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HOMESTEAD, Fla. -- Chad Knaus has said in the past that being four years older than Jimmie Johnson, there is the possibility that he could retire from being a crew chief before Johnson does as a driver.But why break up a good thing?A split looked as if it might be necessary earlier this year when Johnson went on a 24-race winless streak, the longest of his career. But after the two won their seventh Sprint Cup title together Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway, it seems as if they might continue for three, four, five or however many years Johnson wants to keep racing.[Thats] probably the way its going to roll out, for sure, Knaus said. It really is. I love him like a brother. Hes a fantastic individual.They have had their moments of sniping at each other on the radio and will continue to do so. Thats just the way they operate. ?But with 80 career victories, Johnson would be stupid to want someone else atop the box.Jimmie has taught me more about life than life itself has taught me, Knaus said. Hes taught me about family. Hes taught me about relationships. Hes taught me about being a champion.When we started this thing, all I was was just a racer guy, and he was a cool California kid, and we kind of grew up together. To be in this situation to where we know hes got a handful of years left, whatever they may be, and for Jimmie and Mr.?[Rick] Hendrick to want me to stick with the 48 car and be at the helm of this ship -- man, its flattering.Its also the right thing to do. At least the results say so.Those guys have a unique relationship, said four-time Cup champion and Hendrick Motorsports co-owner Jeff Gordon. I think if they peeled back all the layers, [they] will tell you theyve gone through plenty of emotions and ups and downs and moments where they werent sure.But theyve stuck it out and thats what made them so strong and why theyre seven-time champions.Knaus is known to push the envelope, and at times it has bitten him. On Sunday, it gnawed at him as the teams car was pulled from the grid and taken back through inspection for what appeared to be a slight adjustment on one of the posts.Johnson had to start at the rear of the field, a penalty that has occurred throughout the garage with somewhat regularity throughout the second half of the season. Teams appear willing to take a risk for what could be a slight advantage -- or just keeping up with everyone else -- knowing they have time to work their way through the field.Its just one of those deals, dude, Knaus said. You work. Thats what we do. We work. Everybody works out there -- everybody, every single team. ... The facts are everybody is out there, everybody is doing everything they possibly can to try to get every ounce of speed out of their race cars, and were going to do the exact same thing, just like everybody else.There could be a reason Knaus needs every ounce of speed out of his race cars. The Hendrick teams were more than a tick behind for much of the year.I still dont think that we necessarily had the speed that we need week in and week out, Knaus said. Weve got to get our cars better, for sure. ... Weve got some work to do to continue to be able to compete with those guys.The one thing 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.Xfinity Series: Suarez makes historyDaniel Suarez won the Xfinity Series title, and he has had lots of mentors, from Joe Gibbs Racing drivers such as Carl Edwards and Kyle Busch to a driver many wouldnt guess.Former NASCAR driver and truck series champion Ron Hornaday Jr. helped teach Suarez how to handle restarts better, something that came in handy Saturday when he won the race to capture the title.I was horrible at it, Suarez said. I was the worst ever out there on my restarts. One day I got the opportunity to talk to him. I went to his house.He started teaching me some good advice, and after that I really felt like I was a different driver, and tonight, we won a championship and a race because of restarts. I want to thank Ron Hornaday big time for all his help.Edwards has been impressed with the improvement Suarez has made this year.Man, that guy is really impressive, Edwards said. Hes a very nice person, to begin with, and then he just is a hard worker, and if you take the [limited] experience that Daniel has, he shouldnt be running the way he is.?Hes very, very gifted, so I really enjoy being around him.Camping World Truck Series: Sauter wins one for familyIn Milwaukee racing circles, the Sauter name has been tormenting the area short tracks for decades.Even in NASCAR, the Sauter name has been racing since 1980.But an individual driver championship has eluded the family in NASCAR -- until Friday night when Johnny Sauter captured the crown.His father, Jim, and brothers Jim Jr., Jay and Tim all competed in NASCAR.Johnny himself ran his first national series race in 2001.I dont know what it would mean to me until it really happened, but for my family, just validation for -- I dont know that they need validation, but its just cool, said Sauter, the 2001 ASA champion. My dad had raced for 40 years. ...?So its just cool to grow up in a racing family, go to so many racetracks throughout the Midwest, and to be a champion in one of the top three NASCAR divisions, thats just something that I hope the family can enjoy.The Sauter and Shear families have competed against or with each other for decades as well, and Johnny and crew chief Joe Shear Jr. had the magic to win the title.Me and Johnny have been together for years and our families have been together for years, and weve raced against each other, and weve won a championship before, and weve just become best friends and worked really hard and been determined, Shear said. Im like almost lost for words.?This is like really huge and special. 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WASHINGTON -- Alex Ovechkin stretched out his arms in celebration, teammates mobbed him along the boards and jubilant fans launched their hats onto the ice.This was the performance they had waited to see.Ovechkin scored his first hat trick this season and 16th of his 10-year NHL career to lead the Washington Capitals over the St. Louis Blues 4-3 on Wednesday night.In the process, the three-time MVP and six-time goal-scoring champ showed the attitude that echoed his best seasons.He played with excitement again, Capitals coach Barry Trotz said of Ovechkin, whose 12 goals now tie him for second in the league. I think sometimes we say hes not scoring enough and all that. . Ive been reducing the minutes a little bit and spreading them out. Hes fresher and I think it will pay off in the long run.The 31-year-old Ovechkin played fewer than 16 minutes but had a goal in each period to move one hat trick ahead of Floridas Jaromir Jagr for the most among active players.Ovechkins second multi-goal game this season also propelled the Capitals to their third win through four games of a five-game homestand.Sometimes you just feel right away when you have an opportunity to shoot the puck, Ovechkin said, and obviously feel the puck on your stick and just go out there and use the momentum.Capitals linemate Evgeny Kuznetsov also scored and added an assist for Washington, which held a lead throughout the final two periods.The biggest thing is they were moving their feet and they were making plays, and they were decisive in what they were doing, Trotz said of the line that also included Andre Burakovsky.Vladimir Tarasenko got his eighth and ninth goals of the season for St. Louis, which scored twice in the final 75 seconds. Alex Pietrangelo added a late goal for the Blues, who had won four straight.The Blues fell behind after a firrst period in which they committed four penalties, the last of which led to Ovechkins first goal.ddddddddddddhen you dont use your legs, you end up using your stick, and thats whats happened, St. Louis coach Ken Hitchcock said. Theres too many of them early in the game. It sends the wrong message to the rest of the team.Ovechkin had already scored twice before Kuznetsovs goal made it 3-1 early in the third. And after a replay review found Ovechkin not to be guilty of being offside, he sent the home crowd into a frenzy only 24 seconds later.From a faceoff in the Caps end, he got the puck near his own blue line on the left and pushed forward quickly. With a man open to his right, Ovechkin instead unleashed a ferocious shot at full stride that caromed off goalie Carter Huttons glove and into the top left corner.Its fun to watch when hes making the shot and when hes feeling it, Kuznetsov said. Its tough to stop him.On a power play in the first, Ovechkin took Kuznetsovs feed and rifled a wrist shot that skimmed off and over Huttons left shoulder.Ovechkin made it 2-0 in the second when he took John Carlsons cross-ice feed and fired a slap shot from a similar spot inside the left faceoff circle off the goalies blocker.Game notes Ovechkin is one power-play goal shy of becoming the 18th player in NHL history to reach 200. ... Tarasenko has 13 points in his last 10 games. ... Capitals C Lars Eller (upper body) returned after a one-game absence, but RW T.J. Oshie (upper body) missed his second game. ... Washington outshot St. Louis 10-2 during the first period.UP NEXT:Blues: Begin a five-game homestand against Minnesota on Saturday.Capitals: Close a five-game homestand Friday against Buffalo. ' ' '