Danica’s day ends in 12-car pileup

? Even as her mangled race car belched steam from its radiator in the background, Danica Patrick remained confident she would have good days in NASCAR.

This wasn’t one of them.

Making her NASCAR debut, Patrick ran outside the top 20 for most of Saturday’s Nationwide Series race at Daytona International Speedway. She was running in the middle of the pack when she was caught up in a 12-car wreck just past the race’s halfway point.

Patrick was hoping to learn as much as she could about a new style of racing. She ended up going to the school of hard knocks.

“It’s important to have realistic expectations,” Patrick said. “There’s going to be spikes in performance, I don’t doubt that. But there’s also going to be tough days. And today, I would say, was more of a tough day.”

Tony Stewart went on to win the race for the fifth time in six years.

And it was an expensive day for Dale Earnhardt Jr., who went airborne in a frightening wreck later in the race. He and Patrick both escaped without significant injuries.

Earnhardt is a co-owner of the JR Motorsports team, which now must find the money to repair Patrick’s car and completely replace the one Earnhardt wrecked — a bill that could total $200,000.

But budget concerns aside, Earnhardt praised Patrick’s ability. According to Earnhardt, the fact that she wasn’t running near the front Saturday doesn’t mean she can’t be competitive in NASCAR right away.

AUTO RACING

Peters wins truck race

Daytona Beach, Fla. — Timothy Peters won the season-opening truck series race Saturday night at Daytona International Speedway. Peters passed two-time defending race winner Todd Bodine on the final lap, then edged Bodine at the line for his second career victory. Dennis Setzer finished third.

NBA

Gooden traded to Wizards

Dallas — The Mavericks have traded forward Drew Gooden and Josh Howard to the Washington Wizards in a seven-play deal that sends Caron Butler and Brendan Haywood to the Mavericks.

Howard was in his seventh season with Dallas, a span filled with promise and disappointment since being the 29th overall pick in 2003. Gooden, a Kansas University product signed by Dallas last summer, will be going to his eighth team in eight NBA seasons.

The Mavericks also get guard DeShawn Stevenson and cash considerations from Washington. James Singleton and Quinton Ross go to the Wizards to round out the deal.

It is a significant move for the Southwest Division-leading Mavericks (32-20), who lost five of their last seven games before the All-Star weekend in their city.

For the Wizards (17-33), the trade means more moves for the team that has already lost Gilbert Arenas and Javaris Crittenton after both were suspended last month by the NBA for the rest of the season after both admitted to bringing a gun into the locker room.

Pierce three-point winner

Dallas — Boston’s Paul Pierce won the Three-Point Shootout during the NBA All-Star festivities, making up for an embarrassing performance the last time he was in the competition. Pierce scored 20 points in Saturday night’s final round, making all five of the two-point money balls, to beat Golden State’s Stephen Curry (17) and Denver’s Chauncey Billups (14) in the finals.

When Pierce last competed in the Three-Point Shootout in 2002, he scored only eight points.

Defending champion Daequan Cook of Miami was eliminated after the first round. His 15 points were the same as Phoenix’s Channing Frye and New York’s Danilo Gallinari.

Robinson wins dunk contest

Dallas — New York’s Nate Robinson is the NBA’s first three-time slam dunk champion. Robinson barely won another title, garnering 51 percent of the fan vote to hold off Toronto rookie DeMar DeRozan, who advanced to the final round after getting a perfect score of 50 on his second dunk of the first round.

The final dunk for the 5-foot-9 Robinson came when he threw the ball off the backboard, grabbed it and turned midair for a two-handed backward slam.

Stern projects big losses

Dallas — David Stern said Saturday the NBA is projecting league-wide losses of about $400 million this season and has lost hundreds of millions in each previous year of the current collective bargaining agreement. The commissioner said it has shown the players’ association those numbers in hopes of demonstrating why the league feels it needs “significant changes” in the next deal.

GOLF

Johnson, Goydos tied

Pebble Beach, Calif. — Dustin Johnson and Paul Goydos are tied for the lead going into the final round of the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. Johnson, one of the biggest hitters in golf, made two eagles and had a chance to tie the course record at Spyglass Hill until a three-putt bogey on his final hole gave him a 64. Goydos birdied two of his last three holes for a 64 at Pebble Beach on one of the most splendid days in years at America’s fabled seaside course.

They were at 18-under 196 and will be in the final group today at Pebble Beach.

Bryce Molder and J.B. Holmes were four shots behind, while David Duval was tied for seventh, six shots back.

Couples leads by three

Naples, Fla. — Fred Couples is in position for his first Champions Tour victory. He’ll have to hold on to the lead at the ACE Group Classic for at least 23 holes today to do it.

Couples sank a 48-foot putt from well off the green on No. 12 for eagle, then made a 12-footer for birdie on No. 13 to reach 9 under before second-round play was called due to darkness Saturday. Dan Forsman is in second place, three shots back at 6 under.

BASEBALL

Upton loses in arbitration

St. Petersburg, Fla. — Tampa Bay has defeated outfielder B.J. Upton during salary arbitration, leaving the Rays 5-0 in cases that have gone to hearings.