Race Car

It has been an incredible run for Tony Stewart , who has risen from the ranks of a competitive afterthought to the driver to beat in the Chase for the Championship. Two victories in two weeks has much to do with that. "It's huge," Stewart said after winning in Loudon, N.H., on Sunday after Clint Bowyer ran out of gas on the final lap. "When you talk about momentum, that race car doesn't know anything about momentum. It knows what you put in it, it knows how we drive it. … It doesn't know anything other than just what's put in it. "Momentum deals with people.

Would that Baltimore were Radiator Springs, the dilapidated, melancholy town off Route 66 revitalized almost single-handedly and instantaneously by race car Lightning McQueen in the Pixar movie "Cars. " Fate dealt Radiator Springs a bad hand when Interstate 40 bypassed the town, detouring traffic from the once thriving, neon-lit locale to new destinations. McQueen rescued it, however, repairing not only the road he destroyed but all the businesses, too. Later, he attracts a Ferrari and other luminary cars to the once-abandoned city in New Mexico.

Willy T. Ribbs is going back into retirement. Ribbs, who became the first African-American to race in the Indianapolis 500 in 1991 and hadn't raced in an Indy car in 17 years, finished 13th out of 16 drivers in the Firestone Indy Lights event Sunday. Ribbs quit after 28 laps. "I physically ran out of gas," said Ribbs, 56. Ribbs said that he lost radio contact with his Willy T. Ribbs/Starting Grid, Inc. team after two laps. Had he known he only had seven laps left, "I would have found a way to push the car across the finish line," he said a few hours later.

IndyCar driver Mike Conway was in town Monday to unveil his new black and yellow race car that will be sponsored by Buffalo Wild Wings and Wings Across America (the Buffalo Wild Wings Grill and Bar Maryland Franchisee). The local company will be the primary sponsor on his No. 27 Andretti Autosport Dallara in the inaugural Baltimore Grand Prix . But also of interest was Conway's opinion on the controversial finish of Sunday's IndyCar race in Loudon, N.H. "It was a shame, really," said Conway, whose car crashed out of the race before he finished the first lap. "I wasn't involved, but I could see it was raining.

Think what you want about the Busch brothers — whether they spice up every race weekend with a feisty edge or are an embarrassment to the brand. This much we know: They sure get everybody's attention. After Kyle Busch gathered much of the controversy over his speeding ticket and his infamous dust-up with Kevin Harvick earlier this season, brother Kurt figured he should step up his game. He found a worthy adversary in Jimmie Johnson at Pocono. Jockeying for a top-five finish, the drivers traded paint in the closing laps.

Baltimore driver Marc Bunting, who will drive his Porsche 911 GT3 in the American Le Mans Series race here in September, turned the engine on and stepped on the gas. Behind the car, Akil Wise, 11, his brother, Da'Sean, 13, and their friend in Boy Scout Troop 8548, Jabari Gilliam, 13, all jumped and then smiled sheepishly. "I'm scared out of my mind," Akil said when asked what he thought about the race car. "I didn't think it would be so loud. " "It was like thunder," Da'Sean said.

now playing "Bad Teacher" (R). Cameron Diaz stars in this comedy centered around a foul-mouthed junior high teacher. With Justin Timberlake, Jason Segel, Lucy Punch and John Michael Higgins. TownMall Cinemas (11:30 a.m., 1:50, 5:00, 7:50, 10:10) "Cars 2" (G). In this Disney/Pixar sequel, race car Lightning McQueen (voice of Owen Wilson) and tow truck Mater (Larry the Cable Guy) head overseas to compete in the first-ever World Grand Prix, and run into a little espionage before the finish line.

Do you dream of driving a stock race car, flying in an aero club plane around the Dover Air Force Base flight pattern, reliving the days of the old Victrola, scoring big time at a huge flea market, seeing great regional arts from Colonial times to the present without a crowd, or winning a slot-machine jackpot? OK, four of these are sure thing, one is a tease and one is left in the hands of the fates. Let's start with the stock-car-driving experience. Your taste of racing history takes place at Dover International Speedway with a choice of taking a four-lap run around the Monster Mile as a passenger, driving a race car for yourself 10 laps (no previous racing experience required)

It wasn't too long ago that Trevor Bayne was the refreshing face who would re-energize NASCAR. He had the wholesome personality, the gracious demeanor and, of most importance, the talent to become a rising star. The cheering in the press box after he won the Daytona 500 reflected the deep connection Bayne made with everybody, even folks who mistook their media credentials for pom-poms. Brand Affinity Technologies, a sports marketing firm, named him the top rising sports star in March, noting his popularity had risen 352 percent.

FORT WORTH, Texas — The question people were asking Brian Vickers was, "Will you be able to race again?" The question Vickers was asking himself was, "Do I want to race again?" That might seem like a silly question, Vickers said this week, for a then-26-year-old who began racing karts at age 8 and missed his high school prom to compete at one of NASCAR's most distinctive tracks — Bristol Motor Speedway — in the Busch Grand National Series, and placed 14th. "But when you've gone through all that," Vickers said, "you start looking at your life from a different perspective.