y to lead our team.” Gallant has worked the last two sse

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - Regan Smith had the checkered flag in sight at Daytona a year ago and a freight train of cars in his rearview mirror. He moved high to throw a block on Brad Keselowski and it backfired badly. The desperate attempt to preserve the win triggered a 12-car accident, Kyle Larsons car sailed into the fence and debris from the wreck injured nearly 30 fans. It was a racing accident, nobodys fault. But Smith was racked with guilt. So it was sweet redemption Saturday when he nipped Keselowski at the finish line to win the Nationwide Series opener — finally, a year later — at Daytona International Speedway. "I think it hurt him deeply that the fans were involved in the accident," said Dale Earnhardt Jr., who along sister, Kelley and Rick Hendrick owns the JR Motorsports Chevrolet that Smith drove to victory. "I think that he personally and privately (bore) some responsibility for his involvement in the crash, just being in the crash, to have someone in the grandstands get hurt had to affect him tremendously. That was definitely probably one of the toughest things he went through personally as a driver." Smith said he went to dinner with Earnhardt after the accident and leaned on his boss. "Im fortunate that Ive got a boss who has been in a lot of different situations in this sport and understands a lot of different things over the years in Dale," Smith said. "He just basically said Youve got to shake it off, its racing and no fault of anybody. Circumstances sometimes happen. He offered up a lot of good advice in that situation. It did bother me. Id be lying if I said I didnt." Nothing bothered Smith on Saturday. He beat Keselowski by 0.013 for the second-closest finish at Daytona International Speedway and seventh closest in series history. It was the 300th victory for the Hendrick Motorsports engine shop. Keselowski said last years crash-marred finish never entered his mind as he plotted his strategy over the closing laps. Smith and Keselowski raced side-by-side at the front of the pack over the final two overtime laps. They were door-to-door exiting the final turn and Smith edged him at the line. "Im not that smart and Ive got a terrible memory," Keselowski said of not worrying about a repeat of last year. Trevor Bayne finished third, followed by Kyle Busch, winner of Friday nights Truck Series race, and his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Elliott Sadler. Brendan Gaughan was sixth and followed by Ty Dillon. Earnhardt Jr., who was 11th, ran into the back of Joe Nemechek after the finish. He said he was being pushed by Kyle Larson and traffic slowed too quickly. It caused heavy damage to Nemechek and Ryan Siegs cars that Earnhardt said hed pay to repair. "We were slowing down. I was looking all around trying to figure out where everybody was at," he said. "Totally my fault. Really wasnt paying attention. I hate it for Joe and those guys cause they dont need to be tearing up race cars." NASCAR issued its first drafting penalty of the season 86 laps into race when James Buescher was called for push-drafting Keselowski. Bueschers car seemed to be under the rear of Keselowskis car for several seconds, which violates NASCARs ban on drafting. NASCAR vice-president of competition Robin Pemberton said the penalty was called because Buescher appeared to be the aggressor regardless of what the television angle showed. Keselowski said the penalty "set the tone for the rest of the race as far as what guys were looking at for driving their cars." Nike Air Max 1 Australia . This is an exercise I have undertaken a few times, starting in 2009, and hope that Ive refined my approach a little bit in that time to help paint a better picture. Air Max 1 Wholesale . Span, Danny Espinosa and Adam LaRoche had two hits apiece as Washington won the final two games of the series. The Nationals improved to 3-7 against Atlanta. They increased their division lead over the Braves to 1 1/2 games. http://www.wholesaleairmax1australia.com/ . Toronto dropped a 7-2 decision to the Minnesota Twins on Wednesday afternoon, with only a pair of late runs preventing a second straight shutout loss. Josh Willingham belted a two-run homer in the first inning and Kendrys Morales hit a bases-clearing double in the seventh as the Twins took the rubber game of the three-game series. Air Max 1 Clearance . -- Jose Bautista never worries about hitting homers during the regular season. Air Max 1 Cheap Australia . - Robert Griffin III has a sprained throwing shoulder that limited him in practice Wednesday as the Washington Redskins prepared for their season finale against the Dallas Cowboys.The Florida Panthers have found their man. The team has named former Montreal Canadiens assistant coach Gerard Gallant as new head coach, confirming the news via Twitter on Saturday. Gallant becomes the third Panthers bench boss in the last 12 months. Kevin Dineen began 2013-14 as the teams coach, but was fired on Nov. 8. Peter Horachek was named interim head coach upon Dineens dismissal, but was unable to turn the teams fortunes around. The Panthers went 26-36-4 under Horachek and finished the season with a 29-45-8 record, the second-worst in the Eastern Conference. “He is an individual with tremendous character, integrity and a strong passion for the game and has experience as an NHL head coach," Panthers general manager Dalle Tallon said Saturday. "Gerard is an excellent teacher and motivator who possesses the leadership qualities and hockey knowledge that are necessary to lead our team.” Gallant has worked the last two sseasons with head coach Michel Therrien behind the bench, after coaching in the QMJHL with the Saint John Sea Dogs.dddddddddddd. He led Saint John to to the Memorial Cup in 2011 and coached them back to the tournament in 2012. Prior to joining the Sea Dogs, Gallant served as an NHL assistant coach with the New York Islanders during the 2007-08 season. He also spent seven years on the coaching staff of the Columbus Blue Jackets, serving as the teams head coach from 2004 to 2006. He was also behind the bench as an assistant coach with Team Canada at the 2007 IIHF World Championship in Russia, capturing gold at the tournament. Before joining the Blue Jackets, Gerard was an assistant coach with the American Hockey Leagues Louisville Panthers and led the Summerside Western Capitals to a Kent Cup Championship in 1997 as the MJAHL teams head coach. Gallant appeared in 615 games in the NHL as a member of the Detroit Red Wings and Tampa Bay Lightning. ' ' '