Carl Edwards spurned an offer from Joe Gibbs Racing, and signed a multiyear contract extension with current team Roush Fenway Racing.
The deal was announced Thursday and puts Edwards, the current Sprint Cup Series points leader, in position to compete for his first Cup championship.
“I sincerely appreciate the amazing opportunity that Jack Roush has given me in this sport and am honored to race for him,” said Edwards, who goes to Pocono Raceway this weekend with an 11-point lead over five-time defending series champion Jimmie Johnson.
• Brad Keselowski won’t run in Saturday’s NASCAR Nationwide race in Iowa after a head-on crash into a wall at Road Atlanta on Wednesday.
Penske Racing said Parker Kligerman will drive the No. 22 Dodge in today’s practice sessions, but Sam Hornish Jr., will run both qualifying and the race.
LSU: Kragthorpe has Parkinson’s disease
BATON ROUGE, La. — LSU assistant football coach Steve Kragthorpe has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and is relinquishing his duties as offensive coordinator, but is remaining on the Tigers’ staff.
Kragthorpe, who was hired during the offseason, will remain as the quarterbacks coach while offensive line coach Greg Studrawa has been elevated to offensive coordinator. Kragthorpe, 46, is the former head coach at Louisville (2007-09) and at Tulsa (2003-06). He gave up an assistant coaching position at Texas A&M last summer when his wife was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, but decided to get back into coaching when LSU hired him last January.
• Texas senior receiver Malcolm Williams, a key contributor on special teams, left the Longhorns for personal reasons.
“Malcolm’s got some family issues,” coach Mack Brown said without elaborating.
• Penn State quarterback Kevin Newsome, a once- touted prospect who is behind sophomore Rob Bolden and junior Matt McGloin in the race for the starting job, said he will transfer in hopes of finding a school where he will be able to play immediately.
Footnotes.
Two league officials said NBA commissioner David Stern makes less than baseball’s Bud Selig or the NFL’s Roger Goodell, leaving his salary far below the more than $20 million that has been reported. Stern has declined to accept a paycheck during the league’s work stoppage.
• The Texas Legends made Bruce Pearl an offer and are waiting to see if the former Tennessee basketball coach will take over the reins of the NBA D-League team. Reports have put the offer as high as $500,000 per season.
• Nick O’Hern took advantage of calm morning conditions as one of the first players off the tee to shoot a 7-under-par 65 and take a one-stroke lead over Chris Riley in the first round of the Reno-Tahoe Open in Nevada.
The Associated Press
