Associated Press
CHARLOTTE ó The NASCAR Hall of Fame has added five new people to the list of 25 nominees under consideration for the 2012 class.
The new additions are Martinsville Speedway founder H. Clay Earles, 1970 champion Bobby Isaac, 1966 championship owner Cotton Owens, former NASCAR executive Les Richter, and Wood Brothers co-owner Leonard Wood.
Richter was elected to the NFL Hall of Fame in February. He moved to motorsports after his football career, first as president of Riverside International Raceway and then as a NASCAR executive.
The other 20 nominees for the Hall of Fame returned from last yearís list. The nominees are picked by a 21-person committee.
The third induction class will be selected in June by a 54-member panel, plus a fan vote selected on NASCAR.com.
WELCOME ó Richard Childress Racing has signed Jeff Burton to a multiyear contract extension.
The team also said Tuesday it has signed Caterpillar to continue as sponsor of the No. 31 Chevrolet that Burton has driven since 2004.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
RALEIGH ó A Wake County Superior Court judge has ruled that the University of North Carolina withheld documents it should have provided to requesting media outlets covering the NCAA investigation into the football program.
In a memo Tuesday, Judge Howard Manning said the school should have provided unredacted telephone bills for head coach Butch Davis, former assistant coach John Blake and athletic director Dick Baddour. He also cited parking tickets issued to 11 players.
The ruling is in response to a lawsuit filed by several news outlets, including The Associated Press.
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. ó Just because Penn State coach Joe Paterno’s contract expires after this season doesn’t mean he won’t return in 2012 ó or beyond.
University President Graham Spanier said Tuesday neither he nor Paterno or athletic director Tim Curley think about Paterno’s work in terms of contracts. Spanier told The Associated Press that Paterno’s status has long been considered on a year-to-year basis, and that there was no specific agreement about a transition.
Paterno turns 85 in December.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
NEW YORK ó Bob Knight has apologized to Kentucky and coach John Calipari after claiming that several of the Wildcats’ players did not attend spring semester classes last year.
The college basketball analyst for ESPN blasted Calipari’s habit of recruiting players who spend just a year on campus before bolting for the NBA.
Knight said in a brief statement released by ESPN on Tuesday: “My overall point is that ‘one-and-dones’ are not healthy for college basketball. I should not have made it personal to Kentucky and its players and I apologize.”
The Wildcats went 35-3 during the 2009-10 season, after which freshmen John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins, Eric Bledsoe and Daniel Orton left school for the NBA.