le, but Watt expects to play -- and play well -- on Sunday.With Matt Forte gone,

HOMESTEAD, Fla. -- Jimmie Johnson walked across the stage after driver introductions to find his car inexplicably missing from pit road.In a dramatic start to his race for a record-tying seventh championship, Johnson learned NASCARs inspectors had yanked his Chevrolet off the pre-race grid and sent it back through tech. The Hendrick Motorsports team had been accused of manipulating a body panel, and Johnson had to start last in the field.In less than 30 laps, he was sniffing the top-10.He come from last doing that? Joey Logano asked him team, Wow.The best was yet to come.For most of the day, 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 with a record seven titles, but he was clearly not in the same league as the other finalists Sunday night.Johnson, who seemed to have sensed the last 10 weeks that he was finally going to grab that special seventh title, never panicked.I felt like something was going to happen, and I was going to be OK with it, Johnson said. For a while I came to grips with the reality of (finishing) third, fourth, somewhere in there and shaking somebody elses hand and being happy for them.Then it changed so quick at the end.Johnson was practically gifted his seventh title when Carl 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.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.Johnson received kind words from Petty, while Hendrick Motorsports teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. 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 seemed headed for the title until a caution with 10 laps remaining set up a wild sequence. 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.They were nowhere all day, and just kind of ran around, I dont know, probably, Id guess sixth, said 2015 champion Kyle Busch. 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.Perhaps its because Johnson had no plan. This was one of those rare days in racing when someone elses bad breaks benefited a driver who was prepared to pounce. Edwards accident gave him a chance Johnson didnt have a mere five laps earlier.It wasnt looking good, Knaus admitted. I still dont think that we necessarily had the speed that we need. The one thing that we have in our corner is we have Jimmie Johnson. He is the one that makes things happen when we dont necessarily have the race cars.When we do have the race cars that we need, he does phenomenal things.Also doubting the situation was team owner Rick Hendrick, standing atop the pit box and lamenting with 10 laps to go that it was over for Johnson. His wife told him Johnson was still going to win the race. Hendrick didnt take her seriously.When we had that last caution and he came out and took the lead, I couldnt believe it, Hendrick said. I was actually stunned because we had so many ups and downs in that race.Indeed, from last to first and the top of the record books.---More AP auto racing: www.racing.ap.org Cheap NHL Jerseys Free Shipping . Vettel was 0.168 seconds faster than Red Bull teammate Mark Webber around the Suzuka circuit. Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg was two tenths of a second off Vettel. "The car balance is decent, but I think we can still improve," Vettel said. Wholesale NHL Jerseys Authentic . Howard Ganz, an MLB lawyer, said in a letter to U.S. District Judge Edgardo Ramos that Rodriguezs claims do not come "remotely close" to what is needed to overturn an arbitration decision in federal court. http://www.cheapchinanhljerseys.com/ . "Thank you for the warm welcome," Beckham said on an 80-degree February morning. In this case, it was soccer weather. The sport moved a step closer to returning to South Florida on Wednesday, when Beckham confirmed he has exercised his option to purchase a Major League Soccer expansion franchise in Miami. Cheap NHL Jerseys .C. - The Carolina Hurricanes have placed backup goalie Anton Khudobin on injured reserve with an unspecified lower-body injury. Wholesale NHL Jerseys China . The 18-year-old American had five birdies in her bogey-free round for a 17-under total of 196. Lee held the overnight lead but mixed three birdies with two bogeys for a 70.Jack Butland has described Joe Hart as someone he looked up to as he prepares to replace him in between the sticks for England this weekend. The goalkeeper is set to start for the Three Lions against Germany on Saturday - and hopefully against the Netherlands on Tuesday - after Hart was injured in Sundays Manchester derby.He will face competition from Fraser Forster and Tom Heaton for the spot - and a place on the plane to France for Euro 2016 - but Butland says the England goalkeepers get on extremely well and described Hart as a modern hero for him earlier in his career. Jack Butland says he looked up to Joe Hart (left) at Birmingham City I wasnt a goalkeeper until I was 13 or 14 so before that, my heroes were the likes of Paul Scholes and David Beckham, but since becoming a goalkeeper, Ive obviously trained with Joe Hart, Butland told Sky Sports at the launch of Englands Euro 2016 kit with Nike.We trained together for a couple of years when I was at Birmingham and he was someone who, at the time, was making the moves in the game that I wanted to make.He was certainly someone that I looked up to, having trained with him for that year, as a much more modern hero for sure. Butland has earned three caps for the England senior squad Its very positive between the England goalkeepers. We get on extremely well, and at the end of the day, its where we work and you want it to be as enjoyable as possible.From our point of view as professionals, we want to be competitive and be the best but its enjoyable at the same time. We push each other on, we congratulate each other and we back each other so there are lots of positive things going on. From our point of view as professionals, we want to be competitive and be the best but its enjoyable at the same time. We push each other on. Butland on Joe Hart Its brilliant, I love coming away because its always like that and I feel like each time Ive gone on a trip with England, Ive come away feeling sharper, fitter and better about myself.England had a poor showing at the 2014 World Cup, where they failed to get out of their group - but followed it up with a 100 per cent record in qualification for Euro 2016. Butland says confidence is high in the England camp They face some testing friendlies in the next few months ahead of their June 11 opener against Russia and Butland expects the feeling to be positive in the camp as they build-up to the competition.Were obviously very confident. We believe that we have more than enough ability but were coming up against some tough sides so were trying to prepare for that, certainly over the next week against Germany and Holland, he added.We have a lot of talent in the squad with a number of young players who are cooming through and making their way in the game and experienced professionals who are doing the same.dddddddddddd Butland lines up alongside Phil Jagielka and Phil Jones before a Euro 2016 qualifier in Lithuania Theres great togetherness between everyone especially after the qualifying campaign that weve had and hopefully some good friendlies coming up that will test us.Come the end of it, hopefully the confidence will be even higher and well be ready to go so Im expecting it to be on point with everyone focused and raring to go. Statistical Euro squad Who is in the Euro 2016 squad according to the stats? Its down to us to be ready, but were confident with the players that we have and the ability that weve got that we can beat anyone. Weve shown that over the qualifying campaign and the friendlies so its down to us to convert that and make sure we do it on the big stage in the Euros.Despite his relatively young age of 23, Butland is no stranger to international competition, having already been part of the squad for Euro 2012 as well as competing in the Olympics for Team GB. Butland was part of the Team GB mens football team during the 2012 Olympics The stopper believes his 28 appearances for the under-21s gives him a great platform for the upcoming tournament in France.Ive been fortunate enough to go to many tournaments - the Euros in Poland and Ukraine, two European Championships with the under-21s, the under-20 World Cup and other tournaments with the younger age groups with England where weve been successful as well. Key dates We look at the key dates coming up in Englands diary Ive had my fair share and I know what its like and what it takes to go away for long periods of time, how to keep busy and how to keep focused so I think it will set me up perfectly in terms of experience for the summer and hopefully my performances from this year can add to that.Ive been working all season and all my career to be No 1. Ill do my best to continue that for the rest of the year to put together as big of a case as I can for myself.But ultimately, I want to part of a successful team with England no matter who plays in goal. Ill back and support anyone who is in there and hopefully on a personal note - and more importantly as a team - its a positive and successful one.Jack Butland wears Englands new 2016 home goalkeeper kit, built for speed with revolutionary Nike Aeroswift innovation. Visit nike.com for more information. 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