AVONDALE, Ariz. Deone Bucannon Jersey . -- A few drivers, like Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano, raced onto the track to get in their qualifying sessions. Others waited, some nearly 10 minutes, before heading out for the first time. There were long stretches with almost no activity followed by mad scrambles to get runs in before time ran out. Cars raced past each other at close to a 100 mph difference. No doubt, this first round of NASCARs new knockout qualifying was a little strange and will take some getting used to. Brad Keselowski earned the first Sprint Cup pole under NASCARs new format, edging Joey Logano with a track-record top speed of 139.384 mph at Phoenix International Raceway on Friday. "Its a lot more nerve-racking," Keselowski said. "Usually a pretty good rule of thumb is that If its more nerve-racking for the drivers, its a lot more fun for our fans and partners and all those things, and thats a good thing. Im more interested in feedback from our fans to see if they liked it." Keselowski was one of the first drivers to go out in the first session and finished behind Logano. He trumped his teammate in the shorter, second session to earn his fourth career pole and a spot on the front row for Sundays 312-mile race. Jamie McMurray qualified third, defending Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson was fourth and Daytona 500 champion Dale Earnhardt Jr. will start fifth, next to Greg Biffle. "The qualifying format was before because I felt like I was one of those guys it was exciting for me because I wasnt in, I made another run, I got in," McMurray said. "The excitement was there." NASCAR made numerous changes for this season, including a tweaked qualifying process in an effort to liven up what had become a monotonous part of race weekend. Instead of going out one at a time, the entire field gets a 30-minute session to post their fastest lap, with the top 12 moving on to a 10-minute second round. On bigger tracks, the qualifying will have three sessions, with the field cut to 24 then 12. NASCAR got a glimpse of the new system at Daytona last week, but it didnt last long; the Nationwide series was able to get in one round before rain washed out the rest of the qualifying and for the Truck Series. The Daytona 500 didnt use the new qualifying process, so Phoenix was the inaugural go-round. No one knew quite what to expect and there was a bit of concern about drivers intentionally blocking each other to prevent fast lap times, something NASCAR officials planned to keep an eye on. Instead, the action on the track was sparse for long stretches, with some drivers racing out to get qualifying laps in right away while several others waited several minutes to get their first lap in. One issue while there were multiple cars on the track were the speeds. NASCAR decided against allowing teams to have cool down units in their pit stalls, so most of the drivers in the field put in one fast lap and one that was much slower to cool their engines, creating differences of up to 100 mph between the cars. "Weve got a really good dialogue with all of our competitors," said Robin Pemberton, NASCARs vice-president for competition and racing development. "They dont want to force us to do something thats wrong. They weigh in because they think things can be better. Its our job to take and balance all that out and remove the agenda part of that a team may or may not have. Right now, its working pretty good." For the first session, Logano and Keselowski were at the front of the pack along pit road -- by random drawing -- and raced to get out in front on the track so theyd have a clear path. Logano put up the fastest time early and Keselowski was right behind him in second. Despite teams coming in for adjustments -- one crewmember was allowed to come over the wall to make minor changes -- those two stayed out front for the entire first session. For the final session, Keselowski put up his fast time relatively early in the 10-minute window and swapped places with Logano for the pole. "Unfortunately, we won the wrong one," Logano said. "We won the first one and our teammate got the second one, but either way we both had a chance to win something. He just got the trophy to take the pictures with." Frostee Rucker Womens Jersey . The German canoeist says she is suffering from a heart muscle inflammation and has been told by doctors that she cannot compete. Jared Veldheer Cardinals Jersey . Phillies starter A.J. Burnett left in the fourth inning because of a sore groin, but Philadelphia chased Fernandez (2-1) with three runs in the fifth en route to its first home win of the season. Fernandez, last seasons NL Rookie of the Year, was tagged for eight hits and a career-worst six earned runs in four-plus innings.1. What was the first big story that you broke?Every breaking story has meaning which is why trade deadline day and free agent frenzy have maintained both news and entertainment value. For me, breaking the Joe Thornton trade from Boston to the San Jose Sharks in 2005 was a big one. I had the trade from multiple sources, but still hesitated before posting. Many anxious minutes passed before the Sharks and Bruins confirmed the trade.2. What was your initial dream job?I called play by play for the Brandon Wheat Kings in the early 90s and loved feeling like I was part of the action. I moved on to call a number of IHL games for the Manitoba Moose and was also fortunate to do play by play for a few Ottawa Senators games as well while working my way up the network TV ladder. Hosting and news gathering ultimately led me down the path of evolving into a hockey insider, however, initially I believed play by play would become my role.3. Who has been your biggest professional role model?Very good question. Very difficult question to answer. Over the years I have worked with so many strong and very talented people. I know I wouldnt be doing what Im doing without Bob McKenzie, who is a trail blazer in our industry in terms of how the role of a Hockey Insider has grown over the years. Scott Morrison is another veteran newspaper man who successfully made the leap into network television and in the early days I learned a great deal from Scott in applying good journalism in everything I do. Mike Keenan and I also became good friends during one of his TV tours. His hard work and determination was very impactful. As I said, there are so many people who have helped me and still do today. TSNs strongest resource is its experienced staff. At every level of the industry and can proudly say Im surrounded by the best.4. What is your relationship like with Bob McKenzie?Bob and I are good friends. He has been my mentor and constant source of support. We work well together and share a common passion for minor hockey. Im not quite the crazy hockey dad Bob was, but I have my moments and its always good to be able to share one or two of the sketchy ones with someone you know has been there. The best thing about Bob, he always has my back.5. How has Twitter changed your job?Twitter has changed our business...largely for the better. Every hockey market has a trusting collection of beat reporters. We cant be in 30 NHL cities at the same time, however, Twitter allows us to monitor each club hour by hour which is hugely important in staying on top of things. Twitter also promotes immediate news breaking and is always the first method we use to break a story.6. Other than hockey, whats your next biggest hobby or interest?In the winterr, obviously I spend a lot of time crafting and working on our backyard rink. John Abraham Red Jersey. . Its a labour of love, but I love the set-up, the maintenance and watching my kids enjoy themselves back there. In the summer - golf, time by the pool and travel mostly occupy my days.7. Which day is crazier for you - Trade Deadline or Free Ageny Frenzy?Trade deadline has a bigger feel and sense of urgency...certainly in the build up and days of coverage leading up to deadline day. Free Agent Frenzy is equally important and definitely tests our contact base, however, there seems to be more focus on the trade deadline.8. How much time do you spend on your phone each day?Too much! Depends on the time of year. Leading up to the deadline or free agent frenzy my phone is buzzing all the time. Im up every morning by 7am to prep for radio. Normally, I start firing off texts and emails by 8:15am and the day develops based on the call-backs and the storylines I happen to be chasing each day.9. What do you see as the biggest rule change in the next five years in the NHL?Additional video review. While I appreciate the reluctance to fully turn the game over to technology, because the world is so advanced, its seems wrong not to get it right all of the time. Pucks off mesh that lead to goals, goaltender interference, offside...plays that can be easily reviewed to determine goal vs. no goal will be in the next five years.10. Do people still reference "Dreger Face" and whats the story behind that?Yes, theres the odd mention of it. My colleague, Pierre LeBrun took a quick picture of a group of us inside NHL offices in New York during the lockout. I was sitting at the time and happened to glance up as he snapped the pic on his phone. He didnt look at the picture before tweeting it. Had he looked, I doubt he would have tweeted it since I clearly appeared to be in some satanic trance. All good fun...mostly created by Jay Onrait who immediately labeled the shot Dreger Face.11. Does anyone have a better backyard rink then you?Hahahahaha. Yes. Darcy Tucker and I jab each other on Twitter from time to time. However, I believe Darcy still employs an arena staff to help him.12. Finish this sentence: The thing about people from Alberta is ________?...honest and hardworking just like the fine people from Saskatchewan, my home province.13. Do you ever read or listen to criticism on social media?Rarely. I will respond to those I follow and will retweet charitable causes, etc, however, theres a lot of hate spewed on social media and I dont have time for that.14. Can you go BarDown?Yes. My son (Mason) and I play a game on the backyard rink. Hes getting really good at it, but the old man still might have the edge.cheap nfl jerseyscheap jerseys ' ' '
