artin Truex Jr.s comeback from extinction and his girlfriends comeback from cancer to becoming a victor and a legit Cup contender. Instead, I feel like w

Our experts weigh in on four of the biggest questions in NASCAR:Turn 1: Whose performance was the most surprising in the first Chase race?Ricky Craven, ESPN NASCAR analyst: Jimmie Johnson, as crazy as it seems. Few if any would have predicted that much muscle from Johnson considering how poorly the last several months have gone, and few would have expected a mental mistake from the six-time champ on the final green-flag stop of the race. Its been a head scratching season for the 48 team.Ryan McGee, ESPN.com: Hendrick Motorsports. Chase Elliott and Johnson didnt end up where they wanted to be, in Victory Lane, but all four HMS cars were in the top 10 for a nice chunk of the day. Thats a far cry from where they were all summer. And its good to see Alex Bowman earn a top-10 in Earnhardts ride. Ive believed he should have been behind the wheel of that car all along. Im eager to see what he can do with some reps.John Oreovicz, ESPN.com: Johnson. Yeah, hes a six-time champion and until the last year or two, many people automatically considered him the favorite heading into the Chase. That hasnt been the case recently, which is why it was surprising to see the No. 48 out front for so many laps in Joliet.?Bob Pockrass, ESPN.com: Elliott. A 20-year-old dude didnt crack under the pressure of the Chase opening race while several veterans did.Turn 2: What are your thoughts on NASCARs revised postrace penalty system?Craven: Its the correct decision at the correct time! Its critical we capitalize on the momentum created during the regular season (quality competition) and parlay it into a strong Chase. We have all the ingredients with the 16 personalities involved, parity as well balance as good as we have ever seen. The moment to pivot from tolerances to talent was now! Bravo.McGee: Its the right call in that its correcting a wrong call and its a good sign that NASCAR is admitting a mistake and fixing it. I dont know if you know your NASCAR history, but such actions havent really been their forte. Complicating stuff is never a great idea, but doing it just as the postseason is getting started is a horrible idea. History -- and very recent history (Talladega, October 2015) says that changes like that will be sniffed out and exposed in an instant. More than any other time of the season, the Chase is when we should be talking about racing and race winners and stories like Martin Truex Jr.s comeback from extinction and his girlfriends comeback from cancer to becoming a victor and a legit Cup contender. Instead, I feel like were talking about Deflategate-ish stuff all the time. Wednesdays move should help us get away from that.Oreovicz: Given the number of violations that are turning up, teams are obviously attempting to manipulate the rules during the race and/or the cool down lap. These competitors are going to push every tolerance to the limit, and that means NASCAR needs to test cars both before and after each event. Any time there is coaching over the radio (Dont forget to swerve!), you can be fairly certain there is something fishy going on. Given NASCARs philosophy of not taking away a win from a cheating team, I am waiting with bated breath to see if the penalty for an encumbered win ever happens.Pockrass: NASCAR did the right thing. If you are cheating, you get a big penalty with none of these soft gray areas that are difficult for at least some fans to understand the impact of the infraction. The only thing that could have made this better would have been if NASCAR had put this policy in place during the season and Ryan Newman had entered Richmond with a much better shot of making the Chase.Turn 3: Should Hendrick Motorsports be encouraged by its Chicagoland performance?Craven: Absolutely. They needed a boost, and they got it from all four cars in Chicago. Its encouraging for the organization and it appears very timely.McGee: Yes! See my answer to Turn 1. However, the baffling self-inflicted issues with the 48 car are still troubling. They are good enough to stumble through stuff like pit miscues and speeding penalties and still make it out of the Chases first round. That wont work as the funnel gets smaller toward November.Oreovicz: Yes. HMS hasnt been close to consistently competitive over the summer, and seeing Johnson lead so many laps and Elliott in the mix at the front of the pack has to be an encouraging sign for NASCARs original superteam.Pockrass: Yes. It showed four solid cars capable of top-10 finishes until the Johnson speeding penalty.Turn 4: Who is your pick to win the Xfinity Series Chase? How about the Camping World Truck Series?Craven: Erik Jones will be a Chase driver in his rookie season next year after winning this years Xfinity Series title. Im going with the veteran Matt Crafton in Trucks.McGee: Its hard not to go with Jones in Xfinity, but Im not. Elliott Sadler has been a top-10 machine since May. Theres a consistency there that Jones is lacking and despite popular belief, consistency is still key in the Chase format. Over on the Trucks side give me William Byron. Saturdays wreck at Chicago was his first DNF since March and just his second of the year. The numbers say he wont have another between now and seasons end.Oreovicz: Im going with the youth movement: Jones in Xfinity and Byron in Trucks. With the likes of Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart going away and a host of other top drivers in their 40s, NASCAR needs to create a new generation of stars and its going to happen quicker than anyone anticipates.Pockrass: Sadler and Crafton. Experience wins in this system. Ecco Shoes Online Ireland . You can watch the game live on TSN at 7:30pm et/4:30pm pt. 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NEW YORK -- Mets third baseman Jose Reyes is expected to miss a couple of games after straining his side during a doubleheader split against St. Louis.Reyes went 1 for 5 in the opener, then didnt play in a 3-1 win Tuesday night. After the second game, New York manager Terry Collins said Reyes had gone to the hospital with a Grade 1 intercostal strain on his left side.Collins said Reyes was hurt while takiing a swing in his final at-bat.ddddddddddddThe 33-year-old Reyes is hitting .239 with three home runs, eight RBI and three steals in 16 games with the Mets. The four-time All-Star returned to his original team last month, signing with New York after being released by Colorado. ' ' '