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WATKINS GLEN, N. Jerseys China .Y. -- IndyCar racing returned to Watkins Glen International on Friday after a six-year hiatus, and New Yorks Thunder Road didnt disappoint as the teams practiced in earnest for the first time.Its great to be back, great to be going around here, Helio Castroneves said. This is the DNA of open-wheel racing, and the history behind this place. It suits perfectly the series.Most of the teams were permitted to test earlier for this weekends race, which replaced a street event in Boston that was canceled. WGI was repaved after last season, and it created a smooth-as-silk surface with gobs of grip that opened a lot of eyes in Fridays two practices on a sunny day.In morning practice around the 3.37-mile, 11-turn layout, all 22 drivers eclipsed Ryan Briscoes track record of 1 minute, 28.1322 seconds at 137.657 mph set in 2009 in a Honda V-8. Scott Dixon, a three-time winner at The Glen, topped the charts in the No. 9 Target Chevrolet in both sessions: he turned a fast lap of 1:23.8921 seconds at 144.614 mph in the morning session and 1:22.8740 at 146.391 mph in the two-hour afternoon session to edge Castroneves and Will Power of Team Penske.Theres no other track where you commit like here, said Power, second in the standings, 28 points behind teammate Simon Pagenaud with two races left in the season. Its so different. Theres no comparison. Its so much faster.Pagenauds first extended time on the track in his career ended on a sour note. He was 11th fastest in the afternoon but crashed into a tire barrier in the waning moments.Watkins Glen was the birthplace of road racing in America after World War II. A 6.6-mile course using mostly paved roads with a short dirt and gravel stretch served as the layout for the first race at Watkins Glen in 1948.In 1961, Formula One came to The Glen and the race became a fall tradition, remaining through 1980. Financial difficulties helped lead to The Glens departure from the Formula One calendar after Alan Jones won the 1980 race. The last open-wheel race of that era was the Watkins Glen 200, a CART event in 1981 -- Mario Andretti started on the pole and Rick Mears won the race.For the next two years, the track was not well maintained. Then, in 1983, Corning Enterprises, a subsidiary of Corning Glass, partnered with International Speedway Corporation to buy the track and rename it Watkins Glen International.NASCAR has raced each year at Watkins Glen since 1986, and IndyCar began a five-year run in September 2005 before the track parted ways with the series when the finances didnt add up.The departure of open-wheel racing didnt sit well with track president Michael Printup, a devotee of Formula One, and when Boston organizers pulled out of their deal in May, IndyCar and WGI worked out a deal to move the race to upstate New Yorks Finger Lakes region. That turned into a three-year commitment when a two-year contract extension was agreed to last week, ahead of original plans to talk after Sundays 60-lap, 202.2- mile race.The short time to promote Sunday afternoons race means attendance wont turn any heads. Its a start, though, at the very least.Were not going to hit a home run. You cant plan a birthday party in 90 days, Printup said. We sold just under 10,000 tickets in corporate in 2010. We have 200 this race. Its too hard to call a company in June and say, `Hey, our race is the first week of September. Budgets are done. Even family budgets are done.The track sold all of its grandstand seats for the last two Sprint Cup races as sizable crowds streamed through the gates in spectacular weather conditions. Attendance figures are not released, but those two NASCAR crowds were estimated at around 100,000.Printup estimated the track would end up with 40,000-50,000 fans for IndyCars race weekend, an average of around 15,000 or more per day. He said next years race would be held the same weekend, but a 2018 date had not yet been agreed upon.It might be the best weekend for TV, Printup said. College football on Saturday, no NFL on Sunday. You want TV for all your sponsors, but you want your on-track attendance. I think if we give people a year to plan, this could be their family vacation next year.Just the thought of that left Printup wearing a big smile.This is awesome. This is the place for those cars, he said. They belong here. They need to stay here.---AP Auto Racing Website: www.racing.ap.org---Follow Kekis on Twitter: www.twitter.com/Greek1947 NFL Store Online . -- The Bishops Gaiters are showing they belong among the countrys top varsity football teams. Clearance NFL Shop . Oaklands loss to Seattle clinched the ALs best record for the Red Sox with one day to spare in the regular season. "I think everybody was kind of watching," catcher David Ross said. "Demp (Ryan Dempster) came out before he went to the bullpen and was just yelling that they lost. http://www.cheapnfljerseyswholesale.com/ .com) - The Chicago Blackhawks aim for their third three-game winning streak of the season when they host the struggling Edmonton Oilers in Sundays battle at the United Center. The hole in the middle of many teams rosters is caused by the 2013 draft.Three?of the top nine picks from that draft are no longer with their teams. Two more are?suspended. Six of the top 11 picks didnt have their fifth-year options executed. The Indianapolis Colts and Cleveland Browns dont have a single 2013 draft choice on their current 53-man rosters, and 11 other teams have only two. Only 16 players from the 2013 class have made the Pro Bowl.Now the ghost of the 2013 draft will haunt the 2017 free-agency class.Fewer starters will be available than in most years. The foundation of most free-agency classes is built on draft choices from Rounds 2-7?who suurvive their four-year rookie contracts. Nike NFL Jerseys Cheap. Last year, 70 draft choices made it to free agency, with 47 leaving in unrestricted free agency and 17 getting second contracts with their teams after they hit the market.For next year, there might be fewer than 55 draft picks from 2013 who?could hit the market, thinning out what might one of the weakest free-agent classes ever.To me, [the 2017 class]?stinks, one?general manager told me. If you were at the top of that [2013] draft, you didnt get value. It was just a bad class. ' ' '