The Official Blog of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Build Your Own Brickyard Experience is an interactive fan website that allows you to learn more about Brickyard experiences, choose how you would build your own experience, and then share what your Brickyard 400 experience looks like with friends and family.

This blog series follows Brickyard 400 fans and their experience and tips for attending a race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Are you new to the Brickyard 400? Jennifer Meyering, blogging to share her experiences as the winner of an all-expenses paid trip to the 2011 Brickyard 400 race from NASCAR driver Denny Hamlin (read more here), shares how she will build her own Brickyard Experience:

Recently, I checked out this great website from the IMS that tells you about the various Brickyard 400 race weekend activities and lets you “Build Your Own Brickyard” experience. I was lucky enough to win my tickets and a trip to this year’s Brickyard 400 from Denny Hamlin in a Twitter contest, but I still decided to give it a try! Here are some of the activities I picked for my Brickyard Experience, and why…

The first thing I looked for was a chance to visit Gasoline Alley. I mean, isn’t this part of the ultimate Indy Motor Speedway experience? To be able to see the cars, crews, and maybe a driver or two, go back and forth- that’s what Gasoline Alley is about to me. I had to include this in my experience.

Another thing I included was Kiss the Bricks. Again, when you think of Indy Motor Speedway, you think of that yard of bricks that the winner gets to kiss. And isn’t the name of the race the BRICKyard 400… That right there tells you how important the bricks are. For me, no Brickyard 400 experience would be complete without including “Kiss the Bricks”.

Fans pose and Kiss the Bricks during the 2010 Brickyard 400 weekend

One of my son’s favorite things about NASCAR is the pit stops. He often plays with his Legos and makes cars and then pretends to take them through pit stops. He loves to talk about changing tires and carrying tires and fueling the car. I had to include “Time for a Pit Stop” on my Brickyard Experience.

A young fan takes a pit stop challenge

During our previous race experience, we were able to go back and see teams working on the cars in the garages. This was one of the highlights of our race weekend, because we found out just how wonderful all the team members are on the race teams. We were able to interact with many of them and they showed us how NASCAR really does care about it’s fans. So when I saw that I could include “NASCAR Garage Area” as part of my Brickyard Experience, I couldn’t pass it up!

A glimpse into Juan Pablo Montoya's Garage

One of the great things about NASCAR is how fan-friendly the drivers are. They rarely pass up a chance to sign autographs and give back to the fans. My son loves collecting autographs, and, well, so do I! When I was looking around the website at the various experiences, I saw that there was not one, but two experiences I could add to try to get autographs- “Thunder Alley” and “Can You Sign My…?”

Another experience that was an absolute necessity to add was the “And the Winner is…” To be able to see a driver win one of the biggest races in the NASCAR season in person is just so exciting! Even though going to a race is about much more than seeing who takes the checkered flag, seeing that is definitely high on the list of must-do’s!

During a NASCAR race (or practice), it’s great to be able to listen to the interaction between a driver and his crew on the scanners. Also, as a parent, the scanners and headphones are great for decreasing the noise of the cars for kids. My son loves being able to switch back and forth between drivers and hear what they say! These reasons are why I added the “Scanning all Frequencies” to my Brickyard 400 experience.

There were many other great options that I added to my Brickyard 400 Experience. Some of them include, eating hot dogs, watching qualifying and practice, and taking lots of pictures (lots and lots!). Honestly, it was hard to choose from all the different things there are to do when attending the Brickyard 400. And if I went back and made my experience again, I bet it wouldn’t look the same- something else would catch my eye and I would that!!!

Ready to Build Your Own Brickyard Experience?  Check out what Jennifer’s experience looks like here.

New to this blog series? Check out the first post from a young professional in this series here.

Just love racing in general? Check out how a fan of the IMS might build their own Brickyard experience here.

Bringing out your family? Read more about what a family experience might look like here.

Fans often list among their top reasons for joining Twitter as wanting to connect with and follow celebrities and organizations they are passionate about. Sometimes, Twitter users receive an added perk of a fun contest or cool giveaway. This was the case for followers of Denny Hamlin this past December when the #11 FedEx Toyota Camry driver declared that he was going to give away an all-expenses paid trip to anywhere in the United States (Read an article on the contest from SBNation here).

Fans can follow Denny on Twitter @DennyHamlin

The contest quickly caught a lot of buzz in the Twitterverse and Jennifer Meyering of Pennsylvania won by correctly answering that the sum of all the presents in the “12 Days of Christmas” is 364. So where did this self-professed Denny Hamlin fan decide to go? Disney World? No. California? No. Jennifer quickly (and excitedly) chose to bring her family to the 2011 Brickyard 400 race in Indianapolis.

When asked what led him to give away a vacation to a lucky fan on Twitter and his reaction to the winner choosing to attend the Brickyard, Denny shared that:

“Well, I prepared myself because you never know what they’re going to say.  But the winner was a true race fan.  That was very cool.  So she decided she wanted to go to the Brickyard, which is great that she could go anywhere and she decided she wanted to go to a NASCAR race.  For me that is very rewarding to see that happen.  I don’t know, for me, I just have moments where I look around and think about how fortunate I am and want to give back to the people that help in these stands and watch these races and buy our souvenirs.”

Keep an eye on IndianapolisMotorSpeedway.com this year as Jennifer and Denny both prepare for the July 31st running on the Brickyard 400. Below, Jennifer shares her passion for NASCAR and the reasons why she chose an all-expenses paid trip to the Brickyard.

Denny Hamlin and Mike Ford talk strategy at the 2010 Brickyard 400 (Photo by LAT)

The first NASCAR race I remember watching on TV was the 2001 Daytona 500. I’m sure this wasn’t the first race I watched, but for reasons obvious to fellow fans, it stands out in my mind. Now, I try to watch every race during the NASCAR season. My DVR gets quite a work out from February to November!

When people ask me what it is about NASCAR that I love, I can’t answer just one thing. The racing, the sound of the engines, the people- I love it all! The things that I love the most are the drivers and the personalities in the sport of racing. For me, compared to other sports, the people and drivers involved in NASCAR are some of the most “real” and fan-friendly people out there.

NASCAR drivers understand that the fans are important to their sport- without the fans, there is nothing! One of my favorite thing is following various drivers on Twitter- including Denny Hamlin. And when it comes to giving back to fans, I think Denny really gets it (of course, I may be a little biased).

On Christmas day, Denny held a Twitter contest for his fans. He asked a trivia question, and the winner would get a trip anywhere in the United States. I entered the contest never expecting to win- but I did! I was absolutely floored and in total disbelief. My son was almost more excited than I was- Denny is one of his favorite drivers (along with Joey Logano).

After I won, my husband and I immediately started discussing where we wanted to go. I knew I wanted to go to a NASCAR race. We went to the Pocono 500 last June and had a great time.

We bounced around a couple of ideas, but we wanted to really make it a special trip to remember. As soon as the thought of the Brickyard 400 crossed my mind, I knew that was where I wanted to go.

Indianapolis Motor Speedway has such an amazing racing history- I couldn’t pass up the chance to go and really experience it in person. I went to the 1995 Indy 500, but I knew nothing about racing at that time and didn’t savor the experience like I should have.  I am excited to return to the IMS and truly enjoy the full experience. This July I am going to soak it ALL in!

Denny Hamlin's #11 FedEx Toyota Camry crosses the Yard of Bricks at the 2010 Brickyard 400 (photo by LAT)

The Drive for Five is complete. Is that a legendary accomplishment or the next sign of the impending Apocalypse?

Jimmie Johnson put himself in the same room as NASCAR legends Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt — both seven-time Cup champions — by winning his fifth consecutive NASCAR Sprint Cup on Sunday by finishing second to Carl Edwards in the Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Johnson rallied from a 15-point deficit to pass Denny Hamlin for another championship. Johnson and crew chief Chad Knaus endured a tumultuous Chase, during which Johnson’s crew was benched, to continue their reign over the sport.

Say it five times fast: This guy is a legend.

And the great debate begins: Is Johnson’s dominance good for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and help it gain more attention as it attempts to rebound in 2011 from a season of decreased attendance and TV ratings? Or will it hurt, as fans are getting sick and tired of seeing Johnson and Knaus hoisting the big silver trophy every year at Homestead?

SBNation’s Jeff Gluck, an avid Tweeter, posted this interesting smorgasbord of Twitter reaction from fans after the race Sunday. Many fans complained about Johnson’s victory. And those fans are wrong.

What Johnson is doing here, folks, is beyond special because it’s almost beyond comprehension. NASCAR rule makers toil long and hard to build equality into the sport. The COT has homogenized the machinery. The point system rewards consistency more than winning. The Chase system was created to prevent a runaway champion late in the season, erasing any early-season dominance. Four of the 10 Chase races are on 1.5-mile ovals, with no road courses and only one short track.

This is racing’s version of the salary cap and free agency, two components that have killed dynasties in the NFL, NBA and NHL. Yet Johnson, Knaus and Hendrick Motorsports continue to just deliver under pressure, year after year. Think about it: The last time Jimmie Johnson failed to win the Sprint Cup, only Alaskans had ever heard of Sarah Palin. Justin Bieber was a kid dreaming of stardom in his bedroom in Canada. Joey Logano was 15 years old.

Why is this criticized? Why is this seen as boring? I agree with Peter DeLorenzo at Autoextremist: It’s not like Johnson and Knaus are crushing the competition due to superior equipment, an argument that could be made about the Ferrari that Michael Schumacher drove to five consecutive Formula One World Championships last decade.

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The clock is ticking, so let the dissection begin.

No, we’re not talking about the Biology final you took as a sophomore in high school. We’re talking about the final countdown to the NASCAR Sprint Cup season finale this Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Denny Hamlin leads four-time reigning champion Jimmie Johnson by 15 points, with Kevin Harvick third, 46 points behind Hamlin. The math is so simple, yet so tough, for Hamlin: If he wins, or finishes second and leads the most laps, at Homestead, he will hoist the Sprint Cup for the first time.

Can you believe this was $150 in 1972?

If that doesn’t happen, have a slide rule, abacus or an old, four-function Texas Instruments pocket calculator ready.

NASCAR beat writers and bloggers are starting to trot out various scenarios for victory for Hamlin, Johnson and Harvick this weekend. Jim McCoy at All Left Turns makes the point that Hamlin has been the dominant driver this season, won two weeks ago at Texas and was ruling the Desert Mile at Phoenix before fuel-mileage follies emerged.

Dustin Long also lays out a case for Hamlin, with one very important stat: Hamlin won last year at Homestead. Johnson never has won on the 1.5-mile oval in South Florida even though he has lifted the ultimate prize in NASCAR at the track the last four years.

But Long also writes why it wouldn’t be one bit surprising if Johnson earns his fifth consecutive Sprint Cup this weekend at Homestead, and the reasons boil down to two men: Chad Knaus and Jimmie Johnson. They’ve been the best driver-crew chief combination in NASCAR for the last five or six seasons. They’ve been here and done it, which neither Hamlin nor Harvick can say.

I also think Johnson is winning the psychological battle entering Homestead. He spoke like a man without a care in the world after slicing Hamlin’s lead to 15 points at Phoenix, laying all the pressure on Hamlin’s garage door. Johnson also knew Hamlin was cracking emotionally after seeing fuel strategy foil his chance to expand his points lead, and like any ruthless competitor, Johnson pressed down the boot even harder on Hamlin’s fragile psyche.

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My racing weekend could be summed up by one sentence: I didn’t see that coming.

Denny Hamlin surrendering a padded lead in the Chase for the Sprint Cup in the final laps at Phoenix due to bad fuel mileage? I didn’t see that coming. Sebastian Vettel becoming just the second driver in Formula One history to rally from third in the standings to the World Championship in the final race of the season? I didn’t see that coming.

It was one of those weekends why we dig this sport. The unexpected happened, which is one of the most appealing aspects of motor racing.

Here are the facts after the Kobalt Tools 500 Sunday at Phoenix: Hamlin leads four-time reigning champion Jimmie Johnson by 15 points entering the season finale this Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway. 2003 Brickyard 400 winner Kevin Harvick is third, 46 points behind. It’s the closest three-way Chase with one race remaining.

Muzzle the mouth or walk the walk, Mike.

Now to the opinions. It might be a good idea for Hamlin’s crew chief, Mike Ford, to keep a low profile heading into South Florida this week. Ford crowed after the Texas race Nov. 7 that crew chief Chad Knaus may have lost a fifth consecutive title for Johnson by essentially firing Johnson’s crew mid-race and replacing it with the crew of Hendrick teammate Jeff Gordon.

Karma bites, Mike. Johnson finished fifth at Phoenix after he went the distance on fuel. Hamlin scrambled to finish 12th, despite leading most of the race, after pitting for a splash of fuel late in the race. Knaus calculated the gas gamble correctly; Ford didn’t gamble and lost.

The end result was that Hamlin is rattled. He ripped his team after the race by saying, “Like I said, I did my job.” Not exactly a rousing vote of confidence or rallying of the beleaguered troops by a wise veteran. More of the impetuous Denny we thought had grown up. And at just the wrong time.

Johnson has Hamlin on the ropes, and he’s talking a bit of the smack of a man who knows it.

Hamlin pledges a pedal-to-the-metal approach at Homestead. He’s going to need it, as there are only two guaranteed routes to the championship for him, either winning the race or finishing second and leading the most laps.

My money still remains on Johnson to hoist the Cup for the fifth straight year. Who is your pick, and why?

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Judging by the feedback I received from the Nov. 8 edition of Splash And Go, it appears that the many dramatic subplots of the AAA 500 last Sunday weren’t enough to draw back those of you who have abandoned the NASCAR Chase for the Sprint Cup this fall. Your attitude seems to match that of Kyle Busch to the NASCAR official during his stop-and-go penalty for pit road speeding last Sunday at Texas — the big, fat middle finger.

Guess many of you feel the same way about the Chase, which is too bad.

That’s a shame, as no one is going to convince me this isn’t a compelling Chase. The top three drivers within 59 points. Two races to go. Forget about the COT. Forget about the Chase system.

Two races to go, 59 points separate the top three. If that’s not good enough for you, maybe Travis Pastrana can save NASCAR in your eyes.

Off my soap box and on to Phoenix.

Four-time reigning Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson trails leader Denny Hamlin by 33 points after Hamlin won last Sunday at Texas. But there are few better places for a JJ rebound than Phoenix, as he has won the last three fall races at The Desert Mile.

Hamlin is hot, as he’s racing no differently during the Chase than he did during the “regular season” — the dude is driving to win. So anyone Chase naysayers complaining about conservative “points racing” better not point to Hamlin. Oh, sorry, I’m on that soap box again.

And what about Kevin Harvick? He’s 59 points behind leader Hamlin, and Mike Mulhern suggests it might be a must-win situation for Happy this Sunday at Phoenix.

It should be vewwwy interesting, as Elmer Fudd would say.

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Is this Kyle Busch after a speeding penalty or NASCAR fans who still think this year's Chase stinks?

So, Chase naysayers: Are you happy now?

If not, then just end your illusion of any allegiance to NASCAR. Just come clean: You’re not a NASCAR fan anymore.

Because if you didn’t find the AAA Texas 500 even the slightest bit entertaining, then you should just move on. Pass Go, collect $200 and move to your latest sport du jour or continue to long for the “glory days” that had no more glory than what was on track Sunday at Texas Motor Speedway.

I’m far from a NASCAR apologist, as there are times I think reading toaster oven wiring manuals is more exciting than watching a Sprint Cup race. But this season has been solid, and no race has featured more drama, excitement and over-the-top entertainment than Sunday at Texas.

Let’s start recapping the plot lines. I bet we’ll need to move to a second hand to get a complete count.

One, Denny Hamlin uses a great inside-out move on Matt Kenseth to win the race. Denny could have sat back in second and taken the safe route, knowing he still would have left Fort Worth with the points lead. But Denny did what champions are supposed to do: Drove his ass off for a victory. (It’s a shame that NASCAR doesn’t reward winning drives like this with more points, but that’s a topic for another day.)

Two, Jimmie Johnson is out of the points lead with just two races remaining. Johnson entered the race 14 points ahead in his Drive for Five, yet he left Texas 33 points behind Hamlin, in second, after finishing ninth. Kevin Harvick remains third, 59 points out of the lead, in the closest three-man race this late in the Chase since the format started in 2004.

Three, Johnson’s crew chief, Chad Knaus, benched his pit crew mid-race for poor performance, orchestrating a swap with teammate Jeff Gordon’s pit crew. It was about as stinging as a public rebuke can be, but it’s not surprising considering Knaus’ Texas-sized ego. Plus even though Knaus never has met a mirror or the pronoun “I” that he didn’t like, look at the man’s record: He delivers. Johnson didn’t seem that torn up about the divorce from his pit crew after the race.

Four, smack talk by Hamlin’s crew chief, Mike Ford. He said the mid-race Hendrick crew swap could be the tipping point toward Denny ending Jimmie’s run of four consecutive Sprint Cup titles. Brash, bold talk — you’ve got to love it.

Five, Gordon’s crew was available because Jeff Burton inexplicably took out Gordon, precipitating the Backstretch Bash. The Driver formerly known as Boy Wonder stomped toward Burton on the backstretch, gave him a strong two-handed shove and started to throw punches before being restrained by NASCAR officials.

It wasn’t exactly Cale vs. Donnie and Bobby on the backstretch at Daytona in 1979, but it was quite compelling. And because the combatants were Gordon and Burton, two of the more sage, even-tempered elder statesmen in the NASCAR garage, you know it was real.

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Enough. Please. Stop.

Make it stop!

NASCAR is in the midst of its most exciting Chase for the Sprint Cup since the inaugural year of the format, 2004, when just 16 points separated champion Kurt Busch, second place Jimmie Johnson and third place Jeff Gordon at the end of the season. Yet the endless bleating, soul-searching and head-scratching continues about NASCAR in reverse gear.

Make no mistake: NASCAR has problems. Declining TV ratings and race attendance. Top teams struggling for sponsorship. Yet it’s still the most popular form of motorsports in America, by far. Every other series in the U.S. would love to have NASCAR’s “problems.”

But can we just focus on the racing for the next three weeks? There are three races remaining in what has been a compelling Chase for the Sprint Cup. Four-time reigning champion Jimmie Johnson leads Denny Hamlin by just 14 points and Kevin Harvick by 38.

It’s high-octane drama, yet from Tuesday through Thursday of every race week during the Chase — after the race reports and analysis are out of the way by Monday and before the race previews and coverage start Friday — all I read about on NASCAR blogs and websites are theories and speculation about the root cause of the great withering of NASCAR. Dustin Long, who I read daily and whose work I admire greatly, even wrote that the close Chase could be hurting NASCAR.

Say what?

Isn’t there a two-month offseason during which endless column inches and online bytes can be devoted to the Great NASCAR Decession? You know, when no actual racing is taking place?

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A bit of housekeeping and two public service announcements before Splash And Go begins. Sorry for the lack of recent posts — I was splashing and going on vacation last week. And if you’re 18 or older and a U.S. citizen, please vote today. You lose your right to complain about your government if you don’t do anything about changing it. Finally, please help Hoosiers in need by donating to the 1 Lap, 1 Great Cause food drive at IMS.

On to racing.

Sorry, Carl, but Happy Harvick is too busy fighting to win the Sprint Cup

Talladega was an interesting show last Sunday for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, but it wasn’t the decisive “wild-card” race many expected. All it did was reinforce that this is a three-man show with three races to go, as Jimmie Johnson leads Denny Hamlin by 14 points and Kevin Harvick by 38 points.

This is the kind of bandstand finish that NASCAR envisioned when it created the Chase. I’m starting to believe that Harvick can be the dark horse in this race and take it all, as he has the right attitude regarding the final three races: Top-10 finishes, simply staying out of trouble, don’t cut it.

Harvick also has a consistent, solid teammate to help him, Clint Bowyer. Jeff Gordon and Mark Martin are too inconsistent to be solid wingmen for Johnson, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. continues to be largely irrelevant. Kyle Busch is too much of a wild man and wild card to be much of a help for Hamlin, and Joey Logano is no factor.

Take a minute to think about Bowyer. He has won two of the seven races during the Chase. Yet he’s 12th and last in the Chase standings because of the 150-point penalty levied by NASCAR for driving an illegal car to victory lane in the Chase opener in September at Loudon.

Bowyer deserves applause. He’s driving hard, like a man with nothing to lose, despite being buried in the Chase because his car was out of whack by about the width of a hair. He’s the Chase’s version of the Buffalo Bills, still playing with intensity despite being 0-7.

The “Big One,” which ESPN’s announcers seemingly so desperately wanted to see last Sunday at Talladega, never really happened until A.J. Allmendinger’s wild ride on the final lap that precipitated the extending scoring review to determine Bowyer edged teammate Harvick for the victory.

But there was a massive wreck last Sunday in the DTM (German touring car) race at Adria, Italy. This looked every bit like a tumble-and-spin job from restrictor-plate racing, yet it was on a road course. Thankfully driver Alexandre Premat was OK:

It takes a big story to push the Chase aside in NASCAR-land during a Sprint Cup weekend in the fall, but the death of longtime NASCAR and racetrack executive Jim Hunter did just that last weekend. And Hunter was worthy of every bit of praise coming from all corners. He was old school, someone who listened as much as he talked. Someone who understood the media and its job. Trust me when I say that is a rare commodity today among motorsports executives.

Godspeed to Hunter, a true giant.

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“Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.” — The Who’s “Won’t Get Fooled Again”

Dario drives like Daltrey sang in his glory days with The Who - cerebral but with pure power.

That lyric from one of my favorite bands bounced around my head tonight as I thought about Dario Franchitti winning his third IZOD IndyCar Series championship Oct. 2 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. It was his third title on the trot if you figure he skipped the 2008 season to race NASCAR. And he’s also won two Indianapolis 500′s in the last four years.

Make no doubt about it: This guy is the boss of IndyCar racing over the last 15 years. Robin Miller, who knows a thing or 100,000 about great drivers, thinks so. I don’t need as large of an abacus to count my racing knowledge as Robin, but I think so, too.

It also was a good night in South Florida for one Danica Patrick, who tied a season best by finishing second in the Cafes do Brasil Indy 300. It was a solid salvage job by America’s Princess of Speed, who ended the season in the top 10 with the strong result after an intense duel with Andretti Autosport teammate Tony Kanaan down the stretch laps of the race.

But there’s no rest for weary Danica, who probably would give some of her sizable endorsement income to approach a single-digit finish in her Grand NASCAR Nationwide Experiment of 2010, which continues full-bore now that the IndyCar season is done.

You had to feel for Will Power after the Homestead race. The laid-back Aussie dude was visibly oozing the pressure of the title chase last weekend at Homestead. I was there, and Will was uncharacteristically tense and even borderline snippy in a press conference Friday night after Franchitti won the pole, trimming one point from Power’s 12-point lead entering the event.

And the coil spring of Will’s psyche finally snapped when he brushed the wall trying to avoid lapped traffic in the race, ending his race and his championship hopes. Contrast that with Dario’s chilly nerves when avoiding the spinning, crashing car of rolling chicane Milka Duno later in the race.

Power lost the title by five points, but he gained a ton of respect and injected a heavy dose of fear into his rivals this season. As Danica said of Power in the post-race press conference: “He did a hell of a job this year. He kicked ass on the road courses, for sure.” That he did, winning the inaugural Mario Andretti Road Course Championship Trophy. And Power also improved quite a bit on ovals, even though that first win on roundy-rounds eludes him.

Will, a tremendously likable guy, is going to be right there again for the championship next season with Team Penske.

Prospects for a strong year also are looking up for Graham Rahal. He announced a big sponsorship deal for 2011-12 with TBC Retail Group, a major American tire and automotive retail company, on Saturday afternoon at Homestead. Whispers are getting louder than Graham is heading to a third Ganassi team in 2011. Was it any coincidence that a Ganassi executive was in the deadline room when the press conference took place Saturday at Homestead? Hmm …

IndyCar’s favorite bad boy, Paul Tracy, also is aiming for a strong full-season ride in 2011. PT is beating the bushes and says he’s close to having enough funding for next year. Let’s hope so. You never can get too much of The Thrill from West Hill.

While Graham is set and things are looking up for PT, there was a bit of bad news for Tony Kanaan and Andretti Autosport. 7-Eleven, TK’s longtime primary sponsor in the IZOD IndyCar Series, is returning only as an associate on Danica’s car next year. AA has given TK permission to look around the series for another ride.

Sorry, but I just can’t imagine TK at another team besides Andretti. He has been the one fixture — the pillar — of that outfit since it came to the series in 2003 as Andretti Green Racing. No one has worked harder, no one has driven harder and no one has kept the team more focused and unified than TK. To lapse into American sportscaster-speak, TK is the glue guy at Andretti. The team simply cannot afford to lose Kanaan, who immediately becomes the most coveted free agent in IndyCar.

The rousing battle between TK and Danica over the last 30 laps at Homestead wasn’t the only compelling bout last weekend between teammates who aren’t exactly best buddies. The heated rivalry between seven-time MotoGP World Champion Valentino Rossi and 2010 champion-elect Jorge Lorenzo finally boiled over at Motegi in a phenomenal, elbow-rubbing duel Sunday.

Seriously, the only difference between the scrap between Fiat Yamaha teammates Rossi and Lorenzo over the last three laps of the race and the classic old video game “Road Rash” was the lack of spiked balls and chains. This was as close to 180-mph two-wheeled combat as you’re going to see.

And Jorge was not happy with The Doctor after the race. As if Rossi cares. He knows Lorenzo and another rival, 2007 World Champion Casey Stoner, hate him, and he doesn’t give a rat’s posterior. Ah, the beauty of psychological warfare. Vale is a master of it. Just ask Sete Gibernau and Max Biaggi. The brilliant Julian Ryder offers his always spot-on analysis of the Battle of Motegi at Superbike Planet.

Lorenzo, who just signed a two-year contract renewal with Yamaha, will get a bit of revenge this weekend at Malaysia: He’ll likely clinch his first MotoGP World Championship. Lorenzo’s closest pursuer in the standings, 2010 Red Bull Indianapolis GP winner Dani Pedrosa, almost certainly will miss his second consecutive race after suffering a broken collarbone in a crash during practice at Motegi.

Three-time Brickyard 400 winner Jimmie Johnson took the lead from Denny Hamlin in the NASCAR Chase for the Sprint Cup after finishing second behind Greg Biffle on Sunday at Kansas. But unlike MotoGP, it’s going to be awhile until this year’s champion is decided, as just 85 points separate eighth-place Biffle from points leader Johnson.

The tight points race should be a major topic of conversation heading into Tinseltown for the race this Sunday at Auto Club Speedway in Southern California, but instead a typical NASCAR soap opera is devouring the headlines. Kyle Busch and David Reutimann traded sheet metal and post-race barbs after they clashed twice on track at Kansas. The intent of Busch’s contact was debatable; Reutimann’s was not. He wanted to take out Busch and succeeded, helping to drop Rowdy to a 21st-place finish.

And thus the filmy residue of NASCAR’s “boys, have at it” policy was left on this race like soap scum around the base of the bathtub. Is it really in NASCAR’s best interests to have a non-Chase driver intentionally trash the race of a Chase driver? Jeff Gluck plays attorney, judge and jury in this blog, and his point is solid: NASCAR’s hands-off policy only will encourage more Chase-altering melees like Sunday at Kansas.

Maybe that’s what NASCAR fans want. But don’t you think NASCAR Nation would react a bit differently, with fewer “That puke got what was coming to him” comments spewed toward Busch, if the object of Reutimann’s bumper was Dale Earnhardt Jr.? Yeah, so do I.

Finally, Franchitti wasn’t the only world-class driver to lock up a title last weekend. Sebastien Loeb clinched his seventh consecutive World Rally Championship crown by winning his home Rally of France. Sorry, Herr Schumacher and Signore Rossi, but Loeb is the most dominant driver in the world over the last two decades. Hands down.

Vous êtes le roi, Seb.