Auto Racing
An appeals panel again sides in favor of the driver ...
CONCORD, N.C. – A NASCAR appeals panel sided with Joe Gibbs Racing on Wednesday and eased some of the penalties imposed for having an illegal part in Matt Kenseth’s race-winning engine at Kansas last month.
JGR did not dispute the part was illegal but argued the penalties were too severe; the three-member National Stock Car Racing Appeals Panel agreed and dramatically reduced almost every penalty.
The points deducted from Kenseth were reduced from 50 to 12, which moves him from 11th in the standings to fourth. The panel also reinstated the three bonus points he earned for the victory for seeding in the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship.
The panel also reduced crew chief Jason Ratcliff’s suspension from six races to one race and eliminated the six-race suspension for owner Joe Gibbs. It let stand Ratcliff’s $200,000 fine. The only action the panel took was increasing Toyota’s penalty from a five-point fine to seven points.
... as for Penske, the crew digs deep to fill its voids
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Penske Racing is reaching deep into its bench after NASCAR suspended seven of its employees.
NASCAR’s chief appellate officer reduced the suspensions from six points races to two and the All-Star race. The suspensions will begin this weekend at Darlington.
Penske vice president of operations Mike Nelson will replace Travis Geisler as competition director.
Test team manager Kevin Buskirk will replace Paul Wolfe as defending Sprint Cup champion Brad Keselowski’s crew chief. Jonathan Hassler will be race engineer, and Nick Hensley will be car chief.
Race engineer Steve Reis will replace Todd Gordon as Joey Logano’s crew chief. But Nationwide Series crew chief Greg Erwin will call the races for Logano. Ben Atkins will be race engineer, and Jeffery Thousand will be car chief.
Cycling
Degenkolb wins Stage 5; Paolini keeps Giro lead
MATERA, Italy – John Degenkolb sprinted to victory on the fifth stage of the Giro d’Italia after a crash near the finish, as Italian Luca Paolini retained the overall leader’s pink jersey Wednesday.
Degenkolb, who rides for Argos-Shimano, won in 4½ hours along the mainly flat 124-mile leg from Cosenza to Matera, several bike lengths ahead of Angel Vicioso and Paul Maertens.
Golf
Surprise, Singh sues PGA for ‘humiliation and ridicule’
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – Vijay Singh sued the PGA Tour on Wednesday for exposing him to “public humiliation and ridicule” during a 12-week investigation into his use of deer antler spray that ended last week when the tour dropped its case against him.
The lawsuit was a surprise, and so was the timing – the day before The Players Championship, the flagship event on the PGA Tour held on its home course where Singh has honed his game for the last two decades.
Soccer
Ferguson blows the whistle on storied Man U career
MANCHESTER, England – During more than a quarter of a century in charge of Manchester United, Alex Ferguson always has found the way to win – and win again.
Abrasive, scrappy and always up for a fight, Ferguson turned the club into a global power and established himself as the most successful manager in British soccer history.
And now, the 71-year-old Scotsman is going out on a high. On his own terms.
With his 13th Premier League title and 38th major trophy at United secured, Ferguson announced Wednesday he is retiring at the end of the season.
Since taking charge at Old Trafford in 1986, Ferguson’s trophy collection also includes two Champions League titles, five FA Cups, four League Cups and the 2008 FIFA World Club Cup.
Associated Press
