The Original Game » ay from Western Carolina in the second

Our experts weigh in on four of the biggest questions in NASCAR as the Sprint Cup Series braces for Chase race No. Wholesale Jordan Retro 11 . 7 Sunday at Martinsville Speedway:Turn 1: NASCAR put new rules in for Sprint Cup veterans running in Xfinity and Trucks. No more than 10 Xfinity races and seven Truck events a season, and none during the Chase in each series. Whats your take?Ricky Craven, ESPN NASCAR analyst:?it was time for a formula like this to be created. Its an opportunity to expand the field of young drivers in the Xfinity series, and we need young talent to be identified. There is a long list of stars retiring in the next five years, and those seats need to be filled with talent.Ryan McGee, ESPN.com: Im all for it. Ive been for it for years. I totally understand the rock and the hard place that Xfinity and Truck owners are between. Sponsors are incredibly difficult to come by in those series and those sponsors want established names behind the wheel. This allows for just enough of that but also allows those owners to bring along young racers. Plus, the Cup guys winning races within those series Chase formats unquestionably waters down the postseason. Fans have been telling me they wanted something like this for years, like all the way back to the Mark Martin-stinking-up-the-Busch-Series show days. Now they have it.John Oreovicz, ESPN.com: Fan unrest has been building up for quite some time, so this came as no surprise. It took only a couple of races this playoff season for NASCAR to realize that Cup drivers were not only sometimes devaluing the Xfinity and Truck Chases, they also had the potential to actually affect the championships, whether through a wreck or team orders. I think its a good move to keep Cup veterans out of the lower series Chases.Bob Pockrass, ESPN.com: Wait and see. The Kyle Busch rule -- this year it would have impacted only Kyle Busch, Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano -- will help quiet fans angry over Cup drivers taking Xfinity/Truck glory and potentially impacting their championships. But Im not convinced it helps developmental drivers because it encourages sponsors who want Cup drivers to spend less money, and that could impact opportunities down the road.Turn 2: NASCAR had hoped to announce an entitlement sponsor by the end of October. Its the end of October and no announcement. Concerned?Craven:?I am not concerned, and I truly dont understand why an announcement will be made in the middle of our playoffs. Ive been told an announcement is coming and I have no reason not to believe that. I also believe that in spite of some of the challenges our sport faces, we bring value that cant be found elsewhere.McGee: Yes. And Im far from alone. These days, when Im dropping in at the track sporadically, the single biggest conversation people want to have is about this. Theres uncertainty in the garage air. Thats not good.Oreovicz: Yes. Its getting late in the game and in the not-so-distant past, blue-chip companies would have been lined up to bid for the opportunity to take over title sponsorship of the Cup Series. With attendance and television numbers down, NASCAR needs this transition between title sponsors to have a positive impact at what is a critical point in time for auto racing as a whole.Pockrass: For sure. It should have announced a sponsor over the summer as corporations started making 2017 budgets. This is not a good sign. Those in the industry and the garage are concerned. While the racing has improved in 2016, the vibe on the sport has not.Turn 3: What did you think of the Joe Gibbs Racing driver strategy to run in the back at Talladega?Craven:?I thought they did exactly what they needed to do to enhance their chances at winning the title. They played within the rules. At the very least they played in the environment that creates unintended consequences. I feel for the fans of those drivers, but its hard to blame teams trying to win a title.McGee: It was the racing equivalent of an NFL team not playing its starters in the final game of the regular season. I understood it, but I hated it. Gibbs and his people are smart enough to know the big picture from the little one.?If one of those cars goes on to win the championship, the Talladega thing will become nothing more than a footnote. So taking a ton of flak this week from fans and media will be a small price if they meet their ultimate goal.Oreovicz: It cheated fans of the team and its drivers and proved that under the right circumstances, you can still points race in the elimination-style Chase. Nobody predicted 37 cars would be running at the finish, including 34 on the lead lap, and that darn near made the strategy backfire on JGR. But as Kyle Busch said, dont blame the players, blame the game.Pockrass: Hated anyone who did it -- Tony Stewart included -- but understood why they did it. The best thing is they wont do it next year for the full race because it is the second race in the round.Turn 4:?Of the final eight drivers in the Chase, which would you consider the long shot to win the title?Craven:?I would say Kurt Busch has gotten less attention than any of the other seven drivers and hes probably made the least noise in terms of performance. I think its nice that every one of the eight drivers remaining has won in 2016, which makes it especially tough to pick an underdog.McGee: At this point, were down to all big-timers, so long shot is a tough term to apply. But as Denny Hamlin fans will angrily tell you, Ive questioned that teams ability to be consistent enough to win the Cup. His three wins are great and that run of top-10s he posted leading into the Chase was one of the best of the year, but since the Chase started, hes posted three finishes of 15-plus in six races. The good news is that Martinsville is up next, wheres hes lights out. But based on his postseason thus far it might be win or bust.Oreovicz: Carl Edwards out of the Gibbs/Toyota half of the equation, Kurt Busch from the rest.Pockrass: Kurt Busch. His winning drought is longer than any other driver remaining in the Chase except Carl Edwards, and Busch has led only seven laps in the last 14 races. Jordan 11 Clearance Ireland . -- When the Florida Panthers fell behind by two goals in the first period to the top team in the NHL, it appeared they were on their way to yet another loss. Jordan 11 Sale Ireland . Aside from the trilogy main event title fight, there are a number of intriguing matchups in the heavyweight, welterweight and lightweight divisions. http://www.cheapairjordan11ireland.com/ . Gather a group of friends, or find a league to join online, draft your team, set your lineup and compete in a number of different formats. HOMEWOOD, Ala. -- Karel Hamilton caught 16 passes for 208 yards and two touchdowns and Samford pulled away from Western Carolina in the second half for a 30-17 win on Saturday night.Devlin Hodges completed 32 of his 49 passes for 375 yards and two scores, both to Hamilton, for the Bulldogs (6-1, 4-1 Southern Conference), who finished with 590 yards of total offense. Krondis Larry added 167 yards on the ground on 22 carries.Samford broke the game open in the 3rd quarter on two Hodges scoring playss. Jordan Retro 11 Clearance. First Hodges found Hamilton on a 20-yard TD strike; he then followed it up with a 1-yard run with 1:46 left in the period which gave the Bulldogs 27-10 lead.The Catamounts Tyrie Adams hit Terryon Robinson from 9-yards out for a TD with 1:49 left in the 4th, but there was not enough time to rally.Adams threw for 122 yards for Western Carolina (1-6, 0-5). ' ' '