LONG POND, Pa. - Jimmie Johnson walked into the media centre holding his daughters hand, his pregnant wife right behind them. Their second child is due in September, right around the time of the final race before the Chase field is set. With an automatic berth in NASCARs playoffs secured, Johnson has permission to skip the race for the big birth. "If Chani goes into labour early, I dont have to worry about Richmond," Johnson said. A week after a late penalty denied his chance at a win, Johnson absolutely dominated Sunday at Pocono Raceway, leading 128 of 160 laps for his third victory of the season. "Jimmies switched on right now," crew chief Chad Knaus said. "Hes as good or better as Ive ever seen him." High praise for the five-time champion. Even during his championship run, Johnson rarely cruised like he did on the 2 1/2-mile triangle track. The Sprint Cup points leader, Johnson pulled away on both of the last two restarts over the final 10 laps to pull into Victory Lane at Pocono for the first time since he swept both races in 2004. Johnson was never seriously challenged a week after his run at a possible win at Dover International Speedway was taken away by a penalty off a restart. NASCAR penalized him for jumping leader Juan Pablo Montoya off the restart with 19 laps left and he finished 17th. It was a rare misstep for Johnson but he rebounded just fine at Pocono. "It would have been very easy to come in here with a chip on your shoulder or a grudge," Knaus said. "Jimmie is not that kind of guy." Johnson, though, briefly flirted with the idea of pulling some sort of restart stunt to send a message to NASCAR. He just couldnt bring himself to try and get one over on Hendrick Motorsports teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. "I wanted to prove a point and show everyone what could happen in that restart zone," Johnson said. There was no need. The No. 48 Chevrolet was that dialed in. He pretty much only lost the lead because of pit stop cycles. After only one caution in the first 125 laps, they came in bunches over the last 35. Johnson held off Earnhardt with nine laps left and pulled away one more time with four to go. "Hes one of the best drivers this sport has ever seen," Earnhardt said. "Chad Knaus is probably one of the smartest crew chiefs the sport has ever seen." Johnson also won the Daytona 500 and at Martinsville Speedway this season. His 63rd career Cup victory helped stretch his points lead to 51 over Carl Edwards. Johnson won from the pole after rain washed out qualifying Friday. Odds are, Johnson wont really skip a race, especially with the due date in mid-September. But if he has that top seed locked up and is needed in a pinch, hell put family first. "Thats what Im working so hard for," Johnson said. Greg Biffle was second and Earnhardt. Dover winner Tony Stewart was fourth, followed by fellow Stewart-Haas Racing driver Ryan Newman. "I really didnt have anything for Jimmie," Biffle said. "Jimmie was in a league of his own." Earnhardt would love a repeat of last season when he was in contention at Pocono before settling for eighth, then won the next week at Michigan International Speedway. He wasnt won since — and Michigan is on deck. "We want to get a win, man," Earnhardt said. "I can see it right there in front of me. I really thought we got close." Kyle Busch, Kurt Busch, Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick and Joey Logano rounded out the top 10. Stewart and Newman continued a three-week resurgence for SHR, though Danica Patrick was 29th. Stewart jumped three spots to 13th in the standings and still has the No. 1 wild-card spot in the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship. The final race before the 12-driver field is set is Sept. 7. "Its not just one team, the whole organization is gaining momentum," Stewart said. Johnson had his ninth top-10 finish of 2013 and has now won at least three races in 11 of his 12 full-time seasons. His 128 laps led were the most of his career at Pocono — amazing since the race was shortened from 200 laps to 160 last season. Consider, in Johnsons first Pocono win in 2004, it was only the ninth of his career and he had yet to win a championship. For all his success, Johnson never takes it for granted. "There are no guarantees well win again, there really arent," he said. "The sport moves so fast." At Pocono, the No. 48 led the way.Ramon Martinez Jersey . Down by seven with 90 seconds left in regulation, thats where they looked comfortable. Raul Mondesi Dodgers Jersey . LOUIS -- St. https://www.cheapdodgersonline.com/2125h-eric-gagne-jersey-dodgers.html . Vancouver Whitecaps and Toronto FC failed to make the postseason while Montreal Impact fell at the first hurdle losing heavily to Houston Dynamo in the Eastern Conference Knockout Round. Dennis Santana Jersey . Halifax beat the Saint John Sea Dogs 7-5 on the strength of two goals apiece from Nikolaj Ehlers, Matt Murphy and Brent Andrews. Jonathan Drouin also scored and had three assists while Zachary Fucale made 17 saves for the Mooseheads (16-8-0), who led 6-1 after two periods. Walker Buehler Dodgers Jersey . Collaros, 25, was solid last season, posting a 5-2 record as the starter while incumbent Ricky Ray was injured. Collaros also started Torontos 23-20 regular-season finale loss to Montreal — Ray didnt dress because the Argos had already clinched first in the East Division — but was one of three quarterbacks to play that day.The Orlando Magic had begun to establish their defensive base. The team was stopping and controlling the Milwaukee Bucks on Monday night, taking as much as a 14-point lead in the first quarter. Orlando was dominant defensively, the way coach Frank Vogel always imagined.The offense was still a work in progress, one of the worst shooting and lowest-scoring offenses in the league, but the defense figured to give the Magic every chance to win.Then the turnovers came. One after another, building on top of each other. Undoing all the good work the half-court defense could do.Milwaukee was able to get out in transition, beating the Magic before the defense could set. Even the Magics growing and improving defense could not do enough to prevent its offenses mistakes.Orlando committed 19 of its 24 turnovers in the first half, giving up that early lead. The constant mistakes seemed to be magnified the rest of the way as the offense struggled to make shots, as it often has done this season, and the Bucks were in control on their way to a 93-89 win.It really hurt us a lot, point guard Elfrid Payton told the Orlando Sentinel. We felt like we were pretty solid in the half court, but those turnovers really hurt us. They were able to get out in transition, and thats what they excel in.The Bucks finished with 27 fast-break points and converted 25 points off the Magics 25 turnovers. In a four-point game with wild swings throughout the second half, those mistakes seemed to amplify late.It marked twoo straight games in which the Magic struggled with turnovers.dddddddddddd. Until then, they had done a good job protecting the ball. Orlando is 13th in the league, with turnovers on 14.3 percent of the teams possessions, but the recent aberration has made their rough offense worse.It has done the same too for the Phoenix Suns, putting more stress on an already stressed defense.The Suns give up turnovers on 14.7 percent of possessions and allow 106.3 points per 100 possessions, 25th in the league.Turnovers then only put more stress on the Suns. And that is how the Washington Wizards erased a fourth-quarter deficit to score a win Monday at Verizon Center. The Suns had 21 turnovers, leading to 19 Wizards points. Washington had 25 fast-break points in the game.It was a game we should have won, Suns guard Eric Bledsoe told the Arizona Republic. Weve got to do a better job of execution. There are going to be nights when we cant get out in transition. We cant let that stop us.The Wizards broke a late tie and won the game thanks to a career-high 46 points from Bradley Beal. It was much like way the Magics turnovers helped fuel Giannis Antetokounmpos first triple-double this season in their loss Monday.As the Suns and Magic meet at Amway Center in Orlando on Wednesday, both will be looking to reduce their turnovers and play to their strengths to pick up a win. ' ' '
