b0820kesIt's the weekend, and that means the second edition of our new tradition that may or may not stick, the ask-us-anything comment thread. Sure, you could ask us about NASCAR, or you can get into pop culture, literature, philosophy, mathematics, the topics of discussion between those drivers there, whatever. We'll try to answer everything while we kill time between races, preseason football, golf and all those other activities we tell our families are "work." Have at it, friends!

b0819carl

You know, we watch these race-car drivers every weekend, admiring their strategic acumen and their superhuman endurance and their otherwordly reflexes, so every once in awhile it's nice to learn that they can be just as absentminded as the rest of us.

On Friday, Carl Edwards was in Michigan practicing for Sunday's Cup race. On Saturday, he was scheduled to be in Canada for the Nationwide race in Montreal. Canada is a different country — it's true, I looked it up — and that means you need a passport to get there.

Problem is, Edwards left his passport at home. Whoops.

Since mail could be unreliable — FedEx and UPS sponsor different drivers, you know — Edwards, pictured above on the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower earlier this week, is having an associate drive the passport from his Missouri home up to the track in Michigan. Edwards will then fire up his own plane and take off to the Great White North. (It's a beauty way to go.)

"We are going to leave here after practice as fast … well, we are

Here's a good way to wreck a few minutes you're supposed to be working (and yourself, too, if you try this): the latest installment of Ken Block's "Gymkhana" hoon-dogging series of flat-out lunatic driving. This time, he's rolling through Hollywood's back lots, and you can see everything from the "Back to the Future" clock tower to the Bates Motel to Jaws his own toothy self. Gonna need a faster ride, Jaws. Anyway, enjoy:

You know, I saw a gorilla on a ladder in the middle of the street just the other day. Never even thought to go straight at it. Huh. Lesson learned.

b0819bowyer

With just four races left in the NASCAR regular season, we've winnowed down the field of relevant drivers from 43-plus to just a handful. Eight are almost certainly in the Chase, another 30 are in effect looking toward next season. And of those that remain in play, one man could upset months of carefully-laid plans.

Ladies and gentlemen, meet Clint Bowyer, the wild card in the hunt for the wild card.

Bowyer now sits in the Bermuda Triangle between the top-10 Chase competitors and the currently-in wild cards. (That would be Brad Keselowski and Denny Hamlin.) Bowyer is 25 points behind Tony Stewart for the 10th position, and eight points ahead of Hamlin in 11th. Hamlin holds the edge over Bowyer for the wild card with his one win, but a single victory by Bowyer obviously would reverse that, as the points stand now.

The schedule becomes significant here: while Atlanta and Bristol are so-so tracks for Bowyer, and Michigan is one of his worst, his very best track is the regular

You remember David Reutimann's wreck at Watkins Glen? Hope so; it was only a few days ago. SPEED's Race Hub visited the shop at Michael Waltrip Racing to see what was left of Reut's car after one of the scarier wrecks in recent memory. It's an effective case study of the value of the safety improvements put in place over the course of the last few years:

That's some impressive stuff, and worth a close look for fans who believe NASCAR errs too much on the side of caution.

[Hat tip to reader Matthew.]

b0819car[Editor's note: Loyal reader Nathan Bitner has come up with an innovative idea: sponsoring a NASCAR Nationwide Series car on behalf of Yahoo! Sports' From The Marbles. Frankly, we love it, and we think you will too. Nathan's looking for help from you, The Marbleheads, so chip in! -JB]

We've joked for months now (years?) about the Marbleheads sponsoring a ride in a top NASCAR series. Well, today, it's one step closer to reality.

No, we can't quite afford to oust Lowe's from the hood  as the primary sponsor of ol' 5-time Jimmie Johnson. But hey, this is a grassroots campaign, and it's a start.

A 4" by 6" sponsorship was made available on the lower quarter panel of Kevin Lepage's Bristol Nationwide car and I think it's time we (The People) came together and put our name out there! The race is the evening of August 26^th, 2011 and using ChipIn, I'm looking for the financial assistance to pull this off for us (total cost: $400).

For starters, I am no artist and we need a cool

Carl Edwards is fast becoming NASCAR's go-to guy for multimedia appearances. Just weeks after showing up in a comic book, here's Edwards in the Disney XD cartoon "Kick Buttowski." Edwards plays former champion racer Eddie Clutch, so we're guessing he had to speculate a bit on motivation ... for now, at least. Anyway, here's a little snippet of the episode, "Kart to Kart":

Now, I'm not familiar with "Kick Buttowski," so somebody enlighten me here. Good show? And when can we expect Tony Stewart to show up on "Spongebob" or Kurt Busch on "Phineas and Ferb"?

Oh, and "Kick Buttowski" is on Saturdays at 8:30 a.m. and p.m. on Disney XD. Get up with some sugary cereal and watch!

kyle

ATLANTA - When you're hurtling straight toward the Turn 3 wall of Atlanta Motor Speedway with Kyle Busch beside you up on the wheel, quite a few thoughts go through your mind:

Is he paying attention? Are these tires fresh? Is he still ticked about losing at Watkins Glen? Did he notice that I was taking notes on a Kevin Harvick/Budweiser notepad? Oh sweet heaven, does he know what we say about the Moobs photo?

In order: yes, yes, yes, dunno and apparently not, because he didn't put a Darlington stripe along the side of my helmet.

Busch, just hours removed from his last-second loss to Marcos Ambrose in Watkins Glen, was in Atlanta to promote the upcoming AdvoCare 500, and he put on a fine dog-and-pony performance for both the national media (The Today Show had him most of the day) and the fans, who gathered late in the afternoon for a chance to win one of the aforementioned ridealongs.

But we'll get to that thrill-ride in a minute. First, Busch chatted for a bit with the assembled media