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KANSAS CITY, Kan. - The first sign that Kansas Speedway was going to be a heartbreaker for Hendrick Motorsports should have come during qualifying when Jimmie Johnson inexplicably spun and earned one of his worst starting spots since 2005.Even that couldnt prepare the organization for the trouble it encountered during Sundays race.Johnson was involved in an early accident and finished 40th, which dropped the six-time and defending NASCAR champion to last in the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship standings. It was Johnsons worst Chase finish since the 2005 season finale.It only got worse from there for the Hendrick cars. Dale Earnhardt Jr. had a tire problem while leading and hit the wall, causing him to finish 39th. Then Kasey Kahne also hit the wall — he too believed it was caused by a tire problem — and finished 22nd.Even Jeff Gordon, who finished a team-best 14th, had a problem. A tire got away from his pit crew during a stop, earning a penalty for the four-time series champion.A lot of people had trouble, so today was a real survival day, Gordon said.But Kahne, Earnhardt and Johnson are now at the bottom of the 12-driver field, and four will be eliminated in two weeks after Talladega. It means theyve got to be above average Saturday night at Charlotte to avoid having their championship hopes depend on Talladega.A win earns a driver an automatic berth into the next round, and on Sunday it went to Joey Logano, who picked up his fifth victory of the season.Johnson wants to also earn that automatic berth.It just means weve got to be on our game at Charlotte and Talladega, Johnson said. Certainly need Ws, I would assume, going forward.Here are some other major developments from the fourth race in the 10-race Chase:LOGANO SURGES: With his win on Sunday at Kansas, Logano once again proved hes going to be tough to beat in this race for the Sprint Cup.Hes won in both rounds of the Chase to stay alive in the elimination format, and his career-best five wins this season is tied with teammate Brad Keselowski for most in the series.Getting us to the next round, thats awesome, Logano said. Im having a blast this year, and weve got a real shot to win this championship. I feel like were one of the teams to beat.MIXED BAG: Although Keselowski visited his teammate in Victory Lane, the Team Penske group had mixed emotions at the end of the race.He was also felled by a tire problem and finished 36th, lamenting after that the Goodyear issues turned the race into a game of Russian Roulette and it was our turn at the gun.Team owner Roger Penske said the focus must now turn to Charlotte and not what happened to Keselowski at Kansas.These races, when theyre over, theyre over, Penske said. Obviously well do whatever we can to help him. The whole team will. But the thing we cant do is make a big right or left turn here. Weve got to take on the same track were on.HARVICK NOT HAPPY: Kevin Harvick once again had one of the fastest cars on the track and nothing to show for it at the end of the race.He led 61 laps and was third when he headed to pit road with what he believed was a flat tire. His Stewart-Haas Racing crew found nothing wrong with the tires, but the damage was done: Harvick had dropped to 23rd, was out of contention for the victory and had to charge his way back to a 12th-place finish. He apologized to his crew over his radio.I thought I had a flat tire and pitted because you see all the trouble that is going on, he said after the race, explaining his car simply didnt turn.LARSON, AGAIN: Kyle Larson continued to creep closer and closer to his first career Sprint Cup Series victory with his second-place finish.Larson, a rookie who did not qualify for the Chase, has finished second in two of the last three races and was in a late battle for the win at Chicago before finishing third. Hes not finished lower than sixth since the Chase began.I definitely feel like Ive been running a lot better than what I thought I would to start the season, but I thought I would make the Chase, too, Larson said. I think midpoint through the season, I noticed I was running better than what our goals were and raised those goals into top 10s, and now the way weve been running, we want to be top-5 every week.BIG DAY FOR BUSCH: Kyle Busch has seen his championship hopes come to a crashing halt many times at Kansas, a track that he simply couldnt get a grasp of in the Cup Series.He finally ended his unlucky streak Sunday, a day after he won the Nationwide Series race, with a career-best third-place finish. It gave Busch a top-five finish at every active track on the Cup schedule, and moved him to second in the Chase standings.I won today, I just didnt get champagne and a trophy, he said. To get through Kansas feels nice. Cheap Blue Jackets Jerseys . -- Having already fallen behind because of the NFL lockout, Blaine Gabbert couldnt afford a lengthy holdout. Cheap Adidas NHL Jerseys . Mike Babcock has turned to the Montreal Canadiens goalie over Roberto Luongo, who backed Canada to a gold medal in Vancouver in 2010, for Canadas final preliminary round game against the ailing Finns. http://www.cheapbluejacketsjerseys.com/ . At this rate, the Flyers captain is set to be remembered more for a fantastic finish. Wholesale Blue Jackets Jerseys Cheap Columbus Blue Jackets Jerseys . Make the extra pass, take care of the ball, play defence and get more out of his bench.SAN ANTONIO - The Portland Trail Blazers know firsthand how cold and methodical the veteran San Antonio Spurs can be when they have a team in trouble.So when the defending champions failed to close out the Blazers in the first two overtimes, Portland point guard Damian Lillard had a simple message for his teammates.Step on them, Lillard said.Lillard provided the boot, scoring a career-high 43 points, including 16 after regulation, as the Trail Blazers handed the Spurs their second straight defeat in triple overtime by rallying for a 129-119 victory Friday night.LaMarcus Aldridge had 32 points and 16 rebounds, and Wesley Matthews added 16 points as Portland (21-6) extended its winning streak to four games.The Spurs overwhelmed the young Trail Blazers in the Western Conference semifinals last season, winning three games at home in rolling to a 4-1 series victory en route to their fifth NBA title.So, winning in San Antonio in the manner it did was particularly special for Portland.This was a big win for us, probably our best win of the season, Trail Blazers coach Terry Stotts said.The Spurs have lost three straight overtime games at home, including a 117-116 defeat in three OTs to Memphis on Wednesday.It was the first time a team has played consecutive triple-overtime games since the Baltimore Bullets did so in December 1951.San Antonio failed to take advantage of another stellar performance by veteran Tim Duncan, who had 32 points and 10 rebounds.Timmy in particular was a Back to the Future type of deal, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. He was amazing.Danny Green had 27 points and Tiago Splitter scored 14 for San Antonio (17-10).Just as they did against Memphis, the Spurs had plenty of opportunities to beat the Trail Blazers.San Antonio scored the initial six points in each of the first two overtimes, but failed to hold the lead.They had two opportunities to step on us, Lillard said. The door was left open a little bit and we forced another overtime two times, which is not what people do to them. They usually finish you off. We got in a situation that they got in the first two overtimes and I wanted us to know that we just did it to them two times so dont get excited and dont think that what we did was easy, weve got to be better. We did that.Lillard decimated San Antonios hopes almost singlehandedly, scoring the first nine points in the third OTT, including crossing up Green for a 20-foot jumper and a 120-112 lead with 3:04 remaining.ddddddddddddLillards ensuing 3-pointer gave Portland a 123-112 advantage, prompting Popovich to empty his bench.Hes a special player, Green said. That last OT he just took over pretty much. It didnt matter what we threw at him, he attacked the rim well for them.Lillard had help.Steve Blakes 3-pointer with 30.2 seconds left in the second overtime gave Portland a 112-110 lead and Cory Joseph tied the game 7 seconds later on a floating jumper.Duncan hit consecutive turnaround jumpers early in the first overtime, but Aldridge grabbed a missed 3 by Matthews that didnt touch the rim and fed Lillard, who drained a tying 3-pointer with 13.6 seconds remaining.That led to another tough loss for the Spurs, who play in Dallas on Saturday.Im proud of the whole team and what they have done, Popovich said. Its a different group every night. It would almost be better if you had two guys injured, and you knew it for three months. It is different every night, and it keeps them out of rhythm. We are wearing some guys down, though. Timmy is a big worry in that respect and so is Manu (Ginobili). (But) Im really proud of them, and they did a great job under tough circumstances.___TIP-INSTrail Blazers: Lillards previous career high was 41 points on Jan. 7, 2014, against Sacramento. ... Portland F Nicholas Batum (right wrist and left knee contusion) missed his fifth game this season.Spurs: Duncan is one game shy of tying former Lakers forward A.C. Green for 19th in career games played. Duncan, in his 18th season, has played in 1,277 games.LINE CHANGEPopovich subbed his entire starting lineup once in each quarter, doing so at the 6:41, 9:39, 7:18 and 9:06 marks of each respective period. Popovich said he did the mass substitutions to keep his team fresh after the long game Wednesday.First time experiencing that here, and anywhere, honestly, Green said. I think it was good to keep our energy up and to keep us fresh. It was 5 minutes at a time, about. Were low on energy right now. Were low on bodies.UP NEXTTrail Blazers: Visit New Orleans on Saturday.Spurs: Visit Dallas on Saturday.SAME PLANWhen the Spurs play Dallas on Saturday, it will be Rajon Rondos first game since being traded by the Boston Celtics to the Mavericks. It doesnt change what we do, Popovich said. 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