filled with only two names: Lochte and Phelps. They each have five spots on the list, with Lochte the world-record hold

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- It took less than four laps for Dale Earnhardt Jr. to feel back at home in his race car. His test this week at Darlington Raceway was the final hurdle for NASCARs most popular driver to earn clearance to compete next season.The test ended months of speculation -- should Earnhardt retire? Was the risk of suffering yet another concussion too great? -- and a detailed medical plan helped get him back on the track when many thought he should just step away for good.When you get something taken away from you, you certainly realize what its worth, Earnhardt said Friday. Im feeling recharged and energized about coming back ready to race. Ive got a lot left in the tank.And he wants to make something perfectly clear: Earnhardt would not be climbing back into the No. 88 Chevrolet if his doctors had not assured him that hes healthy and his past concussion history hasnt put him at a heightened risk of permanent injury.I have a personal responsibility to myself. My health is number one. I am not going to take any unnecessary risks with my health, he said. I wouldnt be coming back to the seat and being excited to drive if there was any additional risk, other than the typical risk that every driver faces. I feel confident in what my doctors are telling me ... in me being able to withstand the normal wear and tear and getting into that unfortunate accident from time to time.Earnhardts lengthy history with concussions flared again this year after a crash at Michigan in June. He missed the final 18 races of the season and spent that time in intensive therapy meant to first help him control vision, balance and nausea. That lengthy process completed, his doctors focused on getting him ready to drive a car again, and it happened Wednesday at the South Carolina track considered one of the most demanding in NASCAR.He admitted to a sleepless night before the test, and an anxiousness to get inside his beloved Chevrolet the moment his feet touched the ground at Darlington. With neurosurgeon Dr. Jerry Petty on site, the Hendrick Motorsports team eased into the session.Earnhardt started with 15-lap runs, then climbed from the car to be assessed by Petty. As the day went on, his vision and balance were not only checking out fine, but improving after every run. Soon he was up to 30 laps at a time, he felt up to speed -- and he felt ready to race.Felt like an old shoe by the end of the day, he said. I felt really, really confident that by the end of the day, I was 100 percent ready to get back in the car.His clearance came as a boost to Hendrick Motorsports, which is already riding high after Jimmie Johnsons record-tying seventh championship. Hendrick made it through the second half of the season with a combination lineup of Jeff Gordon and Alex Bowman, and he insisted the sponsors who pay millions of dollars for Earnhardt to be in the car were concerned only with the driver getting healthy.Although Earnhardt will test again before the season begins at Phoenix -- and hes got a wedding to his longtime girlfriend on Dec. 31 -- he wont actually race until the events leading into Februarys season-opening Daytona 500. He will skip the exhibition race that kicks off Speedweeks at Daytona, not as a health precaution, he said, but because Bowman earned the right to race the car by winning the pole at Phoenix in November.Its owed to Alex, Earnhardt said.Earnhardt has worked closely the last few years with Dr. Micky Collins from the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Sports Medicine Concussion Program. Its been Collins who first got Earnhardt healthy, then helped him get back into competitive condition.Collins has deemed Earnhardt healthy and ready to go, but Earnhardt will continue to work on many of the exercises hes received from the doctor for the sake of strengthening himself.This is from my doctors mouth -- I had to work really hard to be a human being again, to be normal again. The distance between just being myself and just being a race car driver, that was going to be another handful of exercises, he said. His advice was if I wanted to continue the exercises, it would only continue to strengthen the system. Hell, maybe this is something I could have been doing all along.---More AP auto racing: www.racing.ap.orgDragan Bender Suns Jersey . Perez, 35, posted a 1-2 record with a 3.69 earned-run average in 19 relief appearances last season. His season ended Aug. 9 due to a torn ligament in his left elbow. Perez joins infielder Andy LaRoche and catcher Mike Nickeas with minor-league agreements for 2014 that include invitations to attend spring training. Kevin Johnson Jersey . The No. 1-ranked Nadal tweaked his back warming up for the Australian Open final, which he lost almost four weeks ago in a major upset against Stanislas Wawrinka. His first stop after the layoff is the clay in Rio as he tests the back and tries to stay healthy for the French Open in three months. http://www.officialsunsfanstore.com/kelly-oubre-jr-suns-jersey/ . LOUIS -- Alexander Steen scored a power-play goal with 59. Penny Hardaway Suns Jersey .com) - Following a late-game loss to the reigning NBA champs, the Toronto Raptors will look to sustain their recent high-level play as they travel to Indiana to take on the Pacers. Phoenix Suns Jerseys . PAUL, Minn.OMAHA, Neb. -- If theres one thing missing from the 2016 U.S. Olympic trials, it is perhaps one final head-to-head battle between Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte, arguably the two greatest American male swimmers of all time. And based on the preliminaries of the 200-meter individual medley Thursday morning, the hope for that showdown is still alive.Lochte, swimming with a groin he injured during the breaststroke leg of the 400 IM on Sunday, turned in the fastest prelim time of the morning, at 1 minute, 58.05 seconds. He said he tried to alter his breaststroke kick to minimize the discomfort but felt the pain on the first kick of the breaststroke leg.I was like, damn it, he said. But its a good morning swim.After the race, Lochte hobbled through the mixed zone but told reporters he felt fine. When one suggested he was lying, Lochte replied, I know.Phelps, one day after qualifying for his fifth consecutive Olympics, celebrated his 31st birthday by winning the final heat of the event in a time of 1:58.95. Only Lochte, who swam in the previous heat, had a faster time. I probably didnt warm down enough last night. I didnt really sleep last night, Phelps said. But I said I wanted to go 1:58 so thats good.Phelps said he woke up at 5 a.m. Wednesday unable to sleep and starting firing texts to his coach, Bob Bowman. He pretty much said shut up and get ready for this morning, Phelps said. So I went to sleep for a few hours and came over.ddddddddddddWhen asked what he was doing to celebrate his birthday, Phelps laughed. Im not, he said.Both swimmers will compete in the semifinals of the event Thursday night, in separate heats. The finals are scheduled for Friday night.The list of the top 10 performances ever in the 200 IM is filled with only two names: Lochte and Phelps. They each have five spots on the list, with Lochte the world-record holder. The two have not raced against each other in the 200 IM at a major international meet since the 2012 London Games. Phelps won that battle in a time of 1:54.27.Last summer, when Phelps was suspended from world championships for his September 2014 DUI arrest, Lochte won gold with a time of 1:55.88. Phelps responded at U.S. nationals in San Antonio by swimming the event in the fastest time in 2015, 1:54.75, the eighth-fastest time ever.Earlier this week Phelps scratched the 100- and 200-meter freestyle events to focus on the three events in which he had the fastest times in 2015: the 100- and 200-meter butterfly and the 200 IM.Lochte, 32, has already qualified for the U.S. team in the 200-meter freestyle relay. The 200 IM is his last chance to make the team in an individual event, as he scratched the 200-meter backstroke earlier Thursday morning.I did whats best for me, Lochte said. ' ' '