NASCAR mulls change in points system for 2011

NASCAR is considering scrapping the points system it has used since 1975 in favor of a simpler method that awards points per finishing position, according to a source.

If approved, 43 points would go to the race winner, and one point fewer for each ensuing position down to one point for the 43rd-place finisher.

The current system, devised on a napkin over drinks at a Daytona bar in 1974, gives 175 points to the winner, and decreases in increments of five points and then three points down to 34 points for the last-place finisher, and gives bonuses for leading a lap and most laps led.

The overhaul could be implemented before the season begins next month.

Elsewhere

Breaking up the BCS champs

Auburn receiver Darvin Adams is skipping his senior season to enter the NFL draft.

The school announced the latest departure Monday, following similar decisions by quarterback Cam Newton and defensive tackle Nick Fairley. The deadline for entry was Saturday.

Adams led Auburn in receiving the past two seasons, catching 52 passes for 963 yards and seven touchdowns as a junior.

-- Former Iowa running back Adam Robinson said he wants back on the team. At a news conference in Des Moines, Robinson apologized to friends, family and former teammates for breaking team rules and Iowa law by possessing marijuana. Robinson was arrested Dec. 27, but had been suspended from the Dec. 28 Insight Bowl and later kicked off the team for academic troubles.

Baseball: Free-agent reliever Jon Rauch agreed to a $3.75 million, one-year contract with the Blue Jays. Rauch had 21 saves in 25 chances for the Twins last season. ... The Cubs traded pitcher Tom Gorzelanny to the Nationals for prospects. ... The Rockies signed former A's first baseman Jason Giambi to a minor-league contract.

-- Avoiding arbitration: National League MVP Joey Votto and the Reds ($38 million, three years). ... Outfielder B.J. Upton and the Rays ($4,825,000, one year), reliever Casey Janssen and the Blue Jays ($1.1 million, one year), shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera and the Indians ($2,025,000, one year), reliever Matt Lindstrom and the Rockies $6.6 million, two years), right-hander Robinson Tejeda and the Royals ($1.55 million, one year).

Gymnastics: Olympic gold-medalist Paul Hamm will have surgery this week to repair a torn labrum in his right shoulder, but said he still intends to compete at the 2012 London Games. The 2004 all-around gymnastics champion has not competed since missing the Beijing Games in 2008 because of hand and shoulder injuries.

Obituary: Julie Allen, a Pac-10 All-Academic track and field and cross-country selection at Stanford, died along with two others in a 10-car pileup Saturday afternoon on the Pacific Coast Highway in Newport Beach. She was 27.

Soccer: Despite missing teammate Sergio Aguero, Juan Valera, Diego Forlan and Jose Antonio Reyes scored to lead host Atletico Madrid over Mallorca 3-0 and into a Europa League position at the midpoint of the La Liga season.

This article appeared on page B - 5 of the San Francisco Chronicle