Auto Racing
NASCAR considers radical changes to the Chase
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – A 16-driver championship field that would be whittled down to create a winner-take-all season finale is among radical changes reportedly being considered by NASCAR.
NASCAR chairman Brian France repeatedly has said he wants to place a greater emphasis on winning, and he’s never ruled out tinkering with the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship format in an effort to create the “Game 7 moments” he covets.
The Charlotte Observer first reported Friday night a possible overhaul to the Chase format that France first introduced in 2004 and has made periodic changes to several times since.
Citing anonymous sources, The Observer outlined three major changes beginning with expanding the field from 12 drivers to 16 – meaning a win during the “regular season” virtually would guarantee a driver a spot in the field.
Once the field is set, The Observer said NASCAR is considering eliminations during the 10-race Chase.
The field would be cut after the third, sixth and ninth races. The proposed eliminations would drop the lowest four drivers from title contention after the third, sixth and ninth races, leaving four drivers eligible for a “winner-take-all” race in the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The four remaining drivers would go into Homestead with their points reset and tied in the standings, The Observer said.
A statement from NASCAR chief communications officer Brett Jewkes was noncommittal on The Observer report.
College Football
Clemson extends Swinney with 8 years and a raise
COLUMBIA, S.C. – Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney received a new, eight-year contract Saturday and a raise that increased his total pay for next season to $3.15 million.
The school announced the reworked contract that ties Swinney to the Tigers through 2021. Swinney’s previous deal paid him a total of $2.55 million and was good through 2017.
Clemson had its second consecutive 11-2 season, finishing up with a 40-35 victory over Ohio State in the Orange Bowl. It was Clemson’s third consecutive season with double-digit victories.
Swinney, 44, is 51-23 overall and 33-12 in ACC play.
World Cup Ski Racing
Kueng of the Wengen hill in front of the hometown fans
WENGEN, Switzerland – Switzerland is very happy to have Patrick Kueng in this Winter Olympics season.
Kueng won the classic Lauberhorn downhill race over a shortened course Saturday, giving the Alpine nation and most of the 29,000 fans lining the slope a fourth home victory within six years in their biggest sports event.
In a tight race, Kueng’s winning time of 1 minute, 32.66 seconds was 0.06 faster than Hannes Reichelt of Austria. Overall World Cup leader Aksel Lund Svindal of Norway was one more hundredth further back, and two-time Lauberhorn winner Bode Miller was fifth.
Kueng’s second World Cup win this season, after a super-G at Beaver Creek last month, confirmed his status as Switzerland’s best men’s hope for Olympic success in Sochi.
Bad weather bumps super-G in favor of a Cortina downhill
CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy – The women’s World Cup downhill scheduled for Saturday was postponed until Sunday because of bad weather and soft snow conditions on the Olympia delle Tofane course.
The originally scheduled super-G on Sunday now will have to be rescheduled.
Associated Press
