Daytona 500 pole-winner Chase Briscoe was dealt a major penalty Wednesday when NASCAR said Joe Gibbs Racing had a modified spoiler on the No. 19 Toyota in time trials.

Joe Gibbs Racing was docked 100 driver/owner points and 10 playoff points. The spoiler base is a single-source part that cannot be modified and was discovered in NASCAR’s inspection process.

JGR also was fined $100,000 and crew chief James Small was suspended for four races. Briscoe now goes to Atlanta Motor Speedway with negative 67 points in the standings. He dropped from 10th in the standings to 39th.

It is the second consecutive year the Daytona 500 pole-winner has been penalized. Joey Logano was found to have an illegal glove during his qualifying run in 2024.

The Briscoe penalty marks a devastating start to his first season driving for Gibbs. The earliest he can move into positive points is the third race of the season, at Circuit of the Americas.

NFL

The Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles promoted Kevin Patullo to offensive coordinator following the departure of Kellen Moore, the team announced.

Patullo joined the Eagles’ staff as passing game coordinator in 2021 when coach Nick Sirianni was hired, and he became associate head coach in 2023.

Patullo takes over an offense that was second in the NFL in rushing under former coordinator Kellen Moore, who was hired as New Orleans’ head coach two days after the Eagles beat Kansas City in the Super Bowl.

Patullo’s first job in the NFL was as an offensive assistant and quality control coach with the Chiefs in 2007. He also worked for Buffalo, Tennessee, the New York Jets and Indianapolis before he joined the Eagles.

The NFL salary cap will be between $277.5 million and $281.5 million for the 2025 season, rising as much as $26 million from last year.

The bump is great news for Cincinnati, which is hoping to sign receiver Tee Higgins to a long-term contract. It also means more money for Minnesota to re-sign quarterback Sam Darnold or Kansas City to bring back guard Trey Smith or Super Bowl champion Philadelphia to keep linebacker Zack Baun.

It’s also significant for teams projected to be over the cap when the new league year begins in March: Atlanta, Seattle, Buffalo and Cleveland.

The salary cap was set at $255.4 million in 2024, up more than $30 million from the previous year.

HOCKEY

Bobby Hull, the Hall of Fame forward and two-time NHL MVP who helped the Chicago Blackhawks win the Stanley Cup in 1961, had chronic traumatic encephalopathy when he died two years ago, his widow said in a statement.

Researchers at Boston University’s CTE Center found that Hull had stage 2 CTE when he died in 2023. He was 84.

Hull struggled with short-term memory loss and impaired judgment over his final decade. He chose to donate his brain after seeing former teammate and fellow Hall of Famer Stan Mikita decline late in his life.

“Seeing the pain and heartache suffered by his lifetime friend Stan Mikita’s family, Bobby felt strongly no other family should have to endure CTE,” Deborah Hull, his wife of 39 years, said in a statement. “He insisted on donating his brain, feeling as though it was his duty to help advance research on this agonizing disease.”

Nicknamed “The Golden Jet” for his speed and blond hair, Hull was one of the most prolific forwards in NHL history, scoring 610 times over 16 seasons with Chicago, Hartford and Winnipeg. He remains the Blackhawks’ franchise career leader with 604 goals.

TENNIS

Venus Williams received a wild-card entry for the BNP Paribas Open, which would make next month’s tournament in Indian Wells the seven-time Grand Slam singles champion’s first event in nearly a full year.

Williams, 44, hasn’t competed anywhere on tour since a first-round loss at the Miami Open March 19, 2024.

Clara Tauson didn’t get much sleep but still beat No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka 6-3, 6-2 to reach the quarterfinals of the Dubai (EAE) Championships.

The 22-year-old Dane got to bed late after outlasting Elina Svitolina in a three-set victory in the previous round.

“I think I slept maybe five hours last night,” Clauson, ranked 38th, said. “I didn’t know what shape I was going to come out here in, but a pretty good one.”

It was Tauson’s first win over a top-ranked player. Next up is Linda Noskova for a shot at the semis. The Czech player beat fifth-seeded Jessica Pegula 6-3, 7-6 (8).

Second-seeded Iga Swiatek beat Dayana Yastremska 7-5, 6-0 and next faces Mirra Andreeva, who beat Peyton Sterns 6-1, 6-1.

Defending champion Jasmine Paolini was ousted by Sofia Kenin 6-4, 6-0. The Italian sustained a right ankle injury during the second set.

Kenin will face sixth-seeded Elena Rybakina in the quarterfinals. Rybakina beat ninth-seeded Paula Badosa 4-6, 7-6 (8), 7-6 (2).

Sorana Cirstea beat Emma Navarro 7-6 (5), 3-6, 7-5.

Top-seeded Carlos Alcaraz reached the quarterfinals of the Qatar Open by beating Luca Nardi 6-1, 4-6, 6-3 in Doha.

JURISPRUDENCE

Seven men from Chile were charged in Florida federal court with orchestrating burglaries at the homes of prominent professional athletes around the country, according to a criminal complaint.

The FBI complaint doesn’t name the athletes, but lists burglaries already made public involving the Kansas City Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce, Joe Burrow of the Cincinnati Bengals, as well as players for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks and Memphis Grizzlies.

According to the complaint, the defendants are part of a burglary ring that “is known to target high-profile professional athletes when they are known to be away from home.” The men allegedly stole about $2 million in watches, jewelry, cash and other valuables, including a safe they later cracked.

Each defendant is charged with conspiracy to commit interstate transportation of stolen property, which carries a maximum 10-year prison sentence.