I cannot remember ever being excited by, or looking forward to competing on, a freshly paved mile-and-a-half track. They are, in a word, unpredictable.Nothing illustrates what Im about to describe better than the near-disaster Kyle Busch had midway through Fridays practice at Kentucky Speedway. Whistling through Turns 3 and 4, appearing in complete control, his No. 18 car snapped sideways at roughly 175 mph.It was abrupt. It was without warning. The crew had to be leaning toward unloading the backup car when Kyle made the greatest save I have ever witnessed.Here is why:Its not uncommon for drivers to exit a high-speed corner with the right rear tire drifting (sliding toward the wall) -- the tire losing its grip on the race track. Drivers then calculate their distance to the wall and determine simultaneously how much accelerator to maintain as they power off the turn.What Kyle had was nothing like a drift. He didnt lose 10 or 20 percent of his rear grip. He lost it all!That he was able to catch the car (with a quick turn to the right) speaks to his reaction time and his exceptional feel in a race car. Even more impressive was the skill he demonstrated in preventing the car from snapping back (overcorrecting to the right, throwing the car into the wall as the weight shifted right to left) and hitting his right front into the outside wall.Avoiding a snap-back speaks to Buschs knowledge and skill. In other words, 70 percent of todays drivers wouldnt have caught the initial slide. They wouldnt have committed that much steering wheel to the right, knowing that even if they caught the slide to the right, they definitely wouldnt have timed it perfectly when the rear tires regained traction and sprung the other direction. Seventy percent would have surrendered, gassed it and hoped to avoid hitting the outside wall.Watch Busch release the steering wheel with both hands after capturing the first slide. He allows the cars caster and camber to straighten the steering wheel for him (using the cars balance) because few drivers, if any, could time a transition under such circumstances.I could spend all day trying to explain why this was the greatest save I have ever seen because of where and when it happened. I cant properly put into perspective how unlikely Buschs outcome was other than to say I couldnt have done it, and 95 percent of those I competed against couldnt either.It was a brutal slide at a brutal track with brutal circumstances.The bottom lineDrivers will enter tonights race knowing Buschs experience could be next for them. Its not the risk in wrestling their race cars that concerns them; its the risk of not being able to anticipate when that will come.On a new racing surface, drivers have all their markers, turn-in points and braking points erased.They will spend the weekend looking for new ones and gradually pushing themselves to find the new limits of Kentucky Speedway, and the limits of their cars at the new speedway.Few drivers identified that limit during practice, but Busch did. He survived it and enters Saturday nights race better for it.Moments after the incident Friday, Busch keyed his microphone and said, That came out of nowhere.Those five words are why drivers seldom look forward to competing on new asphalt. Authentic Gary Sanchez Jersey . - Oakland Raiders running back Rashad Jennings was speaking to a group of local high school students earlier this week when the conversation turned to the importance of being prepared when opportunities in life arise. Authentic Wade Boggs Jersey . 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SAN ANTONIO -- Pau Gasol signed with San Antonio because he believes the Spurs can win the NBA championship.He knows the Spurs cannot achieve that goal if they keep playing lethargically at home, so the 16-year veteran helped change that.Gasol had season highs with 21 points and six assists, and San Antonio snapped a three-game home losing streak with a 96-86 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Friday night.I think he got tired of losing, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said.Gasol was 10 for 16 from the field as San Antonio snapped its longest home skid since dropping three straight in December 2014.After winning their home opener against New Orleans, the Spurs lost to Utah, the Los Angeles Clippers and Houston. San Antonio went 40-1 last season to match the league record at home.You just cant afford to lose at home, period, Gasol said. We just needed to snap out of that bad streak at home and start playing with some fire.Gasol, who also had nine rebounds and two blocked shots, had 13 points in the opening quarter. It was the most points he has scored in any half this season and was his second-highest total this year.(San Antonio was) definitely much more aggressive from the beginning, Gasol said. Established a good pace and we needed to as a team collectively to get off a good start because we havent done that lately at home.Kawhi Leonard had 17 points and LaMarcus Aldridge added 14 points and 12 rebounds for the Spurs.Tony Parker added seven points and four assists in 21 minutes after missing the previous three games with a sore right knee.Andre Drummond matched his season high with 20 points and added 17 rebounds in Detroits third straight loss.Im not upset at anybody, Detroit coach Stan Van Gundy said. I thought we played the game well. As a matter of fact, in terms of both defense and ball movement, putting both ends of the floor together, thats one of our best games of the year.After trailing by 13 points in the fourth quarter, Detroit held San Antonio to two points in a four-minute span to pull within 89-84 with 2 minutes remaining. Leonards 3-pointer endedd the drought and helped seal the victory.ddddddddddddThe team is still trying to improve, Parker said. We have a lot of guys to try and put in our team like Pau. Everybody is trying to find their role in this team. And so, well be fine. Its going to take some time.TIP-INSPistons: Detroit is winless in five road games this season. ... Former Spurs Aron Baynes, Beno Udrih and Boban Marjanovic are all reserves for the Pistons. Marjanovic did not play, but received a rousing ovation when he was shown on the video screen. A huge fan favorite during his one season in San Antonio, Marjanovic was showered with shouts of Boban! in the final minutes.Spurs: Gasols previous season high was 20 points against Miami on Oct. 30. Aldridge did not play in that game for rest. ... Spurs G Danny Green sat out for rest after playing 26 minutes in his season debut Wednesday. Green missed the teams first six games with a strained left quadriceps. ... The Spurs have yet to play a game with their projected starting five of Parker, Green, Aldridge, Gasol and Leonard. . San Antonio, which plays Saturday in Houston, is 3-1 in back-to-back games this season. The Spurs won both road games.WINNING TRADITIONSan Antonio has not lost more than three games in a row at home since 2002. Every other team in the league has lost at least five straight home games over that span.GOT YOUR BACKLeonard had his second-lowest point production of the season, shooting 6 for 14.The 6-foot-7 forward has scored 30-plus points in four games after entering the season with four games of 30-plus in his career, including the playoffs.Leonard scored 34 points in San Antonios 101-99 loss to Houston on Wednesday, attempting a career-high 26 shots.He shouldnt need to get 30 to 34 every night, Gasol said. We have enough guys on this team, enough talent on this team that he shouldnt have to have that responsibility or pressure.UP NEXTPistons: At Denver on Saturday.Spurs: At Houston on Saturday. China Womens NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Wholesale Jerseys China Wholesale NFL Camo Jerseys Discount NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Black Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Wholesale ' ' '