×

SPORTSBRIEFING

Cup race tonight

CONCORD, N.C. (AP) — Rain washed out the Cup Series race Wednesday night at Charlotte Motor Speedway — a slight break for NASCAR teams taxed by a grueling return to racing.

The race was rescheduled for 7 p.m. today, which in turn forced NASCAR to move the Xfinity Series race scheduled for Saturday at Bristol Motor Speedway. The turnaround time is too difficult for broadcast partner Fox Sports to leave Charlotte and quickly rebuild its setup in Tennessee under social distancing guidelines.

The Xfinity Series race will instead be run at 7 p.m. Monday, a day after the Cup Series.

NASCAR’s first wave of races in its comeback totaled seven national events over 11 days. The second consecutive Wednesday night race would have been the fourth for the elite Cup Series since May 17. That span included Sunday night’s Coca-Cola 600, which went to 607.5 miles in overtime and was the longest event in NASCAR history.

The rain allowed for an additional day of rest to the drivers, particularly Kyle Busch and Timmy Hill, who entered all seven of the first set of races.

The starting order for the second Cup race at Charlotte this week was set based on the finishing order of the Coca-Cola 600 but with an inversion. Hendrick Motorsports teammates William Byron and Alex Bowman will start from the pole, while Coca-Cola 600 winner Brad Keselowski will start 20th.

Seven-time NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson will start last because his car was disqualified in post-race inspection after he finished second.

Penguins lose Bjugstad

PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Pittsburgh Penguins will head into whatever becomes of the NHL postseason without forward Nick Bjugstad.

The team announced Wednesday that Bjugstad underwent spinal surgery to repair a herniated disk. General manager Jim Rutherford said the surgery was necessary after Bjugstad had a “setback” while recovering from a lower-body injury suffered just before the NHL went on hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The surgery ends a star-crossed season for Bjugstad, who appeared in just 13 games in his first full year with the Penguins. He missed more than three months after having surgery to repair a core muscle in November. The 27-year-old Bjugstad finished with just one goal and one assist, his worst season since making 11 appearances as a 20-year old for Florida in 2012-13.

While Bjugstad is out, All-Star forward Jake Guentzel figures to be back whenever hockey resumes. Guentzel underwent shoulder surgery on Dec. 31 after taking a hard crash into the boards immediately after scoring his 20th goal of the season.

YSU cuts 22 positions

YOUNGSTOWN (AP) — Some assistant coaches and sports department support staff will lose their jobs as Youngstown State University eliminates 22 positions as part of budget cuts related to the coronavirus pandemic.

Athletic director Ron Stollo said about half of the 22 are coaching positions. The school has 21 intercollegiate sports, and none are being eliminated.

Strollo said as an enrollment-boosting measure the school had added men’s swimming and women’s lacrosse and doubled the size of the men’s and women’s cross-country teams before the pandemic and uncertainty about the future adversely affected revenue.

The personnel cuts and other moves in the sports department are expected to save $2 million, said Strollo, who along with coaches took pay cuts ranging from 6% to 10%.

New football coach Doug Phillips was in the process of hiring his coaching staff when the school was forced to shut down. Four positions in the football program will be eliminated, Strollo said, but they don’t include any on-field coaching personnel.

Triple Crown nominees

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — The final deadline to nominate horses to the rescheduled Triple Crown series is June 3.

Owners and trainers can make 3-year-old thoroughbreds eligible for the three-race series at a cost of $3,000. That’s half the original price as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, which is forcing the series to be run out of order for the first time since 1931.

A total of 347 horses were made eligible to the Triple Crown during the early nomination phase with a $600 payment due Jan. 25. The late nominations were originally due March 30, but were postponed until the Triple Crown races were rescheduled.

Two horses test positive

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Two horses from the barn of two-time Triple Crown-winning trainer Bob Baffert have tested positive for a banned substance, according to published reports.

The New York Times and Louisville Courier-Journal cited unidentified sources in reporting the positive tests occurred during the recent meet at Oaklawn Park in Arkansas. The newspaper said Charlatan and Gamine tested positive for lidocaine, a regulated anesthetic.

NEWSLETTER

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *
   

Starting at $4.39/week.

Subscribe Today