Auto Racing
NASCAR reveals Sprint Cup’s new 6-class penalty system
NASCAR changed its penalty system for technical infractions, tying specific punishments to specific violations and breaking it into six classes:
P1: Multiple warnings for minor technical infractions.
Penalty: could include last choice of pit selection, loss of track time, being selected for postrace inspection, reduction of event passes or community service.
P2: Expiration of certain safety certification or improper installation of a safety feature or minor bracket or fasteners violations.
Penalty: loss of 10 points and/or $10,000-$25,000 fine and/or suspension of crew chief or others for one or more races and up to six months’ probation.
P3: Unauthorized parts, measurement failures, parts that fail their intended use, or coil spring violations.
Penalty: loss of 15 points and/or $20,000-$50,000 fine and/or suspension of crew chief or others for one or more races; and up to six months’ probation.
P4: Devices that circumvent NASCAR templates and measuring equipment, or unapproved added weight.
Penalty: loss of 25 points, $40,000-$70,000 fine, three-race crew chief (plus possibly others) suspension and up to six months’ probation. If the infraction is found after a race, it is a 35-point penalty, and the fine is $65,000-$95,000.
P5: Combustion-enhancing additives in the oil, oil filter, air filter element or devices, systems, omissions, etc., that affect the normal airflow over the body.
Penalty: loss of 50 points, $75,000-$125,000 fine, six-race crew chief (plus possibly others) suspension and up to six months’ probation.
P6: Violations affecting the internal workings and performance of the engine, modifying the precertified chassis, traction control or affecting fuel injection or the electronics-control unit.
Penalty: loss of 150 points, fine of $150,000-$200,000, six-race crew chief (plus possibly others) suspension and up to six months’ probation.
If P5 and P6 infractions are found in postrace inspection, wins would not be eligible to be used to make the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship or to advance through the Chase rounds. The bonus points that accompany wins also would not be eligible for Chase seeding. If the same car repeats an offense in the same category during the season, the penalty increases 50 percent above the normal standard.
Tommy Baldwin Racing pairs Parrott with Sorenson
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Tommy Baldwin Racing hired Reed Sorenson to drive the No. 36 Chevrolet this season.
Sorenson will be paired with veteran crew chief Todd Parrott, who also was hired this week. The 27-year-old Sorenson has five top-five finishes in 189 Sprint Cup Series starts over nine years.
Soccer
World Cup defending champ Spain will train in the U.S.
NEW YORK – Defending champion Spain will prepare for the World Cup in the United States along with Bosnia-Herzegovina, Greece, Honduras, Ivory Coast and Nigeria.
There will be exhibition games involving those six nations along with Bolivia and El Salvador from May 27 to June 10.
England announced last month it will play a pair of matches at Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla., facing Ecuador on June 4 and Honduras on June 7.
The World Cup, in Brazil, will open June 12.
Champions League’s finest book U.S. preseason games
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – AC Milan, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Real Madrid will play preseason games in the United States.
AS Roma, Inter Milan and Olympiakos also will be part of what is billed as the Guinness International Champions Cup, to be played from July 26 to Aug. 4.
Additional venues for the games include Arlington, Texas; Charlotte, N.C.; Chicago; Denver; East Rutherford, N.J., and/or New York; Glendale, Ariz.; Philadelphia; Pittsburgh; and Washington. Two additional cities are to be announced Feb. 20.
Associated Press
