HOMESTEAD, Fla. -- Jimmie Johnson has sported a helmet this year that includes the images of Dale Earnhardt and Richard Petty. Painted between the Hall of Famers, a florescent green 7 shines from the back.Johnson didnt tell crew chief Chad Knaus about the helmet. He probably knew better. Knaus doesnt exactly endorse the looking-beyond-the-immediate-race strategy.But Johnson needed something to focus on as he attempted to go from a six-time Sprint Cup champion to a record-tying seven-time titlist. Only Petty and Earnhardt have accomplished such a feat.So after two seasons in which he failed to advance in the Chase for the Sprint Cup to the championship round, Johnson started racing with a helmet as a reminder of what he could accomplish.The fact I have the 7 and Dale and Richards faces on my helmet is, one, respect to them and, two, just to put a target on something, Johnson said. Thats the goal. Thats what I want to do. ... Its not that Im trying to get to something so I can stop, that Im getting to the peak of whatever it is and Im good.Its more of a target that I just want to have something to focus on, obsess on.That obsession, which started three years ago after Johnson won his sixth title, has turned into an opportunity Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway. If Johnson can finish better than Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards and Joey Logano in the Ford 400, Johnson will earn that seventh Sprint Cup title.He wants that [seventh] so badly, Dale Earnhardt Jr. said on one of his podcasts. Weve had a few conversations about that, and I know how much that would mean to him. ... I believe he does deserve it.After everything he has put into the sport, I think it would be good for him to go ahead and win that championship.When Earnhardts father won his seventh title, the fans at Rockingham Speedway either cheered for their hero or against the driver who would tie their hero. Johnson could expect the same 22 years later.He has legions of fans, and the Earnhardt endorsement certainly wont hurt him. But many NASCAR fans wouldnt want him to tie a record set when the championship was awarded by points throughout the entire season instead of a reset with 10 races remaining.Its one of those deals where I did my thing in my time, Earnhardt done his thing in his time, Petty said. Jimmie is doing his thing in his time. So we never competed with each other.We won ours against who we was playing against. Earnhardt won his and Jimmie is winning against the people that hes running against, so theres no way to compare it. Its just a number.Johnson has the incredible respect of Petty because he won five consecutive Cup titles in a system in which a driver had to run great over that 10-race stretch. He once had to average a fifth-place finish just to capture the crown over four-time Cup champion Jeff Gordon.Thats the most underrated record in all of sports, what Jimmie did there, said Richards son, Kyle. But you know what? [My dad] looked at it and said Jimmie may be just pausing at seven. He may go to eight.Heres a guy that has that potential to go on. Were talking seven, but heres a guy thats done it so fast that he can go to eight.The 41-year-old Johnson never dreamed of getting to one. A former motorcycle and off-road racer, Johnson first came to NASCAR just hoping to win a Cup race.Winning seven? It would be insane, Johnson said. I dreamed of winning a race and then to have 79 [wins] and the championships, Ive had to move the bar up over the years because weve just had great fortune and great success.Im not a stat guy and chase that. Im aware of it. Im aware of what it would mean. And, damn, I want to do it.Johnson didnt realize the strain, the pressure of his consecutive championship streak until it got snapped in 2011 and he felt so much more relaxed going into Homestead. He failed to advance to the championship round in the first two years of the elimination format after his 2013 title.That has led his crew, in rah-rah moments, to say that NASCAR tried to Jimmie-proof the Chase with this format, where four drivers get eliminated every three races and its a best-finish-take-all day at Homestead -- a track where Johnson averages a 14th-place finish. Now the crew wants Johnson to prove he can win in any format.Im trying to distinguish if its championship pressure or if its really about seven, Johnson said. The last couple of years when the doors closed for whatever reason, theres a ton of pain and agony that goes with it.I dont think its necessarily about seven. Its about missing the chance of winning one. Especially the last one. I felt like I could have been a player [last year].This year, Johnson didnt look anything like a player over the summer. But his Hendrick Motorsports team has rebounded since August, and he has won two races in the Chase. His win at Martinsville gave him three weeks to focus on Homestead.It also allowed him to relax. He can go on 7-mile runs and think about the Homestead race. He also held an event for his foundation, in which he awarded grants to schools and the kids made toy race cars.Johnson has an obvious tie to wanting to help public schools -- his mother drove a school bus for a living. His father operated a backhoe. Ironically, the driver whose grass roots most closely resemble Dale Earnhardt Sr.s has fought a perception of a slick Californian who had money to get his ride. While Earnhardt used an intimidating persona to earn his stripes, Johnson opted for a professional, squeaky-clean image to make sure that sponsors wanted to support a driver with limited stock-car experience.I fought that my whole career. ... People just thought I had the silver spoon lifestyle, Johnson said. That would have made things a heck of a lot easier if that was the case.But it wasnt. People thought Junior Johnson was my father [for] the longest time.Laugh all you want, but the funny thing is that among the four finalists, Johnson might be the easiest to go have a drink with or celebrate a title. His championship celebration stories are ones that would make any college kid proud and he once proclaimed his liver hated him during one of his championship media tours.While he might not have the due respect of fans across the board, he does have it in the garage -- every garage he has competed in throughout his career. Not only does team owner Rick Hendrick bid at items during the Jimmie Johnson Foundation annual dinner and golf tournament, his former Xfinity Series owner, Stan Herzog, does too. As do his former racing buddies Jeremy McGrath, jet ski racer Victor Sheldon and off-road Hall of Famer Walker Evans.Hes a class guy, rival team owner Roger Penske said. He represents the industry, the garage area, the driver area in such a great way. To me, if he gets it, he sure deserves it.If he gets it, he can retire the helmet. And then torment his crew chief a little by having a helmet designed for a run at the eighth title.I saw it, and I was like, Oh boy, Knaus said about his first spotting the helmet on top of the car. Look, everybody gets motivated differently. Everybody has different things in their mind that gets them going in the morning or continues to motivate them throughout the course of the day.Jimmie, I think its not only a motivation for him to have that stuff on his helmet. I also think its a show of respect to the people that he is chasing. I think its a pretty cool thing.In addition to the tributes to the seven-time champions, what makes the helmet cool is the 7, painted in a way in tribute to the memory of Ricky Hendrick, Ricks son who was among 10 killed in a Hendrick Motorpsorts plane crash in 2004. Ricky used to write his 7 in that style.Johnson didnt design the helmet. He told artist Jason Beam what he wanted -- images of Petty and Earnhardt as well as some way to pay tribute to Ricky -- and Beam did the rest. He found some old-school photos of Earnhardt and Petty both in cowboy hats that he felt gave it a sweet old-school feel and would work best on the helmet. He added Chasing to the 7 after getting a text from Johnson talking about chasing the seventh title.Beam designs helmets for several drivers -- including two of the four finalists, with Busch and Johnson. He did one for Brendan Gaughan that had the family logo and a championship trophy prior to the 2003 truck championship race, which Gaughan ended up not winning.Im really superstitious, Beam said. I was like, [Gaughan] youre jinxing yourself. ... Ive watched this past couple of weeks this whole helmet hype, this whole seven hype and Im thinking I hope its not going to jinx him out of winning.For Beam, he had no problem trying to make an iconic helmet for Johnson.Ive done Jimmies helmets for 16 years, Beam said. Im really comfortable with what I do. Jimmie has always been very supportive. Jimmie doesnt have a lot of input.He has really trusted my judgment. I nailed what his style is years ago.Maybe thats why Johnson has had such a successful run. He doesnt wig out about the small details, putting his faith in the people with talent. All that Knaus asks is that the helmet remains lightweight.Beam has more Johnson helmets to paint. While winning a seventh would be cool, Johnson has no thoughts of winning the title Sunday and then calling it a career. He would go for eight. Or nine. Or possibly even more, although many dont see him racing much past 45.Youll still have to deal with me -- theres no mic drop, Johnson said. My wife might like that, but Im not there yet. She doesnt want to deal with me -- I still have too much racing in my system to get out.Even Petty would think of it as cool if Johnson ties his record. But Petty has been around racing long enough to know that racing is unpredictable at best.So hell watch the race Sunday and see if he welcomes another driver into the seven-title club.Being that I dont have a dog in the hunt, I dont care [if he does it], Petty said. And if he does, Im going to say, Congratulations.If he dont, Try again next year. Cheap Yeezy 350 v2 Womens . Burke is expected to miss two to three months after breaking a finger in the teams third preseason game. 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Opportunistic at opposite eventWith the worlds top-ranked players some 12 time zones away in China, PGA Tour rookie Cody Gribble took advantage of the circumstances Sunday by winning the Sanderson Farms Championship, known as one of the PGA Tours opposite events.There are four such tournaments on the schedule, and they dont offer a spot to the winner in the Masters, dont offer as many FedEx Cup points as a regular tournament (300, compared to 500 at regular events) and typically come with less than a $1 million payday -- although Gribble is surely not quibbling about his $756,000 first-place check.But there are other valuable perks, not the least of which is the two-year PGA Tour exemption which means Gribble has a place to play through the 2018-19 season (it is two years beyond the current season). He also will get a spot in the winners-only Tournament of Champions in January, where there is a guaranteed paycheck, and sets himself up for a shot at the WGC-Mexico Championship by virtue of his place in the FedEx Cup standings.And those 300 points come in handy as it relates to getting in the FedEx Cup playoffs next August.A win is huge no matter the player or circumstances, but for someone in Gribbles position, it is especially so. Gribble, who played college golf at the University of Texas with Jordan Spieth and was making just his eighth PGA Tour start, earned his spot through the Web.com Tour, where he was 40th in the priority rankings. That number can change based on performance, so there was no guarantee he would get the playing opportunities necessary to keep his status.Now hes got it -- and for another two seasons -- along with a big check and a good head start on his rookie season.2. No guaranteesGribble does not have to do much research to find that others who have won opposite events have not necessarily prospered. In fact, Peter Malnati, who won the Sanderson Farms Championship last year, has missed 20 cuts in 32 events since. That is the beauty of having the two-year exemption. Malnati still has time to work out any issues. Nick Taylor, who won the event in 2014, had just a single top-10 in 2016, missed 10 cuts in 24 events and has slipped to 410th in the world.Tony Finau, who won the Puerto Rico Open last year played opposite the WGC-Dell Match Play, has probably had the most success, although hes had no top-10s in 18 tournaments since his victory. He is ranked 80th in the world.Greg Chalmers won the Barracuda Championship in July opposite the WGC-Bridgestone. He has placed no better than a tie for 33rd in seven events afterward and missed nine cuts on the PGA Tour in 2016. J.J. Henry, who won the Barracuda a year prior, has played 30 tournaments since, missed 13 cuts and had no top-10s.So while these tournaments provide an excellent opportunity, they are not necessarily an indication of future success.3. Should there be more or less?Currently, the opposite events are Sanderson Farms (WGC-Bridgestone), Puerto Rico Open (WGC-Match Play), Barbasol Championship (The Open) and the Barracuda Championship (WGC-Bridgestone).Some believe there shouldnt be any, that if you cant qualify for the PGA Tour event being played that week, so be it. But that is a minority view; the bulk of PGA Tour players want playing opportunities, and the PGA Tours mission is to provide them. Hence, the schedule that seemingly never ends.That does not help the overall product, however. The calendar is saturated with golf events and if anything, there needs to be less, not more.So as crazy as it might sound, why not add some opposite events? They would be played at the same time as some of the bigger tournaments, offer more playing opportunities, possibly affording the PGA Tour the ability to somewhat contract its schedule.Now there are 47 tournaments spread across 43 weeks, including the FedEx Cup playoffs.There is no movement to cut back, so why not have a few more tournaments opposite the big ones and shrink the scheduule that way? There could easily be eight opposite events -- the same week as the four majors and four WGCs.dddddddddddd (The Sanderson Farms used to be known as the Mississippi Masters as it was played the same week as the Masters from 1969 through 1993.)You could play the same week as the Players Championship, too, and maybe the same week as one of the invitationals where there are limited fields, such as the Arnold Palmer Invitational or the Memorial.The negative for the sponsor, of course, is playing the same week as a bigger more prominent tournament means less exposure. But many get little attention, especially some of those this time of year such as this weeks Shriners Hospital For Childrens Open, or the OHL Classic next week or the RSM Classic in two weeks.Make the FedEx Cup points and the purse half of a regular event. Those who play in these tournaments will have the benefit of less competition but will have to play well in a couple of them to earn the same number of points and money. More players get a chance, a sponsor potentially gets a break in fees and the tour can offer more playing opportunities while cutting back on tournament weeks.4. OopsBecause the Shriners tournament in Las Vegas was moved from October to November this year, those few extra weeks mean even less daylight. Hence, the tournament requested a reduction in field size from 144 players to 132 in order to better be able to complete the first two rounds. Alas, a clerical error at the PGA Tour led to players committing to the tournament under the previous 144 provisions, leaving the tour no choice but to go with the larger field size -- and the likelihood of rounds having to be completed the following day.5. Congrats from a fellow Longhorn ...Gribble got a shout out from his more famous former Texas teammate. 6. ... and a former college rivalJustin Thomas, who played college golf at Alabama, congratulated Gribble by noting his eligibility for the Tournament of Champions in Hawaii at Kapalua. 7. Japans finestHideki Matsuyama won for the third time on the PGA Tour and became the first Asian player to win a WGC event with his seven-stroke victory Sunday at the HSBC Champions. It followed a victory two weeks earlier at the Japan Open and moved Matsuyama to a career-best sixth in the world -- just one spot below the best ever by a Japanese player, Jumbo Ozaki.Masahi Jumbo Ozaki, now 69, was quite a character in his day, wearing colorful clothes and flying in a sushi chef for tournament appearances outside of Japan.Ranked among the top 10 in the world for nearly 200 weeks, Ozaki had little success outside of Japan. His record was often criticized for that very reason; he had 94 wins on the Japan Golf Tour -- including 12 money titles -- and more than 100 in his career -- but just one outside of Japan at the 1972 New Zealand PGA Championship. Ozaki was highly-ranked into his early 50s and was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2010. But he had just three top-10s in major championships among his 48 appearances.8. First-world problemsMatt Kuchar thought he had won a Cadillac when he made an ace at the par-3 17th hole Saturday at the WGC-HSBC Champions in China. A car was placed at the hole for just that purpose, but there was some fine print in play. For insurance reasons, the car was being offered only if the tee shot measured 200 yards or more. For weekend play, tournament officials moved up the tee due to conditions and noted the change to the prize being offered as well. Kuchars shot was from 193 yards.I was teased by this beautiful car sitting there thats not to be mine, Kuchar said.9. Look, theres a tee back thereThey are really doing this at the Turkish Airlines Open this week. This is the 16th hole, which has a back tee atop a villa at the European Tours first of three Final Series events. ' ' '