TALLADEGA, Ala. -- A group decision for all of the cars powered by Earnhardt Childress engines to work together at Talladega Superspeedway proved the correct call in NASCARs new knockout qualifying format. Richard Childress Racing drivers and their affiliates swept the first three rows on the starting grid for Sundays race, with the pole going to Brian Scott, who will lead the field to the green flag in just his fifth career Sprint Cup Series start. "Who would have thought that, huh?" Scott asked after Saturdays qualifying session. Cars with ECR engines took six of the 12 spots in the third and final round of knockout qualifying, and they all waited patiently on pit road for someone to make a move. It came with roughly 2 minutes, 20 seconds remaining in the 5-minute session, when all 12 drivers made their way onto the track. Tony Stewart posted the fastest lap as he worked with the other three Stewart-Haas Racing drivers, and as the clock neared the final buzzer, it appeared the three-time NASCAR champion had the pole locked up. Then came the ECR pack of cars, with Ryan Newman leading, Scott somewhere in the middle and Paul Menard bringing up the rear. Team owner Childress had designated Newman as the driver to decide when the pack should go, and Menard was charged with pushing them along. Just as time expired, the entire group shot past Stewarts speed and moved to the top of the leaderboard. It was Scott on the pole, followed by Menard and then AJ Allmendinger, an RCR-affiliated driver. Casey Mears, also an affiliated driver, qualified fourth and was followed by Daytona 500 pole-sitter Austin Dillon and Newman. "It was just a great plan by RCR, getting all the RCR alliance cars working together," Allmendinger said. "We worked on that (in practice) and felt like we all had great speed. Ryan was the guinea pig for all of us and timed it right, and that last session, it was just basically who was going to wait the longest to go out there." It was the first time NASCAR has used its new knockout format on a restrictor-plate track in the Sprint Cup Series. Daytona 500 qualifying in February was done with traditional single-car runs. "The qualifying format, I think there are good tracks for it and bad tracks for it, and this is definitely a great track for it," Menard said. "We had a plan and we tried to stick to the plan as best we could. Ryan, we put the burden on him to decide when to go and where to go, and the rest of us held it in line. ECR top-six and RCR cars all up there is pretty exciting." Now Scott gets to show what hes made of on one of NASCARs fastest tracks. A Nationwide Series regular, hes got three previous starts this season and finished 25th in the Daytona 500. "Ive got that dreaded yellow (rookie) stripe on the bumper, and thats going to make people run away from me like the plague," Scott said of finding drafting partners on Sunday. Stewart wound up 12th in the final session after it appeared he had the pole locked up. SHR put all four of its cars in the final round, and Danica Patrick earned the highest starting spot at seventh. Joey Logano, meanwhile, failed to advance into the final round of qualifying for the first time this season. Hed made it through all three rounds in eight previous sessions. He qualified 16th. "Its not by a good car or not, its just by strategy," Logano said. "We put a lot of work and effort into keeping that streak alive. Its unfortunate." Nike Air Max 270 React Hyper Jade . Goldeyes third baseman Ryan Pineda drove in three runs and the pitching staff didnt allow an earned run, as Winnipeg downed Kansas City 6-3 in American Association exhibition action at CommunityAmerica Ballpark in Kansas. 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Byrnes says Hoffman "will be a key part of finishing the development of our younger pitchers.LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Joe LaCava walked nearly every blade of grass on the 18th green at Valhalla Golf Club, jotting notes in his yardage book after stepping off the distances from every edge of the green to every possible pin position. It was just like any other Monday at a major. The caddie just didnt know whether any of this information would be useful in the PGA Championship. LaCava was awaiting word on whether his boss -- Tiger Woods -- would be healthy enough to play the final major of the year. "Im optimistic," LaCava said after he finished charting the entire golf course. "Im hoping he plays. So Im just doing whatever work I would normally do." The caddie was at Valhalla. So was his car, a silver SUV parked in the spot assigned to the four-time PGA champion. As for Woods? Stay tuned. His agent, Mark Steinberg at Excel Sports Management, said in an email that Monday would be too early for doctors to decide whether Woods could or even should try to play this week after another back injury. The PGA of America said that Woods would not have his previously scheduled news conference Tuesday morning. It did not provide additional details. Woods took another turn toward an uncertain future when he withdrew after eight holes and one final shot Sunday at the Bridgestone Invitational. Before leaving Firestone, he said he jarred his back when he hopped into a deep bunker after playing a shot on the par-5 second hole from an awkward lie off the slope above the sand. "Its just the whole lower back," Woods said. "I dont know what happened." Making the picture look even bleaker was the timing. Woods had back surgery March 31 to alleviate the pain from a pinched nerve. The Bridgestone Invitational was only his third tournament since returning from a three-month absence. And there he went again, riding off the golf course in a cart, struggling to even remove his shoes before LaCava drove him to the airport for a flight back to Florida for evaluation. "Obviously, I feel bad for him," Rory McIlroy told the BBC on Monday. "The game of golf really needs Tiger. Hes had a few withdrawals the past couple of years. I think the first thing is just to get fit and 100 per cent healthy, even if that means taking the year off and coming back next year ready to play golf." If he doesnt play the PGA Championship, his season indeed would be over. Woods has to wwin the final major of the year to qualify for the FedEx Cup playoffs.dddddddddddd He would have to win to clinch a spot on the Ryder Cup team. And by the sound of U.S. captain Tom Watson, he would have to play at Valhalla to even merit consideration as a wild-card selection. "Tiger would be a great addition to our team," Watson told SiriusXM PGA Tour Radio on Monday. "Ive said all along, I would pick Tiger Woods if hes healthy and playing well. This doesnt bode well right now. I just hope that maybe its just an isolated problem that he can turn around and possibly play this week at the PGA." Watson said he watched the entire front nine and knew something was wrong with Woods after his tee shot on the par-3 fifth hole came up 65 yards short. "You dont hit that terrible a shot ever -- ever," Watson said. "And I said, Something is wrong." LaCava noticed it much earlier, when Woods hit a shot so heavy that it came up 30 yards short of the flag and into the water on the third hole. "I knew he was hurting when he fatted the one on 3, which he never does," LaCava said. "He never fats them like that." Woods kept playing, though, until grimacing on a tee shot at the ninth, slowly bending to remove his tee and calling for a cart to take him in. Why not stop sooner? "Hes tough," LaCava said. "Tough and stubborn would be two good words." Woods has not been back to Valhalla in 14 years, not since that high-charged playoff victory over Bob May that gave Woods his third straight major on his way to an unprecedented sweep of the majors at the height of his game. Woods was recovering from season-ending knee surgery in 2008 and did not play in the Ryder Cup. The course has changed since, with Jack Nicklaus making various tweaks, especially around the green. The par is now 71 with the second hole changed to a par 4. Otherwise, it looked to be in immaculate conditions on the first day of practice. Phil Mickelson, coming off a 62 in the final round at Firestone, played nine holes. The practice range and chipping area were crowded with players. McIlroy already was back at work, having established himself as the overwhelming favourite coming off his wire-to-wire win at the British Open and rallying from three shots behind to win at Firestone. Still to be determined is whether Woods would be able to join them. ' ' '