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While the big league NASCAR world travels south to Homestead, Florida, from Charlotte to crown a national champion, the stock car short trackers are migrating east. From all corners of the grassroots racing world, trailers and tow trucks pulling late-model race cars are headed to Myrtle Beach Speedway for the annual Myrtle Beach 400 in South Carolina. Its an event that signifies the end of the season for many of NASCARs home track racers.Among those pilgrims will be the racer with the Kid N Play fade and his friend with the partially shaved head. Their trip to Myrtle Beach started more than a year ago, a road thats carried them around bullring racetracks, through cancer wards and, they hope, ultimately into Victory Lane.Im so excited about this weekend I cant hardly stand it, Erika Newcome said Tuesday evening.The 21-year-old had just walked out of class at Akron University in Ohio, where shes a fourth-year public relations major. She was heading home to pack, load her car, and make the seven-hour drive to Mooresville, North Carolina, There shed meet up with her friend to carry on toward Myrtle Beach.I cant believe everything that Dylan has done for me since we first met, she said. And I cant wait to get back to a racetrack with him.Dylan is Dylan Smith, aka Black Mamba, the 24-year-old racer who most recently created a social media buzz among NASCAR fans by winning the highly coveted Best Costume honors at Tony Stewarts annual Halloween party.He was dressed as Halle Barrys Catwoman.I told yall I wasnt messing around this year, and that trophy looks oh so good on my mantel. @halleberry ???? #HappyHalloween pic.twitter.com/OEuGiddQrP- Black Mamba (@DylanSmith34) October 27, 2016Erika and Dylan met on Oct. 21, 2015 -- at a racetrack, naturally.Newcome was a late-model racer from Columbus, Ohio, the daughter of a short tracker who, inspired by her trips to Columbus Motor Speedway, started driving her own racing machines at the age of 8. By 2015 she was voted that speedways Most Popular Driver.Smith was a resident of Concord, North Carolina, by way of Randolph, Vermont, where he landed after being adopted out of his native Haiti. He too loved his local racetrack, Thunder Road SpeedBowl in Barre, Vermont, and convinced his adopted father to buy him a go-kart at the age of 4.After wins at tracks scattered all over the American map, Newcome and Smith met in a hotel lobby in southeastern Virginia. Both were there as invited participants in NASCARs Drive For Diversity Combine, an annual talent-scouting event held at the legendary Langley Speedway, a four-tenths mile oval strikingly similar to Newcomes Columbus track.It was the night before we went to the track and there were 23 of us there. A lot of them had been to the combine before. I hadnt and I was really nervous, Newcome recalls. Dylan had done it before and he noticed I was being kind of quiet, and he immediately started talking to me. I was so relieved.At that combine orientation meeting, she was equally relieved to see that the nameplates for the assigned seats in the classroom had her sitting next to Smith. What she didnt know at the time was that hed switched those plates around to ensure that theyd be paired up.We just hit it off immediately, Smith says. I think what we know now is that our instant friendship wasnt just a coincidence.Racers are driven people by nature, but their business is one built on rejection; no is a constant answer, whether from a potential sponsor, a car owner, a would-be car owner or even a loan officer. The Drive For Diversity program is designed to help young racers step out of the shadows, but what happens past that initial push is up to the individual.Smith finished out 2015 but had trouble landing a ride for 16. Hes taken jobs working with other teams, doing everything from building race cars for other drivers to using his significant social media skills to help those teams with their PR efforts.Newcome went back to Ohio and resumed racing, but she couldnt shake a nagging pain in her shoulders. In August 2015 she had crashed into a wall at Columbus, dislocating her right shoulder and tearing her labrum. It seemed odd, though, because the wreck wasnt that hard. In fact, shed kept running and finished the race. And why was her left shoulder hurting, too? The next spring, during a visit to her orthopedist, she was about to leave but asked one last question about an odd-looking blood vessel in her neck. He sent her to have it checked out via ultrasound. On May 18, it was identified as a blood clot, odd for a just-turned 21-year-old.On June 2, 2016, Newcome was told that she had masses in almost every organ of her body. She was suffering from Stage 4 sarcoma, a cancer that aggressively attacks the bodys soft tissues.Now that were looking back on it, what sarcoma damages are things like your muscles, Newcome explains. So thats why my labrum tore so easily. I had been weakened and didnt know.She immediately began treatments that have continued to this day: chemotherapy, an immunotherapy drip and blood thinners to battle the clot. Shes doing it all while also being a full-time college student. When the chemo started thinning her hair on one side, she shaved only that side, leaving longer blonde locks on the other. But its the blood thinners that dont allow her to race, as thinned, freer-flowing blood makes racing too risky. For a moment last month it appeared as through that might no longer be an issue, but the clot returned and so did the thinner.Being in school gives me normalcy, she says. I really feel pretty normal. But cancer is all anyone can talk about. Its all anyone can see when they look at me. Thats hard. But Ive come to peace with it. Still, thats what makes encouraging talks and phone calls and texts so important. At my low points, I always hear from Dylan and he always knows just what to say. He always says we because were in this together.Really excited for this weekend, @dylonwilson really hooked it up with the @AmericanCancer & @WendellScott_34! #FearTheFade #CancerSucks pic.twitter.com/XAC508wmEO- Black Mamba (@DylanSmith34) November 16, 2016Last month Smiths call was even more enthusiastic than normal. Hed been kicking around an idea for a while and it was starting to come together. While Dylan had been encouraging Erika during her treatment, shed been returning the favor, pumping him up during a summer when he hadnt turned a single competitive lap on the racetrack.I havent raced all year and its driven me crazy, Smith said earlier this week, en route to work. So I thought, if Im going to race only once this season, then Im going to make it count.He secured a late-model car he could race from one of his employers, racer Travis Millers father Matt and team co-owner Chris Florian. Then he went looking for support. He used LinkedIn to track down the national marketing director of the American Cancer Society, who just so happened to be looking for ways to reach out to blue-collar cancer victims about services such as its transportation-to-appointments program.Smith also reached out to the Wendell Scott Foundation, run by the family of the late NASCAR Hall of Famer. Wendell Scott, the only African-American to win a NASCAR Cup Series event, is Smiths hero and the family has become one of his biggest supporters. Scott died in 1990, killed by cancer.Smith set up a GoFundMe page titled Beating Cancer 1 Lap At A Time, promising donors that any money raised and all winnings from the Myrtle Beach 400 would be split between the American Cancer Society and an account to help pay Newcomes mounting medical bills.I couldnt believe it when he told me what he was doing, she said Tuesday night. But thats Dylan. Thats the kind of person he is. Hes so unselfish and hes so positive. I knew I had to go with him this weekend. Just being back at a racetrack again, theres no more positive atmosphere than the racetrack. And working with the American Cancer Society to let people know about sarcoma. This is all the best medicine I could possibly think of.On Thursday, the dude with the fade and the girl with the half-shaved head traveled east toward Myrtle Beach on a mission. In the front seat were two reunited friends. Behind them was a towed late-model race car, painted baby blue with a big white 34 on the side. Its modeled after the rides of Wendell Scott. The duo racing it will do so fueled by one of Scotts favorite sayings.Wendell always said, When it gets too tough for everyone else, its just right for me, Smith explained. That sounds like my friend Erika right there. Cheap New Jersey Devils Jerseys . By having more great seasons. Manning was the only unanimous choice for the 2013 Associated Press NFL All-Pro team Friday. Cheap Devils Jerseys Authentic . 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RIO DE JANEIRO -- The Latest on the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro (all times local):12:15 a.m.One night after his only setback in Rio, Michael Phelps is back on top.As Nathan Adrian touched the wall to finish off the victory in the 4x100m medley relay, Phelps gathered the other relay swimmers, Ryan Murphy and Cody Miller, in his arms.Two-time gold medalist Murphy put the Americans out front with a world-record split on the backstroke -- it counts since he was leading off -- but Britain surged ahead on the breaststroke.Phelps dove into the pool in second place. He wouldnt be for long.With Saturdays win, Phelps won five golds in Rio and one silver -- an upset loss to Joseph Schooling in the 100-meter fly.---12:15 a.m.Neymar converted an early free kick for his first goal at the Rio Games and Luan scored late to give Brazil a 2-0 win in a tense match against Colombia, securing the hosts in the semifinals of the Olympic tournament.The rematch of the 2014 World Cup quarterfinals was heated from the start on Saturday, with hard fouls from both teams and players constantly pushing and shoving each other.The benches were cleared just before halftime after a vicious foul committed by Neymar, who got fed up after being harassed by Colombians nearly every time he touched the ball.Seeking its first Olympic gold medal in soccer, Brazil now plays Honduras, which defeated South Korea 1-0 earlier Saturday. Germany and Nigeria meet in the other semifinal.---12:15 a.m.Americans Kerri Walsh Jennings and April Ross know their opponent for the Olympic beach volleyball quarterfinals.Australia rallied after losing the first set against Poland to win 15-21, 21-16, 15-11 on Saturday night. That put them in the round of eight against the three-time defending gold medalist and her new partner.The Americans are 4-0 in their career against the Australian pair of Taliqua Clancy and Louise Bawden.---11:40 p.m.Nafissatou Thiam of Belgium has beaten defending champion Jessica Ennis-Hill of Britain to win an Olympic heptathlon competition that went down to a matter of seconds in the last event.Ennis-Hill won the 800 in a season-best time of 2 minutes, 9.07 seconds, but it wasnt by quite enough to overhaul Thiam, who had a 142-point lead going into the last of seven disciplines and finished in 2:16.54.The 21-year-old Thiam tallied 6,810 points, 35 ahead of second-place Ennis-Hill to claim her first major title. Brianne Theisen-Eaton of Canada took bronze with 6,653 points.---11:30 p.m.MEDAL ALERT: Nafissatou Thiam of Belgium has beaten defending champion Jessica Ennis-Hill of Britain to win an Olympic heptathlon competition that went down to fractions of a second in the last event. Ennis-Hill won the 800 in a season-best time, but by not quite enough to overhaul Thiam.---11:15 p.m.WORLD RECORD ALERT: American Ryan Murphy sets world record in 100 backstroke during 4x 100 medley relay, finishing in 51.85.---11:10 p.m.The U.S. womens 4x100-meter medley relay team won gold -- and reached a milestone for the United States.Kathleen Baker, Lilly King, Dana Vollmer and Simone Manuel teaming up to prevail at the Rio Games on Saturday night is being recognized by the U.S. Olympic Committee as the nations 1,000th gold medal in Summer Olympics history.Manuel swam the last leg, and when she hit the wall her three teammates hugged on the pool deck. Their winning time was 3 minutes, 53.13 seconds.The U.S. is the first nation to win 1,000 summer golds, the first of those coming in 1896. No other nation comes close -- the Soviet Union stopped at 473 golds, and no other country is on pace to reach the milestone until 2100.The USOC is planning to recognize the 1,000th gold in the coming days, though exact plans on that front remain unclear.---11 p.m.MEDAL ALERT: The United States has claimed gold in the womens 4x100-meter medley relay. Australia takes silver, while the bronze goes to Denmark.---11 p.m.All eyes were on double defending champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce. But it was her fellow-Jamaican Elaine Thompson who ran away with gold in the 100 meters.Though Fraser-Pryce may have been first out of the blocks Saturday, Thompson powered through for the title in 10.71 seconds. American Tori Bowie lunged at the line for 10.83 and beat Fraser-Pryce by 0.03 seconds.European champion Dafne Schippers had a bad start and finished fifth with 10.90.Fraser-Pryce was seeking to become the first women in track to win three Olympic gold medals in a row.---10:40 p.m.MEDAL ALERT: Elaine Thompson has won the womens 100-meter title in 10.71 seconds, ending fellow Jamaican Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryces bid to win the event for a third straight Olympics. American Tori Bowie took silver in 10.83 and Fraser-Pryce was third in 10.86.---10:40 p.m.Italys Gregorio Paltrinieri has taken gold in pool swimmings most grueling race, winning the 1,500-meter freestyle at the Rio Olympics.Paltrinieri pulled away from the field and was under world-record pace much of the race before fading a bit at the end. Still, he won comfortably Saturday night, touching in 14 minutes, 34.57 seconds.Connor Jaeger of the United States took the silver in 14:39.48, while the bronze went to another Italian, Gabriele Detti, in 14:40.86.Detti rallied over the final laps to pass American Jordan Wilimovksy, who settled for fourth.Wilimovksy will get another shot at a medal in an even more demanding event -- the 10-kilometer open water race at Fort Copacabana on Tuesday.---10:30 p.m.MEDAL ALERT: Gregorio Paltrinieri of Italy has won gold in the mens 1,500-meter freestyle at the Rio Olympics. Connor Jaeger of the United States claims silver and Italys Gabriele Detti takes bronze.---10:25 p.m.MEDAL ALERT: Jeff Henderson of the United States overtook Luvo Manyonga of South Africa on his last jump to win the Olympic long jump gold medal.Manyonga took the lead on his penultimate jump with a mark of 8.37 meters and during a tense sixth and final round, Henderson bettered it by 1 centimeter.Defending champion Greg Rutherford of Britain took bronze on Saturday.---10:15 p.m.Not even a tumble could stop Mo Farah from defending his Olympic 10,000-meter title in a dramatic final where he worked his way back through the field, then lost and regained the lead on the last lap.Just like he did four years ago in London, the Somali-born Farah draped the British flag over his shoulders for his victory lap.The Olympic and world champion in the 5,000 and 10,000 tripped and fell to the track after tangling with another runner with 15 laps to go.He worked his way back up to third with 11 laps to go and was first going into the bell lap, but Paul Tanui of Kenya made a charge with 300 to go and led until Farah surged again and sprinted away to win in 27 minutes, 5.17 seconds. Tanui held on for silver in 27:05.64 and Tamirat Tola of Ethiopia took bronze.---10:15 p.m.Pernille Blume of Denmark held off Simone Manuel to capture gold in the 50-meter freestyle at the Rio Olympics.After posting the top time in both the preliminaries and the semifinals, Blume came through again in the final Saturday on the final night of swimming. She touched in 24.07 seconds.Manuel, the American co-gold medalist in the 100 free, settled for silver in 24.09. Aliaksandra Herasimenia of Belarus earned the bronze in 24.11.It was another huge disappointment for sisters Cate and Bronte Campbell of Australia.They were shut out of an individual medal again, with Cate finishing fifth and Bronte seventh.---10:05 p.m.MEDAL ALERT: Pernille Blume of Denmark wins gold in womens 50-meter freestyle. Simone Manuel of the United States takes silver. Aliaksandra Herasimenia of Belarus earns bronze.---10 p.m.The heptathlon is going to the wire, with the clash for gold set up in the conncluding 800 meters between defending champion Jessica Ennis-Hill of Britain and Belgiums Nafissatou Thiam.dddddddddddd.Despite a sore elbow, Thiam set a personal best of 53.13 meters to extend her lead of Enis-Hill. Thiam has 5,939 points for an edge of 142 over Ennis-Hill.Ennis-Hill is a much better 800 runner, where she has a 10-second edge in personal bests, setting up a thrilling finish in the last event of the evening. The edge translates to 8.87 seconds between the two.Brianne Theisen-Eaton is in bronze medal position with 5,681 points.---9:57 p.m.MEDAL ALERT: Mo Farah of Britain recovers from fall to defend Olympic 10,000-meter title in Rio Games.---9:45 p.m.Britains Mo Farah was tripped by American training partner Galen Rupp on the 10th lap in the mens 10,000-meters.Farah quickly got up and signaled all is OK with a thumbs up on Saturday.Farah is the favorite to repeat in the 10,000 meters.He has not lost a major race since taking silver in the 10,000 at the 2011 worlds. But Ethiopias Yigrem Demelash is hoping to renew his nations ownership of the race.---9:45 p.m.Captain John Obi Mikel scored one and set up another as Nigeria beat Denmark 2-0 to set up a mens Olympic soccer semifinal with Germany.Mikel met Ezekiels cross to side-foot Nigerias opener into the net from close range in the 19th minute on Saturday. Aminu Umar connected with Mikels corner to double the lead in the 59th.Nigerias players, who are chasing their first Olympic gold since the 1996 Atlanta Games, have extended their stay in Brazil after arriving late in the country. They will play Germany on Wednesday.---9:30 p.m.Defending champion Kirani James set the tone for the 400-meter final by leading the semifinals in his season-best 44.02 seconds.James, who won the Olympic gold as a 19-year-old at London in 2012, held off 2008 champion LaShawn Merritt in 44.21 in the first of three semifinal heats.Michel Cedenio of Trinidad and Tobago won the second heat in 44.39, holding off world champion Wayde van Niekerk, who finished in 44.45.Bralon Taplin of Grenada had the fourth-fastest qualifying time, winning the third heat in 44.44. The final is scheduled for Sunday night.---9:30 p.mHonduras continued its surprising run at the Olympics by defeating South Korea 1-0 and reaching the semifinals of the mens soccer tournament.Forward Alberth Elis took advantage of a fast counterattack in the 59th minute on Saturday to score the winner and send Honduras to the final four for the first time.South Korea played well and created many scoring chances at the Mineirao Stadium in Belo Horizonte, but it couldnt get past a solid performance by Honduras goalkeeper Luis Lopez, who made key saves throughout the match.South Korea was trying to replicate its unprecedented performance from London, when it eliminated host Great Britain in the quarterfinals and eventually finished with the bronze medal.Honduras will play against either Brazil or Colombia, which meet later Saturday in Sao Paulo.---9:30 p.m.Double defending champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce ran a seasons best of 10.88 seconds to reach the final of the 100 meters.Only her compatriot Elaine Thompson matched the time in the third heat of the semifinals on Saturday.In a direct confrontation with European champion Dafne Schippers, the Jamaican dominated from the start and even had time to let up a bit at the line. Schippers was late out of the blocks and the Dutchwoman struggled all the way to finish second in 10.90, hardly a race to impress her rivals.Tori Bowie of the United States won the first semifinal. Compatriot English Gardner also made it into Saturdays final.Among those who did not make it were American Tianna Bartoletta and Murielle Ahoure of Ivory Coast and Blessing Okagbare of Nigeria.---8:50 p.m.Iran won its second gold medal in two days as Sohrab Moradi was victorious in the mens 94-kilogram weightlifting.Moradis first lift in the clean and jerk was enough for gold, hoisting 221 kilograms, which combined with his 182 in the snatch for a total of 403 on Saturday.There was silver for Belarusian Vadzim Straltsou on 395 and bronze for Lithuanias Aurimas Didzbailis on 392.It was a depleted field after Polish brothers Adrian and Tomasz Zielinski both failed drug tests in the days before the event. Adrian Zielinski was 2012 gold medalist in the 85kg class.Also missing was Ilya Ilyin, reigning Olympic champion and world record holder at 94kg, who failed retests of his samples from his 2008 and 2012 Olympic wins.---8:50 p.m.Paralympic leadership says crucial payments to fund the travel of teams to Brazil have not been transferred, threatening the participation of some countries.The International Paralympic Committee said the payments, which are vital for funding travel and logistics, must be sent to its members next week.The IPC is expecting around 160 countries to participate in the Paralympics but fears withdrawals if the cash isnt received.The late payments are one of the problems threatening the successful delivery of the Sept. 7-18 Paralympics by the financially-challenged Rio organizers.---8:50 p.m.Countries are starting to turn against each other at the Copacabana beach volleyball venue.Twice in the round of 16, two teams from the same country faced each other, with the Italian men and the Canadian women both sending their compatriots home.Now theres an all-Dutch quarterfinal after Alexander Brouwer and Robert Meeuwsen advanced to a matchup with Reinder Nummerdor and Christiaan Varenhorst.Meeuwsen and Brouwer went unbeaten in the preliminary round. Nummerdor and Varenhorst lost a match in pool play, dropping them to a No. 2 seed, and they wound up in their countrymens bracket in the blind draw.Brouwer says Thats the way it is in beach volleyball. Sometimes you beat each other.---8:10 p.m.Leave it to the super heavyweights to bring knockouts back to Olympic boxing.Three straight fighters in the sports most hulking division finished their opponents by stoppage Saturday night, a rare occurrence in the three-round world of the amateur sport.Britains Joe Joyce, Uzbekistans Bakhodir Jalolov and Nigerias Efe Ajagba all ended their fights early with punishing knockouts. Ajagbas first-round stoppage of Trinidad and Tobagos Nigel Paul was particularly brutal, leaving Paul facedown and motionless on the canvas for a few moments.The fourth heavyweight fight of the evening session also ended quickly, but it was because Azerbaijans Muhammadrasul Majidov injured his eye in an exchange with Kazakhstans Ivan Dychko, ruining a highly anticipated rematch.The sweeter aspects of the sweet science were on display moments before the knockout array. Kazakhstans Vassiliy Levit reached the heavyweight final with a decision over Cubas Erislandy Savon, the nephew of three-time Olympic champion Felix Savon.---8:10 p.m.Floyd Mayweather Jr. dropped in to see the next generation of Olympic boxers in Rio.The U.S. bronze medalist at the 1996 Atlanta Games stood on a platform to watch Saturday evenings fights, starting with the welterweight quarterfinals.He stuck around through a major heavyweight semifinal and a first-round knockout by Britain super heavyweight Joe Joyce.Mayweather was besieged by a stream of autograph-seekers and photo-takers even with most of the U.S. mens basketball team sitting a few rows behind him, but Mayweather kept one eye on the ring.Mayweather retired last year after a 49-0 career. The International Boxing Association changed its rules this year to allow professionals to fight at the Olympics, but Mayweather had no interest.---AP Summer Games website: http://summergames.ap.org Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Jerseys From China Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys ' ' '