WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. -- Erik Jones is moving on up, and Toyota is providing him with a deluxe ride in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.Jones, the 2015 Camping World Truck Series champion and currently the top-seeded driver in this years Xfinity Series Chase grid with three race wins, will drive the No. 77 Toyota for Furniture Row Racing in the Cup Series in 2017 with sponsorship from 5-Hour Energy.The 20-year old from Byron, Michigan, is one of stock car racings fastest rising stars, graduating to the Cup Series after spending just one full season in each of NASCARs national series.Im excited and anxious at the same time, Jones said. Its a good fit all around. To see it all come together over the last month or so has been a pretty cool experience for me. Ive got a lot to do this year yet, but definitely excited for next year.Jones made three Cup Series starts in 2015 for Toyota teams in a substitute role. He qualified in the top 12 each time, but his average finish was 23.6.It was a big learning curve for me doing those few Cup races, Jones said. I always felt like we had decent speed, but a lot of it was putting a whole race together -- all the little things you would call special teams, I guess -- green flag stops and making sure youre hitting all those things right was the hardest thing for me.Its a big jump going from a field where 10 or 12 cars can win to a field where 20 cars can win, and all those guys are extremely talented, he added. Its definitely going to be tough, but I think Im in the best situation to succeed.Furniture Row Racing owner Barney Visser said the team will attempt to gain a NASCAR charter for the No. 77 rather than competing as an open entry.Were very excited to have all the components of a second race team come together, he said. The shop can easily handle two cars, and we think were going to be more efficient per car by running two cars.We think were going to be able to run right up where we need to run.Toyota has aggressively built its NASCAR program over the past few years. In 2015, it recruited FRR and driver Martin Truex Jr. into the fold while creating a technical alliance with its flagship team, Joe Gibbs Racing.Toyota also has supported and groomed a group of young drivers, including Jones, William Byron and Christopher Bell.It was less than four years ago that Erik Jones, famously now, beat Kyle Busch in the Snowball Derby Super Modified race, Toyota Racing Development president David Wilson said. Next year, for him to ascend to the Cup Series with Furniture Row Racing is a spectacular story and Toyota is the fortunate and common denominator in that equation.This is the first time a Toyota driver has grown from the grass-roots ranks all the way through NASCARs national series. Its a great story for Toyota, but probably a greater story for NASCAR and the future of our sport.Nike Shoes Black Friday 2019 .S. hockey team after paying his dues as an NHL general manager for more than three decades and giving up a lot of his free time to help USA Hockey. Nike Shoes Black Friday Sale . The 43-year-old closer, in his 19th and final big league season, has said hed like to play the outfield. Yankees manager Joe Girardi says hes thinking about allowing Rivera to do it this weekend, when the Yankees finish their season with a three-game series at the Houston Astros. http://www.nikeshoesblackfriday.com/ . Ronaldo produced a spectacular individual performance on Tuesday, scoring all three goals and guiding Portugal into the next years World Cup in Brazil with a 3-2 victory in Sweden. The Real Madrid forward has scored 66 goals in 2013, but the last three may be the boost he needs to upstage Messi after FIFA unexpectedly extended the voting period for the Ballon dOr to Nov. Nike Shoes Black Friday China . -- Its been a long road back for Sean Bergenheim. Wholesale Nike Shoes Black Friday . The quest begins with what is supposed to be an easy one, although Germany has traditionally been a stubborn opponent to Canadian teams at international tournaments.AUSTIN, Texas -- College football is a winning business and when youre not winning, business is bad. That backdrop makes the timing of the Red River Rivalry between No. 20 Oklahoma and Big 12 archrival Texas a bit tricky for the Longhorns.Texas coach Charlie Strong, whose team has gone from trending upward to sliding down in the past three weeks thanks to road losses to California and Oklahoma State, went from facing questions about his own job to demoting defensive coordinator Vance Bedford -- now in charge of defensive backs -- since leaving Stillwater last weekend.Things could get even worse with the Longhorns in the crosshairs of an improving Oklahoma team on Saturday at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas. The Sooners are hell-bent on revenge after losing to Texas last season and are back in the saddle after a win on the road against TCU last Saturday.It doesnt take much to rile up these two teams when they meet each year for their neutral-site showdown on the Texas State Fair Grounds.But this season, the stakes seem as high as ever for a pair of 2-2 teams who are lost in the wake of hunt for a spot in the College Football Playoff due to their multiple losses.The Longhorns are 5-5 since their win in Dallas last season.Strong said he thought that game couldve been a turning point for the team. It wasnt, as Texas went 5-7 in 2015 and did not go to a bowl game.I go back to that game all the time because that could have been a turn right there, because it takes one game to really turn the program, Strong explained. We are at the point now where we know how to handle it.Strong hopes a victory this season could shake his team out of its doldrums.Last year we jumped out to a good lead and we played good early, just an emotional lead and then the game settled down, Strong said. But weve just got to go out and just play well and not give up the big play on defense and see if we can move the ball on offense and be solid in the kicking game.Two straight losses to good but not great teams and surrendering 99 total points therein prompted Strong to demote defensive coordinator Vance Bedford on Monday and take over the responsibility for calling defensive plays himself.Last Saturdays 49-31 loss to Oklahoma State marked the first time in school history that a Texas team allowed 45 or more points in three of the first four games of a season and something had to be done.I dont think its desperate times for desperate measures, Strong said. Ive (coordinated the defense) before and I can see where I can help us. Play calling is a rhythm. Youve ggot to get on rhythm and you try to keep people off balance.dddddddddddd Sometimes when (the players) hear a different voice...youre trying to give them a shot of energy.Through four games, the Longhorns defense has allowed a total of 153 points and ranks 116th nationally in scoring defense. In losses to California and Oklahoma State the Longhorn defense has surrendered 1,062 yards, including 555 total yards to the Cowboys on Saturday. Texas (2-2, 0-1 in Big 12 play) ranks No. 87 in total defense, 105th in passing yards allowed and dead last with just one turnover gained.Its real hard to have fun when youre giving up 50 points (a game), Texas linebacker Malik Jefferson said.DOnta Foreman and Chris Warren III, Texas two hammerhead running backs, were injured in last weeks loss to Oklahoma State. Foreman (abdominal issue) will be back for OU but Warren (right knee) is out indefinitely.Oklahoma (2-2, 1-0 in Big 12 play) comes into Saturdays game off a 52-46 victory over No. 21 TCU in Fort Worth, the Sooners third game (and first win) against ranked teams this season.Stoops was asked Monday if the role changes at Texas will affect how the Sooners will prepare for Saturday.I dont know how much you can totally change, but its something weve got to be alert to that wed have to adjust to, Stoops said. With all we see through the year, our guys are used to seeing a lot.Oklahoma surged back from a 21-7 deficit via a 35-0 run in a stretch when Stoops said the Sooners played their best football of the season.All of the teams units played with urgency and fire and it was a positive start in the Big 12, Stoops said. Theres plenty we have to improve on and going down to play Texas is always a big game and a big challenge for us.Stoops announced Monday that starting linebacker Tay Evans has been forced to quit football because of continued symptoms from concussions.And quarterback Baker Mayfield missed practice Monday while he tries to recover from a leg injury he suffered in the first half against TCU. Mayfield returned to the game in the second half with a brace on his leg and threw for 277 yards and two touchdowns and ran for another pair of scores in the victory.Texas and Oklahoma meet for the 111th time on the gridiron Saturday in the Red River Showdown. The Longhorns own a record of 47-38-4 against the Sooners since the game began at the Cotton Bowl in 1929.The two teams have split the past 10 meetings. ' ' '
