Nascar

NASCAR drivers do it. So does the WNBA and English Premier League soccer. Why not politicians? A petition posted today on the White House website cheekily proposes that politicos wear patches that would display the names of their individual and corporate sponsors. Any politician receiving money from big private interests would be required to wear the patches during all official duties and visits to constituents. It's not the first time someone has come up with the idea ( change.org circulated a similar petition last year)

A person familiar with the plan says Danica Patrick has reached a deal to enter NASCAR with JR Motorsports. Patrick will announce a partial Nationwide Series schedule at a news conference today in Phoenix, the person familiar with her plans told the Associated Press on condition of anonymity because she has not officially announced her intentions. Last week Patrick signed a 3-year contract extension with Andretti Autosport to stay in the IndyCar series, but its schedule gives her enough time to also try NASCAR.

NASCAR officials may have finally seen the light. Halftimes don't belong in motorsports. Prior to yesterday's NAPA AutoCare 200 at Nazareth Speedway, NASCAR spokesmen unveiled a plan to forgo the Craftsman Truck Series' traditional "halftime break" in a one-race trial basis at Pikes Peak, Colo., on July 25. Mike Wallace hailed the move, saying "fans expect to see racing from when the green flag waves until the checkered flag falls. " Since the pickup-truck circuit's inception in 1995, the sport has utilized a mid-race five-minute break in which teams could refuel, change tires and make any necessary adjustments and repairs.

"Mayberry RFD" meets Sunset Boulevard. That's how skeptics looked at "NASCAR's Night in Hollywood," which aired on ESPN Saturday night. Viewers know to expect little from these all-star galas, which are primarily to gawk at celebrities and see NASCAR people dressed up. While the show was smoothly produced and everyone seemed to have a good time, you had the feeling many presenters wouldn't know Richard Petty from Richard Benjamin....

NASCAR officials are investigating whether Robby Gordon intentionally threw debris on the race track to cause a caution at Atlanta Motor Speedway. "As is the case after any race, we looked at a number of cars, including Robby Gordon's," spokesman Kerry Tharp said yesterday. "Although we didn't find anything suspicious with the car at the time, we are continuing to review and discuss this situation. " NASCAR called for a caution about 35 laps from the finish of Sunday's race because a piece of roll bar padding was on the track.

NASCAR, hoping to even out the competition in its premier Winston Cup series, has made its second modification this month to the rear spoiler of the new Ford Tauruses. The latest change, coming after the sanctioning body took a sampling of cars for wind tunnel testing last week at Lockheed Aviation in Marietta, Ga., leaves the height of the Taurus rear spoiler intact at 4 3/4 inches, but cuts the width by 2 inches to 55. The new Tauruses, developed in the past year as a replacement for the discontinued Thunderbirds, have had an apparent edge in aerodynamics through the first four races of the season.

Sam Hornish Jr., the three-time Indy Car Series champion, will move to NASCAR in 2008, joining the mass exodus of open-wheel stars to America's most popular racing series. Hornish, 28, told the Associated Press yesterday that he will drive the No. 77 Dodge next season for Penske Racing, with Mobil 1 as the sponsor. Hornish will join Juan Pablo Montoya, Dario Franchitti and Jacques Villeneuve as former Indianapolis 500 winners and IndyCar series champions racing in NASCAR's top series.

The No. 25 Chevrolet that Hendrick Motorsports took to New Hampshire International Speedway in Loudon, N.H., as the primary Nextel Cup car for Brian Vickers was in NASCAR's possession yesterday after it failed inspection five times. "This was a brand new body that had never been raced," said Doug Duchardt, vice president of development for the Hendrick team. "We learned of a measurement issue during the inspection process and made attempts to correct it. But, after several tries, we decided to forfeit the car [to NASCAR]

Former Renault Formula One driver Nelson Piquet Jr., who last year triggered a scandal by revealing he deliberately crashed his car to help a teammate, is moving to NASCAR in 2010. Piquet said yesterday on his Web site that his "first 18 months in F1 did not go as planned. I have decided to focus on something different and have chosen to take a route in America. " Piquet hasn't raced since being fired by Renault in August after 28 races in which his best finish was second at the 2008 German GP. He did not reveal which team he would race for but says more details will come soon.

A ruling by a federal appeals court in Atlanta cleared the way for NASCAR to prevent AT&T Inc. from featuring its logo on Jeff Burton's No. 31 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet. At issue is AT&T's desire to change the Cingular logo on Burton's car to the AT&T logo. AT&T bought Atlanta-based BellSouth Corp. last year, gaining full control of Cingular and has since rebranded the cell phone provider under the AT&T name. NASCAR has tried to prevent the Cingular logo from being changed to the AT&T logo on Burton's car, because AT&T rival Sprint Nextel Corp.

AUTHORITIES IN North Carolina said former NASCAR driver Dick Trickle has died of an apparent selfinflicted gunshot wound. He was 71. The Lincoln County Sheriff's Office said authorities received a call yesterday believed to be from Trickle, saying that "there would be a dead body and it would be his. " Authorities tried to call the number back, but no one answered. The sheriff said Trickle's body was found near his pickup truck at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Boger City, N.C., about 40 miles northwest of Charlotte.

MID-MAY, 11 races into the lengthy Sprint Cup season, is an ideal time to assess the surprises and disappointments thus far. Topping the surprises list is Matt Kenseth. In his first year with Joe Gibbs Racing, Kenseth has won three of the first 11 races. That Kenseth (27 career Cup wins) is off to a blazing start with JGR isn't a total shock. However, getting up to speed with a new team sometimes takes a while. Kenseth and crew chief Jason Ratcliff have immediately clicked, winning the season's third race together at Las Vegas.

THIS WEEK'S RACE NASCAR Sprint Showdown and All-Star Race Charlotte Motor Speedway Concord, N.C. When: Saturday, 7 p.m. TV/Radio: Speed/WNPV (1440-AM) Race course: 1.5-mile oval Race distance: For the All-Star race: four 20-lap segments, followed by a mandatory four-tire pit stop and a 10-lap segment. Race forecast: scattered thunderstorms, high 70s Last year's winner: Jimmie Johnson Track facts: The All-Star race winner will collect more than $1 million . . . Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Sr. are three-time All-Star winners . . . Mark Martin has the most All-Star race starts (24)

AFTER WATCHING Kurt Busch's race car temporarily "parked" atop Ryan Newman's car late in Sunday's Talladega race, I wondered whether NASCAR officials shudder when they watch major wrecks and think "We are so lucky a driver wasn't killed. " We've had so many major wrecks at the treacherous Alabama superspeedway that people just seem to take them in stride: "Oh, another big one. A mess, but let's move on. " Newman clearly was furious about the wreck that sent Busch's car airborne.

THE FINAL FOUR'S first two games are moving to cable next year. The national semifinals will air on TBS in 2014 and 2015, with the title game remaining on CBS, the companies said yesterday. Under the 14-year deal that CBS and Turner Sports signed with the NCAA in 2010, CBS and TBS were scheduled to start alternating broadcasts of the entire Final Four starting in 2016, but Turner had the option to move that up to 2014. Network executives decided in recent months that the best approach for both companies was to split the coverage for the next 2 years before beginning to take turns.

TALLADEGA, Ala. - A pair of Davids slayed the Goliaths at Talladega Superspeedway. David Ragan hooked up with teammate David Gilliland in a two-lap overtime sprint, and together they picked off some of the top drivers in NASCAR to drive to the front and push Ragan into Victory Lane. It was the second career victory for Ragan - he also won at Daytona in July 2011 - and Gilliland finished second for a 1-2 finish for Front Row Motorsports. The win came a day after Regan Smith won the Nationwide Series race and Ragan was flooded with misfired congratulatory messages on Twitter.

NASCAR's justice department threw a one-two heavyweight punch at Penske Racing on Wednesday. Penske drivers Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano were docked 25 championship points, because their cars failed inspections before Saturday's race in Texas. Crew chiefs Paul Wolfe (Keselowski) and Todd Gordon (Logano) were fined $100,000 each, suspended for the next six races and put on probation until Dec. 31. The loss of points drops Keselowski, the reigning Sprint Cup champion, from second to fourth in the standings, while Logano slides from ninth to 14th.