AUTO RACING

Jeff Gordon is among the new nominees up for induction into the NASCAR Hall of Fame next year.

The four-time NASCAR champion was added to the list of 20 nominees on Tuesday in his first year of eligibility. Gordon retired from full-time racing after the 2015 season with 93 career Cup victories. He is currently an analyst for Fox Sports.

Also added to the list this year were Harry Gant, a driver whose career spanned two decades and two series, four-time championship winning crew chief Kirk Shelmerdine, and car owners John Holman and Ralph Moody.

The nominees were selected by a committee consisting of representatives from NASCAR, the NASCAR Hall of Fame, track owners from major facilities and historic short tracks, as well as Fox commentator Mike Joy.

SLED DOG RACING

IDITAROD: Defending champion Mitch Seavey grabbed the lead Tuesday in the 1,000-mile race in Alaska.

The three-time winner was the first to leave the village checkpoint of Nikolai for the 48-mile run to the next checkpoint at McGrath.

Seavey departed Nikolai with 14 dogs at 12:49 p.m. He was followed shortly after by Joar Leifseth Ulsom of Norway and earlier leader Ryan Redington of Wasilla.

Longtime musher DeeDee Jonrowe withdrew from the race for health reasons. The 64-year-old entered her first Iditarod in 1980 and was running her 36th race, which she had said would be her last.

TRACK AND FIELD

DOPING: IAAF president Sebastian Coe says Russians could be stopped from competing as neutral athletes if the country fails to shows “dramatic progress” in the fight against doping.

Russia has been suspended since 2015, when the World Anti-Doping Agency found evidence of widespread doping. The only Russians allowed to compete at IAAF events since then have been designated as neutral athletes.

BASKETBALL

WNBA: The Phoenix Mercury traded Danielle Robinson to the Minnesota Lynx for the No. 12 pick in the WNBA draft and acquired Briann January from the Indiana Fever for the eighth pick.

The 28-year-old Robinson will likely back up starting point guard Lindsay Whalen. The Lynx also received the Mercury’s second-round pick in the 2019 draft.

The 31-year-old January has spent her entire career with the Fever after getting drafted sixth by Indiana in 2009.

The move allows the Fever to stockpile draft picks as they now own the No. 2, 8 and 14 picks this year.

GOLF

PGA: Shubhankar Sharma can add another achievement to his rapid rise. He’s going to the Masters.

Two days after Sharma held the 54-hole lead at his first World Golf Championship, the 21-year-old from India accepted a special invitation to the Masters next month.

Augusta National chairman Fred Ridley says the Masters has a history of inviting international players not otherwise qualified, and Sharma’s results have made him worthy of the invitation.

Sharma was outside the top 400 in the world three months ago. Now he is the only two-time winner on the European Tour this season and leads the Race to Dubai. He lost a two-shot lead in the final round of the Mexico Championship and tied for ninth. Sharma rose to a No. 66 ranking.

Copy the Story Link