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DARLINGTON, S.C. -- Matt Kenseth was in Canada when J.D. Gibbs sent him the results of their appeal to NASCAR to reduce sweeping penalties against Joe Gibbs Racing. "J.D. kept texting me and the texts just kept getting longer and longer," Kenseth said Friday. "Im like, Wait a minute. They did what? They gave us that back?" They sure did. Aside from crew chief Jason Ratcliffs absence Friday at Darlington Raceway, it was almost like nothing ever happened after a three-member appeal panel dramatically reduced the penalties for having an illegal part in Kenseths race-winning engine at Kansas. Among the key changes: Ratcliffs suspension was reduced from six races to one, Kenseth lost only 12 points instead of 50, a six-race suspension against team owner Joe Gibbs was wiped out and Kenseth had his three bonus points from the Kansas victory restored. It sent Kenseth to Darlington for Saturday nights race fourth in the Sprint Cup standings instead of 11th. Wally Brown, who once worked as Carl Edwards crew chief at Roush Fenway Racing, is filling in for Ratcliff this weekend. "The penalties were pretty crushing before they got reduced," Kenseth said. "I applaud NASCAR for having the appeals process and putting that in place to have some people look at it after all the dust settles a little bit and be objective ... I feel like they did a nice job of looking at all the facts and circumstances that went with it and made a decent decision." It was a far cry from his reaction two weeks ago when NASCAR initially sanctioned the team for finding one of the eight connecting rods in his engine did not meet the minimum weight requirement. JGR leases its engines from Toyota Racing Development, which immediately accepted responsibility, and both JGR and TRD said no performance advantage was gained form the part. Kenseth called the penalties "borderline shameful" when they were handed down. And even though the appeals board has a record that heavily favours NASCAR, Kenseth felt confident the penalties would be reduced. "For some reason, I had a pretty good feeling ... I didnt know it would come back to be exactly what it was, I didnt know if we would have gotten a reduction that much, but I felt more confident than any other appeal Ive ever heard about," Kenseth said. "We had a pretty good case and there were different things that happened where I felt like it would get reduced. I think everybody was shocked when the penalties got handed out to start with, so I felt pretty good it was going to get reduced." The appeals board a week earlier unanimously upheld penalties against Penske Racing for having unapproved parts on its car during a pre-race inspection at Texas. But Penske took the case to chief appellate officer John Middlebrook, the final level, and on Tuesday he reduced the suspensions of seven key employees from six races to two plus next weeks All-Star event. Penske Racing viewed Middlebrooks ruling as a small victory, even as the team went to Darlington this weekend reaching deep into its bench to fill the voids. Five-time NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson, who has been through his share of appeals with Hendrick Motorsports, didnt know what to make of the rulings for JGR and Penske. Drivers dont typically attend the appeals, and are only told later how they went. "You dont expect these reductions," he said. "I get phone calls about what the vibe was like inside the meeting, what the meeting was like, and they are never optimistic. Its a tough thing to live through. I know that NASCAR can never hand out a penalty thats less than, we know its always going to be more than a previous penalty. They look at past history, intent and a few other things to set their standards. And then from there, its like the regular justice system. You go in there to try and plead your case. "Thinking about it, it means get in there and fight. Its worth fighting and trying to lessen your penalty." New Balance Sale Australia . Its sharpness matched my mind. This was no night to go to sleep. New Balance Shoes Online Australia . -- Teemu Selanne scored the first goal of his 22nd NHL season, and the Anaheim Ducks extended the best start in franchise history with their fifth straight victory, 3-2 over the Calgary Flames on Wednesday night. http://www.cheapaustralianewbalance.com/ . The nimble-footed quarterback got his wish, dashing through the snow and a weary defence all the way into the NCAA record book. Cheap New Balance Shoes Online Australia .5 million, one-year contract on Friday. Hawkins, who turns 41 in December, will compete with Rex Brothers for the closers role at spring training. New Balance Cheap Australia . Vokoun departed practice on Saturday morning after discovering swelling in his thigh. He was taken to a local hospital where the clot was revealed. The club announced the surgery following a 5-3 exhibition loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets. There arent many teams that the St. Louis Cardinals have been able to beat at Busch Stadium this year.One of them is coming to town for the next four games, which might be the boost St. Louis needs as it fights for one of two National League wild-card spots with San Francisco and the New York Mets.The Cardinals welcome the Milwaukee Brewers for the opener of a four-game series Thursday night. St. Louis is 30-37 at home but 5-1 against Milwaukee, including a three-game sweep July 1-3.Although they went 5-4 on a nine-game road trip, the Cardinals (73-65) ended it with a 4-3 loss Wednesday night to Pittsburgh, enabling the surging Mets to tie them for the second wild-card spot. Both teams are a half-game behind the Giants, which blew a ninth inning lead at Colorado Wednesday night and fell 6-5.Had St. Louis delivered a bit better with runners in scoring position in its series finale against the Pirates, it could have overtaken the Giants. But it instead went 3-for-14, failing to add on to its first inning run after the first three hitters singled, hitting into a double play with the bases loaded in the fourth and leaving Yadier Molina stranded in the eighth after his leadoff double.We had chances, lot of chances, but we didnt execute in certain situations and it cost us, Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said.Whats more, St. Louis saw its streak of games with a homer end at 25, which tied a National LLeague record set earlier this year by San Diego.ddddddddddddWhile St. Louis lost a game it could have won, the Brewers (62-77) were taking two of three from the Chicago Cubs, including a 2-1 verdict Wednesday night that saw third baseman Jonathan Villar homer twice.Chicagos magic number dropped to nine in the National League Central, but Milwaukee battled in the series as though it was pushing for a postseason berth.That felt like a real baseball game, like one youre on the edge of your seat the whole game, Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. It was a game youre hanging on every pitch, literally.Milwaukee gives the ball to right-hander Junior Guerra (7-3, 2.85 ERA) for the series opener. Guerra, who dropped his only start this year against the Cardinals, just returned from a disabled list stint against Pittsburgh on Saturday, throwing 3 1/3 scoreless innings before leaving after reaching 70 pitches.St. Louis counters with lefty Jaime Garcia (10-11, 4.41), whos dropped his last three starts, although he pitched well for six innings in a 9-1 setback at Cincinnati on Saturday. Garcia is 2-1 in three starts this year against the Brewers with both wins coming at home.St. Louis leads the season series 11-4, and is 59-28 against Milwaukee since the 2012 seasons beginning. ' ' '