Gnabry equalized before the break.BORUSSIA MOEN

TALLADEGA, Ala. -- Youre going to hear a lot about risk versus reward this weekend at Talladega Superspeedway, especially when it comes to the 10 drivers battling for six remaining NASCAR Chase playoff transfers.Rightly so.Risk versus reward comes into play anytime late in a championship campaign when theres a seasons worth of effort on the line. But balancing aggression and temperance also always has been an integral part of racing at NASCARs most daunting superspeedway, especially in the restrictor-plate era.No other track fosters more of a win or bust attitude among competitors in the Sprint Cup Series. And this year, Talladega has been positioned as a cutoff race between rounds of the Chase, meaning that for a handful of racers, perhaps only a win will suffice.Sure, anything can happen at Talladega, and a driver could still qualify to move on in the Chase by being in the top eight of the point standings on Sunday night.Chase Elliott faces the longest odds in that regard. The Hendrick Motorsports rookie is 25 points behind the eighth-place cutoff, meaning that risking it all in an effort to win the Hellmanns 500 is his only realistic strategy for advancing.It puts us in a pretty simplistic situation this weekend, of having to have a really good run, if not have to win, Elliott said. But were looking forward to the challenge.By contrast, the Joe Gibbs Racing trio of Matt Kenseth, Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards seemingly looks comfortable, running 1-2-3 among winless drivers in this round of the Chase. With a cushion of 24 to 29 points between themselves and Joey Logano and Austin Dillon -- the drivers currently on the cutoff -- the Gibbs guys could theoretically run around at the back and try to dodge the accidents en route to the conservative top-20 finishes they need to move on.But history shows that playing it safe is nearly as dangerous as risking it all at Talladega. Cruise and collect often translates into cruise and get collected.I have wrecked here racing up front, wrecked in the back and wrecked while I was running in the middle, recalled Edwards.I know you cant make a plan that is foolproof here, he added. We just want to stay up front all day.Two drivers who have little to worry about Sunday are Jimmie Johnson and Kevin Harvick, who already have their spots reserved in the next round by virtue of their wins at Charlotte and Kansas, respectively.Kyle Busch knows how quickly things can turn at Talladega. In 2014, he arrived as the points leader, but a wreck and subsequent 40th-place finish were the biggest factors in his failure to advance into the next round. Last year, Busch was below the cutoff line heading into Talladega, but an 11th-place finish was enough to bump him into the top eight.Even though the defending Cup series champion can advance in this years Chase with a 26th-place finish on Sunday, he knows he cant take even that for granted.You never can have any comfort and you do what you need to do in order to transfer through, Busch said. Its all about the racing gods when it comes to the story of Talladega, and Ive been on both sides of it in the first two years of this [playoff] format.It doesnt always help to push too hard and try to advance yourself, and sometimes you just have to relax and take what the race gives you, he added. The key is to somehow stay out of trouble.Some drivers will argue that theres no point in trying to be defensive, that flat-out aggression is the only way to go -- no matter where they stand in the points race.Logano, who is on the bubble holding a tiebreaker over Dillon, vows to race for the win rather than points.I dont really think about how people are trying to knock me out; I think about how Im gonna knock other people out, said the driver of Team Penskes No. 22 Ford.?Thats my attitude. If Im on defense, were not gonna win. So we better stay on offense.?Everyones situation is different, but the last time I checked, this thing is called a race and I believe racers race, he continued.? Ive seen people ride around the back and crash. Ive seen guys running up front and crash. It happens, so being aware of your surroundings becomes very important throughout the race.Dillon hasnt been a threat to win a restrictor-plate race, but he has consistently avoided trouble and racked up top-10 finishes. In his first Chase, Dillon doesnt plan on doing anything different than usual on Sunday.Do we want to be aggressive, like we usually are, which works out for us, or do we want to wait and ride and try to make it to the end and try to make it through there? Dillon pondered. It just depends on your points position there.If youre out of the top-eight-points position and you need a win, youre going to go for broke, he noted. If youre sitting comfortably where you need to be and you can guard a top-5 finish, you just need to take that top-5 finish and go on, I think.It stands to reason that the drivers above the cutoff in the points -- Kenseth, Kyle Busch, Edwards, Kurt Busch and Martin Truex Jr. -- can afford to be more conservative than they guys on the bubble (Logano and Dillon) and especially those below the cutoff (Denny Hamlin, Brad Keselowski and Elliott).Kurt Busch is yet another driver who has experienced both sides of the risk versus reward equation. He knows that playing it safe isnt always the safest option, but he admitted kicking himself for years after aggressively going after a Chase win only to be spun out in the late stages.Winning versus finding a consistent finish is such a razor-blade edge versus wrecking, said the 2004 Cup series champion. Its a matter of just trying to understand your surroundings early in the race. If people are getting crazy, youve got to get out of there, or youve got to get up front and be in that top three.Honestly, though, Lady Luck is really the dictator of how well you are going to do at Talladega.Fake Shoes Free Shipping . -- Gus Malzahn finally had his day in Fayetteville. Fake Nike Shoes . -- Aaron Murray threw for 408 yards and three touchdowns, ran for another score, and led No. https://www.fakeshoes.net/ . - The Oakland Raiders re-signed offensive lineman Khalif Barnes on Friday. Wholesake Fake Air Jordan 1 . -- Claudio Bieler hadnt scored since early September, and not from the run of play since mid-July. Discount Fake Shoes . "It doesnt get any better than that," Giambi said. "Im speechless." The Indians are roaring toward October. Giambi belted a two-run, pinch-hit homer with two outs in the ninth inning to give Cleveland a shocking 5-4 win over the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday night, keeping the Indians up with the lead pack in the AL wild-card race.BERLIN -- With Uli Hoeness back in charge again, Bayern Munich bounced back from two straight defeats to beat Bayer Leverkusen 2-1 at home and keep pace with Bundesliga leader Leipzig on Saturday.Hoeness, who returned as president the night before, watched as Thiago Alcantara and Mats Hummels scored to ease the pressure on coach Carlo Ancelotti with the sides first win in four games across all competitions.There are moments in the season when its more important to win than play well, Ancelotti said. Were going to improve.Leverkusen made the better start with Admir Mehmedi and Hakan Calhanoglu both going close before Joshua Kimmich headed straight at Bernd Leno at the other end.Alcantara was well-placed to head the opener from close range in the 30th minute after Leno saved Philipp Lahms initial effort.But Calhanoglu equalized five minutes later after eluding Lahm and playing a quick one-two with Julian Brandt to score from a narrow angle.Poor defending allowed Hummels to restore Bayerns lead with a header to Kimmichs corner early in the second half. It was the Germany defenders first league goal for Bayern.Javi Martinez used his hand to deny Kevin Volland an equalizer late on but the incident was missed by the match officials and Bayern held on to stay three points behind surprise leader Leipzig.Its difficult to see for the referee and Martinez was very clever, Leverkusen coach Roger Schmidt said.Before the game, Hoeness apologized for calling Leipzig and Borussia Dortmund enemies at his election the night before.In football there are no enemies, only opponents or rivals, said Hoeness, who returned after serving half his prison term for tax evasion.EINTRACHT FRANKFURT 2, BORUSSIA DORTMUND 1It was supposed to be Dortmund pressuring the leaders after defeating Bayern the weekend before -- and following up with an 8-4 demolition of Legia Warsaw in the Champions League -- but the visitor slumped to its third defeat and remain nine points behind Leipzig.Unheralded Frankfurt replaced Dortmund in third place.Timothy Chandler crossed for Szabolcs Huszti to put the home side ahead right after the break.Frankfurt was runnning more, and Dortmund was struggling.dddddddddddd. Dortmund coach Thomas Tuchel reacted with three substitutions at once before the hour mark, sending on Marco Reus, Sebastian Rode and Ousmane Dembele.Dembele crossed for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to equalize in the 77th, only for Huszti to set up Haris Seferovic at the other end just over a minute later.Dembele summed up Dortmunds afternoon when he struck the crossbar in injury time, when a penalty appeal added to the visitors frustration.HAMBURG 2, WERDER BREMEN 2Neither Hamburg, bottom after 12 games without a win, nor Bremen, only four points better off, would be happy after sharing the points in the northern derby.Michael Gregoritsch headed the home side into a flying start in the third minute but Fin Bartels equalized for Bremen inside the first quarter-hour.However, the visitors were defending like a relegation-threatened team and Nicolai Mueller set up Gregoritsch to score his second inside the half-hour mark.Hamburgs defense looked even worse when Serge Gnabry equalized before the break.BORUSSIA MOENCHENGLADBACH 1, HOFFENHEIM 1Moenchengladbachs patchy form continued after letting a lead slip against unbeaten Hoffenheim, which is level on points with fourth-place Cologne.Mahmoud Dahoud scored midway through the first half to give `Gladbach a boost after five straight games without a win across all competitions.Yann Sommer produced a great save before the break to deny Eugen Polanski the equalizer against his former side, but couldnt prevent Nadiem Amiri from scoring after the break.INGOLSTADT 1, WOLFSBURG 1Wolfsburg rode its luck early against Ingolstadt, with Moritz Hartmann hitting the post and then having a penalty saved by Diego Benaglio.The home side deservedly went ahead through Anthony Jung.Ingolstadt had nine efforts at goal compared to none from Wolfsburg in the first half, but the visitors improved after the break and Daniel Caligiuri grabbed a late equalizer.Cologne was held to a scoreless draw at home by Augsburg. 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