Hamlin, Earnhardt hit with penalties

ishments NASCAR to handedthree top out teamspun- for violations that included

Denny Hamlin’s winning cars in his weekend sweep at Darlington and the No. 88 of Dale Earnhardt Jr.

NASCAR said Hamlin’s cars in both the Cup and Xfinity races violated rear suspen- sion rules. Cup crew chief Mike Wheeler was suspended two races, fined $50,000 and Hamlin was stripped of five playoff points, though the Joe Gibbs Racing driver will still make NASCAR’s postseason.

Earnhardt crew chief Greg Ives was suspended one race and fined $20,000 for two loose lug nuts found after the Cup race. Travis Mack will replace Ives.

ODDS AND ENDS

Media: Sports radio per- sonality Craig Carton is out on bond following his New York arrest on fraud charges alleging he and others used a Ponzi scheme and a concert ticket-selling scam for acts, including Katy Perry, to try to raise millions of dollars to pay off gambling debts.

NBA: In d iana Pacers owner Herb Simon is deny- ing a report the team might sue the Los Angeles Lakers for tampering with Paul George. The NBA fined the Lakers $500,000 last week and the Pacers were said to be considering legal action.

Cycling: Chris Froome lost some of his Spanish Vuelta lead in a brutal climb that challenged riders in a 17th stage won by Stefan Denifl of Austria in Los Machucos. The Tour de France win- ner finished 14th and lost 42 seconds of his overall lead, which now stands at 1 minute, 16 seconds over Vincenzo Nibali of Italy.