INDIANAPOLIS - Local driver Ed Carpenter has made himself at home on the Indianapolis 500 pole. [url=https://www.cheapraysonlin

INDIANAPOLIS - Local driver Ed Carpenter has made himself at home on the Indianapolis 500 pole. Eric Sogard Rays Jersey . The last of nine qualifiers to take the track, Carpenter bumped Canadas James Hinchcliffe from the top spot, posting a four-lap average of 231.067 mph to win the 500 pole for the second straight year. "I felt that it was harder," Carpenter said. "It was just a different position because when I made my run last year, we didnt really have anything to lose. This year, being the last guy to go out, I think there was a little bit of pressure to not mess it up." He didnt mess it up, not at all. Carpenters No. 20 Chevrolet was the car to beat all weekend, and the hometown favourite showed no signs of rust in his first IndyCar Series race of the season. He owns Ed Carpenter Racing and decided in November to run only on ovals, where he excels. He turned his car over to Mike Conway on road and street courses, and skipped the first four races of the season. He knew he had the pole secured when he nailed the final two corners on the last lap. "I could really just kind of enjoy it knowing that we were going to be on the pole for the second year," he said. Hinchcliffe, from Oakville, Ont., will start second after sustaining a concussion last weekend in the Grand Prix of Indianapolis. Will Power will join them on the front row. Three-time Indy 500 champion Helio Castroneves was fourth followed by Simon Pagenaud and Marco Andretti. Carlos Munoz, Josef Newgarden and J.R. Hildebrand will be on the third row. Carpenter, the stepson of former speedway executive Tony George, was 10th in last years Indy 500. He is 11th driver to earn consecutive 500 poles and the first since Castroneves in 2009-10. "Its all about the race," the 33-year-old Carpenter said. "Hopefully, we can close the deal this year." As a single-car team last year, Carpenter was unable to get help on data and much-needed setup information. He didnt want a repeat this May, so he hired Hildebrand to drive a second car at Indy for Ed Carpenter Racing. Hildebrand nearly won the Indy 500 as a rookie in 2011, but he crashed exiting the final turn and was passed for the win by the late Dan Wheldon. "I wish we could have got him up on the front row with us, but the shootouts tough," Carpenter said. "The conditions were hard today, but having him go first today also helped me because we were able to make an adjustment." Carpenter thrived in the first year of a new Indy 500 qualifying format. He posted the top qualifying speed Saturday when the fastest nine drivers advanced to Sundays shootout for the pole. Juan Pablo Montoya had the fastest four-lap average (231.007 mph) among drivers ineligible to win the Indianapolis 500 pole and will start 10th. "We have a pretty quick car," Montoya, the 2000 winner, said. "Hopefully, my guys can learn something for the Fast Nine. I think that will put us in a good spot to start the race." Montoya was followed by reigning series champion Scott Dixon and former NASCAR champion Kurt Busch. Busch is set to race 1,100 miles in the Indianapolis 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 on May 25. Busch raced in NASCARs All-Star race the night before and flew back from Concord, North Carolina, on Sunday morning. Busch was humbled when he said hed never be able to duplicate a weekend like this one — "except for maybe next week." Defending 500 champion Tony Kanaan will start 16th. Hinchcliffe appeared to have no problems in the car days after he was cleared to return for his concussion. He paced as he watched Carpenter make his final run, then his chance at the pole end when Carpenter found more speed on his final lap. He was injured last weekend in Saturdays Grand Prix when debris from Justin Wilsons car flew into the cockpit, striking Hinchcliffe in the head. He was taken away from the track on a stretcher, transported to a hospital and diagnosed with a concussion. The 27-year old Canadian was cleared to drive Thursday, and took the wheel back from pinch-driver E.J. Viso. "I had to kind of pretend that I had been here all month and take the feedback my teammates had given me at face value," Hinchcliffe said. "I knew what to expect from the car and that was a huge part of it." For the first time, IndyCar awarded points based on qualifying runs. The top qualifier on Saturday earned 33 points, second place got 32 and so on, all the way to one point for the 33rd-place entrant. The pole winner earned another nine points Sunday, decreasing to one point for the ninth-place starter. Carpenter, a Butler University alum, is an avid Indiana Pacers fan and couldnt wait to watch them play the Miami Heat in the playoffs. "Racers and Pacers right now," he said. "So go Pacers, beat the Heat." Fake Rays Jerseys . Founding members of the Genie Army, a group of Eugenie Bouchard supporters who cheered for the rising tennis star during the Australian Open in January, will be in the city for the Rogers Cup, beginning this weekend. Mike Zunino Jersey . New York secured second place in the Metropolitan Division when the Philadelphia Flyers lost at Tampa Bay later Thursday. The Rangers will face either the Flyers or Columbus in the opening round of the post-season. The Rangers struggled throughout against the lowly Sabres and goalie Matt Hackett, who played in just his seventh NHL game of the season. https://www.cheapraysonline.com/1566i-trevor-richards-jersey-rays.html . -- With his team down 16 points in the second quarter and headed for another blowout loss at home, Golden State Warriors coach Mark Jackson yelled out to his players to keep shooting and keep fighting on defence.Doha, Qatar (SportsNetwork.com) - Oliver Fisher fired a 7-under 65 in Wednesdays opening round as he grabbed a 1-stroke lead at the Qatar Masters. Fishers lone European Tour win came at the 2011 Czech Open. In six previous starts at this event, Fisher missed the cut twice and his best finish was a share of 11th in 2007. Spains Rafael Cabrera-Bello opened with a 6-under 66 at Doha Golf Club and he is alone in second place. Ernie Els, the 2005 champion, started his round with three birdies in the first four holes. He later birdied the last for a 5-under 67. He was joined in third by two-time winner Paul Lawrie, 2003 champion Darren Fichardt, Branden Grace, Mark Foster, Moritz Lampert, Byeong-Hun An, Emiliano Grillo, Alexander Noren, Kristoffer Broberg and Alejandro Canizares, who shared fifth place last year. Justin Rose is among eight players tied for 14th at minus-4, while defending champion Sergio Garcia opened with a 3-under 69. World No. 2 Henrik Stenson, Alvaro Quiros and Robert Karlsson, all former champions, are among a large group tied 35th at minus-2. Fisher played the back nine first on Wednesday and he birdied two of the first three holes. He faltered to a bogey on the par-3 13th and parred the next two holes. The 26-year-old converted a birdie chance at the 16th and he followed with birdies at 17 and 18 en route to making the turn at minus-4. Fisher parred the first three hholes of the front nine. Daniel Robertson Jersey. He inched within one of the lead with a birdie at the fourth. A birdie on No. 6 moved him alongside Cabrera-Bello. Fisher moved atop the leaderboard with a birdie on the par-3 eighth. I played nice today. It was a little bit breezy and I felt like I controlled my golf ball. I played good and gave myself a lot of chances so it was a good round, Fisher stated. Its a great field like last week. Im out there giving it my all every time until the last shot and hopefully add them up at the end of the day and hopefully its a good run. Cabrera-Bello also played the back nine first in round one. He parred five of the first six holes, to go with a birdie at the 12th. He picked up his second birdie at the 16th. The Spaniard kicked off a run of three straight birdies at the 18th. That run moved him to minus-5. Cabrera-Bello ran off five pars in a row from the third. He birdied the eighth before closing with a par at the ninth. Im very pleased and happy with the way I played, said Cabrera-Bello. I had a good stretch through 16, and all the way through to two, which for me are the birdie holes where you can go low. I managed to do that with three birdies there, and just kept playing solid till I got home. NOTES: Fisher shared 12th place last week in Abu Dhabi ... Rose in playing in his 250th European Tour event ... There were 10 bogey-free rounds on day one. ' ' '