will be about and its up to us to put in a performance

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 Shoes Online Australia . Andreas Johnson had a goal and two assists while Jacob de la Rose also scored for Sweden (2-0-0). 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Scotland skipper Greig Laidlaw is looking for a double helping of victory against Georgia this weekend as he aims to serve up a successful Six Nations campaign.The Dark Blues round off their autumn Test fixtures when they take on the eastern Europeans at Kilmarnocks Rugby Park on Saturday.Australia mugged Vern Cotters side of a win in their series opener at Murrayfield but the Scots made amends by pinching victory from Argentina three days ago.Now Laidlaw - who kicked a stoppage-time penalty to see off the Pumas -- has targeted another win as he looks ahead to their up-coming Six Nations schedule.Scotland kick off the 2017 campaign with a clash at home to Ireland on February 4 and the captain wants to march into that battle with a squad high on confidence.The Gloucester scrum-half said: If you can win games back to back, it builds confidence and it builds momentum.The next time this group comes together after this game will be for the Six Nations so if we can win again after Saturday, it will be huge for us.It makes such a big difference. It means the boys have confidence in each other and everything we are trying to do out on the field.To be honest, even though we fell short against Australia, we can still take confidence from the type of performance we put in.If we can get a performance and a result this weekend well be in a great spot.But Laidlaw knows his sides physicality will be tested to the limit by the heavy-weight Georgian line-up.The Lelos edged out Samoa on Saturday 20-16 largely thanks to their muscular forwards, who were rewarded for their heavy labour with a penalty try and another push-over surge.But having seen his side battered about by both the Wallabies and Argentina, Laidlaw is confident Scotland can handle what the visitors will have to offer.Georgia are developing into a good side, said the Scotland skipper. They have had a lot of positive results this year and Im sure they will be conffident in their own right.ddddddddddddThey are big on their scrummaging and their forward play. Coming off the back of a big win they will be coming here to cause an upset.We will have to be right up for it.We need to play an aggressive game because they are an aggressive team themselves who like the contact side of the game.But so do we and we have shown that these last two weeks.We enjoyed winning on Saturday so its very important we finish off this series with another win.The two games so far have been pretty brutal and thats part of the challenge. It wont drop off and we as players have go to drive that part of our performance forward.We understand what this game will be about and its up to us to put in a performance at the weekend. We need to get our own stuff right, though. We cant be too worried about Georgia.If we can get our skill sets right and get our dangerous players with ball in hand and space to run in, then I think we can cause them some problems.Meanwhile, Laidlaw admits he has sympathy for his understudy Ali Price.The Glasgow half-back was handed his first call-up ahead of the Aussies duel but has so far been left to kick his heels on the bench while Cotter left the captain to play all 160 minutes of this months Murrayfield double header.Laidlaw should start again this weekend but he reckons he will make way at some point to finally hand Price his debut cap.Im sure Ali will be frustrated, Ive been there myself, said Laidlaw. He is level-headed and his attitude has been second to none since he came in.He has trained brilliantly, got his head down and worked hard. Thats credit to him.Hes been selected for a reason and thats because hes been playing well. He just needs to keep his head down and his chance will come. He will have a big career when he gets his break. ' ' '