CONCORD, N. Justin Reid Texans Jersey .C. -- Kurt Busch was back in his element Thursday Busch was in North Carolina for Sprint Cup qualifying -- a welcome return to what he knows best. "I was on the plane ride back and Im like, You know, Im going to be back in my Cup car and be back in the comfort zone," he said. The former Sprint Cup champion has had a split focus all month as he prepares for Sundays Double attempt, hoping to become just the second driver to complete the Indianapolis 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 on the same day. He looked at home Thursday, posting the eighth-fastest speed of 191.042 mph in practice. That didnt hold up in qualifying as Busch ended 28th and failed to advance to the second round of the knockout session. Buschs fastest lap was 189.553 mph, meaning he and his No. 41 team have some work to do before Sunday night much as they have the past few weeks. While they won at Martinsville Speedway in March to seemingly lock up a spot in the 16-driver championship Chase, Busch stands 28th in Sprint Cup points. Busch hasnt finished better than 23rd in the five points races since his win at Martinsville. He didnt practice for last weeks All-Star race, showing up and running "cold turkey." Busch ended up 11th. Some might wonder if Buschs time at Indy is costing him in NASCAR. He says no. "Ive been right there along with the Cup guys," Busch said Busch surprised his shop last week when he returned after rain wiped out a practice day at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He said team members were startled but "at the same time they were relieved because they know that we have some work to do," he said. "I just wanted to show them my commitment." Despite running laps at Indy the past few weeks, Busch has a difficult time explaining the difference between the disciplines. "Ive had to keep them very separate," said Busch, who wrecked during Mondays practice at Indianapolis and will be in a backup car for the Indy 500. Clint Bowyer said many in the garage area are rooting for Busch at his try for history. "I do believe Kurt has an opportunity to pull that off," Bowyer said. "That would be something to make all of us in this sport pretty proud." Busch is soaking up the experience, and he believes his try can give motorsports a "shot in the arm." When its over, though, he knows hell be ready to try to bring his Stewart-Haas team to the top of Sprint Cup. "Ill be back next week and it will be back to normal," he said. Tyrann Mathieu Texans Jersey . PETERSBURG, Fla. Martinas Rankin Jersey . - Considering where Jeff Gordon was after Richmond, left out of the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship in part due to some late-race shenanigans, he couldnt have been happier on Sunday. http://www.officialauthentictexansstore.com/ . "It was awesome," he said. Coming off an ugly three-game sweep at the hands of the Yankees, Toronto found itself in a deep hole early after the Reds put an eight spot up on starter Liam Hendriks (six runs in 1 2/3 innings pitched) and Todd Redmond in the second. SPA, Belgium -- Nico Rosberg will start the Belgian Grand Prix from pole position after holding off a strong challenge from his Mercedes rival Lewis Hamilton in qualifying on Saturday. Hamilton was ahead of Rosberg on the first two time splits of his final lap but then drifted back, allowing Rosberg to clinch a fourth straight pole and sixth in the past seven races. The German driver leads Hamilton by 11 points in the overall standings. Rosberg clocked 2 minutes, 5.591 seconds in difficult conditions, with the Spa track drenched following a heavy downpour shortly before qualifying started. "It was just Lewis I had to focus on," Rosberg said after his 11th career pole. "It makes it easier when theres not a whole bunch, only one guy." Hamilton finished in 2:05.819 and Sebastian Vettel got a much-needed boost with the third quickest time -- although the fact that he was 2 seconds behind the Mercedes pair offers the Red Bull driver little hope of securing a first win this season. "It helped us that it was wet. The gap was a lot bigger and our car was really dominant," Rosberg said. "It was amazing to see that, how quick our car is." Two-time F1 champion Fernando Alonso was fourth in his Ferrari ahead of Daniel Ricciardo, the only non-Mercedes driver to win a race so far this season. Hamilton has won five, Rosberg four and Ricciardo has clinched two in an impressive first season with Red Bull. Hamilton had not qualified on the front row since the Canadian GP in June. "We have a great car here and were leading the way here. So cool to see that," Hamilton said. "We definitely have good chances for tomorrow." However, the 2008 champion was again plagued by technical problems -- just like in the previous four races, where he started from 22nd, 20th, sixth and ninth on the grid and still got on the podium every time. "I was nervous going into qualiffying, not knowing if the car was going to get through it," the British driver said. Aaron Colvin Texans Jersey. . This time, he had a brake problem. "You need to have confidence on the brakes. There were times in Q3 when I was just going straight on because the left brake wasnt really working. When it glazes its hard to recover, especially in the rain," he said. "But in the evening theyre able to scrub it and get rid of the glazing. In the dry tomorrow it shouldnt be a problem." Vettel, the four-time defending champion, did not take part in Fridays second practice run because of a power unit failure. The German drivers victory at Spa last year was the first of nine successive wins. The way things are going this season -- he is languishing in sixth place overall -- just a podium finish would be a success. "We know were down in power. Mercedes have a strong car and they have a lot of downforce. We are similar in the corners but quite a long way off in the straights," Vettel said. "Hopefully tomorrow will be closer in terms of race pace." Vettel has won 39 GPs -- including a record-equaling 13 last season -- and clinched 45 poles. But he has only two podium spots this term: third in Canada and Malaysia. "Im trying very hard. Its not like Im consciously deciding not to be on pole," he said. "Weve been on the other side for quite a while but thats the name of the game. The season was not what I was hoping for but there are still several races to come." In Q1, Mexican driver Esteban Gutierrez had to retire due to a technical problem and Venezuelan Pastor Maldonado failed to make Q2 after spinning his Lotus. His teammate, Romain Grosjean, failed to make Q3. The Frenchman starts the race from 15th as his difficult season continues. In the final practice earlier, Valtteri Bottas of Finland was fastest in his Williams ahead of Ricciardo and Rosberg. Wholesale MLB Orioles Jerseys Red Sox Jerseys From China Discount Yankees Jerseys Online Rays Jerseys For Sale Blue Jays Jerseys From China Wholesale MLB White Sox Jerseys Indians Jerseys For Sale Tigers Jerseys From China Wholesale MLB Astros Jerseys Cheap Baseball Angels Jerseys Athletics Jerseys From China Mariners Jerseys For Sale Cheap Baseball Rangers Jerseys Braves Jerseys For Sale Discount Marlins Jerseys Online Discount Mets Jerseys Online Phillies Jerseys From China Wholesale MLB Nationals Jerseys Cubs Jerseys From China Discount Reds Jerseys Online Brewers Jerseys From China Wholesale MLB Pirates Jerseys Wholesale MLB Cardinals Jerseys Diamondbacks Jerseys For Sale Rockies Jerseys For Sale Discount Dodgers Jerseys Online Discount Padres Jerseys Online Giants Jerseys For Sale ' ' '