HOMESTEAD, Fla.
Will Grier Jersey . -- Jimmie Johnson had the commemorative helmet and a photographer chronicling his every move. He had even planned to run a symbolic seven miles the night before his shot at a seventh championship.Hes adamant he didnt know something special was coming.Johnson was the worst of the championship contenders in a winner-take-all season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway. He needed only to beat three other drivers to tie Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt as drivers with seven titles, but he was clearly not in the same league as the other finalists Sunday night.Johnson didnt panic, keeping the same calmness hes had for 10 weeks of this historic march. So relaxed before this event, he canceled his short run and instead spent the night eating pasta.And as he chased Carl Edwards, reigning champion Kyle Busch and Joey Logano, it sure seemed like there was not shot at No. 7.Im sure the world felt like anybody but Jimmie Johnson was going to win the championship with 20 to go, and then it changed so quick, Johnson said.Johnson was practically gifted his seventh title when Edwards aggressive attempt to win the championship ended in a wreck. Johnson got the restart of his life in overtime, took the lead on the very last lap of the race, won for the first time in his career at Homestead and grabbed the final Sprint Cup trophy.Most of the race was spent talking about backflips, repeats or a Penske sweep because Johnson just wasnt as good as Edwards, Busch or Logano.Then all that conversation took a back seat to a record-setting -- albeit improbable -- championship run. The win was the 15th for Hendrick Motorsports and seventh for crew chief Chad Knaus, who now only trails Dale Inmans record eight.When I was coming to the checkered flag, I had to really look closely at it going by to make sure it was, `Like is this really happening? Johnson said.Johnsons No. 48 Chevrolet was pulled off pit road by NASCAR shortly before the race and forced to make a last-minute pass through inspection, setting Johnson up for a mind-boggling race in which he never seemed to be a legitimate contender. He had to start last because of the inspection issue and seemingly had no shot until Edwards coughed up the title.Petty welcomed Johnson to the VIP section of NASCARs most exclusive club.They set a goal to get where they are and circumstances and fate made it a reality, Petty said. Jimmie is a great champion and this is really good for our sport.He also was feted by Hendrick Motorsports teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr., who represented his late father in victory lane.I told Jimmie I wish Dad was here to shake his hand, Earnhardt said. Dad would think hes such a bad-ass. Hes such a great race car driver. How he won this thing tonight, I dont think a lot of people know, he can will himself to get (his all) out of a car when it matters. Theres a lot of circumstance that played into it, but he put himself in that position.Edwards was in position to win until a caution with 10 laps remaining set up a wild sequence that ruined his title hopes. Edwards tried to block Logano on the restart, wound up wrecked, and it was Johnson who drove through the carnage to take the championship lead.Johnson withstood two more restarts and dedicated the final two attempts at the win to the late Ricky Hendrick, who was one of 10 friends and family members killed in a 2004 plane crash.My heart was full because I was thinking of some loved ones like Ricky Hendrick and his influence, he said. Something happened from above.Johnson drove the entire 10-race Chase with a tribute helmet to Earnhardt and Petty, the Hall of Fame drivers hes been chasing since he won his sixth title in 2013. Immediately after the race, he gifted the helmet to three-time champion Tony Stewart, who retired at the end of the race.Drivers have been giving Stewart special helmets the last month, but Johnson had earmarked this one for the driver forever known as Smoke.I promised him Id give him a helmet, I wanted to wait and see if I could give him this one, Johnson said. He doesnt really want it. He said if I want it back, I can have it back, but I promised Id give him a helmet.The title was there for the taking for Edwards until the fateful sequence that changed history.I was racing for my life up to that point, Edwards said. I just pushed the issue as hard as I could because I figured that was the race there. I had to push it, I couldnt go to bed tonight and think that I gave him that lane.The benefactor of Edwards error was Johnson, who darted through the wreck ahead of Busch and Logano. Knaus pumped his fists in joy, all too aware that they were suddenly in the game.Thats what makes a seven-time champion -- someone that fights and battles and digs and never gives up, said four-time champion Jeff Gordon, the teammate who discovered Johnson for Hendrick Motorsports. They keep themselves in position and allowed some of those unfortunate instances to work in their favor. You can say luck, whatever you want to say, but those guys battled. They battled hard.Logano wasnt giving up his effort, though, and headed to pit road to take on new tires for a final restart.This guy on a restart with five laps to go, Ill take him every day of the week, crew chief Todd Gordon said.Logano restarted eighth but was a bull as he pushed his way through traffic and into third place, behind Johnson, after a caution forced another restart.This time, Johnson got the start of his life and jumped into the lead. He didnt look back, only forward at his slice of NASCAR history.They were nowhere all day, and just kind of ran around, I dont know, probably, Id guess sixth, Busch said. Never really showed their hand at all and didnt really show any speed, never really led in the laps until the last one, and thats the only one that really matters.---More AP auto racing:
www.racing.ap.org Greg Little Jersey . Radwanska, making her debut in the Seoul tournament, hit eight aces in a match that lasted 1 hour, 4 minutes at Olympic Park tennis stadium. "It was definitely a very good match -- I was playing really good tennis," Radwanska said.
Ryan Kalil Jersey . Datsyuk will miss Tuesdays game against New Jersey and could be sidelined longer, while Cleary will likely miss at least the next three games. Its been an injury-plagued season for Datsyuk, who has suited up for just 39 games.
http:///...caffrey-blue-jersey/ . It was the second consecutive win for the Pacers (2-5), who lost their first five preseason games. Jeff Teague led the Hawks (1-5) with 17 points and eight assists and Al Horford had 12 points and seven rebounds. Mike Scott scored 15 of his 17 points in the second half. The pool of candidates for the Heisman Trophy is a deep one. Derrick Henry, the winner from Alabama last year, has moved on to the NFL, but five of the next six players in the voting are back, led by runner-up Christian McCaffrey of Stanford.Also returning are Clemsons Deshaun Watson, Oklahomas Baker Mayfield, LSUs Leonard Fournette and Florida States Dalvin Cook. All of them, along with Ohio States J.T. Barnett and Georgias Nick Chubb (if fully recovered from his knee injury), are in the first wave of contenders for 2016.Here are six players who could insert themselves into the Heisman conversation:---Chad Kelly, senior quarterback, MississippiThe strong-armed Kelly is the top returning QB in the SEC and listed high on NFL draft boards for 2017. The nephew of Pro Football Hall of Famer Jim Kelly led the Rebels to five victories over Top 25 teams, including Alabama on the road, and they are expected to challenge in the SEC West. A big showing against national title contender Florida State in the opener would push Kelly into the top flight of candidates.---Royce Freeman, junior running back, OregonFreemans 3,201 yards rushing the last two years are the most by any player in a Power Five conference. He broke LaMichael James single-season school rushing record with 1,836 yards in 2015 and was the only FBS player to pick up more than 100 yards from scrimmage in every game. He also led the country with 36 runs of 15 yards or more.---Greg Ward Jr., senior quarterback, HoustonWard led the Cougars to a 13-1 record that was the best in program history, and hell step into a big national spotlight in the opener against Oklahoma. He and Clemsons Watson were the only quarterbacks to rush for 1,000 yards and pass for 2,000 last season. He also was fifth in the nation with a schoool-record 21 rushing touchdowns.
Greg Little Panthers Jersey. His 16 runs of at least 20 yards led FBS quarterbacks and all players in the American Athletic Conference.---Seth Russell, senior quarterback, BaylorRussell led the Bears to a No. 2 national ranking and six straight wins before a neck injury against Iowa State ended his season. He threw for 29 touchdowns and more than 2,100 yards in seven games and also ran for 402 yards. He opened last season by accounting for six touchdowns against SMU, threw for six TDs against Rice and in his last full game threw for 380 yards and five TDs and ran for 160 yards and a TD against West Virginia.---Jabrill Peppers, sophomore linebacker, MichiganThe last two-way player to win the Heisman was the Wolverines Charles Woodson in 1997. Peppers could be the next. Hes moving from safety to a hybrid linebacker position. He also has shown the ability to excel at a half-dozen other spots, not to mention returning punts and kicks. Anything is accomplishable for Jabrill Peppers in the game of football, coach Jim Harbaugh said, adding that Peppers has greatest-in-the-world type of athleticism.---Josh Rosen, sophomore quarterback, UCLARosen threw for almost 3,700 yards and 23 touchdowns as a freshman and set a school record by going 245 consecutive passes without an interception, though he ended up with 11. The Bruins are transitioning from the spread to a pro-style system that suits him better. He has a new quarterbacks coach in Marques Tuiasosopo and new offensive coordinator in Kennedy Polamalu. As good as Rosen was last year, he figures to only get better.---Online:AP college football site:
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