CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Tony Stewart does not consider the Daytona 500 a disaster, despite the engine problems that spoiled his return to racing from a broken right leg. The three-time NASCAR champion wound up 35th in the season-opening race, but he logged enough laps during Speedweeks that he feels good going into the upcoming stretch of seven consecutive races. Stewart missed the final 15 races last year after breaking his leg in two places during a sprint car crash in Iowa. His first time back in a race car was Feb. 14, the day before he competed -- and was crashed out of -- the exhibition Sprint Unlimited. He also raced in the Budweiser Duel before the 500, giving him 672 miles of racing in three events. Stewart goes to Sundays race at Phoenix International Raceway "a lot more confident than I was before we got to Daytona." "I think having all the races that we ran, and actually getting in a crash, while not a great thing, allowed me to sort of test my leg and it felt good," Stewart said in a Stewart-Haas Racing team release. "There have been some little things that have felt a little different, but for the most part, its felt like an old pair of tennis shoes that youre just comfortable with. I think the whole time in Daytona exceeded my expectations of what I hoped it would be like." But the 500 itself was a letdown for SHR. Stewart had the engine issue and Danica Patrick was involved in a crash and finished 40th. It left only Kevin Harvick and Kurt Busch, the two newcomers to the organization, in contention for a solid finish and both had difficulties at the end. Busch wound up 21st and Harvick was involved in the final accident of the race and finished a team-best 13th. Stewart said Sundays race at Phoenix will be a better indicator of where the team is than Daytona, one of only four restrictor-plate races on the schedule. "Daytona and Talladega have always just been two different forms of racing," Stewart said, referring to the necessary teamwork and drafting. "What happens at Phoenix and the races after that has to be done on your own. You cant help each other at Phoenix. You just have to go race." He likes his chances at Phoenix, where he has one win, eight top-fives and 12 top-10s in 23 career starts. Hes completed all but 14 of 7,257 laps on the 1-mile oval. But PIR is also the place that pushed Stewart into becoming a full-time race car driver in 1993. Still working eight-hour days at $5-an-hour at a machine shop in Columbus, Ind., Stewart headed West to run USAC Silver Crown season-opening Copper World Classic. He qualified second to Davey Hamilton, then led 31 of 50 laps before finishing second to Mike Bliss. Stewart earned $3,500 that day -- a payout that convinced him running the Silver Crown, Sprint and Midget races across the nation that year sounded a lot better than returning to the machine shop. He never looked back, learning how to adapt in every kind of car he drove out of "fear that Im going to have to get a real job if Im not successful. "To think that it all kind of started at Phoenix, I guess you could say its the place where my career came full-circle," he said. Nmd Human Race Nere . A judge had summoned Clemens and Brian McNamee to federal court in Brooklyn for settlement talks aimed at heading off a trial in the defamation case. McNamees lawyer emerged saying an agreement wasnt likely. "I think this is a case where the lines are deeply drawn in the sand," said attorney Richard Emery. Scarpe Adidas Springblade Scontate . Of course that doesnt mean hes ignoring it. Thats actually rather impossible given the behind-the-scenes access to the Toronto Maple Leafs the network is getting. http://www.scarpenmdscontate.it/scarpe-nmd-r2-outlet.html. The club says Fridays surgery was successful. Holiday, a former Eastern Conference All-Star acquired from Philadelphia last summer, has not played because of the shin injury since Jan. Adidas Nmd Ingrosso . Keenum will make his first appearance in a regular-season game against the rugged defence of the undefeated Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium, where the fans just set a Guinness record as the noisiest outdoor stadium in the world. Yeezy Boost 350 v2 Scontate . -- Terrelle Pryor took the opening snap of the game, put the ball in Darren McFaddens belly and saw LaMarr Woodley crash down.SAN DIEGO -- Two games, two dramatic wins. It may be just what the struggling San Diego Padres need. Will Venable hit a two-run single in the 12th inning to give the Padres a 6-5 win over the Kansas City Royals on Monday night, their second consecutive victory in their final at-bat. San Diego used Yonder Alonsos slow grounder to score Cameron Maybin with the game-winning run Sunday in the ninth inning of a 4-3 win over Arizona. "Coming on the heels of (Sundays) win, its great," Padres manager Bud Black said. "We are seeing subtle signs. These are the kind of games that can lift guys." Venable singled off Tim Collins (0-2) and over the head of right fielder Lorenzo Cain, driving in Chris Denorfia and Alonso. Denorfia led off the inning with a single off Louis Coleman before Collins came on. After a sacrifice, Alonso reached on a bloop double to left to bring up Venable. For the offensively challenged Padres, the two games may be signs that the team is ready to break out of its season-long funk. San Diego is ranked near or at the bottom in the majors in just about every offensive category. "Bottom line, we just have to get a W," Alonso said. "I dont care how we do it. We have seen it all. This game will do a lot of crazy things on you. (Sunday), we get a game-winner on a bunt swing. (Monday), Will hit a mammoth single. This game will do a lot of things to you. You just have to keep your head up." The Padres rallied back with a pair of homers to tie the game twice and force extra innings. Jedd Gyorko, who is hitting.164, hit a solo homer with one out in the ninth inning off Royals closer Greg Holland to tie the game at 4. It was Hollands first blown save in eight chances. Yasmani Grandal hit a three-run shot off Royals rookie Yordano Ventura in the sixth to tie the score 3-all. "We are a team that doesnt give up, even if we are down by three runs," Alonso said. "We just keep chipping awaay, chipping away and the next thing you know were winning the ball game.dddddddddddd." Eric Hosmer homered and drove in three runs for Kansas City, which extended its season-high losing streak to five games despite a season-high 16 hits. Cain, who came off the disabled list before the game, had four hits. The Royals grabbed a brief lead in the 12th inning when Mike Moustakas hit an RBI single to score Salvador Perez off Tim Stauffer (1-0). "Any time you lose, its painful, it hurts, especially when you are struggling a bit," Royals manager Ned Yost said. Hosmer hit his first homer of the season, a solo shot off Nick Vincent, to put Kansas City ahead 4-3 in the seventh. "We had plenty of opportunities to put it away," Hosmer said. "Thats just the way things are going right now. This is definitely one of the tougher losses of the season." Ventura had allowed just two hits in five shutout innings before giving up Grandals homer. The right-hander allowed five hits, did not walk a batter and struck out a career-high 10 in six innings. Ventura extended his scoreless innings streak to 18 scoreless innings before Grandals homer. Ventura collected his first major league hit with a sharp single leading off the fifth. Nori Aoki followed with a single and both runners moved up on a fly out. Hosmer grounded a two-run single up the middle for a 3-0 lead. Padres starter Eric Stults had his second tough outing as he lasted just 4 2-3 innings, allowing three runs and 11 hits. The left-hander tied a season high by allowing five runs over 2 2-3 innings -- his shortest start since April 2009 -- in his last start. NOTES: Maybin left the game during the top of the seventh inning with a stomach ailment. ... Cain (left groin strain) was activated from 15-day DL and INF/OF Jimmy Paredes was optioned to Triple-A Omaha. ... Royals RHP Jeremy Guthrie (2-2, 4.50 ERA) faces Padres LHP Robbie Erlin (1-4, 5.83) on Wednesday night. ' ' '