Look, it's the offseason, it's almost the holidays, and news is rather sparse right about now. So just enjoy this automotive destruction, willya?

[Via Jalopnik]

b0413roryRory McIlroy's Sunday back-nine collapse at Augusta National was one of the most brutal breakdowns in golf history, a total flameout that had the potential to wreck his entire career.

In the wake of that, McIlroy noted that he received advice from pretty much everyone with access to him, and the advice was fairly universal: take control of your life and career. And he did just that, in part by firing longtime manager Chubby Chandler and chasing current girlfriend Caroline Wozniacki.

"I really had to filter everything through and try and make decisions myself," McIlroy told the Irish Golf Desk (via Golf Talk Central). "Sometimes I felt I let people make decisions for me instead of taking my career into my own hands and deciding this is what I want to do, this is where I want to go. That day at the Masters helped me do that."

As Golf Talk Central notes, that collapse led to McIlroy's decision to work with Dave Stockton, cut ties with his old girlfriend and take up with Wozniacki, and

Great news, dude! You won a Lamborghini! Here's the keys! You do know how to drive it, right? Right ... ?

Meet David Dopp of Santaquin, Utah. The 34-year-old truck driver for Frito-Lay recently got what appeared to be the greatest Christmas present ever, a Danica-green Lamborghini Murcielago courtesy of a convenience store contest.

Dopp won the "Joe Schmo to Lambo" contest sponsored by Maverik convenience stores; you can see his reaction there at the Nov. 12 revelation. Alas, he spun and crashed the $300,000 sports car about six hours after he took possession of it. To make matters even worse, he's got to sell the 640-horsepower beast because he can't afford either the taxes or the $7,000 annual insurance premiums.

Apparently Dopp was taking friends out for rides just hours after he got the car, took a turn at what he says was 45 mph, hit some black ice, jumped a curb and put holes in the oil pan and one tire. The car ended up about 75 feet off the road.

The problem, of course, is

All of a sudden, we don't need to feel so sorry for AJ Allmendinger anymore.

Over the last few days, it appeared that Allmendinger was losing both his ride in the Richard Petty Motorsports No. 43 and his sponsor as Best Buy jumped to Roush Fenway Racing. But now, Allmendinger will join Penske Racing to drive the recently vacated No. 22 Shell Dodge.

"AJ is a very talented and motivated driver and we believe he will be a terrific fit with our team," Roger Penske said in a statement. "He has shown great promise and consistent results on the track over the last few seasons."

[Related: Power rankings: The best NASCAR drivers under 30]

"I have always admired Roger Penske and the way his teams compete and win in every series where they race," Allmendinger said in a release. "It is a privilege for me to represent such iconic and respected brands as Shell and Pennzoil, AAA and Dodge. I am honored to join Penske Racing and I will do my very best to continue to build on the standard of

b1221kiurt

Welcome to the latest Happy Hour mailbag! You know how these work: You write us with your best rant/ joke/one-liner at happyhournascar@yahoogroups.com (note new address) or on Twitter at @jaybusbee, we respond to your messages, everyone goes away with a smile on their face.

You done with your Christmas shopping yet? Yeah, me neither. I get a total rush out of going to the mall, which is problematic because pretty much everyone else I know hates it and tells me about this thing called the "Internet" where you can do all your shopping. So I end up going to the mall by myself and sitting amid the Christmas carols and fake snow until somebody calls security on me. It's a holiday tradition.

Now, to your letters. Away we go...

This has been a rough week. I have been a Kurt Busch fan since he burst into Cup a decade ago. Knowing that the best car he could get into right now is the Golden Corral car that Dave Blaney likes to crash, I have decided to set a tournament to pick a new favorite driver. I have decided that it will either be a Ford or Brad K. I am wondering if you could ask the Yahoo! NASCAR world to help me out! Thanks!

— Rickie
Norfolk, Va.

Rickie brings up an excellent question. When is it time to pull the plug on your driver fandom? Some fans, of course, will follow their driver right up to the gates of Hell (even though said driver would probably skid right past said gates on his first pass). Others are more capricious, ditching their own underperformer in lieu of someone running better. (Woe to those who got on the 48 train this year at long last.)

But Rickie's got himself (herself?) an interesting dilemma. Rickie's driver has shotgunned himself right out of the top ranks of the sport. Where should Rickie's loyalty lie now? Should he stick with Kurt even through the down times, or has Kurt cost himself a fan too?

Let's throw this one open to the crowd. Friends, Rickie is now on the market. Make your best case to get him on your squad. And teams/drivers who are reading this, make your play as well. We'll get Rickie hooked up with someone new, pronto.

b1220whanThe women's golf game is so far in the shadows of the men's game that it takes an earthshattering, epic event to register in the greater golf world at large against the routine men's majors of a given year.

Turns out, 11 victories in a season isn't quite earthshattering enough. Golf Magazine named Rory McIlroy its player of the year over Yani Tseng, interesting in that McIlroy's two wins/one major trump Tseng's 11 wins/two majors. As Dogs notes, LPGA commissioner Mike Whan went to the mat for Tseng, with lines like this: "This season, she [Tseng] became the youngest player in history—male or female—to win five major championships at the age of 22. It's unfortunate I have to write this letter."

He pointed out that "total wins, total majors, records that transcend sport, and leadership in nearly every statistical category should have been more than enough for Golf Magazine to reach a very obvious conclusion."

Shame that Yani missed out on this honor. Maybe Whan opened a few eyes,

b1220kyle

Sure, it's the offseason, but that doesn't mean we can't throw out a few Power Rankings now and then. Today, we focus on the young bucks, the drivers under the age of 30 who will be dominating the sport for the next 15 years or so. Most NASCAR drivers don't seem to hit their peak until their early 30s, so we've got plenty of time to watch these cats in action.

1. Kyle Busch (26): His constant struggles in the Chase notwithstanding, Busch is far and away the best driver in this crew, and one of the top handful now in NASCAR. Love him or hate him, he'll be around for a long, long time,

2. Brad Keselowski (27): Kes probably would have struggled to make the top five on this list as recently as July. But his hot streak vaults him almost to the top, and he actually beat Busch in the 2011 season standings. Now, what does he do for an encore?

3. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (23): The 2011 Nationwide Series champ is very, very close to the big time. Question is, where's he going to drive on the Sprint

Hey, it's almost time for the holiday break, so let's all gather here in good cheer and talk some NASCAR or whatever. Bring a Secret Santa gift to share ... or just one for us, whichever. See you at 1 p.m. on Wednesday!