a span in which they have been sh
Đã gửi: Thứ 6 24/11/17 13:12CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Its been 10 years since a driver last attempted running both the Indianapolis 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 on the same day, a feat so grueling that only Tony Stewart has successfully completed all 1,100 miles. Now Kurt Busch wants to give "the double" a try and he will have cars capable of winning both races. He said Tuesday he will attempt to make the Indianapolis 500 in a fifth entry for Andretti Autosport. Should he make the May 25 race, Busch would then fly to Charlotte Motor Speedway to fulfil his full-time job with Stewart-Haas Racing -- a team co-owned by Stewart -- in NASCARs longest event of the year. "Im a fan of motorsports, a student of motorsports, and I view this as a challenge for myself," Busch said in an interview with The Associated Press. "Memorial Day weekend, the central focus of all motorsports is Monaco, Indianapolis and Charlotte and this is a tremendous opportunity to be right in the middle of it." Only John Andretti, Stewart and Robby Gordon have attempted the "double," and no driver has tried since Gordon in 2004. "Welcome to the club!" Gordon posted on his Twitter account. Stewart, Buschs new co-owner at Stewart-Haas, is the only driver to complete the double. He did it in his second and final attempt, in 2001, when he finished sixth at Indy and third at Charlotte. An Indiana native who grew up dreaming of winning the Indianapolis 500, Stewart long ago abandoned that goal and passed on an offer last year from Roger Penske to drive one of his cars in the 2013 Indianapolis 500. But Stewart has given Busch his blessing. "Its a great opportunity for Kurt and I fully support him," Stewart said Tuesday. "Hell have a lot to learn in a short amount of time, but he has an overwhelming amount of driving talent on his side. He has a great car owner with Michael Andretti, whos not only an owner, but hes been a driver too. "Michael has so much to offer Kurt in terms of knowledge and firsthand experience. It really seems like a natural pairing." Buschs attempt comes at a much different time than when Gordon and Stewart last tried to run both races. Social media didnt exist a decade ago, and Busch plans to utilize every avenue possible to let fans follow along with his attempt. On Tuesday, he even launched a website -- www.kurtbuschdouble.com -- that is expected to chronicle his efforts. "I think this is something that is good for NASCAR, good for IndyCar, good for the fans to get behind and really feel like they are part of," Busch said. "There was no social media, or the means for fans to get an in-depth look at what goes into the double when the others tried it. We think weve got an opportunity to make people feel like they are part of the experience with me." Busch first flirted with the idea last May when he completed the Indy 500 rookie orientation program with Andretti. He didnt put a program together to run the 500, and said hes second-guessed that decision at times. "I took the conservative route and sometimes I kick myself because Carlos Munoz finished second as a rookie in that car last year," Busch said. "So now Im challenging myself to do something great in motorsports." Andretti will unveil the car and primary sponsor for Busch at a later date. "Im really excited to have Kurt come onboard for the Indy 500. He did a great job for us when he tested last year," Andretti said. "Hes obviously a natural talent and we feel he is going to take to the Indy car quickly and have a competitive month with us." Busch, an advocate for The Armed Forces Foundation who is dedicating his effort to the men and women in the U.S. military, will bring at least two personal sponsors. Cessna has signed on to help with his transportation between IndyCar and NASCAR, and Busch estimates it will require at least 20 hours of flight time shuttling him back and forth between both series. Hes also teamed with Basis, a wrist-based health tracker Busch is using to help with his training leading up to the double. Busch has also taken up martial arts and joked hes entered "a boot camp phase" of his personal training. "You can get your body ready, and do all the cardio needed and follow the nutritional guidelines," he said. "But the mental aspect of running 1,100 miles is like nothing you can prepare for. I think the martial arts can help with that." He said hes spoken to Stewart, as well as former Penske teammates Helio Castroneves and Sam Hornish Jr., and Juan Pablo Montoya, who left NASCAR to drive for Penske in IndyCar this season, about his venture. Castroneves, Hornish and Montoya are all former Indy 500 winners. "All of them have given me great support and told me, You can do this," Busch said. Indeed, three-time winner Castroneves welcomed Busch to the field: "Congrats on the #indy500, see u there!!" he tweeted. Busch will not participate in an IndyCar race before the Indy 500, but president of competition Derrick Walker said last month the series would try to accommodate him with track time much the same way it has Montoya, who has received additional testing time in his preparation for the season. "To add a driver with the resume of Kurt Busch to the Indianapolis 500 field is a huge gain for IndyCar," Walker said. "We want to see the best 33 drivers put their skills to the test on the biggest stage in motorsports, regardless of which series they come from. To attempt the double is a tremendous challenge, and were looking forward to watching Kurt accomplish the feat." Buschs path to the Indy 500 will begin in earnest after the May 10 Sprint Cup race at Kansas. Hes expected to spend a week testing Andrettis Honda, and make at least 10 trips between Indy and Charlotte as he participates in NASCARs All-Star race and attempts to qualify for the 500, race in the 500 and the 600. He said hes worked out several scheduling issues with NASCAR and has permission from Charlotte Motor Speedway to helicopter onto the frontstretch of the track to speed up his arrival for the second race. Busch won the Coca-Cola 600 -- which is a full 100 miles longer than any other race on the NACAR schedule -- in 2010. "As a past Coca-Cola 600 champion, Kurt Busch knows what a test of endurance 600 miles can be. To race 1,100 is nearly impossible," said Charlotte Motor Speedway president Marcus Smith. "To even attempt this takes a lot of guts. Fans will appreciate this effort, and I know theyll be as excited as I will, watching the clock to see if he can make it to Charlotte in time for our green flag." Charlotte officials said theyll track Buschs journey from Indianapolis on their massive big screen video board in the infield of the speedway so fans can follow and anticipate his arrival. But if he wins the 500, Busch knows hell be late to Charlotte -- if he makes it all. However, NASCARs new Chase for the Sprint Cup championship format means all Busch has to do this year is win a race to earn a spot in the 16-driver Chase, and he can afford to miss the start of the 600 and not jeopardize his regular job. "As long as we attempt to qualify for every race, we are eligible for the Chase under the new rules," Busch said. "Its like you are in New York City, on Broadway, and you look up at all the bright lights -- they are clearly pointing to this being the right time to do this. The green light is on." Chris Stewart Jersey .The result meant Juventus will spend the winter break three points clear of Roma after the league leader beat Cagliari 3-1 on Thursday.Milan remained seventh ahead of the rest of the weekends fixtures, but was provisionally two points behind third-place Napoli in their duel for the final Champions League spot. Alex Stalock Jersey . As for regular Olympic spectators, theyre being warned that most travel insurance policies wont cover acts of terrorism or war. The Games in southern Russia, which run from Feb. 7-23, are being staged amid unprecedented security and under global warnings of danger. http://www.hockeywildauthority.com/deva ... -c-20/.com) - The Carolina Panthers won for the first time in seven games last week, were without Cam Newton due to a car accident this week, but somehow sit atop the much-maligned NFC South. Matt Dumba Jersey . -- Claudio Bieler hadnt scored since early September, and not from the run of play since mid-July. Jonas Brodin Jersey .ca. Hello Kerry, After watching Nino Niederreiter clobber Alex Burrows with an open-ice hit on Wednesday, do you think he should have gotten more than the two minutes for interference.(SportsNetwork.com) - The Carolina Hurricanes were shut out in their most recent trip to the ice, but their offensive struggles are nowhere near as alarming as what is currently plaguing the Calgary Flames. The Canes look to bounce back after having their longest winning streak of the season halted as they host the Flames on Monday night. The Flames will not have Mike Cammalleri in their lineup after he suffered a concussion in the Flames 2-1 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday. Carolina won the first four of their recent five-game win streak by one-goal margins, netting 14 goals in that span. Following a postponed game versus Buffalo due to weather, the Hurricanes routed the Toronto Maple Leafs 6-1 on Thursday, but saw their offense go cold in a 3-0 setback at Columbus the following night. Anton Khudobin made 21 saves for the Hurricanes, who were shut out for the third time this season and for the first time since Dec. 9. "The first period was like a chess match type of game for both teams," Carolina coach Kirk Muller said. "Nothing was going on, which we were quite happy with. "Then, one or two breakdowns and they capitalized. Theyre a good team. They play a good system. They dont give up much. We dont give up much either, but we werent able to sustain that second and third opportunity and capitalize." The Blue Jackets were able to slow down Canes forward Jeff Skinner, who went into the game with 17 goals in his previous 17 contests but couldnt find the back of the next on Friday despite a team-high seven shots on net. Skinner could get some help on Monday if captain Eric Staal can return from a lower-body injury that has sidelined him the past three games. Staal, who had played in 191 consecutive games, was able to return to practice on Sunday and has 10 goals and 35 points in 42 games this season. "Weve got too see how he responds to (Sunday).dddddddddddd We want to be smart," Muller told Carolinas website. "We have all the days off after that, so we want to make sure if hes ready to go (Monday), its nothing that sets him back." Carolina will now take on a Calgary team that has been in an offensive rut for the last two-plus weeks. The Flames have been outscored 13-1 over a three-game slide and 26-6 over their past eight games, a span in which they have been shut out five times while going 1-7-0. Calgary was nearly blanked again on Saturday versus the visiting Pittsburgh Penguins until Mikael Backlund scored at 11:29 of the third period in a 2-1 loss. Backlunds goal snapped a club-record 196-minute, 59-second scoring drought at home for the Flames. Reto Berra was solid in the loss with 24 saves. "I wasnt as good as the guy on the other side tonight," said Berra. "You know, the guys in front made some blocks and I was able to make some saves, but not enough." The Flames will play two straight and four of their next five on the road. Calgary didnt light up the lamp all that much in its first meeting with Carolina this season, but still managed a 2-1 home victory in overtime on Dec. 12. Chris Butler scored the winning goal with inside of four seconds left in the bonus frame, while Karri Ramo made 29 saves. That included a stop on Skinner during a third-period penalty shot. The Flames beat the Hurricanes for the sixth time in the past eight meetings, but have lost two straight in Carolina. Skinner had a goal and Justin Peters made 28 saves for Carolina. The Hurricanes activated forward Riley Nash off injured reserve on Saturday while sending forwards Zach Boychuk and Brett Sutter to the minors. Nash had missed the past five games with a lower-body injury and has four goals with six assists in 36 games this season. Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Jerseys From China Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys ' ' '