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LONG POND, Pa. -- As NASCAR chief marketing officer Steve Phelps explained the status of the search for a new sponsor to replace Sprint, the Pocono Raceway weather went from cloudy, to drizzle to sun breaking through the clouds all in 15 minutes.Was it a sign of the roller-coaster ride of the search for a Cup Series sponsor?Its all good, Phelps said.There is no sense of panic within Phelps as the sponsorship search continues and in some ways can be as unpredictable as the Pocono weather. When Nextel was announced to replace Winston in 2003, the deal came together quickly and was announced in June. Two years ago, the Xfinity deal to replace Nationwide as the sponsor of NASCARs top national developmental series was announced in September.The announcement of a new Cup sponsor likely will come later. Phelps told ESPN.com on Friday morning that an October announcement is the most likely scenario.It will be a fourth quarter [of the year] announcement, Phelps said The question is when? I dont know.He stressed not to confuse NASCAR not having a concrete feel of an announcement date with the search not going as planned. He said the timeline is tracking as NASCAR expected when Sprint announced in December 2014 that it would depart after the 2016 season.As NASCAR heads into the final five weeks of its regular season and the 15 final weeks under Sprint, the focus will remain on Phelps and his team to land the sports biggest sponsor. The search for a series sponsor in some ways is symbolic of the state and health of the sport. It would have been nice to have seen this wrapped up by now, but that just wouldnt be the reality of the business nor the NASCAR world in 2016.Weve got roughly 12 companies were still in discussions with, Phelps said. Theyre in various stages. I would say theres an opportunity that I believe we could get an offer from -- five or six.The process is going very well. The brands are a mixture of those that are not in the sport right now and some that are in the sport. Its a good list and were trying to determine what is the best for the sport overall.Considering companies are crafting budgets for 2017 over the next few months, it would be expected that they would need to know before October if they will have to spend what NASCAR requires. Nextel (now Sprint) was paying reportedly as much as $75 million a year at the start of its 10-year deal in 2004 in terms of fees to NASCAR as well as promotional commitments.NASCAR doesnt expect a 10-year deal this time around.It probably will be a shorter deal, Phelps said. It is something that bodes from our standpoint and as well a brand standpoint. ... Although we did a 10-year deal with Comcast (for the Xfinity Series); thats a bit of an anomaly in this world today.It will depend on the brand and it will depend on what we believe will be right for the sport.Even when NASCAR signs a deal, the steps prior to the announcement will depend on several factors. NASCAR wont want to tread on the media blitz of the end of the regular season or start of the Chase, possibly feeding speculation of the status of negotiations in order to make sure it does the announcement at the time that works best for NASCAR and its sponsor.Well do it the right way that works for whoever our new partner will be, works best for the sport and then with an eye to whats best for Sprint as well, Phelps said.The title sponsorship is critical to the sport as it contributes to the season-ending points fund, and the company involved extensively promotes the sport. Those CEOs trying to decide whether to do the deal likely will have reports on the business health of the industry.The three public companies that operate the bulk of NASCAR tracks report that their overall ticket sales since the Daytona 500 are down 10 percent in 2016. While there are some weather factors (and for Speedway Motorsports, its Texas IndyCar race from June being completed in August means that none of its ticket revenue has been accounted for in the latest financials), those are frustrating numbers.Reasons from the public companies range from the economy (especially blue-collar workers financial health) to the retirement (and now temporary un-retirement) of Jeff Gordon to the weaker Canadian dollars having impacted ticket sales.Both New Hampshire and Indianapolis the past two weeks appeared to have significant attendance declines.Television ratings and viewership are down 6 percent for the year. Phelps noted that both Daytona and Atlanta combined to have an 18 percent drop and theorizes that the improved 2016 racing has contributed to the chipping away of that decline.Indianapolis, for all its attendance woes, saw an 11 percent increase in viewership in a race with one pass for the lead under green but featuring the return of Gordon.When discussing those numbers with potential sponsors, NASCAR will say its pleased with its social and digital platforms. It has seen increased year-over-year growth in social media followers and people have watched four times the number of videos on Facebook and Twitter from the NASCAR accounts. NASCAR notes that its apps have been downloaded more than 754,000 times.Companies will take a wider-range look than just the past few weeks numbers when determining whether to sponsor the series, Phelps said.They will look at how have we performed over the past three years, what are the expectation moving forward? Phelps said. Were telling them this story about not just television, but were telling this story about digital and social and this changing consumption pattern for our fan base.Its a story that NASCAR has shared with the industry, especially through the Race Team Alliance of owners and the NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers council.Three-time Sprint Cup champion Tony Stewart, who is also a team owner, said the drivers council is one of the best things to happen in the sport, and it has created an unprecedented level of collaboration and consideration and trust of driver views, especially when it comes to competition-related issues. Obviously with a better product should come more fans that would make a series sponsor happy.Were all in this together, Stewart said. If this thing dissolved tomorrow, ... there would be a ton of people out of a job. We all want it to survive. We all want it to thrive and prosper. 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Making his first appearance since injuring his wrist a month ago, Del Potro had difficulty with his service games in the first set. Which bowler took the most wickets in his last Test? asked Partha Pratim Pal from India The best match figures by a bowler in what turned out to be his last Test are 14 for 144 - 7 for 56 and 7 for 88 - by the legendary England medium-pacer Sydney Barnes, against South Africa in Durban in 1913-14. Two others took 13 in their last match: left-armer John Ferris claimed 13 for 91 in his only Test for England (after eight for Australia), against South Africa in Cape Town in 1891-92, while legspinner Clarrie Grimmett bagged 13 for 173 for Australia against South Africa in Durban in 1935-36. Charles Father Marriott, another legspinner, took 11 for 96 in his only Test, for England against West Indies at The Oval in 1933. In all, there are nine bowlers who have taken ten or more wickets in what turned out to be their final Test, excluding R Ashwin, Rangana Herath and Devendra Bishoo, who are on the list as I write but will presumably play again (but not Pragyan Ojha, who hasnt appeared for three years now).What is the highest score by a batsman carrying his bat in an ODI? asked Craig Manuel from South Africa There have been only ten genuine instances of an opener carrying his bat through a completed one-day international innings. The highest score among them remains 125 not out, by Nick Knight in Englands all-out total of 246 against Pakistan at Trent Bridge in 1996. Three other openers reached three figures: Saeed Anwar made 103 in Pakistans 219 against Zimbabwe in Harare in 1994-95, Damien Martyn 116 of Australias 191 v New Zealand in Auckland in 1999-2000, and Alec Stewart a round 100 in Englands 192 against West Indies at Trent Bridge in 2000. For it to be classified as carrying the bat, all the other wickets have to go down (apart from cases of injury). This occasionally leads to confusion, as it doesnt count if an opener bats through an innings in which all the wickets dont fall. The highest such score is Martin Guptills 237 not out - in New Zealands 50-over total of 393 for 6 - against West Indies in Wellington during the 2015 World Cup.Azhar Ali made 302 in the first innings in Dubai, and 2 in the second. Is this the biggest difference between two scores in the same Test? asked Rajiv Radhakrishnan from England The biggest difference between two individual scores in the same match is actually 320, by Hanif Mohammad - he made 17 in the first innings against West Indies in Bridgetown in 1957-58, then amassed 337 in a famous rearguard as Pakistan followed on. Theres one other instance higher than Azhar Alis difference of 300 against West Indies in Dubai.dddddddddddd In the Ashes Test at Old Trafford in 1964, Australias captain Bob Simpson made 311 in the first innings, and 4 not out in the second.Devendra Bishoo took 8 for 49 against Pakistan in Dubai. Was this the cheapest eight-for in Tests? asked Allan Alexander from the United States While the West Indian legspinner Devendra Bishoos performance for West Indies against Pakistan in Dubai was a remarkable one, it comes in only 21st on the list of the cheapest hauls of eight or more wickets in Tests. In 1895-96, the England opening bowler George Lohmann took 9 for 28 against South Africa in Johannesburg, while Jim Laker claimed 9 for 37 in the first innings against Australia at Old Trafford in 1956 (and 10 for 53 in the second). Lohmann also has the cheapest eight-for - he claimed 8 for 7 as South Africa were blown away for 30 in the previous Test, in Port Elizabeth, and finished that three-match series in 1895-96 with 35 wickets at 5.80. Pakistans 579 for 3 in Dubai had only one three-figure score, in Azhar Alis unbeaten 302. Was this the highest Test score with only one individual centurion? asked Ali Asif from Pakistan Rather surprisingly perhaps, there have been 24 higher totals with just one three-figure score in Tests than Pakistans 579 for 3 declared against West Indies in Dubai. The highest of all was by West Indies when they made 687 for 8 declared against England at The Oval in 1976, Viv Richards made 291, but the next-best was Clive Lloyds 84. The highest total to include a single century (rather than a 200 or 300) is Indias 664 against England at The Oval in 2007. Anil Kumble top-scored with 110, but there were half-centuries for Dinesh Karthik (91), Rahul Dravid (55), Sachin Tendulkar (82),VVS Laxman (51), MS Dhoni (92) and even Extras (54).Australia were blanked 5-0 in the recent one-day series in South Africa. Has this ever happened to them in a one-day series before? asked Stuart from South Africa The short answer is no - Australia had never previously lost a five-match bilateral one-day series 5-0. They had been whitewashed in a four-match rubber (in England in 2012, in a series in which one match was completely rained off), and in two three-match ones (in England in 1997, and in New Zealand in 2006-07). For the full list of one-day whitewashes in series of three or more matches, click here.Post your questions in the comments below ' ' '