All NASCAR races this year will be cut into stages that award points.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — NASCAR is dramatically changing its format for the upcoming season, cutting every race into stages that reward points in hopes of making every lap matter.
The overhaul announced Monday assigns three stages to every race. The top 10 drivers at the end of Stage 1 and Stage 2 will be awarded points on a 10-through-1 scale, and there will be a break in the racing after each segment. The third portion of the race will be for the overall victory, and although traditional point scoring will be applied for that stage, the win will be worth 40 points. The rest of the field will be scored on a 35-to-2 scale, and positions 36 to 40 will only receive one point.
All bonus points accumulated through the 26race regular season can be used in the 10-race playoff, which will no longer be called “The Chase.”
The new format begins with the Feb. 26 seasonopening Daytona 500.
Liberty wraps up takeover of F1
Bernie Ecclestone’s long-standing governance of Formula One ended after Liberty Media officially completed its takeover of the series and named American Chase Carey as the new chief executive.
The takeover came five days after motor sport’s governing body approved of F1 being sold to Liberty Media, a U.S. company that invests in entertainment and sports.
Ecclestone, 86, remains on board as an honorary chairman and will be an F1 adviser, according to Liberty.
Tiger gearing up for return to tour
Tiger Woods is roaring into the new year, preparing to play four times in five weeks in his return to the PGA Tour after a 15-month absence. One of his stops includes a return to his hometown tournament at Los Angeles, where he made his first start on the pro tour as a skinny 16-year-old.
Woods has stayed away from Riviera, which hosts the newly renamed Genesis Open next month, since 2006. He loves the venerable course nestled in a posh residential neighborhood overlooking the Pacific Ocean but never has won there. And that led him to avoid it.
“I’ve just never played it well,” he said. “That’s the only reason.”
Although Riviera is considered his hometown tournament, Woods also is partial to Torrey Pines near San Diego, where he will start his season in the Farmers Insurance Open. He has won that tournament seven times.
Chrome favored in World Cup
California Chrome is a favorite to win his final race and potentially make history. The two-time Horse of the Year has been set as the 6-5 top choice to win Saturday’s inaugural running of the $12 million Pegasus World Cup at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla. If California Chrome prevails over the 11⁄8-mile distance in the world’s richest race, his last before being retired to stud, he would become the first horse to pass $20 million in career earnings. …
Washington promoted Matt Cavanaugh to offensive coordinator and Greg Manusky to defensive coordinator. Cavanaugh was the NFL team’s quarterbacks coach and Manusky its outside linebackers coach last season. … Cleveland linebacker Jamie Collins toa four-year contract. Collins made a major impression during the eight games he started after arriving via trade from New England in October. He recorded 69 tackles, two sacks and forced a fumble while playing every defensive snap. …
Kim Clijsters of Belgium and Andy Roddick of the United States were elected to the International Tennis Hall of Fame. Clijsters, a Belgian, won four Grand Slam singles titles — the U.S. Open in 2005, 2009 and 2010, and the Australian Open in 2011 — along with two major doubles titles. Roddick’s 2003 U.S. Open championship makes him the most recent American man to win a Grand Slam singles trophy. He also reached the final at Wimbledon in 2004, ’05 and ’09 and the U.S. Open in ’06.