NEWTON, Iowa -- You dont often see a superior performance like the one Josef Newgarden and Ed Carpenter Racing put on in the Iowa Corn 300.?Whether you were sitting in the grandstands on a beautiful afternoon at Iowa Speedway or following the action on television or the internet from home, Newgardens dominance over the Verizon IndyCar Series field was obvious.?The No. 21 ECR Chevrolet led an IndyCar record 282 of 300 laps, losing the top spot only during green-flag pit stops. At one point before halfway, Newgarden and pole winner Simon Pagenaud had lapped the rest of the 23-car field.?The combined might of Team Penske and Chip Ganassi Racing was unable to overcome the flying 25-year-old from Nashville, who won by 4.28 seconds over Penskes Will Power and Ganassis Scott Dixon, with IndyCar Series championship leader Pagenaud dropping to fourth.?It was Newgardens first win of the 2016 season and the third of his IndyCar career. More importantly, it moves him up to second place in the season standings, 73 points behind Pagenaud.?His accomplishment Sunday was made even more impressive when you realize that, just four weeks ago, Newgarden broke his clavicle and right wrist in a jarring accident at Texas Motor Speedway.?It was a lot of fun; the car was amazing, Newgarden remarked after his latest win. Some stints it was like a video game. You put on new tires, catch people at the right point, and you could just slice and dice. Thats a lot of credit for what weve built at this team with Ed Carpenter Racing.?We had a good car here last year, he added. We had a good shot at winning it then. We had a great race, but we were disappointed we couldnt get it done last year. We really wanted to get it done this year, and we finally got it done.?Newgarden led more than 100 laps at Iowa in 2015 but had to settle for second place in the race.?This year, with a helping hand from part-time IndyCar driver J.R. Hildebrand, Newgarden and ECR were able to be in front at the finish after running pretty much unchallenged all day.?Newgarden gave credit to Hildebrand, who stepped in after Newgardens Texas crash to run the No. 21 car in tests at Road America and Iowa. At Road America, less than two weeks after screws and plates were installed to repair the fractured clavicle, Newgarden drove from the back of the grid to an eighth-place finish.?At Iowa, he was in a league of his own.?I dont think we realize how lucky we are to have someone like him at our disposal whenever we need it, Newgarden said of Hildebrand. He put some extra spice in the setup, and we took what I think was a race-winning car last year; he made it better with his input.?Weve got a great crew and great people, he added. Im happy to get my first oval win for the team.?Remarkably, he did it while driving injured at what most drivers believe is the most physical oval on the IndyCar Series schedule. The 0.875-mile Iowa track gives drivers almost no time to rest because there really isnt much of a straight to speak of.?Newgarden admitted that he knew before the start that he might not last the 300-lap distance. Instead, he stayed in front for more than 90 percent of the laps and rarely had to extend himself.?I was really nervous coming into the race, but I didnt want to tell anybody that, he said. I cant express to you how physical this place is.?Having a great car made it easier, he continued. Man, I was surprised I could hold on. But in the first stint, I was like, This car is so good, we can clearly win it with this car. Im going to feel like an idiot if I dont get to the end. That was enough motivation for me just to get through it.?The car was so good that I couldnt let my guys down. I just tried to focus on gritting it out and getting the most out of the thing.?Dixon and Power, with five IndyCar Series championships between them, were impressed with what they saw Sunday.?I dont think anybody really had anything for Josef today, Dixon said. Huge credit to that team. They did a hell of a job. Josef deserved that big-time. Good to see him get a win.?He was on his own on another planet, Power added. They just nailed it absolutely.?Theyre a top-class team. They generally do a really good job with their resources, so full credit to them, and when you have a shunt like he had, to come back from injuries, to a physical place like this and win, full credit. He didnt test here, either.?Questions about Newgardens future have been whirling around for the past couple of years, and it seems inevitable that, at some point, Penske or Ganassi will come calling for his services.?Whether he actually will be or not, Newgarden also should be given strong consideration for a role with the Haas F1 team. Although Indianapolis 500 winner Alexander Rossi already has some limited F1 experience, Newgarden -- who also spent time racing junior formula cars in Europe -- looks like a better bet for the long term.?Jumping to a superteam such as Penske or Ganassi seems like a logical career move, but Newgarden has shown that he is capable of winning races with the tight-knit team run by owner-driver Carpenter. Newgardens belief in whether ECR can carry him to IndyCar championships likely will be a key factor in deciding his future.?Although he is well placed in the title contest this year, Newgarden knows he is likely to lose significant ground when the IndyCar Series returns to Texas on Aug. 27 to complete the race he crashed out of.?Im kind of bummed about Texas, he said. We know its coming. Thats going to push us down, and its going to be tough to swallow when we get there because thats really the only one that Im prepared that were going to lose a lot of points.?Im not too concerned about it yet, he added. Its all about making hay when you can. You have to win races. Thats the only way were going to challenge Simon, and at the end of the day well see where were at. Hopefully were close enough at Sonoma that we can challenge for a championship.Wholesale Shoes From China . -- There were so many positives from the Orlando Magics first victory of the season that it was hard for coach Jacque Vaughn to stop praising his players. Wholesale Shoes For Sale . -- Golden State Warriors coach Mark Jackson asked his players a simple question during Fridays morning shootaround: How many of them had ever been on a team 14 games over . https://www.wholesaleshoesforcheap.com/ . Mitch Holmberg added a goal and three assists. Connor Chartier also scored for the Chiefs (3-0-0). Luke Harrison spoiled Garrett Hughsons shutout bid with a power-play goal at 13:17 of the third period. The Spokane goaltender finished with 28 saves, including a Brandon Fushimi penalty shot in the second period that would have tied the game 1-1. Air Max 270 Sale . "I wrote 36 on my sheet at the beginning of the game," the Cincinnati coach said, referring the yard line the ball would need to be snapped from. Air Max 90 Sale . The Cleveland Indians, Tampa Bay Rays, and Texas Rangers all won on Sunday meaning the Rangers will host the Rays in a play-in game on Monday.Like many tournaments of its ilk, South Africas first-class competition is contested under the radar. This season, however, there will be increased focus on it because it is expected to produce the players that will help their Test team return to its former glory.The 2015-16 summer was South Africas worst since readmission. They lost five out of the eight Tests they played and tumbled from No. 1 to 6 in the ICC rankings. Although they arrested that slide with a 1-0 win over New Zealand in August, it was only the start. Bigger tests are in store.In an unusually packed calendar, South Africa will play nine Tests in three countries in the next six months before an early winter break that leads into a four-Test tour of England. If they win enough, they could find themselves close to the top again, but they need the personnel to get there. The only place those players can come from is the first-class structure, so this summers ten-round tournament - which is broken into five fixtures per franchise in October-November and five more in January-March - will be closely watched. ESPNcricinfo picks out a few things to keep an eye on.Dean Elgar and Morne Morkels fitness tests Opening batsman Dean Elgar injured his ankle when stepping onto the boundary rope in the lead-up to the second Test against New Zealand. But he is now fully fit and will play for Titans in the first two rounds to try and seal his spot for the Australia tour.Morne Morkel has a little more work to do before he can be sure of making the trip. He had been sidelined for the last two months because of a bulging disc in his back, and missed both the Tests against New Zealand and the ODIs against Australia. He made a comeback at the club level last weekend and got through 10 overs with only mild stiffness. However, he now needs to return to stiffer competition. With limits on the number of overs he can bowl, Morkel will have to wait until the second week of fixtures to play for Titans and prove himself fit enough for Test cricket.Paul Adams futureDown the road from Titans, in Johannesburg, Cobras begin their season and the atmosphere promises to be frosty. Their change room is split into a pro-Adams camp, led by limited-overs captain Justin Ontong, and an anti-Adams camp, which includes 10 of the 17 contracted players. The anti-camp initially voiced concerns about Adams ability to coach at the end of the previous season, but their concerns were not dealt with until a month ago when a mediator in the form of Paddy Upton was appointed to deal with the issues.Upton interviewed some of the franchise players and recommended Adams stood down and be redeployed elsewhere, but Cobras chose not to implement that and the aggrieved players have now taken the case to the dispute resolution body, the Council for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA).The CCMA now needs to serve papers to the Western Cape Cricket Board, who then has 30 days to attend mediation. That means the season will start with Adams in charge, and some players unhappy with the head coach, who is under immense pressure to produce results. Adams has been in charge of the franchise since 2012, and Cobras have won five trophies under him. However, they did not collect any silverware in the previous season - the first time in eight summers that Cobras hadnt had success.Will former players make a difference?At least Adams will have an aide in the form of Ashwell Prince, who has been appointed his assistant. Prince resigned from the national selection panel last month to concentrate his efforts on coaching, and he has a specific task to develop Cobras young batsmen.Prince will also act as a role model to aspiring internationals, something that was considered missing from the South Affrican franchise system.dddddddddddd The structure has come under criticism for not involving former internationals. But this summer, it will have at least three big names in Prince, Mark Boucher and Nicky Boje.Boucher has signed a two-year deal as the Titans head coach, and he has promised to involve several of his former team-mates, including Jacques Kallis and Makhaya Ntini. Boje, who was involved in an interim capacity with Knights last season, is now their full-time coach.Knights and Warriors trophy droughtBojes most pressing task will be to bring some success to a franchise, whose trophy cabinet has been bare for five seasons. Their last win was a shared limited-overs cup in 2010-11, and they have endured a middling run ever since. They have beefed up their squad for the upcoming summer with the acquisitions of David Miller and Marchant de Lange, and have a new captain in Theunis de Bruyn, who they will hope can lead to a change in fortunes.On the Eastern Cape Coast, Warriors have gone even longer without winning. Their trophies came in the 2009-10 season, when Russell Domingo was in charge, but they have struggled ever since. Warriors will make a fresh start under a new captain, with Colin Ingram stepping down because of fitness issues. Simon Harmer will lead the team instead in first-class and JJ Smuts in the shorter formats. Ingram recently underwent knee surgery and is still on the road to recovery, with his return to action likely to take longer. But under coach Malibongwe Maketa, and with Kyle Abbott to lead their attack, Warriors may have the makings of a more successful unit.How will Dolphins fare without many internationals?Further along the shoreline in Durban, there have also been unsettling developments that will affect how Dolphins approach this season. The franchise chose not to renew Lance Kluseners contract towards the end of the previous season, and finished off their campaign with acting coaches. They have since appointed Grant Morgan, who has enjoyed success with Kwa-Zulu Natal Inland and will have to repeat that at a higher level, without the resources he may have wanted. Both Miller and Abbott chose to play their domestic cricket away from Durban this season, with Miller moving to Knights and Abbott to Warriors. That leaves Dolphins with Imran Tahir as the only nationally-contracted player, and even his appearances will be limited due to international commitments. Dolphins have some experience in the form of Morne van Wyk, Daryn Smith and Imraan Khan. But they will not have a headline-grabber until Kevin Pietersen arrives for the T20 tournament much later. It will be interesting to see whether they band together better in the absence of a big name player or if they miss having one around.Lions roaring into national sideGeoffrey Toyana, the Lions coach, has made a name for himself as the finishing school master for franchise cricketers who want to become international regulars, and he has more students to work with this season. Hardus Viljoen, Reeza Hendricks and Dwaine Pretorius will want to join Quinton de Kock, Temba Bavuma, Chris Morris, Kagiso Rabada and Aaron Phangiso as players who passed through Toyanas hands into South African XIs.All three have been on the South African radar, with Viljoen making his Test debut last season. Hendricks was picked for the Test squad in Bangladesh in July, 2015, but did not play, and Pretorius is part of the ongoing ODI series against Australia. Toyana will press on the trio the need for consistent performances and the importance of being part of a winning franchise. Success breeds success, after all. ' ' '