hell only get to race when Busch cant. His next opportuni

ELKHART LAKE, Wis. -- If Sam Hornish Jr. could do it over, he would be more selective in the way he made the jump from open-wheel racing to NASCAR six years ago. Now, Hornish understands the value of having the right ride. So he relishes his shot to win in the Nationwide series this year -- even if those chances arent coming every week. Hornish, the 2006 Indianapolis 500 winner and a three-time series champion in Indy-style racing, is racing a part-time Nationwide schedule for Joe Gibbs Racing in 2014. Hes splitting the No. 54 car with Sprint Cup series star Kyle Busch, so hell only get to race when Busch cant. His next opportunity is Saturdays race at Road America, a scenic 4-mile road course that winds through the tree-lined hills of central Wisconsin. "There were a lot of people that had negative comments about the fact that I was running a part-time schedule," Hornish said. "But you need to look at what the 54 has done over the past couple of years, what the strength of the JGR organization is. I feel like Id rather have seven shots at it with an opportunity to win every time, rather than (a full schedule) and knowing that if I come home 10th, everybody on the team is going to be happy." Hornish took the part-time ride at Gibbs this year after losing his Nationwide ride at Team Penske; despite his second-place finish to Austin Dillon in the Nationwide drivers championship standings in 2013, his sponsorship dried up and the team didnt have a place for him. In three Nationwide races this year -- two in the No. 54 car and one in the No. 20 car -- he has a victory at Iowa, a second-place finish last week at Michigan and a fifth-place finish at Talladega. And he likes his chances at Road America, where he has finished fifth each of the past two years. Its one of Hornishs favourite tracks, one he visited as a fan on family vacations and raced on in open-wheel cars early in his career. "I remember sitting down in Turn 5 as a kid watching the Indy car race," Hornish says. "Any time you can go back to a place that you have these happy childhood memories from, from a vacation or whatever it happened to be, thats always a good thing." A win at Road America would add to the already compelling case Hornish is making for another shot at the top-tier Sprint Cup series, where hes still fighting the stigma of the disappointing first impression he made from 2008 to 2010. Getting back to Cup remains his ultimate goal, but he wont necessarily take any opportunity that comes his way. "Im going to be a little more choosy about that at this point in time, because I know that I cant carry the car," Hornish said. "Nobody can. You can put even the best drivers in the Cup series in a car thats not capable of running in the top 15, and they might get a 12th out of it a day here and there. But thats not enough to keep yourself where you want to be or to move up to that next ride." For now, Hornish wants to make the most of the opportunities he has while appreciating the additional time he has at home with his wife and three kids -- a different kind of full-time schedule. "I went to being kind of a glorified limo driver or taxi driver, taking kids here and there," Hornish says. "But its awesome. Theres been so many part of this year that I would have heard about, instead of being able to experience." Hydro Flask Straw Lid 32 Oz . LOUIS -- When Braves second baseman Tyler Pastornicky backpedaled into shallow right field to catch the popup and Jason Heyward didnt arrive fast enough to take charge, Kolten Wong got the green light. Hydro Flask 32 Oz Australia . Of course that doesnt mean hes ignoring it. Thats actually rather impossible given the behind-the-scenes access to the Toronto Maple Leafs the network is getting. http://www.hydroflaskaustraliasale.com/h...-australia.html. He scored two highlight-reel goals in a three-minute span -- the second on a sideways bicycle kick in the 78th minute -- to give the Whitecaps a 2-2 draw with the Portland Timbers before a crowd of 20,303 at B. Hydro Flask Sport Cap Bottle . -- Top-ranked Stacy Lewis birdied the last three holes and five of the final six Thursday for an 8-under 64 and a share of the lead with Mi Jung Hur in the Yokohama Tire LPGA Classic. Hydro Flask Clearance Ombre .Just like old times.Only this time, just one got to enjoy a victory.James return to Miami as an opponent was a success — for the Heat, that is. Wade scored 24 of his 31 points in the first half, Luol Deng had 25 points and dogged James defensively all night, and the Heat beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 101-91 in a hyped Christmas matchup Thursday.RALEIGH, N.C. - The Carolina Hurricanes are eager to get a feel for their new management. With training camp coming up later this month, the Hurricanes are ready to find out how their new bosses — general manager Ron Francis and coach Bill Peters — are going to run things. Goalie Cam Ward said Thursday that hes spoken to his new coach 3-4 times on the phone and "from the small amount of time Ive talked to him, I view him as a straight shooter." Ward said he expects Peters to install a "strong foundation and a sound structure." But he noted that it will be up to the players to put that plan in motion and prevent the Hurricanes playoff drought from reaching a sixth year. "The players put on the skates, and its important that the players execute the plan," Ward said. "A coach can only do so much. He can set it up for you, but its important that the players execute, and if they arent executing, its up the players to hold each other accountable." Ward expects to spend this preseason fighting for his job with Anton Khudobin, who beat him out last year. Ward won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player of the Hurricanes run to the 2006 Stanley Cup. But Carolina has made only one post-season appearance since then, in 2009. But instead of tearing apart the roster, the Hurricanes only major moves this off-season came on the management side. Francis moved up a spot to GM when Jim Rutherford stepped aside into an advisory role — and was subsequently hired as the Pittsburgh Penguins general manager. Hiss first major moves were to fire coach Kirk Muller after three years and no playoff appearances, and to hire Peters from Detroits staff.dddddddddddd. A few players came and went — defenceman Tim Gleason came back as a free agent, while backup goalie Justin Peters left for Washington and lower-line centre Manny Malhotra signed with Montreal. But for the most part, the nucleus of the team was preserved — and thats given the returning players a dose of confidence. "I dont think you can say weve got a bad team in that locker room," defenceman Justin Faulk said. "Weve got a lot of good players that have stepped up and done pretty good things in this league. Its just putting it all together and coming together as a team and growing and becoming the team that we know we can be." The players acknowledged that they arent yet entirely familiar with their new coach or what he wants. Faulk and Ward said theyve only spoken to him so far by phone, and forward Jiri Tlusty said he has yet to meet Peters — largely because Tlusty spent the off-season overseas and just got back to Raleigh last week. Thats not a concern because they figure theyll spend plenty of time t