Hilfestellungen » was predetermined, Mason said. We need

LEXINGTON, Ohio -- IndyCar points leader Simon Pagenaud knows Team Penske teammate Will Power is chasing him down so earning the pole at Mid-Ohio Race Sports Car Course was important.Pagenaud set a course record with a lap at 127.271 mph around the 13-turn, 2.258-mile road course Saturday to edge Power.The Frenchman Pagenaud increased his lead to 48 points entering the race Sunday.Thats what you need to do to win the championship, Pagenaud said. Its a long season. Thats what we were doing at the beginning of the season to extend the gap.It was his sixth pole position of the season and the eighth of his career. He won three of the first five races and had top-three finishes in the other two but has made only one podium in the past six races.Weve been good the whole season, Pagenaud said. The pole position shows your strength and speed, but (Sunday) is when the points really matter.Pagenaud competed despite a sore back. He was hurt in practice Friday.All of a sudden it was like somebody jammed a knife in my back, he said. This morning the pain was 10 out of 10.Power temporarily held the course record in qualifying before being surpassed by Pagenaud, but will start in the front row and is in good position to win for the fourth time in the past five races, including the last one at Toronto on July 17.The Australian hopes for good weather Sunday after two days of showers.A dry race would be very nice, Power said. This course in the rain is very tough. Whatever it is well try to the best we can to. Weve got to beat to make sure we have a good day and keep beating the 22 car (Pagenaud).Defending champion Graham Rahal, from nearby Columbus, will start sixth in the race his father, Bobby, won twice.GOOD START: RC Enerson will make his IndyCar debut after qualifying 18th. The 19-year-old Floridian will drive the Dale Coyne Racing No. 19 Honda. He comes to the circuit from the Indy Lights series where he won at Mid-Ohio last year. Enerson had the 10th-best practice time Friday. I surprised myself more than anybody else, he said after qualifying. Its being comfortable with the team and finding the limits.LOOKING FOR MORE: Reigning series champion and five-time Mid-Ohio winner Scott Dixon will start 11th. He qualified two days following the announcement that Target is leaving IndyCar after sponsoring Chip Ganassi Racing for 27 years. Ive been very fortunate to be with Chip and have such an amazing sponsor as Target, Dixon said Friday. Were still going to be racing for wins, championships. Its just a change in direction and change in colors.TWEET OF THE DAY: That was a tricky one! Had to take a risk after Q1. Happy with the top 10, think that decision put us in better shape tomorrow with tires. -- James Hinchcliffe, who had to decide whether to use the alternate tires (reds) or fresh ones during the qualifying because of the changing conditions. He used the reds but decided to save a second set.LONG TIME: Sunday will mark the 32nd IndyCar race at Mid-Ohio. Johnny Rutherford won the first in 1980.HOMETOWN BOY: Rahal, who donned a helmet last season that resembled those worn by the Ohio State football team, has added a fire suit that looks like the Buckeyes home scarlet and gray uniform to go along with OSU inspired gloves and shoes.Fake China Shoes .C. -- When North Carolina freshman Ryan Switzer reported to training camp in August he was a little miffed to learn he was third on the depth chart at punt returner. China Shoes Cheap .C. -- Calgarys Kevin Koe did it the hard way again. https://www.chinashoesshop.com/ . However, he did make them miss him a little less. Cundiff, who had the unenviable job of replacing Dawson last season, agreed Thursday to a one-year, $1. China Shoes Free Shipping . Varlamov made 33 saves and Ryan OReilly had a goal and scored in the shootout as the Avalanche beat the New Jersey Devils 2-1 on Thursday night. China Shoes Nike . -- Derrick Rose shook off poor shooting early to hit clutch shots late and Carlos Boozer had 20 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Chicago Bulls to a 104-95 preseason victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday night.NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Will Muschamp had no worries about sending Elliott Fry out for the longest field goal of his career. Even though this was the coachs first game with South Carolina, he had seen the kicker connect repeatedly in clutch situations.Fry kicked a career-long 55-yard field goal with 35 seconds left, and the South Carolina Gamecocks rallied from a 10-point halftime deficit to beat Vanderbilt 13-10 Thursday night in Muschamps debut as head coach.I had total confidence, Muschamp said.So did senior quarterback Perry Orth.Ive been here the same amount of time as Elliott, Orth said. Ive seen him make those in practice. Hes made a few clutch kicks in games. I knew if we got the ball close to the 35 and in, wed have a chance.Muschamp started Orth at quarterback and also played freshman Brandon McIlwain. But it was Orth who went back into the game in the third quarter and threw for 152 yards rallying the Gamecocks to their eighth straight victory over Vanderbilt in the Southeastern Conference opener for both teams.Vanderbilt now is 0-3 in season openers under coach Derek Mason, though his Commodores did manage to score an offensive touchdown in the first half. But Tommy Openshaw missed a 45-yard field goal wide left with 3:44 left, and Vandy turned it over on downs with 14 seconds left.Every decision we made will be questioned, Mason said. The bottom line is we didnt win this game. Now we have to get back to next week and play MTSU.Fry also kicked a 48-yard field goal in the third quarter, and Deebo Samuel atoned for a fumbled punt in the first quarter by scoring an 8-yard TD on an end-around with 7:30 left. Fry had total confidence he could connect from 55 after barely coming up short from 62 in warmups.I knew I could hit it, said Fry, whose previous long was 52 yards.TAKEAWAYSSouth Carolina: The second half was a complete turnaround from the first with the Gamecocks nearly pinning themselves deep on the opening kickoff before officials ruled the returner had knelt down for the touchback. McIlwain took over at the beginningg of the second quarter after Orth managed 23 yards of offense in the first.ddddddddddddMuschamp said the plan coming in had been to get McIlwain into the game early. But McIlwain lost a fumble, so the coach went back to Orth. The senior was 6 of 8 for 117 yards in the second half as the Gamecocks gained 220 yards on offense.Vanderbilt: The Commodores got their hands on lots of passes defensively but couldnt pick off even one despite that being an area of focus this season. They forced two fumbles but couldnt get off the field in the second half.COOPERS REPLACEMENT: The Gamecocks might have been wondering who would replace Pharoh Cooper, now with the Los Angeles Rams in the NFL. Freshman Bryan Edwards did his best to step up, pulling in catch after catch. His best was a 43-yarder, and he finished with eight receptions for 101 yards in his first game. Hes that kind of talent, and hes going to be huge for us the rest of the season, Orth said.QB ISSUESSouth Carolina knew it had questions at quarterback with Muschamp unable to pick between his trio. Mason had said repeatedly before the opener that Kyle Shurmur was his starter with Wade Freebeck the backup. But Vandy brought in Freebeck the drive after the Commodores scored a TD to go up 10-0. Freebeck was in for two consecutive drives and managed 1 yard over six plays. The switch had fans wondering what happened and was reminiscent of quarterback struggles in recent years.It was predetermined, Mason said. We needed to get Wade a series or two ... Kyle needed to find more rhythm. He didnt have rhythm. We needed to make some plays. We wanted to find momentum.UP NEXTSouth Carolina: The Gamecocks visit Mississippi State, a team theyve beaten seven straight games, on Sept. 10.Vanderbilt: The Commodores host Middle Tennessee looking for a second straight victory over a school 40 miles away. MTSU won three straight before Vanderbilt ended that skid a year ago. ' ' '