INDIANAPOLIS -- Jacques Villeneuve is ready to make an IndyCar comeback. *** Peterson Motorsports said Wednesday it has hired Villeneuve to race in this years Indianapolis 500, 19 years after the Canadian driver first drank the milk in Victory Lane. "IndyCar is growing again and thats why last year when I started watching races again, every time I watched I felt almost angry I wasnt there," the 1995 race winner said on a satellite hookup from France during a news conference held at the teams Indy headquarters. At age 42, Villeneuve seemed content being a television analyst, musician and RallyCross driver. But when *** and co-owner Rick Peterson, also from Canada, made a serious offer, he couldnt refuse. The 500 is scheduled for May 25. Villeneuve certainly has a compelling resume. As an Indy rookie in 1994, he qualified fourth and finished second to Al Unser Jr., and was named the races rookie of the year. The next season, the reigning CART rookie of the year was even better. He qualified fifth at Indy, forced Scott Goodyear into a costly mistake on the final restart and eventually held off Christian Fittipaldi to become the first and only Canadian winner of the race. Villeneuve completed all 400 laps at Indy in those two starts and won the 1995 CART title, too. But after starting 33 races, winning six poles and five races in two IndyCar seasons, Villeneuve had a chance to become an international star. So he headed to Europe and joined Formula One -- the series that made his late father, Gilles, a household name. Like his dad, who died in a 1982 F1 qualifying crash, Villeneuve excelled on the world stage. In 163 career starts between 1996 and 2006, the younger Villeneuve reached the podium 23 times, won 11 races, 13 poles and claimed the 1997 world championship. At that point, American open-wheel racing wasnt even on the radar. His journey back to North America began in 2007 when Villeneuve made the move to American stock cars. Over the next seven seasons, he dabbled in Sprint Cup, Nationwide and Le Mans series as well as sports cars. Villeneuve regained interest in IndyCars last season as he watched how close and competitive the races had become. To him, it reminded him of the series he left almost two decades earlier. Suddenly, he was interested in making a return -- if he could find the right car and the right team. "To get this opportunity is a gift," Villeneuve said. "A lot of people say when you have kids, you slow down. I want my kids to see me race." *** is the winningest team owner in Indy Lights history and already employs two full-time drivers in the better-known IndyCar series -- Russias Mikhail Aleshin and Frances Simon Pageland. In previous years, *** has always found a way to compete at Indy. Getting Villeneuve might be the biggest coup of all for his low-budget team. "Indy is a special place. We go there not to exist but to win the race," *** said. "To see a guy that finished second and finished first there, I dont think hes going to have any problem going back." Villeneuve becomes the fifth 500 winner on this years entry list. The others are three-time winner Helio Castroneves of Brazil, two-time winner Scott Dixon of New Zealand, 2000 winner Juan Pablo Montoya of Colombia and Brazils Tony Kanaan, the defending champ. Another trip to Victory Lane would give Villeneuve two more milestones. He would break Al Unsers record for the longest gap between first and last victories. Unser went 17 years between his first Indy crown in 1970 and his record-tying fourth win in 1987. Villeneuve also would break Gordon Johncocks record for the longest gap between first and second wins at Indy, 1973 and 1982. Villeneuve isnt motivated by records. He wants to win. "Im a racer," he said, explaining he does not plan to retire anytime soon. "Ive got to find ways to get better and better and better, and Im going there with a team thats very experienced and has been very successful as well." Nike Roshe Run España Baratas . They ended the first half with a 14 play drive that covered 96 yards and ended with a Danny Woodhead touchdown. They entered the extra-long halftime with the lead in the game and a great deal of momentum. Nike Free 5.0 Hombre Baratas . - The Arizona Coyotes have waived defenceman David Schlemko. http://www.airmax-zapatillas.es/ . -- The Detroit Pistons are still one of the worst fourth-quarter teams in the NBA. Adidas Neo Mujer . The second-seeded Sharks bounced back from Saturdays 3-1 loss to win this Western Conference quarterfinal series 4-2. Antti Niemi made 26 saves for the Sharks, who are trying to embark on another deep playoff run after making it to the conference finals a year ago. Zapatillas Adidas Zx 750 Baratas . 1 overall pick likes best about football. "Big hits," he said. "Im all about hitting. I dont care who it is." Thats what the Houston Texans are counting on from the South Carolina defensive end after skipping a chance to take a quarterback -- their top need -- with the top pick Thursday night.WASHINGTON -- Since Davey Johnson became the manager of the Washington Nationals, he had been waiting for his team to muscle up. On Tuesday night, they finally did. Rick Ankiel hit a grand slam and the Nationals had three homers in all while posting a 9-3 victory over the Atlanta Braves for their fourth straight win. "This is my kind of game. I havent had any there in five weeks," Johnson said. "Ive been waiting for one like this." Ankiel connected in Washingtons five-run fourth inning against Derek Lowe (6-10), giving the Nationals a 6-3 lead. Ankiel also went deep twice Monday night against the Braves and has six homers on the year. "Ankiel is swinging it pretty good right now," said Atlanta manager Fredi Gonzalez, whose team has dropped three straight. "Were not making pitches and were paying for it right now with him at the plate." Since Johnson arrived in Washington, hes been adamant about wanting a team that hits long balls and makes other teams uncomfortable. "Hes an offensive guy," Ankiel said. "I know he likes to pound guys and score runs." Ian Desmond hit a two-run homer in the fifth that finished Lowe, who has dropped his last three starts. The right-hander gave up eight runs, seven earned, and 10 hits. "Today was a lot of mistakes over the middle of the plate, and not really quality pitches," Lowe said. "Its been a tough stretch. Long year. But youve got to keep fighting, hopefully things will turn around. But its definitely one of my longer years in my career." Michael Morse hit Washingtons final homer of the night, a solo drive off Cristhian Martinez in the sixth. It was his 18th of the season. "Davey wants to see the ball get hit out of the ballpark," Desmond said. "The last time he managed in the big leagues, there were at least two or three every night. A real different ballgame now." Desmond drove in thhree runs.dddddddddddd "This is what this club is capable of doing. Everyone starts getting that fever -- that hitting fever -- its fun," said Johnson, who became Washingtons manager on June 27. "The talents been there." Dan Uggla (24 games) and Freddie Freeman (17) extended their hitting streaks for the Braves. Those are the two longest current streaks in the majors. John Lannan (8-7) struck out a season-high eight and improved to 3-0 against Atlanta this year. He gave up three runs and nine hits in 6 2-3 innings. Desmonds sacrifice fly put the Nationals ahead in the second. Atlanta scored twice in the third on Michael Bourns RBI double and Martin Prados infield out, and took a 3-1 lead in the fourth on Jorge Constanzas RBI single. NOTES: It was Ankiels second career slam. ... Atlanta 3B Chipper Jones worked out before the game and said he wasnt ready to start. Jones, who strained his right quad on July 25, has been restricted to pinch-hitting since then. "I need to see what I can and cant do just to give them feedback and see where I still have pain," Jones said. He said he hasnt noticed any improvement since Monday. ... Washington RHP Stephen Strasburg, recovering from Tommy John surgery, threw 51 pitches in a simulated game in Viera, Fla. ... The Nationals recalled RHP Collin Balester from triple-A Syracuse. ... Washington C Ivan Rodriguez (oblique) is close to being ready for a rehab assignment, Johnson said. ... Atlanta RHP Brandon Beachy is scheduled to start on Wednesday afternoon against Chien-Ming Wang. Beachy is 4-2 this season and is looking for his second straight victory after not winning his previous four starts. Wang started for the first time in more than two years on July 29 against the New York Mets and allowed six runs -- four earned -- in four innings. ... Nationals 3B Ryan Zimmerman extended his hitting streak to 11 games. cheap custom jerseys wholesale jerseys store cheap jerseys Cheap Jerseys wholesale jerseys ' ' '
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