LEXINGTON, Ohio -- Sam Hornish Jr. Satchel Paige Jersey . thinks he has a home-track advantage. "While Mid-Ohio is so close to my home and my heart, at the same time its a place where Ive got almost as many races here as a fan as I do as a driver," the Defiance, Ohio, native said Friday during practice a day before the NASCAR Nationwide series race. Hornish, who has raced several times in competition at the track, believes he has some insider knowledge. "I feel like Ive got a good idea of what the car needs to do and what I need to do as the driver to go out and be successful here," he said. "Yeah, we want to go out and be fast. But the biggest thing about this form of racing -- running on a road course -- is taking care of the equipment." Hornish, one of the series top drivers on tracks that require more than right turns, finished with a rush a year ago at Mid-Ohio. He made a run at the lead on the final lap before ending up behind AJ Allmendinger, winner of the inaugural Nationwide event, and pole-winner Michael McDowell. He could have applied even more pressure, he said, if Allmendinger hadnt been one of his Penske teammates. "I had to play a little bit nicer than I probably would have," he said with a laugh. "All that being said, I feel pretty good about the car that I have." Hornish, with no fulltime sponsor but driving this week for Joe Gibbs Racing in the Monster Energy Toyota, has dreamed of winning at the twisting track located in picturesque farmland midway between Columbus and Cleveland. His odds improved when Allmendinger elected to focus on the Sprint Cup race in Michigan this weekend. Hornish was third during Fridays practice behind Justin Marks and Chris Buescher. Qualifying is Saturday morning, with the race later in the day. One of Hornishs chief adversaries figures to be series points leader Chase Elliott, who has never driven at Mid-Ohio. He watched videos and memorized notes from last years race provided by driver Ron Fellows, with whom he has studied the nuances of road courses. Even though he finished fourth at Road America and sixth last week at Watkins Glen on road courses, Elliott hasnt been pleased with his efforts. But he is hoping that hes getting the hang of the quick braking, rapid acceleration and sharp turns that are required on such a layout. "Im just putting all that stuff together and making sure I do a good job," he said. "Ill get all the practice that is offered. Ill try to learn and hopefully itll be good enough." Elliott, at the wheel of owner Dale Earnhardt Jr.s Chevrolet, was ninth after Fridays practice runs but is looking for improvement. Brendan Gaughan, fifth in practice, won at scenic Road America and has his own theory on what it takes to win on a road course. "If you dont get in rhythm out there, you can really screw yourself up," he said, calling Mid-Ohio an "extremely technical road course." Alex Tagliani, who was second at Road America, had the seventh-best practice time. "Its a track that changes quite a bit from practice to qualifying," he said about Mid-Ohio. "The level of grip is going to go high. And the speed is going to increase tremendously." Jason Kipnis Jersey . -- The anointed starting quarterback for the Oakland Raiders is strengthening his hold on the position this training camp instead of losing it. Corey Kluber Jersey . And theyre pointing to the NHLs biggest market: Toronto. With Gretzky paid out for what is believed to be $7 to 8 million, Gretzky may be eager to get back into the NHL and TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger reports that the Maple Leafs are very much interested in The Great Ones services. http://www.baseballindiansprostore.com/indians-larry-doby-jersey/ . For the Athletics, hes extremely important at the top of the order, especially with Coco Crisp hurting. Jaso drove in three runs Sunday night, helping Scott Kazmir and Oakland beat the Texas Rangers 9-3.BARCELONA, Spain - Neymar and Lionel Messi each scored for a fifth consecutive game to help Barcelona to a 3-1 victory over Ajax in the Champions League on Tuesday as the Spanish giant returned to winning ways in Europe.Messi started an outstanding performance at Camp Nou by setting up Neymar in the seventh minute before the Argentine scored in the 24th.Messis 69th career goal in Europes top-tier competition moved him to within two goals of Raul Gonzalezs all-time record of 71. He is tied with Cristiano Ronaldo before Real Madrid visits Liverpool on Wednesday.Anwar El Ghazi pulled one back for Ajax in the 88th, while fellow substitute Sandro Ramirez struck in stoppage time for the hosts.Messi said his partnership with Neymar would only get better.We both bring goal-scoring to the team and we are understanding one another on the pitch more and more, Messi said. We could have scored another goal to finish off the match. Later it got a little complicated, but thats the Champions League.Barcelona, which had lost 3-2 at Paris Saint-Germain in its previous match, has six points from three games in Group F.PSG remained top of the group with seven points after Edinson Cavani scored three minutes from time to grab a 1-0 win at APOEL in Cyprus. Ajax is third with two points while APOEL has one.Barcelona can now focus on its Spanish league clash at Real Madrid on Saturday, when it will look to strengthen its lead while Messi hunts for one goal to equal Telmo Zarras all-time league record of 251 goals.We were obliged to take the three points after losing in Paris, said Barcelonas Andres Iniesta, who set up Messis goal and almost scored one of his own.We are arriving in good form for the clasico and it will be a good game to keep alive our aspirations to win it all.Messi and Neymar continued their sccoring connection to put Barcelona on its way before the half-hour mark, and only the woodwork, some sound goalkeeping and the two stars being substituted saved Ajax from a bigger defeat. Cleveland Indians Jerseys. After some leisurely back-and-forth passing at the start, Messi sparked Barcelonas opener by suddenly changing pace to weave together a quick passing combination with Pedro Rodriguez before picking out Neymar on the left. The Brazil striker used his right foot to curl the ball beyond goalkeeper Jasper Cillessen and increase his team-leading tally to 10 goals this season, while Messi recorded his team-best ninth assist.Ajax coach Frank De Boer, a former Barcelona defender, compared Messi and Neymar to Madrids Ronaldo and Gareth Bale, saying they play like they are from another world.But I am disappointed because we can play much better. For me, the problem was we had too much respect for our rival. Thats why I was angry at halftime. Their first goal was fantastic. Thats why they are the best in the world, Messi gave a great assist and Neymar finished it. But the second goal is a lapse on our part.Messi added his ninth goal of the campaign when Barcelona won possession in midfield. Messi surged forward and used his right boot to control Iniestas crisp and perfectly-timed pass to meet his run before tapping the ball beyond Cillessen with his left. The goalie got a touch on the ball but not enough to stop it from trickling over the line.Pedro sent Messis pass off the post in the 29th, and Iniesta was denied by Cillessen 10 minutes later.Coach Luis Enrique substituted Neymar, Messi and Iniesta in the second half to rest them for the match at Madrid.El Ghazi went on in the 73rd and scrambled home a loose ball before Sandro got his goal to ease the late jitters among the home crowd. Cheap Jerseys Online Wholesale Black NFL Jerseys Youth NFL Jerseys Wholesale Cheap Jerseys Wholesale Wholesale Nike NFL Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Free Shipping ' ' '