Little To Pull Double Duty

Chad Little, driver of the No. 97 John Deere Ford, will make a return to the Busch Series, Grand National Division at Texas Motor Speedway this weekend for the Albertson’s 300.

Little will assume the driving duties of the No. 30 Little Trees Busch car in addition to his full-time responsibilities with Roush Racing’s No. 97 team.

This extra seat time should pay dividends for the John Deere Motorsports team, as it looks to improve upon its second-place finish at Texas in 1998.

“This is an exciting opportunity for me that will hopefully aid the John Deere team on Sunday,” said Little, who will attempt to make his first start in a Busch car since the fall race at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway in 1998. “Right now, we’re talking about running 10 to 12 races this year with the No. 30 team, while competing full-time on the Winston Cup circuit. I will pull double-duty on many of the weekends where the Busch Series runs as a companion event to the Winston Cup races.”

Clinesmith, Nieman invited to camp

Former Mead High School star Stacy Clinesmith and former Sandpoint High standout Alli Nieman have been invited to a WNBA’s pre-draft camp in Chicago, April 13-16.

Clinesmith, a 5-foot-5 point guard, recently completed a successful career at UC Santa Barbara. Nieman, a 6-1 forward, finished her career in March at Idaho, where she was named Kodak All-District VIII for the second straight year.

The WNBA draft will be held April 18.

Ervin will return

Andre Ervin, a 6-foot-8 center, announced he will return to the Community Colleges of Spokane men’s basketball team for his second year of eligibility.

Ervin, from Tacoma, guided the Sasquatch to an NWAACC championship and was named tournament valuable player. During his freshman year, the Eastern Washington University transfer broke school records in total points with 550, total rebounds with 339 and rebounding average, with 11.3 per game.