INDIANAPOLIS -- When Ed Carpenter, Carlos Munoz and Helio Castroneves were pushed to the edge Saturday, each remained calm and came up with their best-qualifying runs of the day. Now they have to do it again one more time Sunday. The American, Colombian and Brazilian who have celebrated some of their biggest career moments at Indianapolis each made daring runs over the final 80 minutes Saturday to take the top three seeds heading into Sundays Indianapolis 500 shootout. Carpenter finished first with a four-lap qualifying average of 230.661 mph. Munoz was second at 230.460. "I wasnt sure we were going to go 230 in our first run, so I was relieved when we did," Carpenter said. "But to be honest, I didnt think going into qualifying I was going to exceed 230." Others drivers thought Carpenter would, and it only took one practice lap and one qualifying lap to assuage any doubts. Carpenter, the fifth car on the track, averaged 230.114 then sat around all day as other drivers tried to knock him off the top rung. Nobody caught him until a rain delay ended at 4:18 p.m. Then in a flurry of speed, Andretti Autosport driver James Hinchcliffe knocked Carpenter off the pole, Munoz knocked Hinchcliffe, his teammate, off the pole, and Carpenter retook the pole. He finished the day waiting 65 minutes to see if it would stand. Normally, the reward for surviving such tension would be celebrating a pole win. Instead, under the new qualifying format, all Saturday did was assure Carpenter and the other eight top cars of a top-nine starting spot on Indys traditional 33-car starting grid. Each of the top nine will have one qualifying run Sunday with the fastest claiming the coveted No. 1 starting spot for the May 25 race. The success of Carpenter, Munoz and Castroneves was hardly a surprise. Carpenter, last years pole winner, had one of the fastest cars in practice Thursday and Friday. If he wins the pole again Sunday on the track his stepfather, Tony George, once ran, Carpenter would be the second driver since 1990 to earn consecutive poles at Indy. Castroneves also did it in 2009 and 2010. Munoz, meanwhile, drives for Michael Andretti, whose team has consistently put four or five drivers in the top 10 all week. In 2013, Munoz made his IndyCar debut here and responded by qualifying second, finishing second and walking away as the 500 rookie of the year. "I was questioning myself, the team, everything before, but as soon as I hit the track I forgot everything," Munoz said. "The car was really fast, and its a shame we wasted that second outing. I think were looking strong, and well see what happens tomorrow." Castroneves owns three 500 wins and three pole wins at Indy -- all for team owner Roger Penske. But there was plenty of intrigue, too. Kurt Busch, the fourth driver to attempt "the double" by racing in Indy and Charlotte on the same day, May 25, nearly made it into the pole shootout, too. He was bumped with 39 minutes left in qualifying when 2000 Indy winner Juan Pablo Montoya surpassed Buschs speed of 229.960. Busch could have bumped his way back into the fast nine had he not already left for NASCARs All-Star race in Charlotte, North Carolina. He was scheduled to be back in Indy for Day 2 when the top 30 starting spots will be determined. Two other Andretti drivers, Hinchcliffe and Marco Andretti, overcame unusual circumstances to reach the shootout. Hinchcliffe was fourth (230.407) despite spending most of this week recovering from a concussion. Andretti actually withdrew his original qualifying time to move into a shorter line, then waved off on another attempt before making it back to No. 6. Frances Simon Pagenaud, who won the inaugural Grand Prix of Indianapolis last weekend, was seventh. Carpenters teammate, JR Hildebrand, and Sarah Fishers driver, Josef Newgarden, also made the shootout, though Chip Ganassis four drivers were shut out. "I think we need to find a little more speed," Charlie Kimball said. "As a team, the fact that we arent in the top nine would prove that. We all work toward that goal, having four of our cars in the top nine. It was a lofty goal, but that was the expectation within the team." This time, theyll all be watching Carpenter and the rest of the gang. "We came in with a good car and a good package from last year," Carpenter said. "Like I said, with the second car here, weve been able to try some more things than what we did last year." Nike Roshe One HYP QS Blanche . This is the second and final meeting of the season between these teams. Al Montoya made 24 saves and Evander Kane scored two goals as Winnipeg were 3-0 winners at MTS Centre on October 13. Nike Roshe One Flyknit Blanche . Once on different sides of the reality TV show, Australian welterweight (Filthy) Richard Walsh trained with Canadian coach Patrick (The Predator) Cote. http://www.rosheflyknitsolde.com/nike-roshe-one-en-soldes/nike-roshe-run-hi.html . "Im pretty beat right now," admitted John Salmons, one of four players coming to the Raptors from Sacramento in the deal, finalized Monday, that shipped Rudy Gay out of town. Nike Roshe One NM BR Grise . - The Los Angeles Lakers have waived guard Keith Appling and forward Jeremy Tyler, reducing their training camp roster to 17 players. Air Max 90 Knit Jacquard ice . Christian Yelich led off the 10th with a single off Shae Simmons (1-2) and moved to second on Jordany Valdespins sacrifice bunt. Following an intentional walk to Giancarlo Stanton, Simmons walked Casey McGehee to load the bases.MEMPHIS, Tenn. - The Memphis Grizzlies jumped out to an early lead and didnt let the Minnesota Timberwolves gain any confidence the rest of the way. Mike Conley had 23 points and six assists, Marc Gasol added 14 points and 12 rebounds and the Grizzlies easily dispatched the short-handed Timberwolves 109-92 on Monday night. "We caught a good team on the second night of a back-to-back," Memphis coach Dave Joerger said. Memphis goal was to take immediate advantage of a Minnesota team coming off a 127-120 loss to Phoenix on Sunday in which the Timberwolves squandered a 22-point lead. Memphis never trailed and held a double-digit lead from the 3:27 mark of the first quarter to the end. "We didnt want to give them too much leeway," Conley said. "Weve been in the same shoes. Youre coming in off a tough game, and you kind of walk through the first part of the game. "We just wanted to jump out there as early as we could, set the tempo and try to get ahead of them." Zach Randolph finished with 17 points for Memphis, while Tayshaun Prince and Ed Davis added 12 points apiece. Mike Miller scored 11 as the Grizzlies won their 10th straight home game. Kevin Love led the Timberwolves with 16 points, but shot 6-of-18 from the field, part of Minnesota shooting 38 per cent for the game. Corey Brewer had 15 points and Kevin Martin finished with 13. Gorgui Dieng, in the starting lineup because of injuries on Minnesotas front line, finished with 11 points and 17 rebounds. The victory left Memphis in the seventh spot in the Western Conference playoff race, a half-game ahead of Dallas and Phoenix. Meanwhile, the consecutive losses to the Grizzlies and Suns pushed the Timberwolves seven games behind Phoenix and the Mavericks. While not mathematically eliminated, the Timberwolves are beginning to understand their situation. "We just have to be competitive. Thats the biggest key right now get through the end of the season and play each game competitively," forward Chase Budinger said. "Thats how yoou have to look at it.dddddddddddd" The Timberwolves continued to deal with injuries as centres Nikola Pekovic and Ronny Turiaf sat out, along with backup point guard J.J. Barea. With the absences, Memphis dominated the inside and outscored Minnesota in the paint 66-42 and held a 54-42 advantage on the boards. "They played physical," Love said. "When you play a team like that on a back-to-back, especially this late in the season, especially without Pek and Ronny and some depth, its tough." The first quarter was a horrid shooting exhibition. The teams combined to miss the games first nine shots, and Memphis shot only 44.4 per cent in the quarter. Minnesota started 3-of-16 before rallying to 5-of-24 (20.8 per cent for the quarter). "We just got off to such a bad start and missed a ton of shots," Minnesota coach Rick Adelman said. "We allowed them 40 points in the paint in the first half. They controlled the game pretty much the whole game." Memphis pushed the first-half lead to as many as 21 before Minnesota got going midway through the second period. But the Grizzlies held a 57-39 lead at the break. Memphis extended the lead to 24 in the third quarter and appeared to be in control. But Minnesota closed the period on a 15-4 run, including the final nine to cut the advantage to 81-68 entering the fourth. Memphis opened the final period with 12 straight points, including consecutive 3-pointers from Miller and Conley, and Memphis lead was at 93-68. "We had a little miscommunication, relaxed a little bit, and they took advantage," Gasol said. "At the end of the third, we got a little sloppy, but we picked it up again and went up. The reaction is what matters." NOTES: Randolph hit a 3-pointer from the left corner in the third quarter. He was 0-for-16 from outside the arc for the season. ... Memphis has not lost at home since dropping a decision to Dallas on Feb. 5. ... The victory assured Memphis of its fourth straight winning season. ... Memphis G Tony Allen missed the game with a stomach bug. cheap nfl jerseys cheap jerseys cheap jerseys cheap jerseys cheap nfl jerseys wholesale jerseys ' ' '
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