LOS ANGELES -- A 42-year-old skydiver with more than 18,000 jumps made history Saturday when he became the first person to leap without a parachute and land in a net instead.After a two-minute freefall, Luke Aikins landed dead center in the 100-by-100-foot net at the Big Sky movie ranch on the outskirts of Simi Valley.As cheers erupted, Aikins quickly climbed out, walked over and hugged his wife, Monica, who had been watching from the ground with their 4-year-old son, Logan, and other family members.Im almost levitating, its incredible, the jubilant skydiver said, raising his hands over his head as his wife held their son, who dozed in her arms.This thing just happened! I cant even get the words out of my mouth, he added as he thanked the dozens of crew members who spent two years helping him prepare for the jump, including those who assembled the fishing trawler-like net and made sure it really worked.The stunt, broadcast live on the Fox network for the TV special Stride Gum Presents Heaven Sent, nearly didnt come off as planned when Aikins revealed just before climbing into his plane that the Screen Actors Guild had ordered him to wear a parachute to ensure his safety.Aikins didnt say what prompted the original restriction, and representatives for the show and the Screen Actors Guild did not immediately respond to phone and email messages.Aikins said he considered pulling out at that point because having the parachute canister on his back would make his landing in the net far more dangerous. If he had to wear it he said he wouldnt bother to pull the ripcord anyway.Im going all the way to the net, no question about it, he said from the plane. Ill just have to deal with the consequences when I land of wearing the parachute on my back and what its going to do to my body.A few minutes before the jump one of the shows hosts said the requirement had been lifted. Aikins left the plane without the chute.He jumped with three other skydivers, each wearing parachutes. One had a camera, another trailed smoke so people on the ground could follow his descent and the third took an oxygen canister he handed off after they got to an altitude where it was no longer needed.Then the others opened their parachutes and left him on his own.Aikins admitted before the jump he was nervous and his mother said she was one family member who wouldnt watch.When his friend Chris Talley came up with the idea two years ago, Aikins acknowledged he turned it down cold.I kind of laugh and I say, `Ok, thats great. Ill help you find somebody to do it, he told The Associated Press as he trained for the jump last week.A couple of weeks after Talley made his proposal Aikins called back and said he would do it. Hed been the backup jumper in 2012 when Felix Baumgartner became the first skydiver to break the speed of sound during a jump from 24 miles above Earth.The 42-year-old daredevil made his first tandem jump when he was 12, following with his first solo leap four years later. Hes been racking them up at several hundred a year ever since.His father and grandfather were skydivers, and his wife has made 2,000 jumps. His family owns Skydive Kapowsin near Tacoma, Washington.Aikins is also a safety and training adviser for the United States Parachute Association and is certified to teach both students and skydiving instructors. His business Para Tactics provides skydiving training to Navy Seals and other members of elite fighting forces. Radko Gudas Jersey . 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Of course Hope Hornish was going to gravitate toward auto racing. Its hard to imagine it turning out any other way.She grew up idolizing her uncle, Sam Hornish Jr., who won 19 races, including the 2006 Indianapolis 500 and three championships in IndyCar between 2000 and 2007. Add a love for speed and plenty of support from other family members, and Hopes career choice was easy.Now comes the hard part: getting a real shot.Shes getting her best opportunity yet this week at Floridas New Smyrna Speedway as an invitee to NASCARs 13th annual Drive for Diversity (D4D) combine, a multifaceted tryout for scholarships in stock car racings premier driver development program.Seventeen drivers, including a record-tying 13 females, are competing for spots in the NASCAR Drive for Diversity Class of 2017. At least six berths are available, but that number could grow if any of the six members of the 2016 class are invited back. Ali Kern from the 2016 class and another Whelen All-American Series driver, Maddie Crane, also are in the mix, so all told, 15 females are in the running.Hornish, 19, comes from Defiance, Ohio, and is majoring in political science at Adrian (Michigan) College. She has been racing go-karts and other cars since she was 8. She has also been watching her uncle Sam, who has also competed at NASCARs top level and has a win this season in the Xfinity Series.Were pretty close, Hope said of her relationship with Sam. I hang out with his children, who are my cousins, and we go to church and have family dinners all the time. Hes been a really good mentor as far as being a role model for people who look up to you no matter what you are doing. Hes also been very influential with my life as a Christian.If Hope has a racing question or needs a tip, Sam is just a text message away.I can simply ask him a question, and hell get back to me and give me some insiders or some pointers whenever I need it, Hope said. But I have to ask for it. He doesnt want to step on my toes or anything, and I dont want to bug him too much because I know he has a busy schedule, but hes always there if I need him.Hope began racing late models after graduating from high school in 2015, competing at Angola Motorsport Speedway in Fremont, Indiana. She spent most of this season competing on the JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour. Racing is expensive, and for Hope, it has been a we effort to this point.We is my parents, April and John Hahn; my grandpa, Sam Hornish [Sr.]; my nana, Joanne; my uncle, Sam; my aunt, Crystal ... my whole family in general, she said. My grandpa has been very influential in my racing career. He has given me a lot of advice and pointers when I need them, and he helps me with the off-track connections and knowing people as far as trying to get my foot in the door in the racing world.Theres a lengthy application for the D4D program, and more than 70 candidates submitted résumés thiis year, according to NASCAR senior vice president of racing operations Jim Cassidy, who leads the sanctioning bodys multicultural development department.ddddddddddddDriving talent isnt the only skill the evaluators will be measuring during the combine, which started Monday and runs through Wednesday after being postponed from Oct. 10-12 because of Hurricane Matthew.First and foremost, were looking for that vision of somebody who is going to be able to compete at a very high level, Cassidy said. In order to compete at a very high level, you have to have a whole lot of natural talent, but you also have to be teachable. If youre not teachable, if youre not a great communicator in the car, that can translate in a way that doesnt optimize what your natural talent is.Gone are the days when the racing jobs went only to the fastest and toughest. The skill set now has to be much broader.Outside of the car, you need to be able to represent Fortune 500 [companies], and be able to interact and represent brands in a way that drives business, Cassidy said. And then, obviously, were looking for young drivers who are ultimately going to represent the sport and understand the significance of their position being the star power of the sport. We want to see personalities, we want to see those come out. We always say it, and its cliché, but we want the entire package.Among the other female candidates are Macy Causey, who at 14 years old was the youngest participant in D4D combine history in 2015, and Hailie Deegan, daughter of Brian Deegan, the most decorated athlete in freestyle motocross history. Causey is the granddaughter of Diane Teel, who in 1978 became the first woman to win a NASCAR-sanctioned race.Danica Patrick remains the only woman competing in NASCARs top Sprint Cup series, but between the D4D applicants and participants and a few who are further along, there could be others before long.Cassidy noted that NASCAR Next member Julia Landauer and alum Nicole Behar finished on the podium (second and third, respectively) in the K&N West Series race at Meridian (Idaho) Speedway late last month. NASCAR Next drivers receive promotional and marketing support.I think it would be short-sighted for us to say wed like to find another Danica, Cassidy said. What we want to do is make sure that every young woman out there understands that NASCAR has an avenue, if thats something that you think you want to do. Weve really got a great group of drivers coming in, and I would hope that were not looking for just another female driver to get to the highest level, but rather, were looking for it to become not so much of a conversation as it is a norm.And just maybe, NASCARs racing future could include another racing Hornish -- a female iteration this time. Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale Black NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Free Shipping China NFL Gear Youth NFL Jerseys Wholesale Discount Jerseys Jerseys From China ' ' '