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Juan Pablo Montoya turned his first laps in an Indy car in 13 years Monday during his first test with new team Penske Racing. Nike Roshe Run Solde Homme. The Penske test at Sebring International Raceway was Montoyas first opportunity to get in his new car. He last drove in IndyCar in 2000, the year he won the Indianapolis 500 driving for Chip Ganassi. Montoya spent seven seasons in NASCAR driving for Ganassi, but signed with rival Roger Penske in September to return to IndyCar when Ganassi decided not to bring the Colombian back for the 2014 season. "I still dont believe it that Im here, to be honest with you," Montoya said. "I look at the car and everything, my name on the car. Its really exciting. Its nice because theres been excitement of everybody that Im coming back to open wheel." New Penske teammates Will Power and Helio Castroneves both attended Mondays test, and Power prepared the car before turning the No. 2 over to Montoya. Also on hand was Penske adviser and four-time Indianapolis 500 winner Rick Mears. "Its exciting that theyre here and willing to help. Thats what Team Penske is all about," Montoya said. "Really, everybody works together and is trying to get me up to speed as fast as I can. The faster I get up to speed, the better it is for everybody." Montoya had modest goals for Monday: He wanted to get comfortable in the car and figure out what has changed since 2000, when he won the Indianapolis 500 driving for Ganassi. "Im not going out there to try and break the track record on the first lap," he said. "Im going to build up to it and keep working on the car and get the car to do what I want. You learn that as you go through the years. When you are young, you drive the car anywhere it is. Then you realize you can make it drive for you, you can achieve the same things with half the effort." Montoya won seven races in CART and the Indy 500 in his two seasons competing in open wheel with Ganassi. Their run together also included the 1999 CART championship. He then moved to Formula One, where he spent six seasons before abruptly quitting to return to the United States to compete in NASCAR. He reunited with Ganassi, but the results never came. Montoya won one Nationwide race in 2007, and had two Sprint Cup victories in 253 career starts. His last win in NASCAR was in 2010, a year after he made the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship and finished a career-best eighth in the standings. At a fan event prior to his final NASCAR race earlier this month at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Montoya was blunt about his hopes for his move to IndyCar -- "Im tired of sucking," he said. Hell have an opportunity to be competitive with Penske, a consistent contender in IndyCar for both the series championship and the Indy 500. Nike Air Max 2015 Pas Cher . -- Tyreke Evans is still making the adjustment from point guard to small forward for the Sacramento Kings. Nike Roshe Run Homme Pas Cher . Barrichello is thrilled to be racing in front of his Brazilian fans for the first time since joining IndyCar, but admits he still is adapting to the series and wont be racing among the leaders on Sunday.DURHAM, N.C. -- Duke can finally take a breather. Rodney Hood scored 21 points to help the sixth-ranked Blue Devils beat Virginia Tech 66-48 on Tuesday night, a game that followed a demanding stretch that included games against their fiercest rival and the nations top-ranked team in a span of about 48 hours. Duke (23-6, 12-4 Atlantic Coast Conference) completed a stretch of five games in 11 days by beating the last-place Hokies (9-18, 2-13). "We need to get away a little bit," coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "We need to review our stuff instead of always planning for someone elses stuff." The Blue Devils fought to the final second to hold off Maryland on Feb. 15, then travelled to Georgia Tech before losing the weather-delayed rivalry game at North Carolina. Two nights later, they held off then-No. 1 Syracuse at home, then returned once more to Cameron Indoor Stadium to beat Virginia Tech in what Krzyzewski called "a grueling stretch." "Its kind of like -- I dont know if you do this -- getting that last bit out," Krzyzewski said. "Even though youve got two full containers, youre going to get that last little bit. Today was kind of, lets get it out there." Duke doesnt play again until next Wednesdays trip to Wake Forest, followed by the regular-season finale against UNC at Cameron Indoor Stadium on March 8. The Blue Devils have won 32 straight home games, the longest streak in the nation. "Probably everybody in the back of their minds was looking forward to (the break)," sophomore Rasheed Sulaimon said, "but at the same time we knew we had to take care of business." Hood said the coaches didnt let the players ease into this one, jumping on them about a sluggish pregame shootaround. The Blue Devils responded by running out to a 24-4 lead midway through the first half, though they struggled to land a game-finishing blow. "We started to warm up and we came back in and they got us pretty good because we didnt look like we were ready to go out there and fight," Hood said. "I mean, weve got to be prepared for that. The ACC tournament, you can play three or four games in three or four days so theres no excuse for us. Nike Air Max 90 Camo France. . I think its taxing on us, but weve got to be ready and get rejuvenated for next week." The win, along with Clemsons loss at Wake Forest, helped secure some extra rest for the Blue Devils. They are assured a top-four seed in Greensboro and the double-round bye that comes with it. Sulaimon scored 15 points for the Blue Devils, who shot 39 per cent and went 10 for 33 from 3-point range -- well below their ACC-leading 40.7 per cent from behind the arc. Freshman Trevor Thompson matched his season-high with 15 points for Virginia Tech, which has won once since the start of the calendar year. The injury-depleted Hokies have failed to reach 60 points in 10 of those 14 games. Still, Virginia Tech shot 48 per cent after halftime to keep the Blue Devils from running away with it. Virginia Tech finished with 15 turnovers, six from freshman Devin Wilson, that led to 22 points for the Blue Devils. The Hokies also went 8 minutes without a basket in the second half as Duke crept further ahead. "They do what bothers us, that pressure defence bothers us," Hokies coach James Johnson said. "And they did a good job with that. And at that time (in the second half), were probably running out of gas a little bit." Duke ran out to a 15-2 lead on Sulaimons first 3-pointer, then pushed ahead by 20 points when Sulaimon knocked down another 3 at the 9:50 mark. Virginia Tech closed the gap to 32-20 by halftime thanks to a spark from C.J. Barksdale, who had nine points on 4-for-4 shooting, and got within 34-27 on Jarell Eddies driving score with 17:59 left. But Sulaimon knocked down two 3s then reserve big man Marshall Plumlee slammed home a miss to push the lead to 51-36. The Hokies never got the lead to single digits again. Virginia Tech was short-handed once again for this game. Second-leading scorer Adam Smith (11 points) missed his 10th straight game with a left calf injury, third-leading scorer Ben Emelogu (10.8) missed his second straight with a left ankle injury while reserve forward Cadarian Raines played just 1 minute after being listed as questionable with an ankle injury.wholesale jerseys cheap jerseys ' ' ' |
