MOORESVILLE, N.C. [bar] Ginn Racing replaced Sterling Marlin in its No. 14 Chevy with 23-year-old rookie Regan Smith on Tuesday, and released veteran Joe Nemechek.
Jay Frye, Ginn Racing's CEO and general manager, also said that Aric Almirola, also 23, will become Mark Martin's co-driver in the No. 01 Chevrolet for the rest of this season.
Frye said a lack of sponsorship forced the team to release Nemechek and evaluate the future of the No. 13 car. The 43-year-old Nemechek had one top-10 finish this season and was 33rd in the standings.
Marlin, 50, joined Ginn Racing after the 2005 season. The two-time Daytona 500 winner was 29th in the season points with no finish better than 13th. Smith has competed in five Nextel Cup races this season while sharing the No. 01 car with Martin.
tennis
Nadal, on clay, opens with a win
STUTTGART, Germany [bar] Top-seeded Rafael Nadal returned to his favorite surface and beat Alexander Waske 6-1, 6-1 in the first round of the clay-court Mercedes Cup.
Playing his first match since losing his second consecutive Wimbledon final to Roger Federer, Nadal connected on 67 percent of his first serves.
IN OTHER TENNIS NEWS
Nikolay Davydenko, the Dutch Open's top seed, lost in the first round when Florent Serra rallied from a set down to win 4-6, 6-1, 6-1.
David Nalbandian lost to Igor Kunitsyn 7-6 , 7-5 in the first round of the ATP Countrywide Classic in Los Angeles.
Jill Craybas beat Alexa Glatch 6-2, 6-4 in the first round of the Cincinnati Women's Open.
college athletics
Longwood's move to div. I is official
FARMVILLE [bar] Longwood will compete in the NCAA's Division I beginning this fall, the school said Tuesday.
Longwood's approval for transfer to active membership in Division I as of Sept. 1 follows a five-year process in which it had to meet gender-equity and diversity guidelines. It will compete as a Division I independent during the upcoming year.
IN OTHER COLLEGE NEWS
Lynn University's 2005 Division II softball national championship will be vacated after the NCAA announced sanctions against the school. The NCAA found that a former coach at the Boca Raton, Fla., school made improper payments to players.
nfl
first-round pick signs with 49ers
SANTA CLARA, Calif. [bar] The San Francisco 49ers signed first-round pick Joe Staley to a five-year contract.
Staley, an offensive left tackle at Central Michigan, was the 49ers' second pick in the opening round, the 28th overall. San Francisco is expected to use Staley at right tackle, where he has competed with Kwame Harris for the starting job during offseason workouts.
IN OTHER NFL NEWS
Troy Brown signed with the New England Patriots for a 15th season, giving the wide receiver a chance to increase his team record of 557 catches.
nhl
'canes reacquire cullen from n.y.
RALEIGH, N.C. [bar] The Carolina Hurricanes acquired center Matt Cullen, a key piece in their 2006 Stanley Cup title run, from the New York Rangers in exchange for defenseman Andrew Hutchinson, a prospect and a draft pick.
Cullen reached career highs with 25 goals and 49 points in 2005-06, including four goals and 14 assists in the playoffs. But he signed a four-year deal with the Rangers last summer and had 16 goals and 25 assists for New York.
IN OTHER NHL NEWS
Kurtis Foster re-signed with the Minnesota Wild, avoiding salary arbitration. The defenseman had three goals and 20 assists in 57 games for the Wild last season, tying a franchise record with 13 power-play assists.
college football
BLEEDING IN BRAIN sidelines ark. aide
LITTLE ROCK [bar] Arkansas running backs coach Danny Nutt is resigning because of a recurrence of bleeding from his brain stem.
Nutt, 46, is the younger brother of head coach Houston Nutt. Danny Nutt, who had brain surgery in 1998, is receiving treatment for what the university called 'a serious condition that includes bleeding from his brain stem.'
IN OTHER FOOTBALL NEWS
Chris Demarest, Rutgers' top aide, was charged with assault after an altercation in a bar at the Jersey shore.
baseball
sheets on shelf for 4-6 weeks
MILWAUKEE [bar] Brewers pitcher Ben Sheets will miss four to six weeks after an ultrasound revealed a partial tear of the tissue surrounding the tendon in his right middle finger.
IN OTHER BASEBALL NEWS
Daniel Moskos, the No. 4 pick in the June draft, has signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates, receiving a $2,475,000 singing bonus. The 21-year-old lefthander went 3-6 with a 3.29 ERA for Clemson.
in other news
Kalen Grimes was dismissed by Missouri, a week after the Tigers' leading rebounder was charged with second-degree felony assault for allegedly hitting a man in the face with the butt end of a loaded shotgun.
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