JOLIET, Ill. -- Martin Truex Jr.s?tire became completely unraveled, and that left him a lap down, but he took the lead at the NASCAR Chase for the Sprint Cup for the first time in his career.He can thank a late caution in what has been an emotional year for the small-team driver.Truex shot to the front after a late restart and pulled away to give Furniture Row Racing a NASCAR Sprint Cup playoff-opening victory Sunday at Chicagoland Speedway.Ive had a lot of practice at it, Truex said about the on-track obstacles. I think my approach really changed two years ago, when (girlfriend) Sherry got diagnosed with cancer. My approach to all those things changed and made me a better driver.NASCAR announced after the race that Truexs No. 78 Toyota failed the laser inspection, but the infraction was not at the level of negating the victory for Chase qualification purposes. Truex is expected to receive a point penalty this week.Rookie Chase Elliott appeared on his way to an easy win until Michael McDowell blew a tire and spun out to bring a caution with five laps left.Elliott and Truex came in to pit for tires, with some non-Chase drivers Ryan Blaney and Kasey Kahne and Chase contender Carl Edwards staying on the track.Truex restarted fourth and Elliott fifth, and Truex quickly got to the front and held off Joey Logano on the final lap for his third victory of the season. Truex is guaranteed to move on when the Chase field is cut from 16 to 12 in two weeks.Truex, whose team gets technical support from Joe Gibbs Racing, made the last four in the 2015 Chase. His 2016 season started with a near-miss at the Daytona 500 and a Coca-Cola 600 win, while Sherry Pollex battled ovarian cancer. Shes now in remission.You have to understand, this isnt the end of the world, Truex said of racing setbacks. We can overcome it. Thats what we did today.Elliott, a rookie, finished third, followed by Blaney and Chase driver Brad Keselowski, who sits second in points.Its not yours until its over, the 20-year-old Elliott said. Thats part of life, man. Youre not dumb. Weve all watched this stuff long enough to know these races dont go green that long.Truex led early in the race only to have his tire come completely unraveled. It led to an unscheduled stop that left him a lap down in the 400-mile race.The hard compound came off it, said Cole Pearn, Truexs crew chief. I guess [Goodyear] saw a couple other tires and came down and told us a certain sequence number had an issue.Truex had no other tire issues on the 1.5-mile oval and outraced Kevin Harvick, who also got into early trouble, to be in position for the free pass to the lead lap on the next caution.Jimmie Johnson dominated the middle of the race, leading 118 laps, until Elliott got by him on lap 176 of 267.Johnson was running second when he was caught speeding on pit road during the last green-flag stop, yelling no way! on his radio when told he had to serve a pass-through penalty. Johnson finished 12th, but his car also failed laser inspection and he could plummet in the points standings.Elliott led for 75 laps in what was a clean race with only three cautions until McDowells late wreck changed the dynamic of the race.I feel for Chase. I know what hes going through, Truex said. I wasnt going to catch him.WHOS HOT: Chase drivers Truex, Logano, Elliott, Keselowski, Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch and Matt Kenseth all finished in the top 10. Jamie McMurray was 11th, Kurt Busch 13th and Tony Stewart 14th.WHOS NOT: Kyle Larson, who had the fastest car in Saturdays practice, had to change a transmission and start from the back. He finished 18th. ... Harvick ended up 20th amid multiple issues. ... Rookie Chris Buescher fell a lap down 41 laps in and two laps down before the 100th lap. He finished 28th.PENALTIES: Based on new rules announced last week, Johnson could receive a 10-point penalty, which would drop him into a tie for 12th in the Chase standings. Truex could be docked 15 points, but the win locks him into the second round.DILLON SUBS: Ty Dillon finished 27th filling in for Regan Smith in the No. 7 Chevrolet. Smith left the track Friday and returned to North Carolina after his wife went into labor.COWABUNGA: With Nickelodeon as the race sponsor, the winning trophy was a gold base with the four Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on top in various poses. Truex plans to put it in his shop so visiting kids can get a picture with it.UP NEXT: Two races remain before the Chase field is cut to 12. Next Sunday is a 300-mile race at New Hampshire, where Kenseth won in July. Cheap Air Max Shoes With Free Shipping . The 26-year-old Ireland striker, who has four goals this season, has signed a three-and-a-half year contract with his new club. Cheap Air Max Deal . William Carrier opened the scoring for Cape Breton (6-4-2), but Andrew Ryan tied the game and Brent Andrews put the Mooseheads (8-6-0) in front for good with a short-handed goal at 13:49 of the second period. http://www.airmaxcheapchina.com/ . Then the Pacers gave Oladipo and his Orlando teammates the cold shoulder. Paul Georges buzzer-beating 3-pointer at the end of the third quarter spurred a 21-4 run, finally sending Indiana past the Magic 97-87 in a tougher-than-expected opening night matchup. Air Max Cheap Online . -- Quarterback Will Finch threw for 252 yards and three touchdowns, and Yannick Harou rushed in two scores as the No. Air Max Cheap China . -- Damian Lillard and LaMarcus Alrdridge were again the go-to duo for the Trail Blazers against the Kings. PHILADELPHIA -- There are some legitimate parallels to draw between Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz and Ben Roethlisberger, who will be in town Sunday when the Eagles host the Pittsburgh Steelers.Roethlisberger is 6-foot-5, 240 pounds. Wentz is listed at 6-5, 237. Both are first-round picks out of lesser-known football programs -- Roethlisberger from Miami (Ohio); Wentz from North Dakota State. Each started his rookie NFL season as a third-stringer, only to rapidly ascend into a starting role.And, as Eagles coach Doug Pederson pointed out, each is capable of doing some damage on the move.Carson has the ability to extend plays with his legs; Ben is big, strong, physical in the pocket, hard to bring down and continues to have great vision down the field, Pederson said. I think thats one of Carsons strengths, is he continues to have that vision down the field when things begin to break down.So, yeah, theres a lot of similarities there. And the fact that theyre both very good throwers outside the pocket is a tribute to both of them.Wentz wouldnt mind mirroring Roethlisberger when it comes to early achievement. Roethlisberger went an amazing 13-0 as a starter during the regular season in his rookie year and was a Super Bowl champion by age 23.Wentz has completed 61 percent of his passes for 468 yards, three touchdowns and no turnovers to help the Eagles jump out to a 2-0 record. He has caught the attention of those around the league in the process.Carson is doing a great job of making reads and getting them in good plays and maybe getting them out of some bad plays, Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said. Hes showing great maturity forr a young guy from that perspective in terms of the amount of communication hes involved with.dddddddddddd ... Those who are successful generally dont play like rookies.Thats the point that Pederson continues to bring up. He likened Wentz to a nine- or 10-year vet after Mondays win over the Bears, pointing to the quarterbacks command of the huddle and the way he is communicating between series.Its the fact that hes having [those conversations], Pederson said. You dont see that all the time. Number two, is the depth and the actual game-plan specific things that hes seeing out there on the field, what hes hearing out on the field, and coming to us and recommending.Hes asking me all the time, What are you thinking on the next series? And so I give him two or three passes, a run or two in there, and things that were seeing. At the same time, I want to know what hes thinking because hes the one playing the game.Pederson said hes never been around a rookie signal-caller like that.Not at the quarterback position, he said. Had Alex [Smith] in Kansas City -- seven-, eight-, nine-year guy at the time -- and he was that way. Of course in Green Bay, [Brett] Favre. More veteran guys. But this is what Im seeing out of Carson right now on the sideline. He and I are dialoguing on the sideline. Hes constantly with [offensive coordinator] Frank [Reich] and with the guys, and hes constantly playing the game in his mind.Thats whats given him, I think, an edge when he goes back out on the field -- just understanding situations. China NFL Jerseys Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys NFL Jerseys Cheap Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap Basketball Jerseys Online Stitched Hockey Jerseys Wholesale Baseball Jerseys Football Jerseys Outlet College Jerseys For Sale Cheap MLB Jerseys Wholesale Soccer Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys For Sale Wholesale NFL Jerseys ' ' '