BROOKLYN, Mich. Juan Agudelo Jersey . - Kevin Harvick made Michigan International Speedways latest track record look routine. In what is becoming an annual occurrence at MIS, Harvick pushed the tracks qualifying mark a little bit higher Friday, winning the pole for this weekends Sprint Cup race at 204.557 mph. Harvicks pole-winning speed was the fastest since Bill Elliott set the record of 212.809 mph at Talladega Superspeedway in April 1987. "This is one of those racetracks where youre running fast, but you really cant put it all in perspective, I guess, until you hit something," Harvick said. "Its so wide, its so fast and so smooth, but you dont really get that huge sensation of speed." Drivers have broken 200 mph with regularity at Michigan since the track was repaved before the 2012 season. Marcos Ambrose had a speed of 203.241 in 2012, the first time anyone won a pole at over 200 mph since Elliott did it before horsepower-sapping restrictor plates were introduced at Talladega and Daytona. Last August, Joey Logano increased the track record to 203.949. Harvick was even faster in winning his third pole of the year and ninth of his career. Points leader Jeff Gordon was second, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. was third. The top three qualifiers for Sundays 400-mile race were all in Chevrolets. NASCAR overhauled its qualifying process before this season, switching to a knockout format similar to Formula One and IndyCar. NASCAR now uses three rounds of qualifying at tracks 1 1/4 miles in length or larger. The entire field has 25 minutes to post their fastest single lap and the top 24 advance to the second round. The second segment lasts 10 minutes, and the fastest 12 advance to a final, 5-minute round. "This format has obviously been good for me to kind of, I guess, creep up on it as you go through the sessions," Harvick said. "A fast car really solves a lot of problems." Harvick is 12th in the Cup standings, with victories at Phoenix and Darlington. The latter win came from the pole. His impressive performance Friday raised more questions about whether these increased speeds are any cause for concern. "Michigans been fast for a long time. How fast is too fast?" Harvick said. "The cars will slow down a tremendous amount when we get them in race trim and you get them in a pack, and its going to be quite a bit hotter on Sunday. Theyll slow down. Qualifying speeds are high. Its just a matter of whose opinion is taken on whether its too fast or not." Brad Keselowski, the 2012 series champion, outlined a couple of the issues raised by the high speeds. "How do the speeds affect our ability to pass and put on a race that our fans enjoy?" said Keselowski, who qualified sixth. "If were able to go 300 miles an hour and race side by side, that doesnt really matter to me. Its just the ability to do that — to have great side-by-side racing. And at this point, with the way aerodynamics have kind of taken over motorsports, we havent shown that ability." Theres also the issue of safety. "Weve shown time after time that the takeoff speed on these cars is about 185-190 miles an hour," Keselowski said. "As you cross that 210-, 220-mile threshold — certainly, you lose some speed as the car spins out, but wed really prefer to not have to lose any speed before the cars turn into airplanes." Eric Lichaj Jersey . - Hitting was supposed to be the Pittsburgh Pirates weakness coming into the season yet they lead the major leagues in home runs through the first 16 games of the season. Sacha Kljestan Jersey . Carreno Busta broke his opponent five times in the match, but also lost his serve three times in the second set before prevailing in the tiebreaker. Both players struggled with their first serve, as Carreno Busta landed just 51 per cent of his to 47 per cent for Kukushkin. NEW YORK -- When told he was going to start the makeup of Fridays rainout, Daisuke Matsuzaka said he was certain he could go deep into the game, throw maybe 100 pitches, even though hes spent this season in the bullpen. He never mentioned anything about his hitting. The 33-year-old right-hander had success with both Sunday, pitching six solid innings and helping the offence-starved Mets with an RBI single as New York salvaged a doubleheader split with a 4-2 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks. "Im pretty confident in my hitting so I just wanted to get a hit and get a run in," the .185 career hitter coming in said through a translator. "I wanted to pitch as deep into the game as I could and today I was able -- that was the least I couldve done." Bobby Abreu added a run-scoring double in a rare chance to play because Eric Young Jr. was held out with a tight right hamstring. He will be examined by a doctor before the Mets decide if the speedy outfielder needs to go on the disabled list. Outfielder Matt den Dekker is on his way to New York from Triple-A Las Vegas in case Young goes on the DL. The Diamondbacks used a miscue by Daniel Murphy in the ninth and turned a season high-tying five double plays for a 2-1 victory in the opener. Anthony Recker had a career high four hits. Pinch-hitter Ruben Tejada hit a tiebreaking single off Triple-A Reno callup Zeke Spruill (0-1) in the sixth inning for the Mets, who have won just three of 11 games. "We realize were not hitting, were not scoring runs. When you can win a game, when you can get a big hit -- Ruben had a tremendous big hit for us -- its a lift," manager Terry Collins said. "Its nice to go into the next series with a W." Murphy added an RBI single in the eighth for New York. Jenrry Mejia pitched the ninth for his third save after getting the loss in the opener. Its the first time the converted starter pitched twice in a day and he is finally feeling like a closer. "Right now I feel pretty good. Lets see how I feel (Monday)," he said. "Its unbelievable." The 33-year-old Matsuzaka (2-0) made 123 starts and one relief appearance in seven big league seasons before being called up by the Mets in mid-April. The longest of his 14 relief outings this season was 3 2-3 innings and 56 pitches. But he threw 98 pitched and allowed only three hits. Other than a three-batter sequence in the second when Aaron Hill led off with a single, Martin Prado got a favourable carom for an RBI triple and Cody Ross followed with a run-scoring groundout, Matsuzka was sharp. He struck out six, walked one and hit a batter. Matsuzaka got a run back for the Mets when he sent a broken-bat flare into left field in the second inning. "It tells you the kind of heart hes got," Collins said off Matsuzaka. Joe Corona Jersey. "He knows we needed help." After Lucas Duda and Chris Young each stranded six runners and grounded into a combined three double plays in the first game, Collins mixed up a lineup that was 1 for 13 with runners in scoring position in the opener. They were 4 for 13 in the late game. The 40-year-old Abreu was making only his sixth start since coming up five weeks ago and he had two hits, driving in the tying run in the fifth with a double off Spruill, the Diamondbacks 26th man for the twin-bill. Tejada hit for Matsuzaka in the bottom of the sixth and had an RBI single. Spruill gave up 10 hits and three runs in 5 1-3 innings. "He did well for us. ... He gave us a chance to win," Diamondbacks manager Kirk Gibson said. "But we could mount no offence at all." In the opener, the Diamondbacks broke a 1-all tie when Murphy dropped a throw at second base from David Wright, trying for an inning-ending forceout in the ninth. A.J. Pollock, who doubled off Mejia (4-1), scored when Murphy dropped Wrights force attempt at second base on Owings grounder to third base. Owings homered off Rafael Montero and Wright had an RBI single off Bronson Arroyo, both runs coming in the first. Addison Reed earned his 14th save. Montero and Arroyo impressed with differing styles. The 23-year-old Montero used a 91-92 mph fastball to strikeout 10 in his third big league start. The high-kicking, slow-pitching Arroyo induced four double plays -- including inning-ending turns in the second, third and fourth innings to keep the game tied. Duda had the double play that hurt the most. With first and third, he hit a sharp grounder off Evan Marshall (2-0) to first baseman Paul Goldschmidt, who threw home. Catcher Miguel Montero made a perfect relay back to Goldschmidt at first base. Gibson said he lifted Arroyo after six innings because the 37-year-old right-hander had a tender elbow. "Ill be fine. Ill make my next start," Arroyo said. "Theres times when youre grinding through (stuff)." Hill had to leave the finale a couple of innings after he fouled a ball off his left ankle. "It blew up pretty big on him, the top of his ankle, so I had to get him out of there," Gibson said. "I think itll be OK, but its pretty swollen up; he couldnt hit." NOTES: Mets C Travis dArnaud (concussion) caught five innings Sunday and went 1 for 3 with a two-run home run for Double-A Binghamton in his first rehab game. ... Mets general manager Sandy Alderson said RHP Dillon Gee (strained right lat) was help out of his rehab start. He also said a June 5 return for Gee is unlikely. ... The Mets 26th man for the DH, RHP Vic Black, was sent back to Las Vegas. ... The Diamondbacks were a combined 0 for 13 with runners in scoring position. Cheap Hawks Jerseys Cheap Celtics Jerseys Cheap Nets Jerseys Cheap Hornets Jerseys Cheap Bulls Jerseys Cheap Cavaliers Jerseys Cheap Mavericks Jerseys Cheap Nuggets Jerseys Cheap Pistons Jerseys Cheap Warriors Jerseys Cheap Rockets Jerseys Cheap Pacers Jerseys Cheap Clippers Jerseys Cheap Lakers Jerseys Cheap Grizzlies Jerseys ' ' '