handers, Ashwin said. They dont plonk their foot across, they plonk it right down the wicket, try to play inside out a lot. It will work on this wicket because it doesnt have enough bounce, turn and carry. So it will

LONG POND, Pa. -- Pocono CEO Brandon Igdalsky took refuge from the rain inside a garage stall that was being used as the site of the drivers meeting.His message Sunday morning to Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart and the rest of the field: I love you guys. But I dont want to see you tomorrow.Well, tough luck.Call it, Pocono Rainway.Rain washed out the NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Pocono Raceway and the 400-mile race will now run at 11 a.m. Monday. Martin Truex Jr. is on the pole and Kurt Busch tries to sweep Pocono in the tracks second Monday race of the season.The June Pocono race also was delayed a day. NASCAR said this was the first time a track had two rain-postponed races in the same season.This was NASCARs 10th postponed race since 2011. The 2012 rain-shortened race at Pocono was marred by lightning strikes that killed one fan and injured nine others.Mondays forecast seems cloudier than Kasey Kahnes chances to make the Chase. But NASCAR set the time an hour earlier than the green flag start on that June Monday to try to beat some of the rain and reach at least the halfway point for an official race.I feel bad for the fans more than anybody, Igdalsky said. We were going to have an unbelievable crowd here today.The track-drying Air Titans provided the only action at Pocono and, after morning rain had passed, there were clear skies at the scheduled 1:30 p.m. start. But about 90 minutes later, it started pouring at the track and the race was quickly called off.Kahne went on TV and bemoaned that he would have to delay a vacation to the Bahamas.Pocono had more pressing problems.While NASCAR tracks dont release attendance numbers, Igdalsky said Pocono was on pace for its biggest crowd in years. The tracks infield and camping areas were sold out, along with some of the higher-priced suites. And Monday races are a burden for everyone involved in NASCAR.A lot of our staff are volunteers and theyve got jobs tomorrow theyve got to get back to, he said. Theyve taken off Friday already. It definitely hits you in the purse strings. The possibility of two in one season, thats painful.Igdalsky said there was a Jeff Gordon bump in ticket sales when the retired four-time champion came back to drive for the injured Dale Earnhardt Jr. Igdalsky said it was hard to put an exact number on the number of additional tickets sold because of Gordons return because it coincided with the tracks usual final-weeks ticket sales push.For us, it was the perfect storm, Igdalsky said.Unfortunately for the track, the wrong kind hit Sunday.Kevin Harvicks 4-year-old son, Keelan, splashed around in a puddle. Some drivers took their dogs for a walk. Crew members stretched out on pit road and gazed at darkened clouds that hinted of the rain ahead.Even more Monday races rain loom at a track without lights such as Pocono in 2017 and beyond. NASCAR bumped start times at most tracks from the 1:30 p.m. window to around 3 p.m. or later next season, meaning one rain delay could lose a track for the day.Igdalsky lobbied NASCAR to keep his traditional and more fan-friendly start time.For us, 1 is a better time, he said. I understand the thought process behind it and Im going to support it.There are six races left until the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship driver field is set. Led by four-time winners Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski, there are 11 slots seemingly set for race winners. Chase Elliott, Austin Dillon, Ryan Newman, Jamie McMurray and Kyle Larson are the four winless drivers perilously holding on to the final five spots.Game notes Sunday would have been Justin Wilsons 38th birthday. The IndyCar driver was killed last August from injuries suffered in the race at Pocono. Igdalsky said the track was working with IndyCar for an appropriate tribute to the driver when the series returns on Aug. 21.IndyCar is back for the fourth straight season and Igdalsky refused to say if the series would return in 2017.Maybe, he said, laughing. Kobe Bryant Jersey . If ever they start actually putting pictures beside words in the dictionary, the Blue Jays left-handers mug will appear beside “Consistency. JaVale McGee Lakers Jersey .2 billion agreement with Rogers Communications for the leagues broadcast and multimedia rights. http://www.lakersteamofficial.com/Nick-Van-Exel-Lakers-Jersey/ . -- Washington Redskins tight end Fred Davis was charged Thursday with driving while intoxicated, a day after he was suspended for an NFL substance-abuse policy violation. Elgin Baylor Jersey . The Croatian served 21 aces and hit 42 winners against Sijsling, who double-faulted to give Cilic a 4-3 lead in the deciding set. "All the players, they know me and they were really happy to see me and they were really happy that this is over for me," Cilic said. Vlade Divac Lakers Jersey . The (11-11-4) Jets are seventh in the Central Division with 26 points. Fifth place Dallas and sixth-seeded Nashville also have 26 points, but the Stars have three games in hand on Winnipeg while Nashville has two. R Ashwin has chosen AB de Villiers wicket in Nagpur last season, getting Kane Williamson twice in this Test and dismissing Kumar Sangakkara repeatedly in Sri Lanka last year as some of the special memories in his journey to becoming the second-fastest man to 200 Test wickets.He could have been the fastest, but was denied by rain in two Tests in the West Indies. Ashwin reached the landmark in 37 Tests, while Australias Clarrie Grimmett took 36 matches. Before Ashwin, Harbhajan Singh was the fastest Indian bowler to reach the milestone, in 46 Tests.Maybe Clarrie Grimmett was a nicer man than I am, Ashwin joked. I think it just had to be that way. Its fine, honestly. There are a lot of positives to look at and lots of good memories that Ive created over the last five-six years of international cricket, and to look back and feel sore about it [the rain] is not the right way to go about my career. So, Im just happy where I am right now.The memories of getting Sangakkara and de Villiers, among the best of all time, and Williamson, who is arguably the best Test batsman going around, have to be really special among those memories. Kane Williamson is not a bad 200th scalp, Ashwin said. There are quite a few good wickets that Ive had over a period of time. AB de Villiers in Nagpur was very well set up. Kane Williamson in this Test match in the first innings, I thought was a very, very good ball. Kumar Sangakkara in Sri Lanka… These are some special memories that Ill always cherish in my cricketing career. I hope I can create more and more in the future.Sangakkara played the last two matches of his Test career against India in 2015. Ashwin got him all four times, caught at slip twice, and at silly point and gully once each. He got de Villiers with a carrom ball in the second innings of the Nagpur Test. And in this Test, after consistent pressure on Williamson in the first innings, the batsman went for a cut against the turn, but the ball turned in sharply to beat the bat. Williamson had done almost everything right to adjust to the turn, but was beaten. For his 200th wicket, Ashwin trapped Williamson on the back foot and had him lbw.Ashwin had to overcome a difficult period when he was dropped after the 2013-14 Johannesburg Test. India had failed to bowl South Africa out in four-and-a-half sessions in the second innings at the Wanderers, after which Ashwin missed seven out of Indias nine Tests, all outside Asia. During that period, Ashwin rediscovered his game, fine-tuned his action and came back rejuvenated.That phase is very, very important, Ashwin said.dddddddddddd It taught me a lot, and more so, it emphasised that I should be working on my skill. And my skill has definitely been talked of ever since. This game, especially, I have a corn on my finger and I havent bowled a lot in the last 25 days. Im not very happy with the way it has come out so far. I just hope that I can do better in the series.Ashwin has amassed 18 five-fors and four ten-wicket match hauls so far, and has more Man-of-the-Series awards than any other Indian. After the days play, Ashwin said: The last 80-100 wickets have been very, very good for me. Ever since I came back from Australia last year, and went to Bangladesh, I think thats when I really started enjoying my bowling. I knew what I was doing very clearly, started planning my dismissals, knew exactly how to set batsmen up. It has been a wonderful journey over the last couple of years, I just hope it keeps going for some time.One of the adjustments Ashwin made in this game was to go over the wicket to left-hand batsmen. He explained the move. The way the New Zealand left-hand batsmen play is very different to the other left-handers, Ashwin said. They dont plonk their foot across, they plonk it right down the wicket, try to play inside out a lot. It will work on this wicket because it doesnt have enough bounce, turn and carry. So it will work on this wicket. Just trying to change a bit of angles, and our targets were better today.So perhaps from around the wicket, Ashwin felt that the batsmen were not coming close enough to edging good balls, and were also succeeding in playing inside out to the ones that might not have been as threatening. Ashwin chose to speak more about his skills rather than detractors. Before the start of the season, Harbhajan had advised India to not ask for rank turners.We dont have enough time to read about all these things, Ashwin said. To be very honest, what kind of wickets we are playing is not something that [Ani] Kumble or [Virat] Kohli can go and roll wickets or water it. What we get is what we play on. Obviously, we are looking to play good cricket and it is not going to take the sheen off. It is very unfortunate that people dont realise it. But it is very important that we enjoy the brand of cricket that we play, and win is a win. Savour it. If a Test match in England gets over in two days, nobody talks about it. Why in India, though? ' ' '