MES CLOSE: Bowman set the standard for qualifying and appeared to have the car to win the pole for Saturday nights race.The replacement driver for Dale

CONCORD, N.C. -- Kevin Harvick has already proven hes a factor at Charlotte Motor Speedway, especially during night races. With the top starting spot Saturday night, hell be tough to beat in the opening race of the second round of NASCARs playoffs.Harvick turned a lap at 196.029 mph in a Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet to earn the top starting spot in Thursday night qualifying. He edged Alex Bowman, the replacement driver for Dale Earnhardt Jr., who is not racing for the championship.Chase Elliott qualified third and was followed by Kyle Busch, the highest-qualifying Toyota driver, Tony Stewart and AJ Allmendinger.Martin Truex Jr., winner of two of the first three Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup races, qualified seventh.He was followed by Carl Edwards, Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano, the top qualifying Ford driver, and Jimmie Johnson.?Chase drivers took eight of the top 11 spots in Thursday night qualifying.Kasey Kahne qualified 12th, as all four Hendrick Motorsports drivers made the final round of qualifying.But it was Harvick, with his fast lap, who stole the spotlight.Harvick, the 2014 champion, has been looking forward to racing at Charlotte and earning a potential automatic berth into the third round of the Chase. Harvick has three career points victories at Charlotte, including the October race during his championship season. That victory pushed Harvick into the round of eight of the Chase.He has also had success racing at night, and Charlotte Motor Speedway President Marcus Smith dubbed Harvick Nighthawk because he has not finished outside the top 10 at night in the past seven races. He has been outside the top five only twice in that span.Harvick has also won six times in night races on the NASCAR schedule since 2012.DIDNT MOVE ON: Starting position isnt all that critical in a 500-mile race, but the drivers competing for the championship dont want the competition to get too big of a jump on them.Four of the drivers in the field failed to make it out of the second round of qualifying. Matt Kenseth will start 17th, Austin Dillon will start 19th, Brad Keselowski 20th and Kurt Busch 23rd.We just lacked a little bit of speed in qualifying trim, Keselowski said. You want to qualify and race good, and I think weve got a great Ford Fusion to do that.Dillon was similarly optimistic.We had a good car in practice; were going to be fine, he said.BOWMAN COMES CLOSE: Bowman set the standard for qualifying and appeared to have the car to win the pole for Saturday nights race.The replacement driver for Dale Earnhardt Jr. was fast in practice and topped the speed chart in the second round of qualifying. Then he went out first to set the tone for the final round, only to be knocked off the pole by Harvick.Harvick bumped Bowman by .029 seconds.We didnt put the greatest lap together in the last round, Bowman said.Its the best starting spot of Bowmans career and comes in his fifth race as Earnhardts replacement. Hes hopeful it leads to more work, either with Hendrick Motorsports or elsewhere.I dont know what the future holds, Bowman said. There arent very many rides open for next year, so these rides might be the last of my Cup career.LARSON MISCUE: Kyle Larson thought hed posted a fast enough lap to advance into the second round of qualifying.Then Matt DiBenedetto posted a late fast lap that knocked Larson out of the top 24.DiBenedetto scrambled to get back on track and run another qualifying lap, but Larson didnt beat the clock. Hell start 25th in Saturday nights race.We were just kind of waiting, and we ended up waiting too long, Larson said. Its a bummer we didnt get to go out there and make another lap.Larson was eliminated from the Chase last week at Dover. Air Max 97 For Sale Australia . Miller reached right to deflect Mikhail Grabovskis attempt with just over 2 minutes remaining in regulation, and then made two more saves in the shootout Sunday to give the Sabres a 2-1 win over the Washington Capitals. Air Max 97 For Sale Online .ca NBA Power Rankings, ahead of the Miami Heat and San Antonio Spurs. http://www.cheapaustraliaairmax97.com/ . -- Brandon Jennings made the most of his first game with the Detroit Pistons on Sunday night. Air Max 97 Australia Sale . -- The proud fathers huddled near the Dallas Stars dressing room, smiling, laughing and telling stories while wearing replica green sweaters of their sons team. Air Max 97 Australia Release . PAUL, Minn. PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Rhode Island has reached a $25.6 million settlement with two of the financial backers it sued over a disastrous deal with former Red Sox pitcher Curt Schillings 38 Studios video game company.The states Commerce Corp. announced Tuesday that it has agreed to the proposed settlement with Wells Fargo Securities and Barclays Capital Inc.The settlement was filed Tuesday in Rhode Island Superior Court and is contingent on the courts approval.The company founded by Schilling moved from Massachusetts to Rhode Island in 2010 after the states economic development agency agreed to give it a $75 million loan guarantee. The deal was financed through bonds offered to investors. Less than two years later, 38 Studios ran out of money and filed for bankruptcy.The state says its still in litigation with First Southwest Co. and Schilling.The new settlement brings to $42 million the amount the state has recovered from parties involved in the deal.This really and truly is a hard-won victory for all the parties, particularly the taxpayers of the state of Rhode Island, said retired Superior Court Judge Francis Darigan, Jr., who was called in as a mediator to help broker the settlement.Darigan told reporters Tuesday that negotiations are ongoing with the other parties and he is hopeful they can agree to a settlement before a trial scheduled for October. But he described Wells Fargo and Barclays as the biggest players and said hes doubtful the state will be able to recover ffrom the remaining parties the nearly $40 million it says its still owed.ddddddddddddhat might be a stretch, Darigan said. Im hoping that we can make a significant contribution towards that, but I dont want to mislead anybody to think that the state is going to recover every nickel.Wells Fargo said in a statement that its pleased to have reached an agreement.We are not admitting liability, nor did we do anything improper, spokesman Gabriel Boehmer said in a statement. It is simply in our shareholders best interest to minimize the risk that accompanies lengthy litigation.The states top law enforcement officials announced last month that there would be no criminal charges following a yearslong investigation into the people and organizations involved in the 38 Studios deal. But the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is still pursuing a lawsuit against Wells Fargo and Rhode Islands economic development agency, which accuses them of making materially misleading statements about the bonds used to fund the deal.Democratic Gov. Gina Raimondo said in a statement Tuesday that the settlement is a big step in recovering taxpayer money lost to a bad deal.Rhode Islanders understandably feel hurt by this deal -- and I do too -- but I want everyone to know that we are demanding accountability, getting money back, and moving the state forward, she said. ' ' '