Auto Racing
Sprint Showdown now gives ‘more bang for their buck’
CONCORD, N.C. – Charlotte Motor Speedway officials are changing the schedule for the 30th annual Sprint Cup All-Star Race weekend in May.
Speedway President Marcus Smith said Tuesday the Sprint Showdown qualifying race will move to Friday night, May 16 – the night before the popular All-Star Race. The race previously was held Saturday as a prelude to the All-Star Race. Qualifying will move from Friday night to Saturday afternoon.
By moving the Sprint Showdown to Friday night, Smith said fans will get “more bang for their buck” with a chance to see Sprint Cup cars and a Truck Series race on the same night.
The top two finishers in the Showdown will qualify for the All-Star race. Fans also will vote one driver into the race Friday night. Those three drivers now will have a chance to qualify for track position Saturday as part of the three-lap, mandatory four-tire pit stop qualifying event. In the past, the two Showdown qualifiers and the fan favorite started at the back of the field for the All-Star race since qualifying already had been completed.
Jimmie Johnson, who has won six titles, five consecutive from 2006 through 2010 and then last season, has won the last two All-Star events, giving him four victories overall, more than any driver in history.
MLB
Bigger, heavier, a new cap is made available for pitchers
NEW YORK – Big league pitchers might feel safer on the mound this season.
Major League Baseball has approved a protective cap for pitchers, hoping to reduce the damage from line drives to the head that have brought some bloody and terrifying scenes in the last few years.
The bigger and heavier hat was introduced Tuesday and will be available for testing during spring training on a voluntary basis. Major leaguers and minor leaguers won’t be required to wear it – comfort likely is to be a primary concern.
Janish and the Rockies agree to a minor league deal
DENVER – Paul Janish and the Colorado Rockies agreed to a minor league contract, and the utility infielder will report to big league spring training.
The 31-year-old spent the last two seasons with the Atlanta Braves. Before that he played four years with the Cincinnati Reds, who picked him in the fifth round of the 2004 amateur draft.
Janish is a career .214 hitter with seven homers and 81 runs batted in.
Fla. prosecutors drop charges against L.A. outfielder
NAPLES, Fla. – Prosecutors dropped a reckless driving charge against Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig.
The state attorney’s office in southwest Florida dropped the charge Tuesday. A memo from prosecutors explained that excessive speed wasn’t sufficient to prosecute the case without other aggravating factors, such as weaving in and out of traffic, losing control of the vehicle or causing other motorists to brake or swerve.
The 23-year-old Cuban defector was arrested Dec. 28 at the western end of Alligator Alley near Naples after a Florida Highway Patrol trooper reported clocking him at 110 mph in a 70-mph zone.
World Cup Ski Racing
19-year-old Norwegian wins the Tuesday-night slalom
SCHLADMING, Austria – Norwegian teenager Henrik Kristoffersen upset the Olympic slalom favorites by winning a World Cup night race Tuesday.
In front of a ski-mad crowd of 45,000, the 19-year-old Kristoffersen beat Marcel Hirscher and Felix Neureuther by putting in a blistering second run for his first career victory. Kristoffersen finished the final World Cup slalom before the Sochi Olympics in 1 minute, 47.43 seconds to beat second-place Hirscher by 0.18 and Neureuther by 0.19.
Americans Ted Ligety and Bode Miller both failed to finish their opening runs.
Associated Press
