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ROCKINGHAM, N. Panthers Luke Kuechly Blue Jersey .C. -- Kyle Larson picked up his first NASCAR national series win on Sunday by holding off Joey Logano on the final restart of the Truck Series race at Rockingham Speedway. Logano was closing in on Larson when a collision between Timothy Peters and Ryan Sieg brought out the caution with two laps remaining. "I was definitely worried and I could see him getting closer and closer in the mirror and was hoping we could get to the line, and we got that yellow with just a couple to go," Larson said. Logano had fresher tires and Larson was thought to be a sitting duck for the green-white-checkered restart. Instead, Logano misjudged Larsons start and Larson drove away to the win after leading 187 laps. "Im usually not the best on restarts, so I was surprised I got that good of a start," said Larson, who won in a truck for Turner Scott Motorsports with an Autism Speaks paint scheme in honour of crew chief Trent Owens son, Gray. "I wish Gray was here with us to hang out and have fun. Im pretty happy. This is very special. I just want to thank all the fans for coming out and watching this, and I hope all the fans watching at home enjoyed it, too." Logano, who was second after flying to the race from Saturdays nights fifth-place finish at Texas, blamed himself for not getting past Larson on the two-lap sprint to the finish. "I just got beat. I was waiting for him to do something on the restart and he didnt do what I expected him to do," Logano said. "I spun my tires and cost these guys the race. I thought when that caution came out, Man, OK, this is right where I want to be. Im a couple tenths faster than Kyle there, and just got beat. My fault." Brendan Gaughan was third and was followed by Johnny Sauter, and Chase Elliott. NASCAR asked to see Ron Hornaday Jr. after the race to discuss his wrecking Darrell Wallace Jr. under caution. The accident was similar to a 2011 incident at Texas when Kyle Busch wrecked Hornaday under caution during a Truck race. Hornaday was racing for the championship at the time, and Busch was immediately parked for the rest of the race. NASCAR then suspended him for the rest of the weekend. On Sunday, first-year Truck Series race director Chad Little ordered Hornaday to the tail end of the longest line and allowed him to complete the race. He finished 15th and said he didnt mean to wreck Wallace. "I didnt know the yellow was out and I got down in there and started racing on the back straightaway, and he slowed up and then I run into him a little bit," Hornaday said. "But down the back, I went over to the other side and I dont know if he hit his brakes on me or whatever, but I turned him in the fence and I feel like a total idiot. I dont race that way, so theyre racing me hard lately, these rookies, and Im learning how to race them. "Earlier he picked me up down the back straightaway and tried to drive me in over my head already. I dont know. I feel like an idiot for wrecking him." Replays of Wallace and Hornaday racing moments before the caution came out showed Wallace running Hornaday high up the track as he attempted to pass him. Wallace felt Hornaday wrecking him under caution was retaliation for that. "With three laps to go, I was trying to get my line or take his line away because I knew he wouldnt give me the top. Its unfortunate. We come out here and I seem like the veteran and not the rookie out of that situation," said Wallace, adding that Hornaday "just flat out wrecks us. Just wrecked us." Panthers Luke Kuechly Camo Jersey . Not to be outdone, hobbling six-foot point guard Kyle Lowry dropped a lovely sky hook over 6-11 giant and future Hall of Famer Kevin Garnett. The final minutes of the Toronto Raptors 87-79 victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday could define this young team and their season -- fighting to the end, finding a way to win. Trai Turner Panthers Jersey . The assistants greeted Aldridge with compliments and high fives. Stotts had only one word for his high-scoring forward: "Thanks." Aldridge had 25 points and 16 rebounds in his return after missing seven games with a lower back contusion, and the Trail Blazers beat the Atlanta Hawks 100-85 on Thursday night to end a three-game losing streak.Dwane Caseys coaching staff will reportedly return to the Toronto Raptors next season. Assistants Bill Bayno, Nick Nurse, Jesse Mermuys, Tom Sterner and Jama Mahlalela have all agreed to new deals, according to the Toronto Star reporting NBA sources. Jamaal Magloire also remains in a position that combines assistant coach-basketball development and community relations. The Starr reports that all of the assistants had been working on one-year guaranteed deals, putting them on the same contract as Casey to begin last season. Panthers DeAngelo Williams Camo Jersey. Bayno, Nurse and Mermuys are coming off their first season on the Raptors bench, with Sterner the only holdover from the year before. Mahlalela was promoted from a player development position within the organization. ' ' ' |
