News » Alterraun Verner, whos been inconsistent

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Engine troubles during the day, wrecked cars at night. Stewart-Haas Racing found all sorts of trouble at Daytona International Speedway on Saturday. Owner/driver Tony Stewart and teammate Danica Patrick got the miserable day started with blown engines in pole practice for the Daytona 500. They will have to start at the back of the field in Thursdays qualifying race and in the Feb. 23 Daytona 500. Things got worse in the Sprint Unlimited a few hours later. Stewart, Patrick, Kevin Harvick and Kurt Busch were involved in a nine-car wreck in the exhibition race, knocking out three of the four SHR cars in the event that kicks off the NASCAR season. Harvick was able to return to the track but was well off the pace. "You hate to have that happen," Stewart said. "Thats just part of it. Back at Daytona." The melee started when Matt Kenseth turned in front of Joey Logano. Loganos front bumper turned Kenseths car sideways, triggering all sorts of chaos. SHR was the big loser. It looked like Patrick would wave her way through an obstacle course of wrecked cars, but she got her left-side tires on the infield grass, which got her turning sideways. And as she tried to straighten out her No. 10 Chevrolet, boyfriend Ricky Stenhouse Jr. plowed into her. "I got hit by my boyfriend. What a bummer," Patrick said. "I was sitting there and pretty much just about stopped and then I got hit. That was it. It was a real bummer. I was having fun and I felt like I was learning a lot. It was good to run with those guys. It would have been nice to get it to the end for the experience." Jeff Gordon, Brad Keselowski and Carl Edwards also were involved in the crash on the front-stretch. "Really unfortunate that so many cars are torn up, especially when it appears that I probably triggered it," Kenseth said. "I feel bad about that and feel bad that all this stuff is all torn up." SHR has to figure Speedweeks will improve from here. Stewart, Patrick and HScott Motorsports driver Bobby Labonte had engine failures in practice, creating concern that Hendrick Motorsports might have issues. Stewart, Patrick and Labonte all lease engines from Hendrick, which also fields cars for Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kasey Kahne. "Not really concerned about it," Stewart said. "Pretty confident itll be fine." Labontes engine went first. Stewarts started smoking a bit later, followed about 10 minutes later by Patricks. "I was like, Man, are we doing something?" Patrick said. "Its something that we are doing in our family here and we need to figure it out. I was saying I bet other Hendrick cars are thinking, Whats going on? So we have got time to hopefully figure it out. Definitely figure it out before the race." Though Hendrick drivers had no engine problems, Johnson, Gordon, Earnhardt and Kahne seemed to be down on horsepower. The fastest Hendrick driver during the first practice was Gordon, who was 21st on the speed chart. "We feel like we understand what is happening," Hendrick general manager Doug Duchardt said. "We will get the engines back over and tear them down from NASCAR. I think we will be able to confirm everything that is happening. ... We think we understand what is happening there and we will take a look at that." Duchardt and Scott Maxim, Hendricks director of engine track support, said they are confident the engines wont be an issue in Saturday nights Sprint Unlimited exhibition race, in qualifying Sunday, in the dual qualifying races next Thursday or in the Daytona 500. "Moving forward, we will be all right," Maxim said. "We will identify what weve got and we will make changes needed, and I think that we will be able to make corrective action. We will be able to look the engines over closely and make sure that we are not going into (Sunday) with an issue. Then after that, we will be all good." Telvin Smith Jersey . - Tom Brady was upset that his New England Patriots hardly looked like a division champion in the first half. Leonard Fournette Jersey . Dwyane Wade took over in the fourth quarter. http://www.officialjacksonvillejaguarspro.com/ . - The width of Alec Martinezs shin guard was the difference between the Los Angeles Kings and the Anaheim Ducks in their playoff series opener. Yannick Ngakoue Jersey . The German has taken the pole for three straight races -- winning the first two. Hes aiming for a third consecutive win at the Yeongam circuit and, most importantly, a fourth consecutive F1 championship. Custom Jacksonville Jaguars Jerseys . Theres little time for rest, too. The Flyers and Rangers play again Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden. Simmonds scored in the first period and twice more in the second for his first career post-season hat trick. Mason survived a busy first period and stopping 31 straight shots until Carl Hagelin scored late in the third.(SportsNetwork.com) - Amid a slightly higher-profile arrival this weekend at Soldier Field - in the form of Tampa Bay coach Lovie Smith visiting his former Chicago home for the first time since he was fired two years ago - theres also one Josh McCown. McCown appeared in 11 games and started seven times across three seasons (two under Smith) with the Bears before heading to Buccaneers on a two-year, $10 million contract after Chicago displayed its allegiance to Jay Cutler in the form of a seven-year, $126.7 million deal. His first three games with his new team yielded three losses and a thumb injury that subsequently kept him out of action for six weeks, but McCown returned to his starters role in Week 10 and has since thrown for 589 yards and four touchdowns against just two interceptions. He finally earned win No. 1 for the Bucs last week, throwing for 288 yards and a pair of scores in a 27-7 road defeat of Washington that ended a five-game losing skid. The momentum comes just in time for what he concedes will be an unusual experience this week. It will be neat, weird, all those things. Im sure for Coach Smith its the same thing, McCown said. But for us, weve got to win ball games, it doesnt matter who we play. His return has coincided with the emergence of first-round draft pick Mike Evans, whos caught seven passes in three straight games for 458 yards and five touchdowns. The Texas A&M product accounted for 209 receiving yards against the Redskins, making him the first rookie with a 200-yard game and two scores since Anquan Boldin did it 11 years ago. The defense did its part in Washington as well, registering three takeaways and six sacks while yielding its lowest opposition point total of 2014. Tampa Bay had averaged 30.2 points allowed through its initial nine games while accounting for only 12 turnovers and 14 sacks. Hopefully we can build on this and see where we go from there, Smith said. As it turns out, the tumult-wracked Bears could use a little building of their own. Lest he be reminded that Smith was 18 games over .500, reached the playoffs three times and appeared in a Super Bowl once during his tenure in Chicago, second-year coach Marc Trestman is enduring daily questions about why his star-studded team isnt performing anywhere near expectations. Trestman was 8-8 in his first go-round last year, following Smiths dismissal after he went 10-6 in 2012 and failed to reach the playoffs. And several of his holdover players are still fans of their old boss. (Smith) was the type of guy that you really wanted to run through a wall for, Bears linebacker Lance Briggs said. And you didnt want to see him go. Inconveniently, Chicagos offense is more than six points a game off of the NFC-best 27.8-point clip it posted under Trestman laast season, and his defense had allowed 50 points in two straight games before a circle-the-wagons 21-13 defeat of Minnesota in Week 11 ended a three-game losing streak.dddddddddddd Chicago allowed 243 total yards, but the Vikings were just 30th in the league in total offense coming in. Smiths defenses for the Bears averaged better than two takeaways per game, permitted less than 20 points and only surrendered 40 or more four times. Chicago has allowed 40 points six times under Trestman and defensive coordinator Mel Tucker, while surrendering 29.5 points per game overall. Were going to talk to our team truthfully about every aspect of this game, Trestman said. The thing I can tell you about Lovie is that Ive watched him for years and played against him for years and I know him as a person and I have tremendous respect for him as a person in all areas. Thats the only thing I can speak of at this point, and I truly mean that. As for offense, Cutler is expecting his former boss to supply a new defensive wrinkle or two. The QB passed for 330 yards and three TDs against Minnesota, but he was intercepted twice and has six INTs in his last four games. Running back Matt Forte had 117 rushing yards against the Vikings and is third in the league with 1,308 total yards. Its going to be challenging, Cutler said. We are going to be familiar with their defense, theyve got some really good players on that side of the ball. WHAT TO WATCH FOR Rookie on Rookie First-year man Evans comes into the game for the Bucs full of pass-catching momentum. Hes scored seven touchdowns since missing Week 5 with an injury and uses his 6-foot-5, 231-pound frame with surprising speed and agility. Hell be the focal point of rookie corner Kyle Fuller, picked seven slots after him in April, whos 6-foot, 190 pounds and will need to create disruption at the line of scrimmage. Facing an Old Friend On the flip side, Chicagos Brandon Marshall comes in after his own seven- catch, two-touchdown performance against Minnesota and will presumably be matched with veteran Alterraun Verner, whos been inconsistent in his first year with Tampa Bay. Marshall could have a big day if Smith employs soft coverages with Verner, especially if the receiver can escape initial contact and extend plays. OVERALL ANALYSIS If it were solely a match on paper, the Bears would win easily. Of course, if theyd all been solely matches on paper, the Bears would probably be 8-2 instead of 4-6. Expect Tampa Bay to be plenty revved-up for its popular new coach and for Smith to confound Cutler with a look or two, but in the end the advantages in personnel still reside with the hosts in Chicago. If he loses this one, Trestmans done. Sports Network predicted outcome: Bears 24, Buccaneers 14 Cheap Bills Jerseys Authentic Dolphins Jerseys Cheap Patriots Store Cyber Monday Jets Jerseys Cyber Monday Texans Jerseys Black Friday Colts Jerseys Cheap Jaguars Jerseys Cheap Titans Store Black Friday Broncos Jerseys Cheap Chiefs Jerseys Cheap Raiders Jerseys Authentic Chargers Jerseys Cheap Ravens Store Black Friday Steelers Jerseys Black Friday Cowboys Jerseys Cheap Giants Store Cheap Eagles Store Black Friday Redskins Jerseys Falcons Jerseys Online Panthers Jerseys Online Authentic Saints Jerseys Cheap Buccaneers Jerseys Authentic Cardinals Jerseys Black Friday 49ers Jerseys Black Friday Seahawks Jerseys Cyber Monday Rams Jerseys Black Friday Bears Jerseys Wholesale Lions Jerseys Packers Jerseys Online Authentic Vikings Jerseys Cyber Monday Bengals Jerseys Cyber Monday Browns Jerseys ' ' '