b1115homestead

Hmm. I get the sense that the program of this year's Ford 400 is trying to subtly hint at a winner, but I just can't get at what they're suggesting. Maybe it's one of those old hidden-image jobbies...

Anyway, this year's program is the work of French motorsports artist Erwin Dazelle. You can decide for yourself who those other two competitors might be. Also, it looks like we'll have 2x2 racing at Homestead again. (Noooooo!) Finally, who thought it was a good idea to place the trophies right at the finish line? The cars are going to blow right through them!

If you happen to be at Homestead-Miami Speedway this weekend, you can pick up a copy of the program and meet Dazelle. For more info, check the speedway's website right here.

Time again for another Yahoo! NASCAR live chat! This is the last of the regular season, but NOT the last of the year. No, friends, we'll do this every single week through the offseason, even if there's nothing to talk about. Never stopped us before, has it? So come enjoy the final in-season chat to get ready for Homestead! Festivities begin at 1 p.m. Eastern on Wednesday. See you here!

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The saga of Formula 1's 2012 visit to the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas has yet another chapter.

Will it be the final one? Possibly. But probably not.

While the series was in Abu Dhabi over the weekend, F1 chief Bernie Ecclestone said that he wouldn't want to put his money down on the race happening next year at Austin.

Strong words. But is it just a power play? Or the real deal?

Tavo Hellmund's promotional company has the rights to the race at Austin. Bobby Epstein is helping fund construction of the track, which is estimated at $300 million. Apparently they're not getting along. And add in the fact that the state of Texas is involved to the tune of a $25 million major events fund, and yeah, this is getting messy.

From Autoweek:

By all accounts the meeting did not go well. Sources in Europe and the United States suggest that Epstein was offered a new contract but he has not signed it, presumably because he doesn't like the terms. Ecclestone hasn't been paid, and the state

Most of the focus this past weekend was on the Sprint Cup series, but there was drama aplenty on the Nationwide circuit as well. Elliot Sadler was in position to challenge Ricky Stenhouse Jr. for the championship until this wreck, when Sadler dive-bombed the dogleg (which is a euphemism we really ought to keep around) and then got tapped and turned by Jason Leffler. Sadler now sits 41 points behind Stenhouse, and it'd take a miracle (or a misdirected hauler) for Sadler to win now.

The ongoing heavyweight battle between Carl Edwards and Tony Stewart continued this past weekend in Phoenix, and we also saw the debut of Sam Hornish Jr., NASCAR winner. Impressive all the way around, and a nice opening act for this coming weekend's season finale at Homestead. Finish off Phoenix with this handy video recap, and get ready for South Beach!

b1114yomommaLook, let's be honest here: there are long stretches of races where there's not a whole lot going on. During those times, your mind starts to wander. And when we're conducting our live chats, well, the conversation starts to wander. Everything's fair game, from movie quotes to burger reviews to media criticism to, well, "Yo momma" jokes.

I'm not quite sure how it got started, but at one point in the chat, we made the call for NASCAR-themed "Yo momma"s, and oh, did the chatters respond. Here's what you're missing if you're not tuned into us on Sundays ... for better or worse:

Oranje:
"Yo momma so fat she needs both grooves!"

Larceny:
"Yo momma so fat, Kyle Busch couln't put her into the wall!"

Hayden:
"Yo momma's so ugly, Brian Vickers wouldn't hit that!"

Furiousd:
"Yo momma's so slow, Dale Earnhardt Jr. put her two laps down."

Tarpo:
"Yo momma is so round people complain about her being a cookie cutter track. But she's still on the NASCAR schedule twice a season."

Yahoo! Sports NASCAR

Time for our latest round of Power Rankings. Each week throughout the season, we'll size up who's rising and who's falling, based on current standings, behind-the-scenes changes, expected staying power, recent history and general gut feelings. And it's all down to this...

1. Carl Edwards and Tony Stewart. We're giving both these cats the top ranking, because you know what? They both deserve it. Nobody's running even close to as well as these guys right now, so why even try to differentiate? Each one brings different strengths to the table. And this should come down to the very last turn.  Last week's ranking: 1 and 2.

3. Kasey Kahne. HurriKahne has made himself a lot of new fans in the last few weeks by the way he's raced. Not because he's necessarily been good, although that's nice. But no, Kahne has had every opportunity to roll over and start planning for the good times to come at Hendrick in 2012, and he's now taken his lame-duck team to victory lane. That's impressive mental

With 35 races down, we're here at the end of the season. If you'd predicted at the beginning of the season, or even the beginning of the Chase, that we'd have Carl Edwards and Tony Stewart going at it for the win, well, we'd have said you're crazy. But now, we'd be asking you for gambling advice. In lieu of that, check out this quick recap of Phoenix/preview of Homestead. Much to consider as we go forward here; any early bets on who will take this one?