3rd surgery for NASCAR driver Stewart

NASCAR DRIVER Tony Stewart is recovering from a third surgery on his right leg following an August crash at an Iowa sprint car track.

Stewart-Haas Racing said the procedure was done yesterday in North Carolina to examine and close a wound on his shin stemming from the broken tibia and fibula he suffered in the Aug. 5 crash at Southern Iowa Speedway. He remains hospitalized for observation.

The team said the surgery was a proactive measure and Stewart is expected back with the team next season. He also had surgery on Aug. 6 and Aug. 8, with the latter procedure done to insert a metal rod inside the tibia.

It was the first significant injury for the three-time NASCAR champion since his move to the series in 1999. The 42-year-old owner/driver of SHR saw his streak of 521 consecutive starts come to an end.

Stewart is accustomed to racing as many as 6 days a week, not to mention keeping busy with his business ventures as co-owner of the NASCAR team, owner of his sprint car teams and owner of multiple race tracks.

In other auto racing news:

* Three-time Indianapolis 500 winner Dario Franchitti will need a second surgery on the broken right ankle he suffered when his car went airborne into the fence during the last lap of the Grand Prix of Houston on Sunday. Franchitti also fractured two vertebrae in his spine and received a concussion. He had surgery on the ankle Sunday night and remained in the hospital afterward. Franchitti is expected to return to Indianapolis tomorrow and have a second surgery on his ankle.

* David Beckham earned more than $26 million from personal sponsorship deals in his final full year as a soccer player. The former England captain retired from playing in May after 5 months with Paris Saint-Germain, having left Major League Soccer in December 2012 following more than 5 years with the Los Angeles Galaxy.

* FIFA plans to create an international league table of countries that have problems with racism and discrimination in sports.

* Pitt quarterback Tom Savage, who has been suffering from concussion-like symptoms, will be available when the Panthers meet Virginia Tech on Saturday. Savage, a product of Cardinal O'Hara High School, was injured vs. Virginia on Sept. 28, and left that game. The Panthers were off last week after the 14-3 win over the Cavaliers.

* North Carolina's Jack Tabb will be suspended for the first half of next week's game against No. 13 Miami following his ejection in the weekend loss at Virginia Tech. Tabb is a tight end who started at linebacker against the Hokies and played both ways Saturday. But he was ejected with 4 minutes left for throwing a punch during a kickoff return.

* Top-ranked Serena Williams defeated Jelena Jankovic, 6-2, 6-2, to win her fourth China Open in 5 years.

* Maria Sharapova has withdrawn from the season-ending WTA Championships later this month in Istanbul because of an injured right shoulder.

* La Salle's Nico Greco was named Atlantic 10 men's cross country performer of the week. Greco paced the Explorers to a sixth-place finish (47-team field) at the Paul Short Run on Saturday.

* Former giant slalom world champion Kathrin Hoelzl, 28, of Germany, announced her retirement after years of struggling with injuries and illness.