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Erik Jones, 20, considered the top young prospect in NASCAR racing, had spent the two weeks before the Chicagoland Speedway race weekend away from home.That meant he had no practice for one of his competitions Saturday, namely the event where he was on a stage competing in the game NASCAR Heat Evolution against a member of the esports team Evil Geniuses.But Jones is used to performing without a whole lot of practice. NASCAR only allows a couple hours of practice each week before an event.About nine hours before winning his fourth Xfinity Series -- NASCARs version of triple-A baseball -- race of the season, Jones was playing against fellow driver Darrell Wallace Jr. and Evil Geniuses Justin Roy Brown in a virtual race.The two worlds were brought together Saturday at Chicagoland Speedway, site of the NASCAR races for the weekend. Through their mutual sponsorship by Xfinity, the idea came about of pitting NASCAR drivers against the Evil Geniuses as well as having the Evil Geniuses play against fans.Beyond maybe the difference in practice time and the danger factor, though, Jones could see a lot of similarities between his career path and skills and those of the Evil Geniuses pros he played against.Its just as tough to break into and its not easy to get that shot and theres only so many people who get to do it, Jones said. To be that good at video games, you have got to have some pretty good reaction time.Jones technically won at the NASCAR game, although he admitted he won because Wallace had started celebrating early.Anyway, it was a fun respite during what would be a high-intensity day. It was the same for the Evil Geniuses who got to play recreationally for a change.This is a great distraction, said 26-year-old Jason Lunchbox Brown. We played the best team [OpTic] in the game [Halo] yesterday and beat them, so that was a huge series for us so this is a really nice getaway for us.We practice Sunday [to] Thursday for our [Halo Championship Series] Pro League matches. This is a great time.The competitors in the NASCAR and esports worlds dont get many distractions. They cant afford to have them.There are literally thousands of drivers who compete around the country at their local tracks, dreaming of making it big one day. Just like there are literally thousands of people at home playing video games dreaming of what it would be like to do it for a living.I would love to drive a car 195 miles an hour, said 25-year-old John Harvey, a fan who lives near the track and attends the races annually. But Id also love to play video games all day.Lets face it. The competitors have cool jobs. But they have made the most of their opportunities.Jones earned his big shot by beating NASCAR superstar Kyle Busch in a race in Pensacola, Fla., and Busch urged Toyota to sign him. Evil Geniuses players Jason and Justin Brown finished fourth in a major tournament at age 16 in 2007 to get noticed.If we didnt place in the top in our first event ... we might not be where we are at today, Jason Brown said.Thanks to winning championships and races at every level, Jones will race at the top NASCAR level next year. He probably doesnt have to start looking over his shoulder yet.But he will soon, and the Evil Geniuses know what that is like.There is always that young gun that is coming up playing how many hours a day to try to be that next top dog and so youve got to put in an equal amount of time or even more to kind of maintain your level of competition and skill level, 26-year-old Justin Brown said. Youre thinking what you can do better as a player [and] as a teammate.Its just constantly evolving. Youve got to keep with the times and be able to adapt and evolve.There also is the intense preparation. While racecar drivers cannot practice much during the week -- typically rules prohibit testing to keep costs down -- they often use simulators to help prepare for major events.So, sometimes they will play iRacing or other video games to just stay mentally sharp.On weeks I do play video games, for whatever reason, it helps me be more focused during the race weekend, said NASCAR driver Brennan Poole. Youre just so focused on what youre doing and reaction speeds and all that stuff in the first-person shooter games, that when I show up in the weeks I did play the game, I have a better race.I play all the time.Poole described his race preparation to the fans at the event, and it was the same answer EG coach and player Ryan Towey Towey would have given.[He answered] first and it mirrored what I was thinking [for] how to answer the question, Towey said.[The similarity] was very eerie to me. We review hours and hours of film, before and after major matches. Well practice five or six nights a week, three or four hours at a time through all of our game types. Well watch the competitions film. And we spend time taking and going over notes.Towey enjoyed a chance to play with no pressure. He still didnt enjoy losing.We do play games recreationally for fun in the offseason, but its difficult because we always want to win, Towey said.It was fun for the drivers, too. They signed autographs, as did the Evil Geniuses. Jackson Baldwin, a 15-year-old from Illinois, came over to the race track just to play Lunchbox in Halo - of course Baldwin didnt win -- and left before any of the races.He missed a good show put on by Jones on the race track. For Jones, it was fun to play the Evil Geniuses before embarking on his real job the rest of the day.I didnt know them before this, Jones said. Theyve been pretty successful. It is pretty neat to meet them and play against them for a second. Clay Matthews Super Bowl Jersey . Batiste, who briefly signed with the Eskimos in 2006, has spent time with several NFL teams including the Pittsburgh Steelers and Washington Redskins. Jamaal Williams Super Bowl Jersey . Tuesdays surgery at Atlantas Piedmont Hospital was performed by Dr. Xavier Duralde and Hawks team physician Dr. Michael Bernot. https://www.packersrookiestore.com/Packers-Elgton-Jenkins-Jersey/ . - Blake Griffin had 30 points and 12 rebounds, J. Lane Taylor Super Bowl Jersey . It was the second consecutive win for the Pacers (2-5), who lost their first five preseason games. Jeff Teague led the Hawks (1-5) with 17 points and eight assists and Al Horford had 12 points and seven rebounds. Mike Scott scored 15 of his 17 points in the second half. Mason Crosby Super Bowl Jersey . There are surprises among the Vezina candidates, but most of the others are standard top-tier performers, even if the two Hart Trophy runners-ups have never been quite as good as they have been through the first half of the season.Worcestershire Rapids won their third NatWest T20 Blast game in three, beating Yorkshire Vikings by seven wickets at New Road. Liam Plunkett put in an impressive all-round effort for the visitors, striking 34 not out off just 10 balls before taking 2-29 from his four overs, but it wasnt enough for the Vikings who have now lost their opening two fixtures in the North Group.Joe Leach took 3-33 for the Rapids to help reduce Yorkshire to 112-6 in the 18th over before Plunketts big-hitting efforts at the death - assisted by Tim Bresnan (29no off 13 balls) - helped set a testing 174-run target. But with a solid platform of 109-3 set at the 12-over mark, Alexei Kervezee (52no off 37) and Brett DOliveira (34no off 20) put on 66 together to take Worcestershire home with five balls to spare.Yorkshire won the toss and chose to bat first but lost David Willey (6) - bowled by Ed Barnard - and Adil Rashid (1) run out early.Captain Alex Lees (46 off 36) seemed to have steadied the ship, but fell four short of fifty, while Jack Leaning (24 off 25) and Gary Ballance (24 off 23) couldnt capitalise on solid starts.Leach removed both, bowling Ballance, and dismissed Will Rhodes (3) in the same manner soon after. Liam Plunkett impressed with both bat and ball in defeat for Yorkshire That brought Plunkett and Bresnan together and they smacked a staggering 61 from the final three overs to lift Yorkshire to a score of 173-6.It wouldnt be enough though, despite two Plunkett strikes with the ball this time - Daryl Mitchell (29 off 17) and Tom Kohler-Cadmore (19 off 18).Adil Rashid (1-39) picked up a further wicket, Joe Clarke falling after an enterprising 34 off 23 balls, but Kervezee and DOliveiras partnership took the home side comfortably through to their target.Gloucestershire squeaked to a four-wicket win over Middlesex with just a ball to spare in their South Group clash in Northwood. Gareth Roderick helped Gloucestershire over the line with two last-over boundaries Chasing 160 to win and still needing seven to win from the final three balls, Gareth Roderick (11no off 3) fired a four and a six to win it for the visitors.ddddddddddddPaul Stirling had earlier struck 60 off 43 balls - with five fours and three sixes - and Adam Voges (52 off 40) too fired fifty to help Middlesex post 159-9 from their 20 overs.Gloucestershire appeared to be cruising along with Ian Cockbain (40 off 28) and Chris Dent (45 off 40) putting on 65 for the third wicket. A couple of late wickets put the game back in the balance, only for Roderick to fire the visitors to victory.Hampshire got the better of Kent in the other South Group match on the night, winning by nine runs at the Ageas Bowl. Shahid Afridi celebrates the key wicket of Kents Daniel Bell-Drummond as Hampshire win Michael Carberry hit 54 from 53 balls for the hosts but struggled for support elsewhere, as Matt Coles took 4-27. But overseas signings Shahid Afridi (21 off 14) and Darren Sammy (27 off 15) provided some useful lower-order hitting to propel the hosts up to 158-8 from their 20 overs.Daniel Bell-Drummond cracked 64 from 51 balls at the top of the order for Kent, but suffered a similar problem to Carberry before him, with only his opening partner, Joe Denly (31 off 27), offering support and scoring more than 18.Afridi impressed taking 3-33 - including the key wicket of Bell-Drummond in the 17th over - to back up his earlier efforts with the bat, as Kent crumbled to 149 all out in the final over.Watch reigning T20 Blast champions Lancashire Lightning take on winless Yorkshire Vikings in the Roses clash at Old Trafford, live on Sky Sports 2 from 6pm on Friday. Also See: Worcs v Yorks scorecard Middlesex v Gloucs scorecard Hampshire v Kent scorecard Live cricket on Sky ' ' '