s take on Castleford on Thursday Leeds, who face a crucial derby with Castleford on Thursday - live on Sky Sports 3 - have been severely affected by the loss of their training faci

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Kevin Harvick has found himself against the ropes in NASCARs playoffs in each of the last two years. Tired of having to fight his way into the championship race, he is determined to leave nothing to chance.A win two weeks ago at New Hampshire earned him an automatic berth in the second round of the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship. Hed like a win Saturday night at Charlotte Motor Speedway to push him right into the third round.For this three-race segment, the 2014 NASCAR champion has eyed Charlotte as a track that gives him a good shot at a victory. The round also goes to Kansas next week before concluding at Talladega Superspeedway.Charlotte is probably the one Im looking forward to the most, Harvick said. Weve had so much success there. Weve run well there, really, every time weve been there with our Stewart-Haas Racing cars.Harvick has three career points victories at Charlotte, including the October race during his championship season. That victory pushed Harvick into the round of eight of the Chase.Hes also has had success racing at night, something Charlotte Motor Speedway President Marcus Smith noted this week. He dubbed Harvick Nighthawk because Harvick has not finished outside the top 10 at night in the last seven races. Hes only been outside the top-five twice in that span.Harvick has also won six times in night races on the NASCAR schedule since 2012.But with practice time during the daylight this weekend, hes not sure what to expect.Charlotte is a really finicky racetrack and, with the way we practice, most of the practice will be done during the day with the race being at night, he said. Temperature has a huge factor in how the racetrack changes, how the pace changes, so you have to try to guess a little bit on that. You have to try to plan and balance all those things to have a good plan, but you have to be ready to abort that plan and come up with a new one on the fly at any given point.CLAUSON-MOST POPULARThe late Bryan Clauson was honored as the fans favorite driver in the IndyCar Series during a remembrance for the three-time Indianapolis 500 starter.Clauson died from injuries suffered in a sprint car crash in Kansas in August. He was leading when he was involved in the accident, which came in his 116th race of the year. Popular throughout the paddock, Clauson was attempting to race in 200 events this year and was one of the most well-liked drivers in every series.He was remembered during IndyCars season-ending awards ceremony Tuesday night by Conor Daly, who was teammates with Clauson during this years Indianapolis 500 and, like Clauson, grew up in Noblesville, Indiana.You could always tell Bryan had such a strong positive impact on the racing world because everyone across the sport was happy to see him get a shot in the Indy 500, Daly said. It was a true pleasure getting to work with Bryan this year at Indy and to see the whole crowd and everyone around us support him and love seeing him there. He was and forever will be a driver to look up to, a person to strive to be like, and a hero.RACE OF CHAMPIONSJuan Pablo Montoya and Tony Kanaan will both compete in this years Race Of Champions all-star event, which will be held in their adopted hometown of Miami.Kanaan competed in the event in 2004, the year of his IndyCar championship, when it was held in France. The Brazilian partnered with Felipe Massa and the duo advanced to the semifinals.Having the race here in my backyard is the perfect opportunity to be part of it and to race against the biggest names from motorsport around the world, Kanaan said.Montoya will be making his Race of Champions debut. He and Kanaan bring the field to eight confirmed drivers for the event. Also committed to date for the January 21-22 race at Marlins Park Stadium are Ryan Hunter-Reay, Sebastian Vettel, nine-time Le Mans 24 Hours winner Tom Kristensen and Kurt Busch. Clearance Nike Zoom Canada Online . Lack made 20 saves for his third shutout of the season as the Canucks blanked the St. Louis Blues 1-0 in the first post-Olympic game for both teams night. Wholesale Nike Shoes Canada .25 million option on reliever Jose Veras. http://www.nikezoomsalecanada.com/ . -- Whether Jeremy Hill deserves a prominent role in LSUs offence this early in the season is a matter for debate. Cheap Nike Running Shoes Canada . LOUIS -- The New Orleans Saints looked like a team playing out the string. Cheap Nike Zoom Canada . - The Oakland Raiders re-signed offensive lineman Khalif Barnes on Friday.Leeds chief executive Gary Hetherington has issued a rallying cry after the Rhinos fortunes hit a new low. Last years treble winners are bottom of Super League after 13 of the 23 rounds of the regular season and at the weekend crashed out of the Challenge Cup at the first hurdle with a 36-22 defeat to Huddersfield.However, Hetherington has attempted to placate disgruntled fans by sending them a letter in which he dismissed talk of a crisis, insisted there would be no panic measures to turn around the teams fortunes and stated a top-eight finish remains the target. Unless you are a very long-standing fan, this experience is something new to us all as we find ourselves in a tough position and one that is in complete contrast to this time last year, Hetherington wrote.As I am sure you know, this is what can happen in professional team sport and most clubs in this situation would be in crisis with low morale, a blame culture and a frenzy to make wholesale changes throughout the organisation. But thats not the case here! Leeds are bottom of the Super League after 13 rounds of the competition Dont get me wrong, we are hurting very badly and I see it every day with the players and coaching staff at training and all our staff at Headingley, but we know the reasons for our plight and no one could have envisaged what has happened over the past few monthss.ddddddddddddAnd so I find myself surrounded not by pessimists but by an incredibly energised and positive group of players, coaches and staff who are all working incredibly hard to achieve new and different goals. Our first and most immediate goal is to climb the Super League table and then make the top eight by round 23. Leeds take on Castleford on Thursday Leeds, who face a crucial derby with Castleford on Thursday - live on Sky Sports 3 - have been severely affected by the loss of their training facilities at Kirkstall, which were swept away by the Boxing Day floods.They have also been depleted by a series of injuries to key players, which came on top of the departure of Kevin Sinfield, Jamie Peacock and Kylie Leuluai at the end of their treble-winning season in October. But Hetherington believes the future remains bright, pointing to a sustainable business, plans to redevelop Headingley in conjunction with Yorkshire County Cricket Club and the success of the Leeds Rhinos Foundation,I genuinely believe we can all look to some exciting times ahead, he added. We have a vision for the club and a set of values which underpin all we do. Also See: Rugby League on Sky Fixtures and results Follow @SkySportsRL Pundits ' ' '