So much discussion this week as we enter the second round of NASCARs playoffs has been about the effects the third and final race of this round on competitors.That race, of course, is Talladega!No team wants to pin its hopes on a perfect restrictor-plate performance, because most know perfect doesnt exist at NASCARs largest track.Talladega can be summarized by this: 95 percent of the race is rehearsal and the last 5 percent is where the chess match is played, and settled.Because of this unique form of competition, there is an elevated urgency to capitalize at Charlotte and Kansas leading up to Talladega.Martin Truex Jr. demonstrated in May at this track how one can control their own destiny. A fast car, a precise pit crew, a focused driver guided by a very wise crew chief.It resulted in a dominant win.All of those same ingredients guarantee little at Talladega, where a spotter might actually become the key component in determining a drivers fate.Those considered the fastest of the fast, Truex, Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski, need to capitalize this week and next to avoid entering Alabama with the same mindset one would carry to Las Vegas.Who Wins??This will be a heavyweight match between Harvick and Truex.Both teams are peaking at the most critical time, both drivers are the envy of others because it seems as though the No. 4 and the No. 78 carry speed and authority to each track regardless of its size and personality.The 1.5-mile racetracks are the most abundant on the schedule, they make up half of the Chase races and they are the strength of Harvick and Truex.Harvick gets the nod, barely, in what I believe will represent a preview between the two drivers most likely to battle for the title at a similar track in Miami.Austin Dillon will be the surprise transfer to round three. Surprise because hes never won a Sprint Cup series race, and hes a driver few expected to make it out of Round 1.The No. 3 team didnt qualify for the Chase by mistake. It has had moments of brilliance and thats come at high-speed racetracks.Their finishes at these three tracks this year were strong, and Dillon with more than 100 cup races under his belt appears comfortable and confident.Because it has led only eight laps all season, its hard to make a statistical case for the 3 team being one of the eight best teams.But Im going with my gut on this one as I believe the team has enough inertia to power into the next round.As I so often say, the Chase format depends on an underdog being in the equation to be most entertaining. We had that with Chris Buescher to begin the playoffs.The role now belongs to the 26-year-old Dillon in the second round.The Bottom LineIn sports youre taught dont look too far ahead, focus on whats in front of you: this game, this matchup, this race.The risk with worrying about a particular event down the road usually comes in the form of making mistakes in the near term?This time of the season requires laser focus; you must plan your work and work your plan.The vulnerability of competing at Talladega in two weeks will more than likely lead to teams making some extreme decisions during the Charlotte and Kansas races.Some will be rewarded, while others will lead teams to exactly what they were attempting to avoid ... depending on a Talladega win to advance to the next round. Sergei Bobrovsky Jersey .7 million, one-year contract, a raise of $2.2 million. Wieters had asked for $8.75 million and the Orioles had offered $6. Pierre-Luc Dubois Jersey .S. 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Jos Buttler faces a spell on the sidelines after fracturing his thumb in Lancashires NatWest T20 Blast match against Worcestershire on Friday.Buttler suffered the injury while keeping and though he was able to bat and crunched 57 off 22 balls, subsequent x-rays confirmed the damage, but he does not require an operation which would have led to a lengthier period out.A Lancashire statement said: Jos Buttler received a blow to his left thumb during Friday nights T20...X-rays later revealed he sustained a small stable fracture which will be managed conservatively.No specific timeline for the recovery was stated but the indications are that he could be fit for the one-day series against Pakistan which starts on August 24 although it may be touch-and-go for him to keep wicket. If he wasnt able to take the gloves, Jonny Bairstow or Sam Billings would step in.The injury also raises the question of who would be the next in line for the gloves in Test cricket should Bairstow suffer an injury over the next few weeks.Billings is the England Lions wicketkeeper while Surreys Ben Foakes would be another option unless England changed tact and selected a more refined gloveman, who was perhaps a lesser batsman, knowing they have a deep batting order.The injury is a blow to Laancashires T20 Blast ambitions, as they aim to secure a place in the quarter-finals in a bid to defend their title, and hopes of progressing in the Royal London Cup.ddddddddddddThey are currently fifth in the North Group in the Blast and second bottom in the Royal London Cup, although just three points behind the leaders.Buttler was Man of the Match in the final ODI against Sri Lanka in Cardiff and in the T20I at the Ageas Bowl. In the latter of those matches, he opened the batting, making a career-best 73 off 49 balls, and it was the same position he occupied for Lancashire against Worcestershire.Trevor Bayliss, the England coach, had raised the possibility of Buttler playing as a specialist batsman in the Test side even though he has not played first-class cricket since being dropped from the format last October.However, the selectors decided he needed time back in red-ball cricket but now he faces a longer wait for that chance. Before the injury, he potentially had three Championship matches - against Durham, Hampshire and Yorkshire - to reacquaint himself with the format before England resumed one-day cricket later in August. Youth NFL Jerseys Cheap Wholesale NFL Gear Wholesale Jerseys China Wholesale NFL Gear Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Store Cheap Jerseys 2019 ' ' '