CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Tony Stewart admits he faces a very steep, uphill battle to avoid elimination Sunday from the Chase for the Sprint Cup at Dover International Speedway.But he also readily admits that theres only so much he can do, and the frustration that a driver plays only so much -- or so little -- of a role in a sport that has become increasingly reliant on engineering is one of the reasons he will retire from Cup racing after this season.When we come off the truck [on Friday], we fight the same thing for three days and theres nothing I can do to fix it, Stewart told reporters Wednesday during a NASCAR-mandated media tour as part of his Chase obligations. Thats whats so frustrating for me as a driver. That is part of why Im ready to do something different is because I cant make a difference anymore.I cant do different things with my feet and different things with my hands and run a different line and fix the problem. I used to be able to do that. I cant do that anymore. You just get so frustrated you cant see straight.The three-time Cup champion joked about trying to not get suspended for his final eight races if he said too much, acknowledging he is exhausted from trying to play a role of outspoken veteran in a sport where he believes the drivers are often afraid to share their feelings.You can only beat the drum for so long and it can only fall on deaf ears for so long before you finally say, The people that need to make it better cant make it better, Stewart said.Stewart, 45, said Ive had my fill of fighting the fight as the driver to draw attention to issues of the way the sport operates.Theres 39 of these guys that 99 out of 100 times wont say a thing about it to [the media] or NASCAR or anybody else, and Im the one guy that most of the time will go, Man, this is a bad thing to talk about and I shouldnt talk about it, but Ill get pissed off enough to talk about it, Stewart said.Because I believe its worth talking about, and its worth addressing and its worth it at times when youre not getting their attention, youre like, OK, now Ive got to go a different way to get their attention to do something about it. That normally is when I get slapped on the hand with a fine.That doesnt mean Stewart is dreading the next eight weeks. He is 11 points out of the current Chase cutoff heading into Dover, a 1-mile concrete track where he has struggled in recent years.Ive got to go out and do the best I can with what Ive got, he said. Hopefully its good enough. If its not, its not. ... Right now, Im in a large, dark room and dont know where the wall is, let alone the light switch [to flip to run well].While Stewart plans to retire from Cup racing, he said he has told his sprint-car team management to be ready for him to run 40-50 races next season. He will have to wait until February to race because he will have screws taken out of his back -- he missed the first eight Cup races this year after suffering a broken back in a hard landing while driving a dune buggy -- in December. He said his first race next year will be on pavement and will be in someone elses equipment, but he wouldnt reveal more than that.Im going to enjoy these last eight weeks, no matter what happens this weekend, he said. Am I going to be upset if I dont make it to the next round? Yeah, absolutely. Thats natural. Thats what a competitor should be like.But if we dont, its not the end of my year. I have got seven more weeks after this weekend to go and do the best I can, try to get another win and try to finish on a high note. Hydro Flask Clearance . LUCIE, Fla. Cheap Hydro Flask For Sale . Traditional contenders Brazil, Greece and Turkey drew the other three spots to complete the 24-team field for this summers tournament in Spain, basketball governing body FIBA announced Saturday at its meeting in Barcelona. http://www.discounthydroflaskcheap.com/ . -- Nathan Pancel scored twice as the Sudbury Wolves defeated the North Bay Battalion 4-2 on Saturday in Ontario Hockey League action. Hydro Flask For Cheap . -- Jacksonville wide receiver Cecil Shorts will likely be a game-time decision whether hell play Sunday in the Jaguars home game against the San Diego Chargers. Discount Hydro Flask Cheap . At a news conference Tuesday where it was thought that the fiery Schallibaum may be shown the door after a dismal finish to the Major League Soccer season, team president Joey Saputo said no decision has been made on whether the Swiss Volcano will be back in 2014. OMAHA, Neb. -- After his semifinal heat in the 200-meter individual medley Thursday night, Michael Phelps stood on the pool deck with his arms folded and his eyes bouncing back and forth between the pool and the scoreboard. His focus centered on one man, swimming in the heat after him. It was a familiar face, the same one hes had his eyes on for the past 12 years: Ryan Lochte.At the Olympic trials back in 2004, Phelps began his dominance over Lochte in the 200 IM, winning his first of three straight medals in the event. Lochte finished second each time. Phelps then backed up his trials victories with three consecutive Olympic golds. Lochte settled for two silvers and a bronze. Yet Lochte holds the world record from the world championships in 2011.Why does any of this matter? On Friday night, when Phelps and Lochte go at it in the event for the fourth and final time at the trials, it will mark the unquestioned end of an era. Phelps, who turned 31 on Thursday, already has announced his retirement after the Rio Games, insisting there will be no comeback as there was after London. And the 32-year-old Lochte has battled a groin injury at these trials, prompting questions about his own career longevity. Lochte has yet to make the 2016 Olympic team in an individual event, but he has qualified for the 200-meter freestyle relay.Theirs is a rivalry born not out of bad blood, but rather ultimate respect. Two of the greatest male swimmers of all time, pushing one another for more than a decade.I think its one of the greatest rivalries in sports, me and him, Lochte said Thursday night. From what weve both done in the sport of swimming. Its fun racing him -- hes the toughest competitor out there.Even their times during Thursday nights semifinals, in which they swam in separate heats, were eerily similar. Phelps 1:57.61. Lochte 1:56.71.He and I have gone back and forth a number of times in this race, Phelps said. During the big meets, we have great races and are right there with each other. [Friday] night, well both be in the middle of the pool.After prelims Thursday morning, Lochte said he tried to alter his breaststroke kick to accommodate a groin pull he suffered during that leg of the 400 IM. It didnt work, with the pain returning on his first breaststroke kick. I was like, dammit, he said. After Thursday nights semifinal race, he said he felt better after taking some ibuprofen in the afternoon.It was easier than this morning, Lochte said. First part of the breaststroke felt good, and then halfway through it started hurting more and more to the last couple strokes. But I was able to put it together.Phelps doesnt believe the injury will be an issue for Lochte on Friday night.Even if he is hurt, hes not going to let anything be an excuse, he said.Lochtes prelim time of 1:58.05 waas almost a second faster than Phelps 1:58.dddddddddddd95. But Friday nights swim is what matters. Both swimmers acknowledge that they shut it down early toward the end of their semifinal heats. That surely wont happen Friday night.Im sure were gonna be out and step on the gas a little more than we have, Phelps said.Phelps qualified for the U.S. team with his victory in the 200-meter butterfly Wednesday night. Rio will be his fifth straight Olympics -- a record for a U.S. male swimmer. He said he struggled to sleep Wednesday night, waking up at 5 a.m. and texting his coach, Bob Bowman. Bowman told him to go back to sleep. Between Thursdays sessions, Phelps spent most of his birthday watching the European soccer championships. Family and friends planned to celebrate with him Thursday night in a private room his mom Debbie had rented.When asked if he planned to attend the festivities, Lochte chuckled.I dont think so, he said. Ill be in bed.Hell need the rest if he finally wants to beat his rival in the 200 IM at the trials. Their dominance of this race for the past 12 years is unparalleled. The list of the top 10 performances in the history of the race is filled with only two names: Lochte and Phelps. Each has five spots on the list, with Lochte occupying spots No. 1 and No. 2. They have not raced against each other in the 200 IM at a major international meet since the London 2012 Games. Phelps won that battle in a time of 1:54.27, beating Lochte by 0.63 seconds.Last summer at the world championships in Russia, Lochte won gold with a time of 1:55.88. Phelps did not compete in Russia as part of his punishment from USA Swimming after his September 2014 DUI arrest.Motivated in part by his frustration over that decision, Phelps responded by swimming the event in the fastest time in the world last year (1:54.75) at the U.S. Nationals in San Antonio. It was the eighth-fastest time ever.Both swimmers have scratched their participation from other events to focus on this one. Phelps removed himself from competing in the 100- and 200-meter freestyle competitions to focus on the 100- and 200-meter fly and 200 IM. Lochte scratched the 200-meter backstroke Thursday morning to focus on the 200 IM.I did whats best for me, Lochte said.Both swimmers are still scheduled to compete in preliminaries of the 100-meter butterfly on Friday morning. The top 16 finishers advance to the semifinals Friday night. That race will take place after the final of the 200 IM, the event that has mattered so much to both of these men for so long.[Friday] night is going to be a good battle, Lochte said. Any chance I can get up on those blocks and race him is definitely an honor. ' ' '