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DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - One of Saskatchewans biggest annual sporting events will be even bigger in 2014 when the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series presented by Mobil 1 heads to Auto Clearing Motor Speedway for the Velocity Prairie Thunder 250 on Wednesday in Saskatoon. This years event will see all three champions in Canadian Tire Series history take to the third-mile Saskatoon oval. Two-time Velocity Prairie Thunder 250 winner Scott Steckly is a three-time titlist while D.J. Kennington and Andrew Ranger have earned two crowns apiece. Kennington is also a two-time winner at ACMS, but Ranger will be looking for his first win there after emerging triumphant in each of the two previous races this year. If having every champion in series history wasnt enough, there will be plenty of other worthy contenders for the Velocity Prairie Thunder 250 trophy. Jason Hathaway has won three of the last five Canadian Tire Series oval races and season co-points leader J.R. Fitzpatrick is a threat every time out. Additionally, Canadian open-wheel racing standout Alex Tagliani will make his first ACMS appearance to add to the events star power. All told, the winners of 80-percent of the 91 all-time Canadian Tire Series races will be in Saskatoon on Wednesday. The Velocity Prairie Thunder 250 will be the second half of the Canadian Tire Series annual western swing. This years jaunt began at Albertas Edmonton International Raceway last Friday. A second event in six days is now on tap with the series lone trip to Saskatchewan this season. Fast Facts: The Race: The sixth annual Velocity Prairie Thunder 250 will be the fifth of 11 events on the 2014 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series presented by Mobil 1 schedule, and the lone trip to Saskatchewan and Auto Clearing Motor Speedway. The Procedure: The maximum starting field is 24 cars, including provisionals. The first 21 cars will have secured starting positions through two-lap time trials while the remaining three spots will be awarded through the provisional process. The race is scheduled for 250 laps (83.25 miles). The Track: Auto Clearing Motor Speedway is a .333-mile oval with graduated banking. Saskatoon Stock Car Racing Association Ltd. originated from the Saskatoon Stock Car Racing Club that was formed in 1954. Racing in Saskatoon began at the 8th Street Racing Oval. In 1970, as a result of city expansion, stock-car racing moved to the current Prairieland Exhibition at Bridge City Raceway. In 1999, the City of Saskatoon expanded once again which paved the way for a new track, Auto Clearing Motor Speedway, to be built. Construction of the new track began in April 2005. Pole Winners: The first five Saskatoon races have produced three different pole winners. J.R. Fitzpatrick and D.J. Kennington have two apiece while Don Thompson Jr. scored the inaugural event pole in 2009. Fitzpatrick set the track qualifying record at 14.665 seconds (81.801 mph) in 2012. Race Winners: Kennington and Scott Steckly lead the way with two wins apiece while Pete Shepherd III also has a victory. Steckly won the inaugural race and reached ACMS Victory Lane again last year. Saskatoon Race Notes: Rangers Records: With his 19th career race win last week at Edmonton International Raceway, and his 14th career pole the week before that at Circuit ICAR, Andrew Ranger is tied for the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series presented by Mobil 1 all-time lead in both categories. Ranger now shares the victories record with new teammate D.J. Kennington and the poles mark is split with J.R. Fitzpatrick, who was the top qualifier last year at Auto Clearing Motor Speedway. Fitzpatrick, Dumoulin Also Tied at the Top: The 2014 season is now more than one-third complete and the competition is so close that theres actually a tie between Fitzpatrick and L.P. Dumoulin atop the championship standings. Both drivers have 162 tallies, 12 ahead of Ranger in third. Its only 18 points back to Jason Hathaway in fifth, with D.J. Kennington sitting fourth. Steckly Looks to Defend ACMS Win: Defending Velocity Prairie Thunder 250 winner Scott Steckly could use another victory this week at Auto Clearing to bolster his series championship defense. The three-time titlist has faced adversity through for races this season, but is hanging in there in sixth place in the standings, 30 points back of the leaders. A DNF in the season opener at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park had Steckly in an early hole but he followed with a pair of top fives. Last week at Edmonton he was two laps down at one point and rallied to an eighth-place finish. Halfway Through Four-Race Grouping: The Canadian Tire series embarked on an aggressive bundle of four events in a 21-day span starting with Circuit ICAR on July 6. The second date came last Friday, July 11 at Edmonton and up next week be Wednesdays Velocity Prairie Thunder 250. The busy stretch will conclude on July 26 at Autodrome St. Eustache. Last Time Out: Edmonton The fourth race of the 2014 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series presented by Mobil 1 was contested on July 11 at Edmonton International Raceway in Wetaskiwin, Alberta. Here are some highlights from the Alberta Has Energy 300: - Andrew Ranger took the checkered flag for the second week in a row, and a record-tying 19th time overall. It was his first oval track win since 2009, the same year he last posted back-to-back victories.- A two-time road course winner, L.P. Dumoulin recorded his best finish in 21 career oval races with a runner-up effort.- Prior to the race Alex Tagliani earned his first career oval track pole, and fifth overall. He led a career-high 268 laps before a late-race accident.- It was the first race in series history at the Wetaskiwin oval. Next Time Out: St. Eustache Following the Velocity Prairie Thunder 250, the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series presented by Mobil 1 will head back east for the National 250 on July 26 at Quebecs Autodrome St. Eustache. It will mark the sixth all-time appearance for the Canadian Tire Series at the .4-mile oval. Scott Steckly is the defending winner of the race. Cheap Corey Perry Jersey . Louis Cardinals won the World Series last season, but after losing first baseman Albert Pujols to free agency and manager Tony LaRussa to retirement, they opened the 2012 season in 12th spot in the TSN. Ducks Jerseys Outlet . Like a magic trick, the puck popped out behind Stalock in the San Jose net. While Sharks coach Todd McLellan decried the legality of the tiebreaking goal, the Los Angeles Kings celebrated their latest, greatest escape yet. http://www.cheapducksjersey.com/. As the only competitor to try two quads, much less complete them, Kovtun ended the day nearly nine points ahead of Japans Tatsuki Machida, who opened with a clean quad but then stepped out of the triple toe loop that was the second jump in his combination. Cheap Ducks Jerseys Free Shipping . Barnard, 28, was 1-0 with a 0.53 ERA in three appearances, including two starts, with San Angel o this season. He struck out 19 batters and walked just one in 17 innings pitched. He has previous American Association experience with the Lincoln Saltdogs, El Paso Diablos and Amarillo Sox. Cheap Jakob Silfverberg Jersey . -- Marty Havlat scored three goals for the first time in nearly nine years, and the San Jose Sharks prevented Colorado from clinching the Central Division title with a 5-1 victory over the Avalanche on Friday night.TORONTO -- In the immediate moments after the Raptors 101-87 victory over Detroit on Wednesday, Toronto coach Dwane Casey sat down to watch the dying minutes of the Miami-Brooklyn game. Amir Johnson checked the result on his phone. With 20 games left on a thrilling season that sees Toronto poised for a playoff position for the first time in six years, the Raptors are excited, and thinking about little else. "Hell, yeah. Without a doubt, man," DeMar DeRozan said. "Thats why I work so hard, and it always bugged me going home early, and just sitting there doing nothing. It used to make me so hungry just watching." DeRozan poured in 25 points, while Johnson scored 20 and grabbed nine rebounds in a game that was no thriller but served its purpose -- one step closer to the teams second Atlantic Division title and its first playoff berth since 2008. The Nets, who edged Miami 96-95 on Wednesday, are three games behind Toronto for the division title. "Ive got a lot of friends that play in the playoffs and I had to hear all summer them talking about their experience in the playoffs. It always pushed me even further," DeRozan said. "You just want to get there. Not even for myself, just for this organization as well. It definitely feels good that were moving in the right direction now." Kyle Lowry had 19 points and six assists, while Jonas Valanciunas had 13 rebounds to go with eight points for the Raptors (36-27), whove won 10 of their last 13 games. The affair wasnt pretty. The Raptors coughed up double-digit leads a couple of times -- including an 18-point third-quarter advantage that the Pistons whittled down to just five -- in a game they could have put out of reach far earlier. The Raptors went into the fourth quarter with a narrow 74-69 lead in front of the 18,247 fans at the Air Canada Centre that braved the rare March snowstorm. They scored the first nine points of the fourth to go up by 14. A wide-open three by Kentavious Caldwell-Pope with 8:23 to go cut the Raptors lead to nine points, but that was as close as the struggling Pistons would come. Brandon Jennings topped Detroit (25-40) with 24 points, while Andre Drummond had 16 points and nine rebounds and Greg Monroe had 13 points to go with 10 boards. Ugly or not, the Raptors were happy to tick off another win. "Absolutely. Im ready," Johnson said, when asked if hes thinking post-season. "Were going to win as many games as we possibly can going down the home stretch, collect these wins." Casey said hes happy his players are enjoying their success, but warns that theyve got to focus on themselves down the stretch. "It is fun. But weve got to take care of our business. We can watch (what other teams are doing), but if we dont take care of our business, its not worth crap," the coach said.dddddddddddd "Im more concerned with what we do, and how were playing, . . .and losing leads, moreso than anything else. "I hope (the Raptors) are enjoying it but still understand how hard it is, getting there first, and then after you get there, its even harder." DeRozan, whos in his fifth season in Toronto thus has never stepped on the court for a playoff game, said he has always forced himself to watch the post-season, regardless of how frustrating it was. "I had to, just to understand and see how it was," he said. "Youre playing the same team possibly seven times in a row. Seeing the different schemes. Just trying to get a knowledge of how its played every single day." He said hes particularly thrilled to be sharing this seasons success with Johnson, who last made the playoffs with Detroit in 2009. "Thats my dog, man. Its definitely cool," DeRozan said. "I knew Amir, and Amir knew me when I was running around with the same pair of dirty shoes on, playing basketball. Amir is a helluva dude, how hard he works, and how good of a person he is." Johnson was key Wednesday night in containing Detroits frontcourt -- what Casey had predicted would be a "huge test" for Toronto. The Pistons lead the league in points in the paint and offensive rebounds, thanks largely to Drummond. The Raptors were effective inside, outrebounding Detroit 54-39 and outscoring their visitors in the paint 44-38. Casey wasnt thrilled with the second unit, saying it was "playing in mud a little bit." "We needed to keep the pace going, I thought the pace slowed down," he said. "For whatever reason we got stagnant and lost a couple of leads and thats something we have to work on." The Raptors raced out to a nine-point lead four minutes into the game, stretching it to 14 on a pullup jumper by John Salmons before ending the first quarter up 29-21. The Raptors went almost five minutes without a point to open the second, and Bynum drained a three with 8:37 left in the half to tie the game 29-29. The Raptors managed to cobble together another 10-point lead and took a 52-45 advantage into the dressing room at halftime. A three-pointer by Lowry stretched Torontos lead to 18 points just four-and-a-half minutes into the third but the Raptors couldnt maintain it. The Pistons ended the quarter on a 14-2 run to send the game into the fourth with Toronto leading 74-69. NOTES: Patrick Patterson missed his third straight game with an elbow injury. . . The game was the first of three straight at home. The Raptors host the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday and the Phoenix Suns on Sunday before playing a pair on the road at Atlanta and New Orleans. . . The Raptors have won four of their last five against the Pistons. ' ' '