Kurt Busch sobriety test was far below impairment level
By wire services
Published November 16, 2005
PHOENIX - Nextel Cup champion Kurt Busch had a 0.017 blood-alcohol level on a preliminary sobriety test, far below the state's impairment limit of 0.08, the Maricopa County sheriff's office said Tuesday.
Busch was detained Friday on suspicion of drunken driving and cited for reckless driving after a confrontation with deputies. He was suspended by Roush Racing for the rest of the season.
Meantime, Homestead-Miami Speedway officials canceled the unveiling of Busch's 2004 Nextel Cup championship banner. Greg Biffle was set to replace former teammate Busch at a party Tuesday night to kick off the week's activities leading up to the Ford 400 on Sunday, track spokesman Phil de Montmollin said.
EVERNHAM SHAKEUP: NASCAR car owner Ray Evernham shook up his organization Tuesday, swapping crews for drivers Kasey Kahne and Jeremy Mayfield while eliminating the crew chief position. Kahne crew chief Tommy Baldwin will finish the season this weekend as a consultant, then leave to attempt to become a team owner. Instead of having a single crew chief calling all the shots, Evernham's teams will have a three-person leadership structure of a team director, car director and engineer. Overseeing Mayfield's crew will be team director Chris Andrews, car director Kirk Almquist and engineer Tim Malinovsky. With Kahne will be team director Kenny Francis, car director Mike Shiplett and engineer Keith Rodden. Evernham's new third team, with driver Scott Riggs, will be temporarily headed by Rodney Childers while the rest of the crew is established.
TENNIS: Federer survives
Roger Federer won his second match to secure a semifinal spot at the Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai, a massive relief for organizers of the injury-marred tournament. Federer, the only top-five player left in the event, held on for a 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 (7-4) victory over Ivan Ljubicic to extend his winning streak to 33 matches. The Swiss star played with a heavy black brace on his right ankle, but said he was more concerned about his stamina than his aching joint after a six-week layoff. Federer secured a semifinal spot when Guillermo Coria lost 7-5, 6-4 to David Nalbandian in the round-robin tournament. Federer and Coria, 0-2 at Shanghai, play Thursday.
ET CETERA
OLYMPICS: Brad Snyder, Bryan LaHair and Brandon Wood homered, and the United States got 26 hits in a 23-0 rout of Guatemala in the opening game of regional Olympic baseball qualifying at Phoenix. Team USA starter Chris Lambert allowed one hit while striking out nine over five innings.
BOXING: Former junior featherweight champion Agapito Sanchez, 35, died from gunshot wounds during a fight outside his home in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Police said he was shot Sunday night by Air Force Sgt. Diogenes Nova Rosario.
WEIGHTLIFTING: Turkey was banned from competition until next spring and fined $100,000 by the International Weightlifting Federation for repeated antidoping violations by its athletes and officials.
HORSE RACING: L. Wayne Gertmenian, president of The Jockeys' Guild since 2001, was voted out by riders claiming their organization has been mismanaged for years. ... John Campo Sr., who trained 1981 Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner Pleasant Colony, died in Ozone Park, N.Y., after a long illness. He was 67. Campo trained for 30 years, retiring in 1996.
