roneves into the finale. Dixons lead could

FONTANA, Calif. -- Penske Racing was perfect Friday in the first phase toward pushing Helio Castroneves to the IndyCar championship. Will Power, Castroneves and AJ Allmendinger swept the front row in qualifying for Saturday nights season finale at Auto Club Speedway, where Castroneves is trying to chase down Scott Dixon for the IndyCar title. "They did a hell of a job to be a front-row lockout, so job accomplished for those guys," said Dixon, who takes a 25-point lead over Castroneves into the finale. Dixons lead could have been cut to 24 points at the start of the race. Power turned a lap at 220.775 mph to bump Castroneves from the pole, snatching away the bonus point his teammate would have earned for qualifying in the top position. "It would have been nice for Helio to get the point, but Scott didnt, so it kind of still keeps it alive," Power said. Castroneves, who had a 49-point lead in the standings before two disastrous races in Houston two weeks ago, has a ton of work to do to win his first title. The Brazilian likely needs to win the race, while Dixon wins his third championship simply by finishing fifth or better. "Unfortunately, we didnt have a crystal ball to tell my buddy here to slow down," Castroneves said. "Those guys were behind him, so Im glad he went for it. Thats what the car was able to do. We showed that we did our homework. Its a game. Youve got to play the game on the odds. In that position, it was the right thing to do." Dixon qualified seventh and said he never had a shot at catching the Penske drivers. Castroneves was the class of the field in an open test last month, and everybody expected his Chevrolet to be fast at the finale. But the qualifying order had Castroneves go out fairly early, and Power knocked him from the pole, saying after he wanted to ensure that Dixon couldnt grab the top spot when he made his late run. "Im surprised they thought we had that kind of speed in us," the New Zealander said. "Thats kind of nice because it obviously helped us. Ill have to thank Will for taking that point. Whether that comes into control tomorrow night, thats a different subject." Both Castroneves and Dixon made engine changes before the weekend and will take 10-spot penalties on the starting grid. It means both will have to drive through early traffic in their championship race. Allmendinger was brought in by team owner Roger Penske as an added aid to Castroneves battle, and both he and Power have said theyll do whatever is needed to help their teammate. "Obviously, Helios got a championship on the line, and if I can help that, I will," Allmendinger said. But Power bristled when asked if a recent manipulating scandal in NASCAR by Michael Waltrips team could reflect poorly on any Penske attempt to assist Castroneves. "No, cmon. If you just sit there and say Im going to race my teammate really hard for the win, what are we talking about?" Power said. "Everyone knows what the deals going to be. Thats what its going to be. Every single team in this pit lane in this situation would do the same thing. Not just back off over the line. Not going to let him go, but not going to race him hard." Castroneves, usually light and playful, turned serious on the issue. "Were going to race as hard as we can without taking each other out," Castroneves said. "Well see what happens. If we got in that position, thats a great problem to have. Hopefully it will be like that, then well talk about it later." Dixon will be racing with Alex Tagliani filling in for regular teammate Dario Franchitti, who is recovering from injuries suffered in a last-lap crash at Houston two weeks ago. The four-time series champion suffered a broken ankle, two fractured vertebrae and a concussion in the accident, and was hospitalized for almost two weeks. Castroneves did not believe Dixon would suffer from not having his usual Target Chip Ganassi Racing teammate on the track. "Scott and Ganassi, not the first-time rodeo for them," he said. "They know what they need to do. We know what we need to do, as well." IndyCar moved the start of the race back 20 minutes to address driver concerns about the glare from the sun in Turn 3. Kemoko Turay Jersey . The Maple Leafs handed their embattled head coach a two-year contract extension on Thursday, while at the same time announcing that assistants Dave Farrish, Greg Cronin and Scott Gordon will not be back. Eric Ebron Jersey . Both had to wait out a rain interruption lasting nearly five hours before taking comprehensive third-round victories to join Carling Bassett-Seguso (1983, 1986), Patricia Hy-Boulais (1996-97) and Daniel Nestor (1999) as Canadians who made it into the second week of a major. http://www.coltsofficialstore.us/authent...n-colts-jersey/. - The Pittsburgh Pirates plan on keeping promising left fielder Starling Marte playing alongside National League MVP Andrew McCutchen for years to come. Nyheim Hines Colts Jersey . De La Rosa pitched six strong innings to win his sixth consecutive decision, Todd Helton homered and the Colorado Rockies snapped the Los Angeles Dodgers six-game winning streak with a 7-5 victory on Wednesday night. Marshall Faulk Jersey . For the Blue Jays the time was Wednesday and the ace was R.A. Dickey. He stepped up. "I feel some responsibility as a stopper from time to time," said Dickey.(SportsNetwork.com) - The Oklahoma City Thunder will hit the road Friday for a matchup with the Northwest-rival Minnesota Timberwolves at Target Center. The Thunder defeated a LeBron James-less Cleveland Cavaliers squad, 103-94, Thursday night and were led by Russell Westbrooks 26 points. Kevin Durant scored 19 points and Reggie Jackson netted 13 in the winning cause. Russell, thats the thing, he is so good offensively, but he is also a great defender, Thunder coach Scott Brooks said. OKC has won four in a row and six of the last seven games, and is 4-1 since Durants return from offseason foot surgery. Oklahoma City, which has scored 100 or more points in two straight and five of the previous six games, has won two in a row on the road, but is only 3-8 as the guest. The Timberwolves will resume a four-game homestand (1-1) Friday and stopped a six-game slide with Wednesdays 90-82 triumph over the Portland Trail Blazers. Rookie Andrew Wiggins posted the firsst double-double of his career with 23 points and 10 rebounds, while Corey Brewer scored 19 points and Thaddeus Young chipped in 13.dddddddddddd The baby Wolves grew up tonight at times, said Minnesota coach Flip Saunders. Wiggins looked like the No. 1 overall pick tonight. He knew that we were going to him in the fourth. Minnesota won for just the third time in the last 17 games and improved to 3-8 at Target Center this season. The Wolves will close the stay Sunday versus the Los Angeles Lakers. In injury news for the T-wolves, veteran guard Mo Williams (back spasms) is doubtful for Fridays game. Williams has missed the last four games. The team is still without guards Kevin Martin (wrist) and Ricky Rubio (ankle) and center Nikola Pekovic (ankle/wrist). The Wolves and Thunder are playing the first of four meetings this season, OKC won three of four matchups in this series last season and is 17-3 in the past 20 games against Minnesota. Wholesale USA Soccer Jerseys discount uswnt jersey Wholesale AC Milan Jerseys Wholesale Arsenal Jerseys Wholesale A.S. Roma Jerseys Wholesale Atletico Madrid Jerseys Wholesale Chelsea Jerseys Cheap Barcelona Jerseys Bayern Munich Jerseys For Sale Cheap Borussia Dortmund Jerseys Cheap Inter Milan Jerseys Juventus Jerseys From China Leicester City Jerseys For Sale Discount Liverpool Jerseys Wholesale Manchester City Jerseys Manchester United Jerseys For Sale Wholesale Paris Saint-Germain Jerseys Real Madrid Jerseys From China Cheap Sevilla Jerseys Authentic Tottenham Hotspur Jerseys ' ' '