ekansekans's blog: "df"

Racing fans made their selections for the Most Popular Driver Awards in each of the NASCAR touring series with four of the seven winners racing with rookie designation this season. The Most Popular Driver Award winners for 2012 are:• Chase Elliott, NASCAR K&N Pro Series East• Cassie Gannis, NASCAR K&N Pro Series West• Ray Courtemanche Jr., NASCAR Canadian Tire Series presented by Mobil 1• Pepe Montaño, NASCAR Toyota Series• Freddy Nordstrom, Euro-Racecar NASCAR Touring Series• Ryan Preece, NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour• Danny Bohn, NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour Nearly 210,000 votes were cast in the balloting, which opened in mid-August and ended on Sunday, Nov. 18. The total surpassed last years record of over 136,000 votes cast by 54 percent. This seasons record number is more than four times the 50,743 votes in 2008, the first year the Most Popular Driver voting was conducted online. For the second straight year voters were able to see the results as they voted. "These numbers demonstrate how the fan base of NASCARs touring series continues to grow," said George Silbermann, NASCAR vice president, regional and touring series. "Several drivers across the board engaged fans through various forms of social media which has taken this award to a new level." Elliott, son of 16-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Most Popular Driver Bill Elliott, was the only repeat winner from a year ago. The 16-year-old, second-generation driver from Dawsonville, Ga., collected 56 percent of the votes in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East while finishing fourth in the final driver standings. Gannis, 21, of Phoenix, Ariz., garnered 42 percent of the vote while competing as a rookie in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West. The newest member of NASCARs touring series – Euro-Racecar NASCAR Touring Series – led the way in total votes while Londons Freddy Nordstrom established a new record for votes cast for a single driver with nearly 58,000. He finished ninth in the standings for the European circuit. Balloting in the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series presented by Mobil 1 was close throughout the voting period with rookie Ray Courtemanche Jr., from Montreal, Quebec, getting the nod. Pepe Montaño led the way in Mexicos NASCAR Toyota Series with 48 percent of the vote. The Hidalgo, Mexico driver picked up where three-time Most Popular Driver Jorge Arteaga left off after leaving the series to concentrate on racing in the United States. Sunoco Rookie of the Year Danny Bohn of the NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour added another award to his list. The Freehold, N.J., driver collected over 10,000 votes as the tours runner-up in the final point standings. The second-place driver also collected the honors in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour as Ryan Preece from Berlin, Conn., won the tightest race over veteran Mike Stefanik. The Most Popular Driver Award winners will be recognized at the NASCAR Night of Champions Touring Awards on Saturday, Dec. 8 at the Charlotte (N.C.) Convention Centers Crown Ballroom in the NASCAR Hall of Fame. NFL Jerseys From China . Antoine Valois-Fortier, Kelita Zupancic and Amy Cotton each finished first in their divisions. Valois-Fortier beat Russias Yusup-Khadzhi Aksagov in the mens 81 kilogram final. Wholesale NFL Jerseys From China . The 18-year-old Schalke midfielder is the only surprise in Loews 27-man squad. "Draxler is a player with huge potential," Loew said. "Hes good in one-on-one situations and hes very quick. http://bloodcopy.org/wholesale.html . El Shaarawy scored his seventh league goal of the season 10 minutes from time to prevent Milan from slipping to its sixth loss of the campaign. Fabrizio Miccoli had put Palermo in front from the penalty spot on the stroke of halftime following a handball from Ignazio Abate.ASHBURN, Va. -- Compare what was said Wednesday by Robert Griffin III and Mike Shanahan. One sounds like a stereotypical coach. The other could be mistaken for an overeager player. A case of role reversal hit the Washington Redskins on Wednesday. The rookie quarterback downplayed Sundays winner-take-all game against the Dallas Cowboys with one-game-at-a-time-type answers, while the veteran hard-nosed coach was the one whose words could be featured on a banner to promote a game that will decide the NFC East. "Its the biggest stage, but none of us are looking at it that way," Griffin said. "Its another game we have to go out and win, and thats the way we look at it. Every moment in your life is the biggest one at that time, so we look forward to having many more of these, but weve got to make sure we take care of this one." Griffin, elected a team captain at midseason, said hell give his teammates that same even-keel message. "Basketball, the big game, track, the finals, whatever it is, whenever you play the moment up too much it can become too big to seize the moment," said Griffin, whose big moments include winning a bowl game and the Heisman Trophy while at Baylor. "So you just want to make sure you dont make something so big that you cant grab ahold of it." After Griffin left the room, along came Shanahan, who is looking to end a personal playoff drought. The coach won two Super Bowls with John Elway and the Denver Broncos in the 1990s but lost make-or-break games in the final weeks of the 2006 and 2008 seasons. He hasnt been to the post-season since 2005. "These are the games youll remember for the rest of your life. Win or go home," Shanahan said. "I dont care what playoff game, when I look back as an assistant or as a head coach, you go back and you think about the great experiences you had or the bad memories you have. "You want to take advantage of these opportunities when they exist. They dont come around every day. And when they do come around, you want to make sure that you play your best and you prepare yourself the best possible way. "And you tell that guys that this is not just a normal game. Youve got to make sure the attention to details there. You cant make mistakes. The concentration levels got to be there." Stay medium? Or get pumped? Think of it like any other game? Or treat it as special? Or somehow do both? With all due respect to Griffin -- who has deservedly won praise all season for having poise beyond his years -- the coach probably comes closer to reflecting the attitude in the locker room. After all, the Redskins havent been to the playoffs since 2007, and they havent won a division title since 1999. "This has only happened to me once before, wheree if you win that final game, youve got a playoff spot," left guard Kory Lichtensteiger said.dddddddddddd. "Its a special feeling, and when you go a lot of seasons in a row without really playing for anything meaningful in December, its quite a change. ... Were going to be hyped up. I dont think theres any way around that." The Cowboys-Redskins game has been moved to Sunday night and will mark the end of the regular season. Its possible that Washington (9-6) could lose and still get a wild card berth, but only if the Chicago Bears and Minnesota Vikings both lose earlier in the day. There was one point on which Shanahan and Griffin agreed: These are the types of games that can make a career. "At the end of the day, everybody is compared to winning championships, if you like it or not," Shanahan said. "Is it fair all the time? Probably not. But how youre going to be judged or ranked is how you play in those games. They define you, sometimes." Griffin has already shown he can handle high-profile games, winning his NFL debut, his Monday night debut and his Thanksgiving debut. He ranks either first or second in the league in passer rating, yards-per-attempt and interception percentage. He said hell be able to do more physically against the Cowboys after his sprained right knee prompted coaches to limit the game plan in a 27-20 win over the Philadelphia Eagles. "Nothings definite in the league with how youre going to be judged," Griffin said. "But if you play big in the big stages, people tend to write good things about you, so we all want to play well on the big stage." While Shanahans words could be used to market the game, Griffin didnt miss a chance to market himself. He was asked about a $10,000 fine, which he is appealing, levied recently by the NFL for wearing attire from his personal sponsor Adidas instead of league sponsor Nike at a postgame news conference. "I understand the principle of that. And I respect that," Griffin said. "That why I havent really worn that much Adidas at all." "Three stripes," he added with a smile, a reference to the Adidas logo. "Thats all I can say about that. Name-dropping all up in here." Notes: WR Dezmon Briscoe did not practice Wednesday after missing his flight back from the Christmas break. "Thatll cost a little cash," Shanahan said. ... RT Tyler Polumbus (concussion) and LB London Fletcher (sprained left ankle) did not practice, while CB DeJon Gomes (sprained left knee) was limited. ... The Redskins new bubble paid off Wednesday when a winter storm forced the team inside for practice. A year ago, the players would have piled into cars to drive to a gym or an airport hangar. ' ' '