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HOUSTON -- Chip Ganassi Racing added another Indianapolis 500 winner to its team Friday and dropped Honda for Chevrolet in an engine manufacturer switch that seemed to be in the works since the start of the season. Justin Verlander Grey Jersey . Both moves could have a ripple effect throughout the IndyCar paddock. KV Racing must now replace reigning Indianapolis 500 winner Tony Kanaan, who turned down an offer to return to the team that rescued him just before the start of the 2011 season when Kanaan didnt have a ride. The KV extension didnt require the Brazilian to bring any sponsorship money to the team, but Kanaan chose instead to join Dario Franchitti, Scott Dixon and Charlie Kimball at Ganassi, which next year will field cars for five of the last seven Indy 500 winners. "I wanted to be in the best teams with the best guys who have been beating me forever. I thought about it every single day," Kanaan said. "The first question that I asked Chip was, What do I have to bring? And he said, Your helmet. That was a big weight off of my shoulders." KV has its sights set on a handful of other drivers, but topping the wish list is James Hinchcliffe, who is tied with Dixon with a series-best three wins this season. KV is offering the same deal to Hinchcliffe, who wouldnt have to bring sponsorship money to a team for the first time in his career. Hinchcliffe, in his second season at Andretti Autosport, is still waiting to see what his current team can offer. Andretti failed to come up with an offer during its exclusive negotiating period as the team waited for sponsor GoDaddy to decide if it will continue its involvement in IndyCar, and GoDaddy representatives insist no decision has been made. Now team owner Michael Andretti has to make a choice: With Ganassis switch to Chevrolet on Friday, his team could conceivably be third on the priority list next season behind Penske Racing and Ganassi. Andretti acknowledged he has "an interesting decision to make" regarding sticking with Chevrolet or moving to Honda. "We are weighing both options in regard to an engine manufacturer for 2014 and working to determine what is best for the team," he said. For his part, Roger Penske welcomed longtime rival Ganassi into the mix, "He will be a strong team for Chevy, tell him welcome to the club," Penske said -- but immediately asked where Andretti will be in 2014. Ganassi and Chevrolet both said the deal was put together quickly, but it wasnt much of a surprise. Ganassi runs Chevrolets in NASCAR, and he was very critical of Honda at the start of the season. Ganassi grumbled at the season-opener in St. Pete that Honda didnt seem committed to winning, and accused the manufacturer of trying to solve problems by sitting around singing "Kumbaya." Ganassis frustration mounted as Chevrolet drivers won four of the first five IndyCar races, including three by Andretti drivers. Ganassis first victory didnt come until July 7, the 11th race of the season, when Dixon won at Pocono. But it was the first of three consecutive wins for Dixon, who used the stretch to climb back into the championship race, and a win at Mid-Ohio made it four straight for Ganassi and Honda. A victory by Simon Pagenaud at Baltimore on Sept. 1 was another win for Honda and the manufacturer race is evened out now at eight each. But Chevrolet won the Indianapolis 500 with Kanaan, and is leading the championship race with Penske driver Helio Castroneves leading Ganassis Dixon by 49 points with three races remaining. Honda thanked Ganassi for its four championships, three Indy 500s and 40 wins since 2006. "It may be worth noting that when our previous -- and also very successful -- association with the Ganassi organization in Championship Auto Racing Teams competition ended after the 1999 season, Honda went on to win 15 races over the next two seasons, including both the 2000 and 2001 drivers championship, and the 2001 manufacturers championship," said Art St. Cyr, president of Honda Performance Development. "While this partnership is coming to an end, Honda and Honda Performance Development remain committed to achieving even greater IndyCar success in the future with our continuing and new partner teams," he said. Next season, Chevy will have IndyCar heavyweights Penske and Ganassi under the same roof. "They have shown they have a great product, and we wanted to be a part of it," Ganassi said. "Its something for our team to consolidate our manufacturers and be part of a winning effort. Weve had some great races and years with Honda, but an opportunity came about to be with Chevrolet, and they showed a sincere effort in wanting us to be part of their program." Cameron Maybin Tigers Jersey . TSNs best-in-class team of hockey experts and Insiders prime poolies with the annual NHL on TSN Fantasy Draft Special on Tuesday at 8pm et/5pm pt on TSN, while TSN Digital delivers three industry-leading online fantasy games – the TSN Hockey Challenge presented by Kia Canada, TSN Predictor: Hockey Edition presented by Kia Canada, and TSN Fantasy Hockey League Manager presented by ScotiaBank. Jordan Zimmermann Jersey . Ricciardos exclusion from the results tarnished what had been a day of celebration for local fans, who were jubilant that the Red Bull driver had apparently become the first Australian to finish on the podium at his home race. However just before midnight, stewards ruled that Ricciardos car had "exceeded consistently the maximum allowed fuel flow" and that the team refused an instruction from the races technical delegate Charlie Whiting to change the fuel-flow sensor before the race and a further request during the race to reduce the fuel flow.(SportsNetwork.com) - In his more reflective moments you can bet Phil Emery looks in the mirror and realizes that he made a mistake by plucking Marc Trestman out of the CFL to be the head coach of the Chicago Bears. By admitting that, though, the Bears general manager would be highlighting his own failings and placing a rather sizeable bulls-eye on his own back when it comes to any future employment prospects in the Windy City. For that reason and that reason alone, Trestman will likely get a third opportunity to try to resuscitate the Bears in an NFC North that is seemingly now the Green Bay Packers birthright. I dont think it ever has changed here. By all the key parties that youre thinking about, Trestman said after his teams latest loss, a 41-28 drubbing at the hands of the Dallas Cowboys on Thursday night. It has been tremendously supportive, during the good weeks and bad weeks. And it has been extremely consistent by everybody here. The only thing that people ask me here is what can they do to help, Trestman continued. And that comes from all areas of this building. What can we do to help you along? And that support has been very heartfelt. Things arent so heartfelt for defensive coordinator Mel Tucker, however. In the its-so-obvious-why-do-you-need-to-report-it department, NFL Media leaked the upcoming Bears narrative Sunday when they reported Tucker will likely be the one paying for the sins of those higher up on the food chain. The NFL Networks Ian Rapoport was the one claiming that the Bears will be terminating Tuckers deal at seasons end which is comparable to breaking the news that the sun will rise Monday. There are a number of issues with the Bears, who will be missing the postseason for the seventh time and eight years, but they start at the top where its always been about signing high-profile names in free agency and cost-cutting where you dont have a salary cap and can really make inroads, the coaching staff. That flawed philosophy is only magnified because the Packers, CChicagos most- heated rival, do things the opposite way, largely eschewing free agency in favor of the draft, while possessing one of the leagues most highly-regarded coaching staffs. J. D. Martinez Tigers Jersey. Its not like you should feel sorry for Tucker or that he has done a good job in Chicago, however. The Bears are 26th in total defense, allowing 377.8 yards per game and the team has given up more than 50 points on two different occasions. Theyve also been blown out five different times, the latest of which was Thursday in Soldier Field when the Cowboys blew into town. Whats unfair is the illogical belief in the Second City that the Bears are a talented but underachieving team because of all the high-profile names that dot the roster. Offensively you can at least make that argument because players like Brandon Marshall (before his injury on Thursday) and Jay Cutler can still perform at a high level, at least on occasion. Even thats nonsense of course because Cutler is orchestrating things and he is this generations Jeff George, a signal caller with elite arm talent but no leaderships skill to speak of and the body language of a pre-teen who hasnt gotten his way. Yet, Emery still signed him to a seven-year, $126.7 million extension this past offseason, with $54 million of that guaranteed. In Tuckers domain, observers who dont understand look at names like Jared Allen, Lance Briggs and Charles Tillman and assume they will always be the players they once were. In truth they were all descending talents coming into the 2014 season, far closer to the end of spectacular careers than the beginning. And when Tillman and then Briggs were lost to injury for yet another campaign, the floor fell out because depth is a major issue, something that again points toward Emery far more than Tucker or even Trestman. Moving forward by jettisoning Tucker is like putting a Band-Aid on a broken leg. Its simply not addressing the real problem for Chicago. And when Emery looks in that mirror, he knows it. Cheap China Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap Jerseys From China China NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Cheap Jerseys China ' ' '
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