Jones lands Petty’s iconic No. 43 car
CHARLOTTE, N.C. » Erik Jones will drive NASCAR’s iconic No. 43 next season for Richard Petty Motorsports, a pairing of a driver and a team both in need of fresh starts.
Jones in August was dropped by megateam Joe Gibbs Racing after six seasons, while Bubba Wallace and RPM are splitting at the end of the year. Wallace’s social activism this year became the defining characteristic of the storied Petty organization.
“They still have something to prove and I have something to prove,” Jones told The Associated Press. “We are both motivated to write a new chapter. It’s just a really clean slate, a chance to start from scratch and do something completely different.”
Wallace, NASCAR’s only full-time Black driver, this season has been outspoken on racial inequality and injustice. He ran a Black Lives Matter paint scheme on the No. 43 and RPM adopted Wallace’s “compassion, love, understanding” platform.
The loss of Wallace could have crippled RPM, the cash-strapped team coowned by NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty. Instead, a volatile free-agent market helped RPM land Jones, a 24-year-old considered among the top young talent in NASCAR.
Caps hire McCarthy as assistant
ARLINGTON,VA.» Kevin McCarthy joined Peter Laviolette’s Washington Capitals coaching staff, and the team re-signed one of the defensemen he’ll be working with.
Jonas Siegenthaler signed a one-year contract worth $800,000, a deal that should finalize Washington’s blue line. McCarthy will be in charge of defensemen under Laviolette, who is keeping the other three assistants in place after replacing fired coach Todd Reirden.
The 63-year-old was with Laviolette in his last three stops in Nashville, Philadelphia and Carolina, and they won the Stanley Cup together with the Hurricanes in 2006.
Almeida keeps lead
MADONNA DI CAMPIGLIO, ITALY » João Almeida remained in the overall lead of the Giro d’Italia as the race headed into the high mountains and Ben O’Connor earned his first stage victory in a Grand Tour by winning the 17th leg on Wednesday.
Almeida was part of the group of overall favorites that crossed the summit finish more than five minutes after O’Connor, and the Portuguese cyclist, who rides for the Deceuninck-Quick Step team, remained 17 seconds ahead of Wilco Kelderman.
Jai Hindley is third overall, 2:58 behind Almeida on the eve of the Giro’s toughest stage.
Goerges retires from tennis at 31
BERLIN » Former Wimbledon semifinalist Julia Goerges announced her retirement from tennis at the age of 31.
The German reached her highest ranking of ninth in the world in 2018 and was ranked 45th at her retirement. Her most recent match was a second-round loss to fellow German Laura Siegemund at the French Open.
Goerges, in a letter addressed to the game of tennis, wrote that she was “ready to say ‘ goodbye’” after a 15-year pro career.