DARLINGTON, S.C. -- Martin Truex Jr. has already won two of NASCARs most coveted races. Now, hes seeking a much bigger honor.Truex led the final 28 laps and held off the Kevin Harvicks powerhouse car to win the Southern 500, closing the summer season with a second of Sprint Cups crown jewel races on Labor Day weekend. She began things by winning at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Memorial Day weekend.Truex stamped himself as a contender to be reckoned with when the Sprint Cup playoffs start in two weeks.Were hungry. Were working hard, Truex said. This is just the beginning for us, I think.Many others think that, too, especially after Truex patiently stayed in the top 10 throughout and pounced when the opportunity struck, moving past leader Ryan Newman and never surrendering the top spot.It was Truexs sixth fifth NASCAR win and first in 11 career Darlington races.Crew chief Cole Pearn said winning two crown jewel races in a season is something special, but the teams focus is on the championship Chase that starts at Chicagoland Speedway in two weeks.Youve got to take the highs when theyre here and then get back to work, he said.Truex pulled up to the inside wall to greet his crew after the win, then taking off for some celebration donuts at the track Too Tough To Tame.Harvick, who led 214 of 367 laps, had some words for his crew, too -- much angrier and pointed about their poor performance in the pits. During one 16.6-second stop, Harvick fell from first to 12th and while he got to back to second, correctly said on the radio after that stop, Its pretty much over at this point.The 2014 Sprint Cup champion said it was time for the crew to perform. Im over being a cheerleader. Those guys get paid a lot of money to perform on pit road and cheerleading really hasnt been working, he said. Youve got to get after it on pit road and do your job.Last weeks winner at Michigan, Kyle Larson, finished third and Denny Hamlin was fourth. Joey Logano was fifth, followed by Matt Kenseth, Kasey Kahne, Ryan Newman, Brad Keselowski and Chase Elliott.Its the second time in the past six Southern 500s that single-car Furniture Row Racing wound up in victory lane. Regan Smith stunned the Sprint Cup garage in 2011 with his win here.Truex, among the four finalists in last years championship Chase, is locked in again this year and has stamped himself a significant contender for the Sprint Cup crown.It was definitely worth the wait, he said.WHOS HOT: Kyle Larson followed up his win at Michigan last week with a third-place at Darlington. The Chip Ganassi Racing driver led 45 laps and felt good about running up front for a second straight race.WHOS NOT: Jimmie Johnson had his troubles at Darlington where hes won three times. He was called pass-through penalty after his crew made a modification on pit road NASCAR didnt like, then fell two laps down. On lap 214, Johnson spun out and slid into the inside wall. His crew brought the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports machine behind the wall. It was Johnsons ninth finish outside the top 10 in his last 12 races, not the form his team hoped to have in chasing a seventh Sprint Cup title.THEY SAID IT: Its kind of like an out of body experience, Tony Stewart on the radio while watching his old, Home Depot-style paint scheme being driven by Carl Edwards in the Southern 500.THE BIG ONE: That involved Tony Stewart, too. The three-time series champ making his final run at Darlington was trying to get out lapped car Brian Scott. When that didnt work at first, Stewart looked like he nudged Scotts bumper and sent him spinning. Scott thought Stewart was mad at him and ran into him on purpose. Im not sure if he thought I was trying to hold him up. I wasnt, Scott said. The move also picqued NASCARs interest. Officials called Stewart and crew chief Mike Bugarewicz to their hauler at the end. When told of NASCARs demand, Stewart said, Hey man, made it 25 races, Id say thats pretty good.UP NEXT: Richmond International Raceway, Richmond, Virginia, Sept. 10. Matt Kenseth is the defending champion. Cheap Avalanche Jerseys .ca. Hey Kerry, big fan of yours, just finished reading your book. I think that we all saw the Canucks/Flames line brawl just after puck drop. It was obvious that something was about to happen, even to the referees because the fourth lines were on to start. Stitched Avalanche Jerseys . It was the kind of score that might make everyone else wonder which course he was playing. Except that Graeme McDowell saw the whole thing. Crouched behind the 10th green at Sheshan International, McDowell looked over at the powerful American and said, "Ive probably seen 18 of the best drives Ive seen all year in the last two days. https://www.cheapavalanche.com/ . On Tuesday, Ottawa placed forward Cory Conacher and defenceman Joe Corvo on waivers as trade rumours swirl around the Senators. Colorado Avalanche Pro Shop . 8 Kansas to a 64-63 win over Texas Tech on Tuesday night. The freshman from Vaughan, Ont. Fake Avalanche Jerseys . -- Running backs Darren McFadden and Rashad Jennings were back at practice for the Oakland Raiders on Wednesday despite being hampered by hamstring injuries. CALGARY, Alberta -- Johnny Gaudreau had a goal and an assist in his return from a broken finger, and the Calgary Flames scored five times in a 6:04 span of the second period to rout the Anaheim Ducks 8-3 on Sunday night.It was a surprise when it was revealed in the morning that Gaudreau would be back in the lineup less than three weeks after surgery that was expected to keep him out four to six weeks.On the first shot of his first shift, he took a drop pass from Sam Bennett and whipped a shot past Jonathan Bernier at 2:09 to make it 1-0.Sixth in the NHL in scoring last season, Gaudreau started off slowly this season with two goals in 14 games. But he was just beginning to heat up with three goals in three games when a slash from Eric Staal against Minnesota on Nov. 15 sidelined him for 10 games.Bennett and Alex Chiasson also had big nights offensively with a goal and two assists apiece. Also scoring for Calgary (13-13-2) were Troy Brouwer, Matt Stajan, Dougie Hamilton, Sean Monahan and Mark Giordano. The Flames finished a 3-0 homestand.Ryan Kesler had two goals and Logan Shaw also scored for Anaheim (12-9-5), which trailed 8-1 late in the third. Next, the Ducks return home after a 1-1-1 trip through Western Canada.It was 1-all when Calgary scored a rare power-play goal at home at 11:28 of the second, touching off a stretch of five goals on six shots against Bernier.Calgary was 2 for 45 on the power play at the Saddledome when Brouwer tippedd in Monahans shot.ddddddddddddChiasson shoveled in Bennetts rebound less than a minute later and 35 seconds after that, with the crowd still buzzing, Stajan deflected in Dennis Widemans slap shot.Back on the man advantage, the Flames made it two straight conversions when Bennett redirected in Mikael Backlunds pass at 16:37. Hamilton completed the second-period barrage 55 seconds later by ripping a slap shot into the top corner.Monahan and Giordano made it 8-1 with third-period goals before Kesler and Shaw scored late goals for the Ducks.Starting for the 10th time in the last 12 games, Chad Johnson made 30 stops to improve to 8-2-0 during that span. He is 10-4-1 this season.Bernier, who went the distance, finished with 17 saves. His record fell to 4-2-1.Game notes It was the most goals Calgary has scored since winning 8-1 over Edmonton on March 22, 2014. ... Bennett was back at center after playing left wing during Gaudreaus absence. ... Micheal Ferland (upper body) did not return after leaving in the first period. He took only one more shift after an earlier fight with Kevin Bieksa. ... Lance Bouma (upper body) skated without a non-contact jersey Sunday and is nearing a return. He has missed 15 games.UP NEXTDucks: Host the Carolina Hurricanes on Wednesday night.Flames: Play at the Dallas Stars on Tuesday night. ' ' '