year-old is a three-time world champion and so dominant that she

FORT WORTH, Texas -- Kevin Harvick doesnt just want to run well this weekend at Texas Motor Speedway because running well could go a long way toward advancing in the Chase for the Sprint Cup.With tires that will be the same compounds as the ones Cup drivers will have in two weeks at Homestead-Miami Speedway for the season finale, Harvick views this race as a good predictor of who could run strong at Homestead, a race many believe a driver needs to win in order to win the title. ?While Homestead is similar to Texas as a 1.5-mile track, Homestead has a variable banking that lends itself to drivers choosing different grooves to pass. At Texas a driver spends more time avoiding bumps.Weve worked hard on this race just for the fact that we ran so poorly here in the spring and qualified poorly, said Harvick, who started 22nd and finished 10th in April at Texas. We felt like this is an important race because its on the same tire as Homestead. Its a very similar surface as Homestead.Theres a lot to be learned from Chicago [to start the Chase] to here to Homestead.So watch whoever runs well Sunday in the AAA 500 and remember that for 14 days later when four drivers among the 40 starters will have a shot for the title.Harvick leads the list of what to watch for at Texas, and it doesnt have anything to do with tires:Harvick in the ClutchHarvick needs another clutch performance after a 20th-place finish at Martinsville has him sixth in the series standings, 16 points behind the current cutoff with races at Texas and Phoenix left in the semifinal round.The four winless remaining Chase drivers lowest in points after Phoenix will be eliminated from convention, leaving four drivers to vie for the title.It wasnt much of a surprise when Harvick was solid in qualifying as he will start third Sunday. For whatever reason, the team led by crew chief Rodney Childers appears motivated after sour outings and has delivered clutch victories in must-win moments.We dont really care what we did last week, were coming in to this week and every other week we expect to come to the race track and have a chance to win, Harvick said.Its not about points. Its not about what happened last week. Its about how do we win this week? Thats really the mentality of the team that Rodney had instilled in it from the very first day. It is good motivation.While Harvick has won six of the last eight races at Phoenix -- the site of the finale in the round -- he does not have a winning Cup resume at Texas. He had back-to-back second-place finishes before a third a year ago and then a 10th in April. He was 28th in final practice Saturday.His last win came three races ago at Kansas, a place where he had three runnerup finishes after a victory there in 2013.Kansas -- we finished second like five times and that one finally paid us back, Harvick said. That stuff has a funny way of working itself full circle. We had a car capable of winning the last fall race here and I had to hold it in gear for 100 laps or 100 miles, whatever it was.It is just one of those places that we run well, we just hadnt made it all happen.Busch back in the packKyle Busch didnt have the best of days Friday as he smacked the wall on the first lap of practice. Then in qualifying, a water leak ended his effort after just one round.The two events were related.It is a byproduct of pounding the fence before we even completed a lap in practice, Busch crew chief Adam Stevens said. In our hurry to change the motor and all the drivetrain afterwards, apparently we didnt get the lower radiator hose completely clamped on the water neck out of the block and proceeded to dump all the water out of it on pit road after our first run.Were going to start 24th and get after them from there.Busch didnt have to change engines, but teams often do when bringing out a backup car so they can have a non-race-ready engine in the backup car that can run a few laps in a practice session. If they didnt, then teams would? have race-ready engines sitting in the backup cars in the haulers and more than likely not being put to use on a weekend.If there is any consolation for Busch, it appears his backup car has good speed. He ran third in the final practice.All these cars are built probably within five downforce numbers of one another, Busch said. Theyre very similar and I wouldnt be worried for us that were at a disadvantage.Johnson has no pressureJimmie Johnson will start 19th and whether he runs any better than that or not he probably wont worry too much after Sundays race.His organization already has focused on Homestead after his win at Martinsville. The team didnt change which car it would bring to Texas but it was busy during the week preparing cars to take to the wind tunnel to get ready for Homestead.We have the car we raced at Darlington and then a new car that we built that are both going back to the wind tunnel and let the wind tunnel [decide] which one goes [ to Homestead as a primary], Johnson said. Its given us a little time to complete a second car and then make a decision between those two.After the team debrief Tuesday on Martinsville and a little talk about Texas, the Hendrick organization started looking ahead to Homestead. So if Johnson doesnt turn into much of a factor, there could be a reason.We did our Tuesday debrief and we couldnt get through the Martinsville debrief and the Texas prep quick enough because we were all there to talk about Homestead, Johnson said. We stayed long and talked about Homestead and that led to more conversations [that] night.Instead of obsessing over Texas and Phoenix -- were definitely giving it time and attention -- but the obsession is about Homestead.Rain? Drying could take hoursRemember how the 2015 race at Phoenix that determined the finalists was cut short by 93 laps because of rain?Well theres a chance the round could be impacted by rain once again. The forecast for Sunday shows the chance of rain increasing throughout the afternoon.Its a good thing the race will start shortly after 1 p.m. local time (2 p.m. ET) and Texas has lights. The bad news: It took NASCAR more than three hours to dry the track Friday morning for truck practice. If the track does get some rain, NASCAR will have to ask fans to wait a few hours for the race to resume.It more than likely will make every effort to do just that - especially with Chase spots on the line. DeAaron Fox Jersey .J. Jefferson has been charged with assaulting his girlfriend. Buddy Hield Jersey .S. -- Nikolaj Ehlers registered a hat trick for the third straight game and Jonathan Drouin had a goal and five assists as the Halifax Mooseheads hammered the host Cape Breton Screaming Eagles 10-1 on Tuesday in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League action. http://www.nbakingsonline.com/Authentic-Chris-Webber-Kings-Jersey/ . The Americans, skipped by John Shuster, seized the advantage in the eighth end by scoring five points for a 7-3 lead. The Czechs pulled two back in the ninth, but Shusters team of third Jeff Isaacson, second Jared Zezel and lead John Landsteiner ended with another point to secure the last Olympic berth on offer. Mitch Richmond Jersey . Batiste, who briefly signed with the Eskimos in 2006, has spent time with several NFL teams including the Pittsburgh Steelers and Washington Redskins. Jason Williams Kings Jersey . -- On the field, it was business as usual for Jameis Winston and No. RIO DE JANEIRO -- There were smiles and hugs all around, even a celebratory chant. Winning gold felt good -- awfully good -- even if everyone in the arena knew this U.S. gymnastics team was simply too good to lose.This was the U.S. basketball team -- men or women -- crushing an opponent by 50 points. This was Michael Phelps lapping the field in the relay.It was just like another competition for us, said 19-year-old Madison Kocian. It didnt even feel like the Olympics.What might be the most superb collection of gymnasts ever put together -- led by Simone Biles, a teenager who may one day be crowned the greatest gymnast ever -- put on the show the sport had been waiting for Tuesday in a performance that was over almost by the time Laurie Hernandez finished the first vault.In a sport usually decided by the smallest of margins, the U.S. women obliterated the competition, finishing a whopping 8 points ahead of the silver medalist Russians. They did it by winning every discipline, finishing it off when Biles bounded to a finish in the floor exercise that by then had been rendered meaningless.Two of the members of the self-titled Final Five won gold medals for their second Olympics in a row. The three others pocketed their first, though there should be others to come before everything is wrapped up a week from now in Rio.They did it for themselves and they did it for their country. They did it for national team coordinator Martha Karolyi, who is retiring after her final Olympics and enjoys fierce loyalty from her charges.But they also did it for each other, for the long hours spent training and living together as they were molded into an Olympic team to behold.It is the hardest sport in the world and we make it so easy. At least thats what people tell us, Biles said. The pride we show on the floor is really genuine.This is a team so deep that Gabby Douglas -- the spectacular star in London four years ago -- was a mere role player, going out for only a turn on the uneven bars. She sat, legs crossed, just watching as her teammates warmed up for the finnal floor performance.ddddddddddddLater she stood, fingering the gold medal she will add to the two she won in London.It never gets old, Douglas said. Its so refreshing. It doesnt feel different. It feels the same. Going out there and competing with these amazing girls and standing on that podium, it feels the same.Many on the team will now have to compete with each other as medals will be awarded in the individual events and the all around. Led by Biles -- who has a legitimate shot at making Olympic history with five gymnastic golds -- they could win them all.Theyre all part of a team so good it had to have a name. The Final Five is a tribute to both Karolyi in her last Olympics and the fact that in Tokyo four years from now the teams will be limited to one less member.For Biles, the Olympic debut couldnt have gone any better. The 19-year-old is a three-time world champion and so dominant that she is a prohibitive favorite in her remaining four events, but still had to deal with the realization this is the worlds biggest stage.I slept OK, I had some weird dreams, she said. The moment we all woke up we were so happy and so excited. Weve trained so hard for this. We expected to hit all our routines and be very confident because we did it in practice.Cool under pressure, they delivered what everyone expected and they delivered it in style. Thanks to NBCs heavy coverage of their sport, they were introduced in prime time to America and America has to like what it sees.There might be some tears later, maybe after everyone is done. For now, though, these are terrific athletes in search of more than just a team gold.That doesnt mean they arent happy, even if they find it a bit difficult to describe just how happy they are.I havent found the word yet, Biles said. I need a dictionary.----Tim Dahlberg is a national sports columnist for The Associated Press. Write to him at tdahlberg(at)ap.org or http://twitter.com/timdahlberg ' ' '