 500. Buddy Baker did it in 1969, Ricky Rudd in 1983 and Earnhardt in 1996. Martin Truex Jr., driving a Chevrolet for Furniture Row Racing, qualified second with a lap at 195.852 mph. Truexs engine is built by Earnhardt-Childress Racing, giving the company a sweep of the Daytona 500 front row. "Obviously, without that thing under the hood, we wouldnt be where we are," said Truex, who won the Daytona 500 pole in 2009 with an ECR engine when he drove for Earnhardt Ganassi Racing. The rest of the field is set Thursday through a pair of qualifying races, but Childress and the ECR engines are strong: They had five cars in the top 12 on Sunday. Childress knew he had a shot at the pole, if not with Dillon then from another one of his four Richard Childress Racing entries. All were fast in January testing, and again in two Saturday practice sessions. But it was Hendrick Motorsports driver Dale Earnhardt Jr., the first driver to make his qualifying attempt, who set the pace early and held down the provisional pole for most of the session. RCR drivers Brian Scott and Paul Menard failed to bump Earnhardt, and it was surprisingly Ford driver Greg Biffle who finally did it as the 33rd driver to take his turn. Ryan Newman then took his shot for RCR and missed, and Dillon was the next driver out. He shot to the top of the board and his grandfather pumped his fist in celebration. He then nervously watched as the final 10 drivers made their runs, and gave another fist-pump in celebration. "We wanted to come down here and put on a good show with the 3, and to have another ECR engine with Furniture Row on the front row, we couldnt be more proud," Childress said. So could he finally relax? "The pressure is always on when youve got grandsons racing for you," said Childress, who thanked all the sponsors who "believed in this young kid, who took a chance on him." Derek Roy Jersey . Fabio Fognini pulled off a surprise 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 victory over two-time Grand Slam champion Andy Murray to level the best-of-five quarterfinal at 2-2 before Andreas Seppi defeated James Ward 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 in the decisive match. Jake McCabe Sabres Jersey . - Urijah (The California Kid) Faber finds himself in an unaccustomed position Saturday night at UFC 175 ¡ª on the preliminary card. http://www.sabreshockeystore.us/Matt-Moulson-Jersey/ .Y. -- Cory Schneider has to make the most of his opportunities to guard the New Jersey Devils net to earn more playing time.VANCOUVER -- The Vancouver Canucks werent about to pin Sundays loss on the officials. Still, it didnt stop them from letting off some steam. Henrik Sedins second-period goal was controversially waved off for "incidental contact" on Stars goalie Kari Lehtonen as the Canucks scoring struggles continued in a 2-1 loss to Dallas. Down 1-0 after the first, Vancouver looked to have tied the score at 6:42 of the second when Vancouvers captain beat Lehtonen upstairs from a sharp angle on a power play. But the celebrations were short-lived after officials deemed that Daniel Sedin had interfered with Lehtonen. Television replays appeared to show no contact between the two players, which left both the crowd at Rogers Arena and Canucks coach John Tortorella incensed. "Its a bad call. Its a made-up call," said a frustrated Henrik Sedin. "If its a 50-50 call, then I buy it. If its a 40-60, I buy it. Even a 20-80 (call) ... tough to take." Tortorella said he never got an explanation, but added that the NHL needs to change how it reviews goals. "Im not going to whine about this and that. Its a huge call that was the wrong call, but doesnt determine the winning and losing of the hockey game," said Tortorella, whose team has scored just four goals in losing four straight. "If you dont see it, dont call it. "You have to be sure on that play and I just dont think they were sure. It was the wrong call." Added Daniel Sedin: "Its tough, but the chances we had today, we have to score more than one goal. That shouldnt be the difference." Even Lehtonen, who was brilliant in a 42-save performance against the snake-bitten Canucks, was surprised the goal was waved off. "It happens so fast," he said. "I wish they would maybe use some video replay or something just to make (the calls) right." Valeri Nichushkin and Erik Cole had the goals for Dallas (11-7-2), which was coming off a 7-3 victory over the Calgary Flames on Thursday and extended its road winning streak to six games. Henrik Sedin eventually did score in the third period for Vancouver (11-8-3), which got 21 saves from Roberto Luongo as the Canucks fell to 4-4-1 at home. "Youve just got to play. Thats the bottom line," said Luongo. "Sometimes things go your way, sometimes they dont but you cant let that stuff affect you in a negative way on the ice." After Lehtonen held the Dallas fort in a second period that saw Vancouver hold a 20-5 edge in shots, Cole made it 2-0 early in the third. Henrik Sedin made a bad decision to step up at the Stars blue-line while covering for a pinching Kevin Bieksa, with Cole scoring his second of the season at 1:42 on the resulting 2-on-1. Henrik Sedin finally got Vancouver on the scoreboard at 3:06 when he chipped a shot over Lehtonen with the Canucks on the power play for his fouurth of the campaign. Evander Kane Jersey. Vancouver made a late push, but Lehtonen wasnt really troubled much the rest of the way in recording his 10th win of the season as the Canucks mustered just 10 shots in the final period. "Were professionals. Weve got to start burying those chances. Really, enoughs enough," said Canucks forward Ryan Kesler, who played his 600th career game. "We have to bear down and not get frustrated, but we have to capitalize. Thats on us." The Canucks 28th-ranked power play had another chance on the same man advantage after the disallowed goal in the second period, but Lehtonen made a great stop on Bieksa. Canucks forward Alexandre Burrows then redirected a pass from Henrik Sedin that beat Lehtonon but not the post as Vancouver led 33-13 on the shot clock after 40 minutes. "Weve done it a couple different ways on this road trip," said Cole. "Kari was great for us tonight. You could tell he had great focus and was on his game, and really weathered the storm in the second period. "Hes been fantastic. Night after night he continues to surprise even us making unbelievable saves." Another bright spot for the Stars has been their top line, which continued its recent hot streak when Nichushkin opened the scoring at 9:33 of the first period. Benn worked the puck behind the net to Tyler Seguin, who in turn fed the 18-year-old Russian on Luongos doorstep for his second of the season. Seguin had four goals and an assist against Calgary on Thursday, Benn finished with a goal and five assists, and Nichushkin picked up two assists. "They have been real good," said Stars head coach Lindy Ruff. "They had a couple really good opportunities they didnt convert on, but we know it isnt going to keep going at this pace. I hope it does, but it probably wont." Vancouver, which was coming off a 2-1 overtime loss to the San Jose Sharks on Thursday, nearly grabbed an early lead on a Henrik Sedin breakaway that was stopped by Lehtonen less than a minute in. "I thought our team played hard," said Tortorella. "We just need to stay within ourselves and keep on playing and not get frustrated and not let it get to us. "Its not about blowing things up, its a matter of staying with it." Notes: Seguin now has points in four straight games (six goals, two assists). ... Benn was the first Stars player to record six points in game since Mike Modano had two goals and four assists on Feb. 1, 1995. ... Canucks backup goalie Eddie Lack signed a two-year contract extension with the team on Friday. ... Canucks forward Jannik Hansen returned to the lineup after missing 10 games with an upper-body injury. ... Stars forward Vernon Fiddler also played his 600th career game. ... The Canucks host the Florida Panthers on Tuesday, while the Stars welcome the New York Rangers on Thursday. Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Jerseys From China Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys ' ' '
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