PHILADELPHIA — Four-time defending NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson said team owner Rick Hendrick told him and teammate Jeff Gordon not to let their bubbling feud start “breaking apart the organization.”
Johnson, Gordon and Hendrick spoke together on the phone this week to smooth over a rough patch in the relationship between the drivers. The Hendrick Motorsports teammates tangled on the track in successive weeks, leading Gordon to lash out at Johnson after Sunday’s race at Talladega Superspeedway.
Johnson said Hendrick told him, “You guys need to voice your opinions, handle things on the track as you see fit, but let’s not let this carry on too far and affect the race shop.”
Johnson laughed when he talked about his plan with crew chief Chad Knaus to avoid future dust-ups.
“I told Chad to put turn indicators or hazards on my car this weekend,” Johnson said.
• Dale Earnhardt Jr. will drive a replica of his late father’s No. 3 Wrangler Chevrolet in the Nationwide Series race at Daytona in July.
The car unveiling was done at JR Motorsports on what would have been the seven-time NASCAR champion’s 59th birthday. He was killed in a 2001 accident at Daytona, and his number has not been used in the Sprint Cup Series since.
Earnhardt will be inducted as part of the inaugural Hall of Fame class May 23.
Hart Trophy finalists announced
NEW YORK — Pittsburgh Penguins star Sidney Crosby and his Washington Capitals counterpart, Alex Ovechkin, joined Henrik Sedin of the Vancouver Canucks as finalists for the Hart Trophy given to the league’s MVP. The winner will be announced June 23 in Las Vegas.
68-team tourney moves forward
INDIANAPOLIS — The NCAA’s board of directors approved expansion from 65 to 68 teams and endorsed a proposal to add three more opening-round games to the men’s basketball tournament.
The format must still be approved by the men’s basketball committee this summer.
More teams won’t be the only change fans see next March.
Thanks to the new 14-year, $10.8 billion television package with CBS and Turner Broadcasting, fans can choose which games they want to watch. It will be the first time every tournament game will be televised live nationally. One game will be carried by CBS, with others carried on TNT, TBS and truTV.
The board also approved a measure that requires schools in all three divisions to devise a concussion policy. It must include provisions that explain players be removed from games or practice if they show concussion-like symptoms.
• BYU guard Michael Loyd Jr. is transferring after averaging 5.1 points and 1.2 assists last season with the Cougars.
Armstrong third in New Mexico
FORT BAYARD, N.M. — Lance Armstrong finished in third place in the windy second stage of the Tour of the Gila, helping RadioShack teammate Levi Leipheimer preserve his overall lead.
Luis Amaran beat Leipheimer in the final sprint to win the 80-mile stage.
