DARLINGTON, S.C. -- Given a break or two here or there, Martin Truex Jr. believes hed have a monster season. He is pretty thrilled about the one hes had so far, anyway.Truex capped a standout summer season with his first Southern 500 victory at Darlington Raceway on Sunday night. He had started things with a dominant, record-setting win at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Memorial Day weekend.Im just humbled, he said.He knows, though, it couldve been even bigger.Truex was a breath away from taking the Daytona 500 over Denny Hamlin to start the season, and had seven other top 10s this year.With the team we have and the way weve been running, we could honestly be sitting here with seven, eight, nine wins, Truex said. With that said, weve got two (victories) and I really feel like weve got a legitimate shot at this championship.Truex will certainly be a strong contender when the 10-race Chase for a Championship starts at Chicagoland Speedway in two weeks. He reached the final race in Homestead last year among the last four standing and thinks everyone in the program has worked to improve their chances.Its been a good season, but it definitely could be a great season, he said.It was Truexs fifth career win and the second time his single-car Furniture Row Racing team has taken the checkered flag at the track Too Tough To Tame.Crew chief Cole Pearn guided Regan Smith to victory lane here in 2011. Then, the team was a novelty, a fun, fish-out-of-water tale of the little team that won a big race.Now, tiny Furniture Row is poised for a significant run as NASCARs best.To win two crown jewel races like this in one season is something youll never forget for sure, Pearn said. Youve got to take the highs when theyre here and then get back to work.---Things learned from the Southern 500.CHASE CHATTER: With one race left before NASCARs playoffs, Chase Elliott, Austin Dillon and Jamie McMurray remain the final three winless drivers who would qualify for the 16-team field. Ryan Newman is the first driver out, seven points behind McMurray heading to Richmond next Saturday night.SMOKE WILL BE MISSED: Tony Stewart will leave Sprint Cup without a victory at Darlington after finished 35th on Sunday night when his engine overheated and he went behind the wall. He was asked to the NASCAR hauler after spinning Brian Scott earlier in the race and when asked what happened, said simply, He wrecked.A TASTE OF SUCCESS: Kyle Larson nearly made it two straight wins before finishing third Sunday. The young driver, who earned his first Sprint Cup win last week at Michigan, led 45 laps and was out front with 38 laps to go. All in all, it was good to be a contender two weeks in a row, he said.THROWBACK CITY: The Southern 500s second straight throwback-themed weekend again looked like a success. The nostalgic paint schemes like the Matt Kenseths Tide Ride or Kevin Harvicks Busch Beer car thrilled fans and competitors both. Plus, drivers and teams took things deeper this year with vintage crew uniforms and crazy costumes. This is such a fun weekend with the throwback stuff, Larson said.DALE JR. COMEBACK: Dale Earnhardt Jr. spoke at Darlington Raceway about three hours before the Southern 500 -- and two days after announcing ongoing recovery from a concussion had ended his season -- pledging that he intends to return to the Sprint Cup Series next February at the Daytona 500. Earnhardt said, at 41, his heart is still in racing and he believes hes as good as hes ever been behind the wheel. Doctors told him back during a previous concussion in 2012 hed return to form and Earnhardt says hes been told that once more. Earnhardt has heard others wonder if it is better for him to walk away instead of coming back. The sports most popular driver said hes got unfinished business to complete. Vapormax Homme Promo . Booth picked up 65 caps after making her national team debut in 2002 at the age of 17. She most recently played for Sky Blue FC of the National Womens Soccer League. "It just felt like it was my time to move on," she said in a phone interview from her hometown of Burlington, Ont. Vapormax Femme Pas Cher . 1 position. The Mustangs (6-0), who beat Queens 50-31 last weekend, earned 17 first-place votes and 287 points in voting by the Football Reporters of Canada. Western was last ranked first in the country in October 2011. http://www.vapormaxsolde.fr/basket-vapormax-plus-grossiste.html . And when it opened, every player was at his stall. Thats a sure sign that a team is in a slump and is searching for answers. "Its embarrassing to be at home and play the way we did," said defenceman Josh Gorges. Vapormax Off White Pas Cher . The No. 1-ranked Nadal tweaked his back warming up for the Australian Open final, which he lost almost four weeks ago in a major upset against Stanislas Wawrinka. His first stop after the layoff is the clay in Rio as he tests the back and tries to stay healthy for the French Open in three months. Vapormax Blanche Femme . Reigning world champion Eve Muirhead of Scotland opened with a 12-2 rout of Winnipegs Jennifer Jones in a battle of teams bound for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. BUENOS AIRES -- Argentine tennis will face its biggest challenge this weekend as it tries to end a curse that has lasted almost a century. Being the sports dominant force, one that has churned out several top-10 players and Grand Slam winners, hasnt been enough. Argentinas most coveted win has yet to come; its one that requires a collective effort, the Davis Cup in Croatia.Only 14 countries have lifted the trophy since it was first played in 1900. In 93 years of competition, Argentine tennis has the dubious distinction as being the country with the most appearances in a final (four) with no titles.It is the biggest thorn in the side of Argentine sports, especially with its failure to deliver made worse by its lack of team spirit.The story of the first lost final can actually be traced back to 1980, when Argentina let a semifinal rubber slip away in Buenos Aires against eventual champion Czechoslovakia, which was led by emerging Ivan Lendl. Argentina had two of the best players on clay at the time, Guillermo Vilas and Jose Luis Clerc. But they were on really bad terms with each other and also with the Argentine Tennis Association. The team lost focus, and a golden chance was missed.Despite their differences, Vilas and Clerc (who were not speaking to each other) teamed up again in 1981 and made it all the way to the final on a fast carpet in Cincinnati against the United States. John McEnroe was world No. 1 in singles and doubles (with Peter Fleming), while Roscoe Tanner, who at the time was one of the most powerful servers, played second singles for what looked like an almost unbeatable combination.On the middle Saturday, with the series evened at 1-1, Vilas and Clerc barely communicated during the crucial doubles encounter, to the dismay of captain Carlos Junquet. Yet they almost pulled off a miracle, leading 7-6 in the decisive fifth set and Vilas serving. But McEnroe and Fleming broke and finally took the match 11-9. The next day, McEnroe battled past Clerc in five sets to clinch the victory, 3-1.Twenty-five years later, in 2006, Argentina made another final, this time away against Russia. After a decade out of the World Group, the Argentine legion was at its best. David Nalbandian scored impressive victories against Marat Safin and Nikolay Davydenko, but it was not enough to prevent a 3-2 victory by the Russian team.Two years later, Argentina could have ended the jinx in what was its best chance -- a final at home against Spain, wwhich was without Rafael Nadal.dddddddddddd Fear of what Rafa and his teammates were capable of on clay -- and with internal quarrels between players and officials -- Argentina decided to forgo the traditional Buenos Aires slow surfaces for faster hard courts. The decision proved to be disastrous.The tie got off to a promising start, with Nalbandian thrashing David Ferrer for a 1-0 lead. But Juan Martin del Potro, suffered from a leg injury, fell to Feliciano Lopez. If Nalbandian and Delpo were already did not seeing eye to eye, things deteriorated even more when the former accused del Potro, fresh off an appearance in his first Masters Cup, of overplaying, thus resulting in his health ailments and jeopardizing Argentinas chances for individual glory and money.The next day, Nalbandian joined Calleri in trying to secure the doubles, but instead lost to Lopez and Fernando Verdasco. Nalbandian then stormed out of the stadium without going to his news conference. To make matters worse, Captain Alberto Mancini then confirmed del Potro would not be fit for Sunday.Nalbandian knew he would never have the chance to play a starring role and end the curse. He was frustrated, just like the thousands who had packed the stadium during the three days believing they would witnesses a whitewash -- but instead left in tears. There would be another opportunity in 2011, with Nalbandian and del Potro again leaving aside their differences on their way to a final against Spain in Seville. Nalbandian, this time teaming with Eduardo Schwank, would gain revenge in the doubles against Lopez and Verdasco, but Delpo, despite putting up a great performance, lost against two of the best clay players in the world, Ferrer and Nadal, who led Spain to the easy victory.Still, with so many chances squandered, there is reason for Argentina to be confident ahead of the clash in Zagreb this weekend. The team was never a favorite (even when del Potro came back healthy) but still managed to make its way to the final playing all its previous rounds on the road. Argentina has never lost a tie against Croatia.But in order to make the dream finally come true, Argentina will require more than its best tennis. If the squad has learned anything, some of the spirit it lacked at key moments in the past is there this season. That could make the difference. ' ' '