SONOMA, Calif. -- As Jamie McMurray turned a corner on the season with a string of solid finishes, he picked Sonoma Raceway as an upcoming track he was looking forward to racing. It seemed like a strange selection considering McMurray has just one top-10 finish at Sonoma in 10 career starts. But he showed his comfort level on the 1.99-mile road course Saturday with a surprise pole-winning run. He topped Marcos Ambrose, a race favourite, with a lap at 94.986 mph. "I felt like Ive always raced really well here," McMurray said of choosing Sonoma as a place he thought he could win this year. "For me, the last restarts have really got me. When you have a restart at this track, guys go from top-five to 30th in about 20 seconds. It can be a track that if you have a caution at the end, you can lose a lot." It was McMurrays ninth career Sprint Cup pole, but first of the year. He also won the pole at Sonoma in 2007. Ambrose wound up second with a lap at 94.924 in NASCARs first use of the group qualifying format. Both Ambrose and McMurray were together in the final group, and Ambrose initially had the pole position. But McMurray snatched it away, and Ambrose made a second attempt to grab it back but came up just short. "The motor quit running coming to the green flag, so I lost all of my momentum coming to the green flag," Ambrose said. "I thought about just bailing out of that lap and trying to roll around for a second lap, but I wasnt sure about engine temperatures and the tires go away so fast. I didnt know if I had already stressed them out and if I could have made up time, so I just went for it." Its not the first engine issue Ambrose has had at Sonoma: He was dominating the race in 2010 and leading under caution when he turned his engine off and lost the race. So he was furious when an engine problem spoiled what he thought would be a pole-winning run for Sundays race. "I pretty much lost my mind there and was really mad and just had to get my composure back to finish the lap off," he said. "It was good enough for the front row, so Im proud of that but disappointed obviously that we didnt get the pole position." Carl Edwards qualified third and was followed by teammate Greg Biffle as Ford drivers took three of the first four spots. Although it was Edwards best qualifying effort at Sonoma, he had thought the new format meant hed get more laps in and have a shot at the pole. "The qualifying format was supposed to be easier on the drivers because we were supposed to get a couple of laps, but my crew chief went ahead and taped the grille off and said that wed just get one lap, so I was really happy with the lap," Edwards said. "I made a couple of little mistakes. I think I could have done better, but, still, its the best position Ive had starting here and to be anywhere near Marcos Ambrose in qualifying at a road race is an honour for me." Defending race winner Clint Bowyer qualified fifth and was followed by Matt Kenseth, Kurt Busch and Joey Logano. Kyle Busch was ninth, and Jeff Gordon rounded out the top 10. NASCAR had previously used group qualifying only in the Nationwide Series but tried it Saturday instead of traditional single-car runs. The drivers were split into eight groups of five or six cars based on practice speeds from Friday, and NASCAR sent them onto the track five seconds apart. The drivers had five minutes to post a fast lap. It was immediately interesting as Victor Cruz Jr., driving for Tommy Baldwin Racing, ran off course and into a barrier to stop the first groups session. "Rookie mistake," he said. There was no mistake for McMurray, who enjoyed watching the qualifying format as he waited for his turn to run. "It was cool how people would bump each other off," he said. When he went out in the final group, he was smooth and steady in his Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet and didnt push too hard. "I was like, Im just going to go out and take what this car will give me and not push it to the very edge," he said. "I drove at about 95 per cent." McMurray teammate Juan Pablo Montoya qualified 13th. Jacques Villeneuve, in the Phoenix Racing entry Kurt Busch drove to a third-place finish last year, qualified 22nd. "It just wasnt quick enough," he said. "We improved the car overnight and I was discovering it and I just didnt drive aggressive enough on the first lap, so there was still a little bit of time, but at least my car was a lot better." Danica Patrick, who has struggled to find speed all weekend and was expected to be strong Sunday, qualified a disappointing 31st. "We picked up from practice. It was loose, especially in the faster part of the course," Patrick said. "But we improved from yesterday and the GoDaddy guys have worked really hard this weekend. Hopefully we have a good day on Sunday." Nike Air Max 270 Sale . Perez, 35, posted a 1-2 record with a 3.69 earned-run average in 19 relief appearances last season. His season ended Aug. 9 due to a torn ligament in his left elbow. Perez joins infielder Andy LaRoche and catcher Mike Nickeas with minor-league agreements for 2014 that include invitations to attend spring training. Nike Air Max 270 Outlet . The veteran safety was a starter for the Bengals from 2008-2012. He totaled 41 tackles and three interceptions while starting all but four of the 13 games he played last season. https://www.cheapnikeairmax270china.us/ . Meanwhile, there were huge victories for Sunderland and West Ham over fellow relegation rivals, leaving the battle to avoid the drop up for grabs with the bottom 11 teams separated by just six points. Eden Hazard and Fernando Torres scored second-half goals to seal a fourth straight victory for Chelsea, which climbed above Arsenal and Manchester City in the standings ahead of their games on Monday and Sunday respectively. Nike Air Max 270 From China . -- Aldon Smith believes he is on the path to being sober for good. Fake Nike Air Max 270 . Perhaps Carroll was so prepared for a break because he believes there is very little the Seattle Seahawks need heading into the off-season. "I dont see anything that we need to add. We just have to get better," Carroll said. NASSAU, Bahamas -- It wasnt exactly, Hello, world. It was more like, to borrow an old Michael Jordan comeback phrase, Im back.Tiger Woods made it clear Tuesday during his first news conference after a 15-month injury hiatus that he has metaphorically transitioned from his Chicago Bulls glory years to the late-career unfamiliarity of the Washington Wizards.He even has a name for it: Phase 2. Thats the term Woods came up with for the second half of his career while bedridden after a third back surgery last year, unsure whether he would ever play competitive golf again.Yes, its true. The most dominant player in the history of golf -- the man who not so long ago appeared invincible against every other elite player in the world -- believed he was done. He had come to grips with the realization that he might never swing a club inside the ropes again.While questioning that career mortality, he started thinking about life after golf.Woods decided he wanted all of his business entities -- the foundation, the course design firm, the restaurant -- under a single umbrella. This shouldnt come as a surprise, nor should it be of great interest to anyone who isnt directly affected by these entities. The decision does, though, shine a light on Woods mindset at the time. It stands as residual proof that he believed he would never fully recover from those surgeries.Now that he is playing again at this weeks Hero World Challenge, Woods finally knows that Phase 2 will also involve a competitive golf schedule.The sponsors are happier than theyve ever been, he explained, because of the cross pollination, better communication has now occurred and here I am competing again.Early last year, when Woods was struggling to chip his golf ball onto the green from merely a few yards away, he tried to explain away this mental block by blaming technical changes in his swing. He contended that he was caught between patterns, which might also be a perfect way to describe his thought process during this current transition.At one point during the news conference, Tiger sounded like the Tiger of old, answering a question about his goals for this weeks return with very much the same response he has been proffering for the past two decades.ddddddddddddIm going to try to do the same thing I always do, he insisted. Im entered in an event. Im going to try to win this thing.Minutes later, when asked how hed measure his success, that hubris was replaced by the Phase 2 edition of Tiger. Its the one who understands hes no longer golfs version of the guy wearing No. 23 for the Bulls.Im playing again, he said. Im sitting here in front of you guys with a different reality, because things have improved so much that Im able to come back here and do this again. It hasnt been easy.We can forgive Woods for being caught between the old pattern and the new one, for maintaining that winning is the main goal while also admitting that just teeing it up again should be considered a victory.Old habits die hard, after all, and it will take some time for him to admit to himself -- and to the rest of us -- that he cant have the same standards. The player who for so many years set the bar to an abnormally high level needs to move it lower than it has ever been.For the time being, at least.Maybe Woods can return to the level where anything less than a win is a disappointment. Maybe the man who a year ago wasnt sure hed ever play again can restore that form. Maybe he can infuse parts of that old version of himself with his next phase, rendering a transition more gradual than he once believed.Maybe being caught between patterns wont have the same result as the last time he employed that phrase.Ive made a lot of different changes in my game, but the mindsets still the same, he explained. Physically and also equipment, practice schedules, training, all that has evolved, [but] the mindset of competing hasnt. That is to go out there and try to beat these guys. I know theyre going to try and beat me. Im going to try and beat them.This wasnt, Hello, world. This was, Im back. Well soon find out what that means for this next phase in Woods career. ' ' '