Inland Waterways » ent recovery," Stewart

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Tony Stewart is 20 pounds lighter and has a titanium rod in his surgically repaired right leg. As far as hes concerned, those are the only major changes since he broke two bones in his leg in an August sprint-car crash. So when the green flag drops Saturday night at Daytona International Speedway for his first race since the accident, Stewart believes it will be the same old "Smoke" behind the wheel. "Were not going to need a backup driver," boasted Stewart, who is scheduled to be in the race car for the first time Friday for 105 minutes of practice for the exhibition Sprint Unlimited. "I feel good enough that Im confident were not going to have to worry about anything," he added. "Weve planned for anything that we think might or could go wrong, and when I say go wrong, its not anything thats going to take us out of the race car. Its just a matter of making everything as comfortable as possible." Stewart has not raced in more than six months, an unheard of amount of time off for a driver who makes his money racing in NASCAR yet crisscrossed the country cramming 50 or more weeknight events into his year-round schedule. Six-time champion Jimmie Johnson isnt dismissing Stewarts chances of making a successful return. "Tonys a guy that when hes motivated, he can do anything," Johnson said. "And his motivation and desire to get in the car is probably higher than its been since he was a little kid, so it could be really dangerous for all of us, you know what I mean?" Last August, Stewart was leading with five laps remaining at Southern Iowa Speedway when a lapped car spun in front of him, causing Stewart to hit that car and flip several times. Stewarts time sidelined was certainly difficult, enhanced by the pain from his broken leg. He had two surgeries for the breaks, then a third to treat an infection. He was flat on his back, confined to the first-floor bedroom of his longtime business manager, where he was forced to lay with his leg elevated above his heart. When there was Stewart-Haas Racing business to address, team personnel did it at his bedside. Stewart required an ambulance to get to his doctor appointments, and when he finally was able to get out of bed, he needed a wheelchair to get around. And when Stewart -- a driver SHR vice-president of competition Greg Zipadelli referred to as "Superman" in the days after his accident -- finally made an appearance at the race track, it was on a motorized scooter. Nobody was comfortable seeing the three-time NASCAR champion so restricted. Many wondered if hed ever be the same. Not Stewart. "Right off the bat, the surgeon, the therapists, theyve all said, Youre going to have 100-per cent recovery," Stewart said. "With that, from Day 1, it took the doubt out." Any questions about getting back into a race car were erased, and Stewart turned his attention to his recovery. He wondered when hed be 100 per cent -- doctors have told him it will take a year, and he said this week his leg is only 65-per cent healed -- and when the pain would subside. He asked doctors if hed always have some sort of lingering pain, and he threw himself into a tough rehabilitation program. As he progressed and moved closer to Fridays practice sessions, his SHR team built a module that includes a seat, steering wheel, steering column and pedals so Stewart could sit and hold the pedal down for 20 minutes to simulate the pressure of having his foot on the throttle. New teammate Kevin Harvick ordered Stewart a special pad that hangs off the steering wheel that will prevent his knees from banging into the steering column. Now his peers wait to see how Stewart will drive. Harvick said they attended a sponsor appearance together this week and when they left, Stewart "was like a crazed lunatic. You could see that look in his eye. He looked at me and said, Im ready to ... race!" A driver who has excelled in races because of his ability to feel the car, some have wondered if the injury has taken that talent from Stewart. He doesnt believe the broken leg has robbed him of anything. "When you hear the quote, Its a seat-of-the-pants feel, you feel it in your core," he said. "Everything that is processed through your brain is between your core as far as feeling whats going on. Your hands and arm are feeling pressure in the steering wheel. But as far as from your legs down, youre not really feeling that sensation. Its more of what your brain is telling your legs to do. "If we had to have an area to have an injury, my right leg was probably the one." Denny Hamlin struggled all last season after missing five races with a fractured vertebra in his lower back. But Hamlin cited Stewarts superior talent as reason why Stewart wont have similar issues. Jordan 12 Cheap Real .C. -- After a listless first half, the Washington Wizards used a big third quarter run to beat the Charlotte Bobcats Bradley Beal scored 21 points and the Wizards used a 17-0 run in the third quarter to take control of what had been a close game and beat the Bobcats 97-83 on Tuesday night. Air Jordan 12 Sale Canada .S. military base for UFC: Fight for the Troops 3. This fight card, which takes place in Fort Campbell, Kentucky, has had a number of changes, including headliner Lyoto Machida replaced by fellow Brazilian Rafael Natal. http://www.airjordan12canada.com/ .C. -- Carter Ashton had a pair of goals and added an assist as the Toronto Marlies downed the Charlotte Checkers 5-2 on Saturday in the American Hockey League. Jordan 12 Sale Cheap . The top-ranked Williams carried her winning momentum from 2013 into the new season, beating No. 2-ranked Victoria Azarenka 6-4, 7-5 on Saturday to defend her title at the Brisbane International and set the tone for the Australian Open. Cheap Jordan 12 For Sale . Pikul Khueanpet scored early in the second half and Kanjana Sungngoen made it 2-0 in the 65th minute of the playoff. Tuyet Dong narrowed the margin with goal four minutes from time. The win gave Thailand fifth place at the Asian Cup and the last of the continents qualifying spots for the 2015 Womens World Cup in Canada.NORTH BAY, Ont. -- Jason Dickinson and Pius Suter had two goals each as the Guelph Storm routed the North Bay Battalion 10-1 on Wednesday to take a 3-1 lead in the Ontario Hockey League final. Scott Kosmachuk scored and had three assists for Guelph, while Kerby Rychel and Robby Fabbri had a goal and two assists apiece. Matt Finn, Zac Leslie and Tyler Bertuzzi chipped in as well. Goalie Justin Nichols made 22 saves for the win. "We have a lot guys chipping in, if one guy is not going one night the next guy is. You just have to work on keeping things simple and getting pucks in. Things are just clicking right now," said Kosmachuk. Nick Paul was the lone scorer for North Bay. Jake Smith stopped 16-of-23 shots faced in 38:11 of work, while Brendan ONeill turned aside 15-of-18 shots in relief. "It was a disappointing loss, they got the jump on us early and we didnt recover from that and the game spiralled from that," said North Bay coach Stan Butler. The Storm scored on two of their three power plays, while the Battalion could not convert any of their three man advantages. Guelph struck early, scoring three goals in the first frame, including two by Suter. The centre opened the scoring just four minutes into the game and added to the Storms lead with a short-handed goal at the tail end of the period to make it 3-0. The other goal came at the 11-minute mark from Kosmachuck. All told the Battalion were outshot 14-4 in the period. "We werentt emotionally attached to the game early on.dddddddddddd We seem to play better when we get intense and involved," Guelph head coach Scott Walker said. "I thought the players did a heck of a job staying disciplined." It didnt get much better for the home team in the second. Leslie scored on the Storms first shot on net and, just 90 seconds later, Dickinson blew the game wide open with his seventh of the playoffs. Smith was finally pulled from the Battalions net after Bertuzzi made it 7-0 with less than two minutes to go in the period. But ONeill didnt fare much better, surrendering a goal before the buzzer. "In playoffs youve got to have a very short memory, because if you dont youre going to dwell on things that are going to affect you going forward. Are we disappointed? Obviously. Are we upset? Extremely. Are we frustrated? No. We got to play a lot better on Friday night," said Butler. North Bays lone bright spot was Pauls goal midway through the third. Rychel and Finn responded for the Storm in period. Game 5 is Friday in Guelph, Ont. "We have a very good leadership group in our room," said Kosmachuk. "They know its not going to be easy. We have to be on our toes and play hard." North Bay has already battled back in the playoffs after being down 3-1. They eliminated the Niagara IceDogs in seven games in the first round of the playoffs. The last time Guelph won the OHL championship was in 2004. 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