Castroneves slides into sports cars to lead Penske team
BASEBALL: Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred and players’ association head Tony Clark have talked again, five days after the union rejected MLB’s proposal to institute pitch clocks and limits on mound visits. Management has the right to implement the rules changes it proposed last year. Under baseball’s labor contract, management can change on-field rules on its own with one season of advance notice. MLB does not intend to make any decision before owners’ meetings, scheduled for next week in Beverly Hills, Calif . ... The Blue Jays finalized a one-year, $5 million contract with OF Curtis Granderson, who split last season with the Mets and Dodgers while hitting .212 with 26 home runs in 527 plate appearances . ... The Cubs are having “active” talks with free agent RHP Yu Darvish . ... Twins LHP Glen Perkins, 34, is retiring after spending most of last season rehabilitating from shoulder surgery in 2016 . ... Former Yankees 3B Alex Rodriguez will replace Aaron Boone in the ESPN booth for Sunday Night Baseball.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL: Florida RB Jordan Scarlett ,WR Rick Wells and LBs James Houston and Ventrell Miller, who were suspended last season amid felony fraud charges, rejoined team activities.
GYMNASTICS: During her testimony at sentencing hearing for Larry Nassar, Isabell Hutchins said the doctor who treated Olympic athletes overlooked what turned out to be a broken leg while he molested her in the basement of his home. “You were never a real doctor. You did not heal me. You only hurt me,” Hutchins told Nassar, who was seated a few feet away in the Ingham County (Mich.) courtroom. NFL: The league has denied advertising space in the Super Bowl program for American Veterans (AMVETS), who declined to alter language about standing for the national anthem. AMVETS submitted an advertisement last week to the thirdparty publisher of the game program with the message, “Please Stand.” NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said the league, which has editorial control over the content, asked AMVETS to consider other options for the message, such as “Please Honor our Veterans” or “Please Stand for our Veterans.” ... Bob Costas won’t be working the Super Bowl for NBC. The longtime broadcaster was not included in the network’s lineup for the game telecast from Minneapolis on Feb. 4, leading to speculation that Costas’ comments about head injuries in football might have affected the decision. Dan Patrick and Liam McHugh will host the broadcast.
SKIING: Overall World Cup leader Mikaela Shiffrin had an uncharacteristic fall in the first run, clearing the way for Viktoria Rebensburg in San Vigilio di Marebbe, Italy, to claim her third giant slalom win of the season.
TENNIS: ESPN reported Serena Williams, who hasn’t competed since the 2017 Australian Open, will return next month when the Fed Cup begins. Williams and sister Venus will play for the defending champion U.S. against the Netherlands on Feb. 10-11 in Asheville, N.C . ... Sam Querrey, John Isner, Ryan Harrison and Steve Johnson are on the U.S. Davis Cup roster that will play at Serbia — minus Novak Djokovic — in the first round next month.
Helio Castroneves is one of the most popular and accomplished drivers in IndyCar Series history. He is about to find out if an old driver can learn new tricks.
Castroneves is the anchor of Roger Penske’s new sports car team, which will make its official debut this weekend at the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona. Penske needed strong lineup for his program with Acura, and shipping his three-time Indianapolis 500 winner to IMSA helped solve the problem.
Castroneves is a company man, so he accepted the move. The questions are how quickly the Brazilian can adjust to sports cars and if his fan base, which stretches beyond racing after his winning stint on “Dancing With The Stars,” will follow him to his new venture.
“I’m learning a new style and new techniques, different cars, this great for me,” said Castroneves, who will turn 43 in May. “I want to keep racing.”
Castroneves was never in danger of being released by Penske, an honor he earned by giving The Captain three of his record 16 victories at Indianapolis. He’ll have a job as long as he wants one. He just had to be reassigned to a different department in the organization.
“To me, this gives Helio a longer future in his racing career,” Penske said. “He’s been with us as the longest tenured driver. It’s a great opportunity for him, and along with this, many don’t know that Helio became a business partner of mine in a major automobile dealership in Pennsylvania. I think when you put these all together, he’s in the right place.”
Penske has given Castroneves a seat in both the Indianapolis 500, a race he is trying to win a record-tying fourth time, and the IndyCar road course race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway the week before.
But the priority is absolutely on sports cars and the Acura program. The new two-car team will debut Saturday when the twiceround-the-clock endurance event begins at Daytona International Speedway.
Castroneves is teamed full-time this year with Ricky Taylor, who won both the Rolex last season and the IMSA championship codriving with his brother on a team fielded by his father. For the endurance races, IndyCar driver Graham Rahal will join the lineup.
The second car is anchored by Juan Pablo Montoya, a two-time Indianapolis 500 winner and former Rolex winner who got a similar shift to sports cars from Penske. He is joined by Dane Cameron, a former IMSA champion and Rolex champion, and former IndyCar champion Simon Pagenaud.
When the two cars start Saturday’s race, it will be the first sports car event for a full Team Penske effort since the 1966 Rolex when Roger Penske Racing won the GT class. Penske was once a sports car driver and won the Sports Car Club of America’s “Driver of the Year” honor by Sports Illustrated in 1961.