ERST LESEN! » xtended the voting period for the Ballon

NEW YORK -- Helio Castroneves figures plenty of todays fans have never seen a driver win the Indianapolis 500 for a record-tying fourth time. He can change that Sunday. So could Dario Franchitti. Its been 22 years since Rick Mears became the third driver with four Indy 500 victories. He won No. 4 in 1991 to join A.J. Foyt and Al Unser in the exclusive club. This will be the first time since 1987 that two three-time winners will start the Indy 500. "What an incredible opportunity for the fans to have not only one but two guys trying to make history," Castroneves said Monday while promoting the race with Franchitti in New York City. "Forget about the names, forget about who it is. But imagine people who didnt even see the last time when the guy won four times." Scotlands Franchitti or Brazils Castroneves would be the first foreign-born four-time winner. Castroneves won his third in 2009, so hes now used to the pressure of trying to tie the record. Since then, Franchitti won No. 2 in 2010 and No. 3 last year. Castroneves qualified eighth, while Franchitti will start 17th after a frustrating day Saturday for Chip Ganassi Racing. Franchitti, a four-time IndyCar champion, wrecked early in the season opener and is just 15th in the standings. Then again, things didnt look much better a year ago -- and he went out and won. "Last year, we had an even worse start to the season," Franchitti said. "We were sitting here this time last year having qualified 16th, and we were thinking were in trouble. Honda brought an updated engine to the race, and all of a sudden were in the game." Franchitti, who turned 40 on Sunday, remembers when he thought hed retire at 35. Instead, much of his success has come after that age. All three Indy 500 victories were in the last six years. Another big milestone with the No. 4 in it could come a week after his birthday. But Franchitti wont try to put that accomplishment into context until it actually occurs. "To kind of tempt fate a little bit, and say what it would mean and what it would feel like and all that stuff, is kind of wasted energy right now," he said. The 38-year-old Castroneves, who earned his first two Indy 500 victories back-to-back in 2001-02, has the advantage of working with Mears on Team Penske. Mears won his first three in 1979, 1984 and 1988 before earning the record-tying victory three years later. Foyt and Unser had to wait much longer between Nos. 3 and 4 -- Foyts wins came in 1961, 1964, 1967 and 1977, with Unsers in 1970, 1971, 1978 and 1987. Compared to that, not much time has passed since Castroneves last victory. "If the preparations right, the opportunity right, its going to come up naturally," he said. Vans Old Skool Sale . Meanwhile, there were huge victories for Sunderland and West Ham over fellow relegation rivals, leaving the battle to avoid the drop up for grabs with the bottom 11 teams separated by just six points. Eden Hazard and Fernando Torres scored second-half goals to seal a fourth straight victory for Chelsea, which climbed above Arsenal and Manchester City in the standings ahead of their games on Monday and Sunday respectively. Vans Sk8 Hi Reissue . Ronaldo produced a spectacular individual performance on Tuesday, scoring all three goals and guiding Portugal into the next years World Cup in Brazil with a 3-2 victory in Sweden. The Real Madrid forward has scored 66 goals in 2013, but the last three may be the boost he needs to upstage Messi after FIFA unexpectedly extended the voting period for the Ballon dOr to Nov. http://www.vansshoesclearancesale.com/vans-old-skool-sale.html . In taking its goal tally to 99 in all competitions already this season, City delivered another demonstration of its lethal firepower at Etihad Stadium to set up a fourth-round match at home to another second-tier team -- Watford. Vans Old Skool Pink . Ryan Garbutt had a goal and two assists as Dallas snapped a six-game losing streak with a 5-2 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday night. Vans Old Skool Wholesale . Pirlo limped out of Sundays 1-0 win over Udinese after just 13 minutes. Juventus says Pirlo underwent tests on Monday which revealed he has "a second-degree lesion to the collateral medial ligament in his right knee. ESPN Chalks Vegas experts are here to provide analysis and best bets for all Week 4 games, including the Tennessee-Houston?matchup.Note: All odds courtesy of the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook as of Friday morning.Home page for all Week 4 gamesMatchup: Tennessee Titans-Houston TexansSpread:?Opened Houston -6.5; now Houston -5 Total: Opened 40.5; now 40.5 PicckCenter public consensus pick: 59 percent HoustonPublic perception: The public is still decidedly on the side of the Texans, even with the loss of J.ddddddddddddJ. Watt, especially since the Titans are far from a public team. ' ' '