sMike Mularkeys group is coming off the single best performance of the season

HOMESTEAD, Fla. -- Joey Logano leaned in toward Jimmie Johnson and offered a few words of comfort.At least we all sucked, Logano said.The four NASCAR Sprint Cup championship drivers all failed to get that one final boost they needed to better position themselves to win it all Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway.Logano, Carl Edwards, 2015 Sprint Cup champion Kyle Busch and Johnson all will start outside the top five. Busch will start ninth, Edwards 10th, Logano 13th and Johnson 14th. Johnson would match Dale Earnhardt Sr. and Richard Petty for the NASCAR record with his seventh career Cup championship.I dont think any of us want to start that far back, Edwards said.But they are bunched close enough that one TV camera can probably catch them all as they head into the first turn on the 1.5-mile track. Busch started third in the finale last season, won the race and his first career Cup title.The foursome likely wont lag behind the front of the field for long.This is a place you can pass, Logano said.The highest-finishing driver among the four is the 2016 champion. Under the revamped Chase format, the Homestead winner the last two years won the championship.Kevin Harvick and Brad Keselowski, eliminated from title contention in earlier rounds of NASCARs playoffs, played spoiler and swept the front row.I think weve been the two best cars all year, Keselowski said.Ryan Newman, Denny Hamlin, Chase Elliott, Martin Truex Jr., Matt Kenseth and Ryan Blaney all will start ahead of the championship drivers.The drivers out of the championship picture traditionally part to let the contenders race each other hard in the meat of the race.You get a little more respect from those guys, Busch said.Amid a heap of tributes, Tony Stewart starts 11th in the final race of his NASCAR career. Stewart is trying to race to his 50th career Cup victory and end a triumphant career in victory lane.There hasnt been any part of my career that I didnt enjoy, Stewart said. There are things about everything that Ive done that Ive liked more than others and disliked more than others. But as a whole, Ive enjoyed everything Ive done and the road that Ive taken to get here.Edwards and Busch are each vying to win a second straight championship for Joe Gibbs Racing. Johnson could bring a 12th title to Hendrick Motorsports. Logano wants to reward Roger Penskes 50th season in racing with another championship.Asked what keeps him going after all these years, Penske quipped, Trying to beat these guys.Harvick, the 2014 Homestead winner and Cup champion, won his second pole of the season. The Stewart-Haas Racing driver could also deliver a victory celebration for Stewart.Johnson was antsy to chase history.Qualifying isnt my strong suit, Im much better at racing, he said. So lets line them up and go racing. Nike Tanjun Sale . Jason Zucker and Matt Cooke also scored for Minnesota, which has won five of six. Kuemper made five saves in the first, nine in the second, and nine in the third. The rookies best save came with 2:17 left in the third period when he denied former Wild forward Matt Cullen from just outside of the crease on the right side. Cheap Nike Tanjun Sale . Pierce was ejected in the third quarter of Indianas 103-86 win Monday. George Hill stole a bad pass and was going in for a layup, and Pierce hustled back and appeared to be trying to wrap him up. http://www.cheapniketanjun.us/ . McPhee said that Ovechkins father Mikhail is in stable condition after having the surgery this week and is no longer in intensive care. "Weve told him to stay as long as necessary with your dad," he said. Ovechkin and his Russian national team were eliminated from the mens hockey tournament in Sochi on Wednesday with a 3-1 quarter-final loss to Finland. Cheap Nike Tanjun China . PAUL, Minn. Nike Tanjun Wholesale . Ferrer, trying to win his fourth title on Mexican soil, will next play South Africas Kevin Anderson, who eliminated American Sam Querrey,7-6 (2), 6-4. Also Wednesday, Gilles Simon (6) of France beat Donald Young of the United States 6-4, 6-3, Ukraines Alexandr Dolgopolov downed Frenchman Jeremy Chardy 6-3, 6-4 and Croatias Ivo Karlovic defeated Dudi Sela of Israel 7-6 (4), 6-2. WASHINGTON -- Stephen Strasburg was at his dominant best in the early going Saturday, retiring 13 of the first 14 Chicago Cubs he faced, seven via strikeout. And then it all fell apart for the Washington Nationals right-hander after a teammates error. The No. 1 overall draft pick in 2009 and NL All-Star in 2012 wound up dropping his fifth consecutive decision of 2013, slumping his shoulders and bowing his head while labouring through a 42-pitch fifth inning during an 8-2 loss to the Cubs. "I tried to tell him ... You have to keep your head up, every time. You never can put your head down," Nationals catcher Wilson Ramos said. "Because every time, when he puts the head down, he loses focus." Strasburg (1-5) hasnt won since opening day, April 1, against the lowly Miami Marlins. "Its hard to explain. He was throwing good, good stuff. Hitting his spots," manager Davey Johnson said. "And then it seemed -- where we needed him to pick us up, the air went out." The first of Washington third baseman Ryan Zimmermans pair of errors came with two outs in the fifth of a scoreless game, an off-target throw (he made a fielding error in the seventh). Strasburg followed with his first walk, to No. 8 hitter Darwin Barney, he of the .160 batting average. Then up came opposing pitcher Edwin Jackson, who delivered a full-count double to right-centre that made it 2-0. That accounted for Jacksons first hit and RBIs of the season; hed been 0 for 10. "If Strasburg punches him out there," Cubs manager Dale Sveum said, "its a whole different ballgame." Unraveling, Strasburg walked another batter and gave up Starlin Castros single to load the bases. Anthony Rizzo grounded a single up the middle, the ball bounding into centre to score two more runs. Instead of backing up home plate on the play, Strasburg ambled around on the infield grass and looked into the dugout. All four runs were unearned, and Strasburgs ERA actually dipped to 3.10. "I feel like Im going out there and pitching well. Just not happening on the days I pitch right now," Strasburg said. "Its all going to change. Its still early, and all I can do is just go out there and give everything I have every fifth day. Whatever happens, happens." Jackson (1-5), meanwhile, retired 12 of Washingtons first 13 batters and allowed two runs and four hits in 5 1-3 innings.dddddddddddd He earned his first victory under a $52 million, four-year contract he signed after leaving Washington as a free agent, and in doing so, ended the Nationals five-game winning streak. "It was definitely nice to get that monkey off my back. ... It felt about the same size as me," Jackson said. "When things are going bad, you can fold and collapse," he added, "or you can continue to work hard and climb your way out of the hole." Sounds like advice Strasburg might want to heed. He entered Saturday with a 3.45 ERA and was averaging 6 1-3 innings per start; his five-inning stint against Chicago was his shortest outing of the season. And, to think, he actually got some defensive help right before the problems arrived. With one out in the fifth, Luis Valbuena laced a shot into the right-field corner for what should have been a stand-up double. Valbuena tried to stretch it into a triple and was thrown out at third, injuring the pinky on his right (throwing) hand in the process. Strasburg, backing up third base on the play, pumped his right fist to celebrate. Moments later, he was in a vastly different mood. "Hes too good a pitcher to let adversity behind him let him down," Johnson said. "Hes certainly capable of picking us up. Its a team effort. And errors are a part of the game." Shortstop Ian Desmond was asked whether he noticed Strasburgs demeanour change. "Its hard to see emotion and things like that on the field, because Im trying to watch the hitter, watch the pitch sequence, stuff like that. I would say (the media), the fans, things like that, probably have a little better visual of that than I do. But," Desmond said, pausing before adding, "it clearly wasnt the same." NOTES: Desmond drove in both of Washingtons runs. He had three hits -- a homer, double and single -- for the second game in a row. ... In the eighth, Cubs 1B Rizzo made a juggling catch of Zimmermans popup to shallow right, tumbling head-over-heels and barely avoiding a collision with a teammate. ... Cubs 3B Valbuena was replaced in the bottom of the fifth because of the hurt finger, but Sveum said X-rays showed it wasnt broken. Sveum listed Valbuena as day-to-day. ... In Sundays series finale, Nationals LHP Gio Gonzalez (3-2, 4.97 ERA) faces Cubs RHP Scott Feldman (3-3, 2.70). ' ' '