on Sunday, it was nearing high tide and the jetty | Forum

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123 Mar 12 '19
CHARLOTTE, N. Walt Frazier Jersey .C. -- Chad Knaus will act as if this shot at a record-tying seventh championship is just another race, and that he has barely thought of what it means for his place in the record books with Jimmie Johnson.Knaus has already led Johnson to a record five straight titles, six overall, and is now aiming to be the first crew chief in history to win seven NASCAR titles with the same driver. Hall of Fame crew chief Dale Inman won eight, but not with one driver.Knaus will downplay this until the bitter end -- even if he hoists the championship trophy with Johnson on Sunday night at Homestead-Miami Speedway.I guess I really dont know what I want my legacy to be, Knaus said Wednesday. I guess just to be remembered as a real racer, I guess, more than anything. I was a grass-roots racer from the Midwest who got an opportunity ... (and) was able to work my way up methodically. For people just to remember that I started out as a racer and ended as a racer is probably my biggest goal.Johnson will face defending series champion Kyle Busch, Joey Logano and Carl Edwards on Sunday, with the highest-finishing driver winning the championship.If its Johnson, he will tie Richard Petty and the late Dale Earnhardt as the only drivers with seven titles. But hell have it done it with a team that Knaus built from the bottom, and the No. 48 team would be the first to win seven titles with the same driver, crew chief and sponsor.Knaus admits that distinction would make it even more phenomenal.Its been an honor to be able to work with Jimmie, Lowes and Hendrick Motorsports throughout this portion of my career, he said. Being able to represent this company and our associates the way that we have has been a lot of fun. To Jimmie personally, obviously he is by far one of my best friends, and to be able to have seen him grow and mature into the driver and the family man that he is has been awesome. Its been a great ride.BACK-TO-BACKKyle Busch hand-picked Adam Stevens to be his crew chief when Joe Gibbs Racing made personnel changes after the 2014 season.The two had clicked working together in the Xfinity Series, and Busch felt Stevens could be the one to lead him to a championship. They succeeded last year, rallying from a deep hole after Busch missed a third of the season with injuries suffered at Daytona. Now they are back in the finale trying to become the first repeat winners since Johnson reeled off five consecutive titles.Stevens said he and Busch have not focused on the back-to-back opportunity.We havent talked about that specifically, but the chances to win a championship in this sport arent going to come every year, he said. When you get that chance, you want to make sure that youve turned over every stone and taken every turn that you can to try to make it happen.You know, back-to-back, or once every 10 years, or however often you can find yourself in this opportunity with a shot to win is colossal.OUTSIDERS VIEWDave Rogers has worked for Joe Gibbs Racing for 18 years. During that time, he watched Bobby Labonte win a championship, and was a team member on Tony Stewarts crew when Stewart won two titles. A crew chief change at JGR moved him off of Kyle Buschs team last year and Busch went on to win the title.Now Rogers is finally in the championship hunt on his own, with Carl Edwards, and hes ready to lead a team to a title he can call his own.Theres lots of experiences, successes and failures that prepare you for this, Rogers said. Theres a handful of championships that Ive witnessed. This is obviously the first time that Ive gone to Homestead personally as a crew chief prepared to race for the championship, but theres a winning pedigree here at JGR and everyones open notebook policy has prepared me well for this weekend.Rogers didnt make it to the finale as crew chief for Busch or Denny Hamlin. Edwards lost the 2011 championship to Stewart on a tie-breaker. They both feel like past experience has them prepared for Sunday.Weve both been in situations where weve come up short, and we know what its like to lose, Rogers said. Now we want to go down there and try to figure out how to win it. I know Carl was disappointed last year that he fell short. The 11 (Hamlin team) was disappointed last year that we fell short, but now were teamed up together, our first year together, were going down there with the option to win it, and were just excited about it.LESSONS LEARNEDJoey Logano and Todd Gordon thought they were ready to win a championship when they raced for a title in 2014.Then one bad pit stop ended their chances. With that experience behind them, Gordon believes they have the mental toughness to win the title.I think in 2014, that was when we went through this the first time. Not knowing what to do or what to expect or how it was going to flow out, the championship race, race weekend, he said. This time around ... I think its matters as usual.I feel a lot of calm from his feedback and what hes saying and what hes doing and the mannerisms. Hes all (about) just making this another race, and I think in a great position. Cheap Knicks Jerseys . LOUIS -- Heading into the final stretch of the season, the issues for the Chicago Bears banged-up defence only seem to be getting worse. Isaiah Hicks Jersey . That gave fans outside Joe Louis Arena another chance to ask for autographs from the 19-year-old whose stardom in the NHL has arrived earlier than most expected. http://www.cheapknicksjerseys.com/ . Vancouver Whitecaps and Toronto FC failed to make the postseason while Montreal Impact fell at the first hurdle losing heavily to Houston Dynamo in the Eastern Conference Knockout Round. MIAMI -- Investigators are trying to determine whether Miami Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez was at the wheel of his sportfishing boat when it slammed into a jetty in the early-morning darkness, killing him and two others on board.The three men died when the 32-foot SeaVee slammed into rocks jutting off the southern tip of South Beach at about 3:15 a.m. on Sunday, according to the Miami-Dade Medical Examiners Office. A Coast Guard crew going out on patrol discovered the wreck about 15 minutes later.The boat registered to Fernandez had landed upside-down, with its engines partially submerged, its bow pointed skyward and debris scattered over the large jagged rocks. Investigators are now examining the wreck at a secure facility, according to Monday statement by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.Theres no immediate indication that alcohol or drugs were involved, commission spokesman Lorenzo Veloz said.Also killed were Emilio Macias, 27, and Eduardo Rivero, 25, according to Darren Caprara, operations director of the medical examiners office.The wreck happened at the mouth of Miamis Government Cut, a busy channel for cargo and cruise ships, smaller fishing boats and personal watercraft. While the area is well lit at night by South Beachs neon hotels and condominiums, this also creates a glare that can make spotting a safe route through the channel more difficult, said Terry Claus, a fishing charter captain.Especially if youre going fast, theres too much to take in, Claus said. Theres a lot of lights, theres a lot of markeers for the cruise ships -- red lights flashing, green lights flashing, white lights flashing, and theres a lot of boats running around. Lance Thomas Jersey. You have to be alert, and you have to slow down.Nighttime speed limits have been established in the waters off Miami for holidays, but officials have resisted requiring licenses and safety training for adult boaters, said Claus, who advocated for tougher safety regulations after a July 4, 2014, crash in Biscayne Bay killed four people.News photos of the boat involved in Fernandezs death appear to show that it had blue interior lights, a decorative feature that Claus said could have impaired the drivers vision if they were on.Youre surrounded by all this blue light, and you cant see whats in front of you, Claus said Monday. A boater safety course would have explained the danger, he added.Those blue lights are supposed to be on at the dock to make the boat look pretty, but when youre on the ocean, everyone can see you but you cant see anyone else.Wildlife commission spokesman Rob Klepper said he could not confirm whether the vessel had interior lights that may have impaired the drivers vision.At 3:15 on Sunday, it was nearing high tide and the jetty that protects its entrance was partially submerged. So if the boat was going fast enough for the bow to rise out of the water, then its very possible that he could not see any of those rocks in front of him, Claus said. ' ' '
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