Fast Break
NASCAR
Truex draws hefty penalty
Martin Truex’s bid to make the Chase for the championship took a severe hit Tuesday when NASCAR penalized his team 150 points for bringing an illegal car to Daytona.
Truex’s car failed its initial inspection last week at Daytona, and the No. 1 Chevrolet was confiscated and brought back to NASCAR’s research center for further examination.
NASCAR penalized Truex and his Dale Earnhardt Inc. team with a stiff points deduction that drops him from 14th in the standings to 18th. The top 12 drivers make the Chase, and Truex has just eight races to get back into contention.
In addition, crew chief Kevin “Bono” Manion and car chief Gary Putnam were suspended from the next six races and placed on probation until the end of the year.
NBA
Bobcats sign top picks, not Weaver
The Charlotte Bobcats signed first-round draft picks D.J. Augustin and Alexis Ajinca.
Under the NBA’s rookie scale, Augustin will make about $1.8 million next season and nearly $2 million the next. Ajinca will make about $1 million next year, then $1.1 million in year two. The Bobcats hold team options for their third and fourth seasons.
Augustin was the ninth pick out of Texas. Ajinca was the 20th pick after playing professionally in France.
The players signed their deals before Charlotte’s first rookie and free-agent camp in Las Vegas. Both are expected to play in the Las Vegas summer league starting Saturday.
The Bobcats have yet to sign second-round pick Kyle Weaver, from Washington State, who is attending team workouts.
Sonics trial
Judge won’t reveal intentions
The federal judge in the court battle between the city of Seattle and owners of the SuperSonics won’t say how she would have ruled.
U.S. District Judge Marsha Pechman was set to announce her decision last Wednesday, but on that day the two sides announced they had reached a settlement allowing the NBA club to relocate to Oklahoma City without delay.
The Oklahoman newspaper left a message asking the judge how she would have ruled had there not been a settlement. Pechman replied through a law clerk that she would not answer.
Seattle had sued the Sonics to try to enforce the remaining two years of the Sonics’ lease to play at Key Arena.
With the settlement, Pechman’s ruling became moot.
“There was another sign of progress in the Sonics’ transition to Oklahoma City as the team’s Web site was updated to include its new home.
A visit to SuperSonics.com redirects visitors to the NBA Oklahoma City site, where logos with the team’s former name have been taken down.