Fort Worth Star-Telegram from Fort Worth, Texas • A2

2D THUFRISATSUNMON RANGERS 817-273-5100 vs. at Surprise vs. at Mesa 2:05 p.m. vs. OAK (exhibition) at Phoenix 2:05 p.m.

vs. ARI (exhibition) at Scottsdale 2:10 p.m. vs. MIL (exhibition) at Surprise 2:05 p.m. vs.

SF (exhibition) at Scottsdale 8:05 p.m. MAVERICKS214-747-6287 vs. IND 7:30 p.m. FSSW vs. MEM 6:30 p.m.

FSSW MIN 7 p.m. FSSW STARS 214-467-8277 ANA 9 p.m. FSSW Plus SJ 9:30 p.m. LA 9:30 p.m. FSSW Plus BRAHMAS 817-336-4423 vs.

Allen 7:30 p.m. vs. Laredo 7:30 p.m. Bossier- Shreveport 4:05 p.m. squad exhibitions GAME PLAN Major league baseballTimeTV, radio Tigers at BravesNoonESPN NBATimeTV, radio Magic at Heat7 p.m.TNT Nuggets at p.m.TNT NBADLTimeTV, radio Texas at p.m.FSSW college basketballTimeTV, radio Big South semifinal: High Point vs.

UNC Asheville 5 p.m.ESPNU Tennessee at South Carolina6 p.m.ESPN St. at Seton Hall6 p.m.ESPN2 Big South semifinal: VMI vs. Coastal Carolina 7 p.m.ESPNU Wisconsin at Indiana8 p.m.ESPN UCLA vs. Washington8 p.m.ESPN2 Oregon St. at Arizona8 p.m.FSSW Plus college basketballTimeTV, radio Big Ten first round: Purdue vs.

Indiana 1 p.m.Big Ten Big Ten first round: Wisconsin vs. Illinois 3:30 p.m.Big Ten Memphis at UCF6 p.m.CBS Col. Sports Big Ten first round: Northwestern vs. Minnesota 6 p.m.Big Ten Cal at Stanford10 p.m.FSSW GolfTimeTV, radio PGA: The Honda Classic2 p.m.Golf Danica Patrick put her skills on display Wednesday at Texas Motor Speedway. She in a car, wearing a fire suit or even standing on the track.

Instead, she was up in a ninth-floor banquet room of the Speedway Club for annual Media Day. She the only guest. Denny Hamlin, the two-time winner at TMS last year and near winner of the Chase for the Sprint Cup, was on hand. So was racing legend Johnny Rutherford and a handful of other racers and owners from various levels. But the room was She took the stage for a 10-minute with TMS president Eddie Gossage, during which she was lively and quick-witted.

She even landed a couple of jabs on Gossage, and a sure-fire way to get the area media on her side. Danica also made the rounds on local sports radio shows, playfully engaging the hosts and even managing to turn the wheel in a different direction when the conversation seemed headed toward an that question that made you cringe in anticipation. If there had been a Victory Lane in the Speedway Club, Danica would have stood there at the end of the day. And that leads to this question concerning Danica: How big would she become if she made more visits to track-side Victory Lanes? She has been in one since joining the Izod IndyCar Series in 2005. That win came in 2008, and it came in Japan.

difficult to imagine a place where her first win could generate less attention here. So in some regards, we have never truly watched Danica win. As Danica worked the room Wednesday, you help but imagine what it would be like if she could win even two or three times every season. And, really, is there any legitimate reason to believe that she could not do that? She came close to winning on this very track in 2010, recording one of her two second-place finishes last season in the Firestone 550K. Her victory came when she was only an IndyCar driver.

Now that she has added Nationwide Series to her schedule, the potential for exposure is so much greater. And while imagining, imagine what Gossage might do with a Danica victory on his track. We have seen him turn spat with fellow driver Dan Wheldon into a boxing-themed promotional banner, complete with Don mug shot. We have seen him turn a photo of Danica from a Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue photo into a billboard. been very good for Danica told Gossage on Wednesday.

been very good for Gossage replied. really The potential for better is there for the day when Danica becomes a racing success anywhere near the level that she has become a commercial success. She is much closer, of course, to accomplishing that in IndyCar than in NASCAR. In IndyCar, expectations are wins and top-five finishes. On the Nationwide Series, where she is only two races into her second part- time season, her expectations are top-15 finishes.

She called last year frustrating. Her IndyCar season started slowly, but did end with fifth-place and runner-up finishes in the final two weeks. At times in her first Nationwide season, she would look and feel top-15 during tests and practices, but then on race day, she said, just come together and it happen. think I let good days give me false expectations that were she said. I got to the end of the year, I just said, top 15, all it just want to get there.

Once I get there on a regular basis, then adjust my Danica had to adjust mentally to going from one circuit where she expected to win to another in which she realistically Her confidence took a bit of a hit. During her year of frustration, though, she said people were good to her, and that helped greatly. in NAS- she explained, the announcers and everybody pointing out all the good things I was doing out there, and embracing me and really having nice things to say. made a huge difference for me and my self- esteem. And also probably for public perception as There was appreciation in her voice as she spoke those words.

Danica can be laugh- out-loud funny. She can be refreshingly reflective. To see Danica put her skills on display as she did Wednesday, you know that she can be so many things. And what made it fun to look out from that room Danica was commanding and down to Victory Lane, then imagine what it would be like to see her there. There might not be even an Eddie Gossage promotion big enough for that.

David Thomas, 817-390-7697 IN MY OPINION Danica races for day when success passes promotional value 7 Danica Patrick arriving in Victory Lanes could become bigger than we can imagine. David Thomas 2006. The Chase is another story. While Hamlin has 16 career victories, only four of those have come in the Chase (two each in 2009 and In those years, he win a Chase race until the sixth playoff event. left him scrambling to try to make up ground, and he has yet to make up enough to snatch the title from the hands of Johnson.

the one thing got to do better is maybe be a little bit more aggressive on the front side of the Chase go for that extra spot instead of making sure you finish your he said. things would help us gap ourselves from the competition, or it would have last year, where even with the wreck at Homestead it have It was the spin at Homestead that doomed title hopes. He finished 14th, and lost to Johnson by 39 points. Hamlin is again off to a slow start. He has finished outside the top 10in the first two races and heads to Las Vegas this weekend 14thin points.

certainly no panic in Hamlin, especially knowing that that the Sprint Cup Series comes to TMS in April 9 for the Samsung Mobile 500. Last year Hamlin won both Sprint Cup events at TMS, and his average finish of 8.8 at TMS is the best of any Sprint Cup driver. always seems to be the kind of turning point weekend for our he said. been the case. I know why.

always typically a slow-starting race team where it takes us five or six races. People always want to know going on. All of the sudden we get to Texas and things pick back He hopes the case again this year, although there are new variables. A new front end has teams scrambling to find the right setup for their cars. A new point system is also in place, which Hamlin likes.

Of course, like it even better if, at the awards banquet this year, Hamlin is celebrating title No. 1 instead of trying to look forward to 2012. The desire is certainly there. finishing second makes you hungrier, starving right Hamlin said. Anthony Andro, 817-390-7760 Hamlin Continued from1D The field for the second of the two Izod IndyCar Series races at Texas Motor Speedway in June will be set by a blind draw, not the order of finish of the first race.

It is a twist in the rules for the Firestone Twin 275s announced Wednesday by track president Eddie Gossage. He hopes it results in unpredictability. means you could potentially have the winner of the first race starting in the back, which could create he said. IndyCar Series driver Danica Patrick predicted a crash if the pole sitter for the second race is not experienced in leading the field to green. going to get she said.

who normally wreck are going to wreck because people who normally racing close to each other are racing close to each The Firestone Twin 275s begin at 7 p.m. June 11. There will be a one- hour break between the 275-kilometer races, which each pay half- points and half-bonus money. The drivers will draw for their positions during a show, and the same pit locations will be used, based on qualifying for the Indianapolis 500 (two weeks earlier). Also, each team will receive an additional engine.

Starr gets Cup debut Flower Mound driver David Starr will make his NASCAR Sprint Cup debut at the Samsung Mobil 500 in April at Texas Motor Speedway. The 43-year-old from Houston will drive for Leavine Fenton Racing in the No. 95 Ford. two guys are giving me the opportunity to live my Starr said of owners Bob Leavine and David Fenton of Tyler. tried back in 2000, but we have the equipment to do it.

This is my home track. We have an agreement for Roush Yates engines, so going to have great power under the Patrick, Andretti swap Danica Patrick said she and Andretti Autosport teammate Marco Andretti have swapped engineering staffs. the mechanics are the same, but we changed engineering Patrick said. was an adjustment from higher up. It my Patrick also has a new teammate.

In February, Andretti Autosport hired Mike Conway, who recov- ered from a back injury sustained in a crash at Indianapolis last year. Buescher optimistic Plano driver James Buescher, who finished 11th in the pointstandings after running a part-time schedule in the Camping World Trucks Series last year, said he is on the verge of a win. He has 14 top-10 finishes and seven top-5s in 49 career trucks starts, but no wins. had a better season than an 11th-place he said. right on the edge of a victory.

right on the edge of a pole. The 31 team is good enough to get to Victory Lane. just a matter of putting it Briefly Denny No. 11 Toyota will feature a paint scheme for the April TMS race to be designed by 7- year-old twins from North Texas, highlighting the March of Dimes. are survivors who have directly benefited from March of Hamlin said.

WinStar World Casino and TMS announced a new five-year agreement for the naming rights to the NASCAR Camping World TruckSeries races, taking the partnership through 2015. Carlos Mendez, 817-390-7407 Twist could 7 TMS notes By Carlos Mendez Danica Patrick says a rule change for the start of the second Twin 275 at TMS in June could result in a crash. Moseley 2011 TMS schedule Samsung Mobile 500 weekend April 8: NASCAR Nationwide Auto Parts 300 April 9: NASCAR Sprint Cup Samsung Mobile 500 Firestone Twin 275s weekend June 10: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series WinStar World Casino 400 June 11: Izod IndyCar Series Firestone Twin275s AAA Texas 500 weekend Nov. 4: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Longhorn 350 Nov. 5: NASCAR Nationwide Auto Parts Challenge Nov.

6: NASCAR Sprint Cup AAA Texas 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Kobalt Tools 400 Site: Las Vegas Motor Speedway (oval, 1.5 miles). TV schedule: Friday, practice (Speed, p.m.), qualifying (Speed, p.m.); Saturday, practice (Speed, p.m.); Sunday, race, 2 p.m. 4). Race distance: 400.5 miles, 267 laps. 2010 winner: Jimmie Johnson NASCAR Nationwide Town 300 Site: Las Vegas Motor Speedway (oval, 1.5 miles).

TV schedule: Thursday, practice; Friday, practice (Speed, 11 a.m.-2 p.m.); Saturday, qualifying (11 a.m.), race, 2 p.m., 8). Race distance: 300 miles, 200 laps. 2010 winner: Kevin Harvick ON THE GRID Aledo standout running back Johnathan Gray is a step closer to making his final college decision after announcing his top three college choices Wednesday night. One of the top recruits in the Class of 2012, Gray has narrowed his list to TCU, Texas and Texas While Gray said he could still visit Auburn, he is excited about his top three. just talked with my coach and my parents, and they helped me get closer to making a Gray said.

feel really good about those Gray have a firm timetable for his final decision, but he hopes to be close to pick- ing a program by the end of spring practices. Gray rushed for 3,183 yards and 59 touchdowns as a junior, leading Aledo to a second consecutive Class 4A state championship. He attended junior days at TCU, Texas and and said all are good options. Gray plans to attend a spring practice at each of his final choices to watch the coaching staffs and how players respond to them during drills. He could start by visiting Texas this weekend.

In his decision, Gray said he is also considering everything outside of football. want to go to a school where, even if I got hurt and stopped playing football, I will want to spend four years to get my Gray said. Brent Shirley, 817-390-7760 Top recruit puts Texas, TCU, on final list 7 Recruiting 7 Aledo RB Johnathan Gray has narrowed his options. By Brent Shirley.