Will Power is a renaissance man.

Power, the IndyCar driver perhaps most famously known for his double-barreled salute of IndyCar officials at New Hampshire last summer, can express his emotions funnier than a lot of us, drive a car better than 99.99 percent of the population and can also promptly extinguish his own engine fire.

On Monday during the Izod IndyCar's preseason testing at Sebring International Raceway, Power had an engine fire and stopped just off the track. After he frantically waved to anyone with the capability and equipment to put out the fire, he decided to do it himself, taking the fire extinguisher from a safety worker and running back to his car.

Power's engine also caught on fire again on Tuesday. Hopefully for the last time.

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R&B singer Brian McKnight and his sons sang the national anthem before Sunday's Sprint Cup Series race at Phoenix International Raceway, and his son Niko was, uh, not-so-kindly told to take his hat off before the anthem started.

The request to "take that [stuff] off your head" was audible on the race broadcast, but it's really only understood if you are paying close attention for the request. We certainly didn't notice it as it happened live. (Note: the video above is uncensored and contains adult language.)

And yes, Niko McKnight did oblige, and removed his hat and acknowledged the area the request came from.

(H/T to The Sports Grid)

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Richard Childress and Elliott Sadler decided that Sadler won't run for MWR this year. (Getty)

Hours after winning his first Nationwide race since 1998, Elliott Sadler's agreement with Michael Waltrip Racing to drive in five Sprint Cup Series races this season was a no-go.

Sadler and Nationwide car owner Richard Childress met after Sadler won at Phoenix on Saturday, and Sadler said that the two decided that Sadler would be better served focusing on the Nationwide Series title race. Sadler finished second last year to Ricky Stenhouse in NASCAR's No. 2 series.

From SPEED.com:

"I was going to drive the 55 car for five races for MWR, but actually, after the race on Saturday, after Victory Lane, Richard and I went to his bus," Sadler told SPEED.com. "And I think Richard, along with some of the executives that he has, have just decided that it's probably not in our best interest to do that right now."

Sadler said that manufacturer conflict -- he drives a Chevrolet for RCR and MWR drives Toyotas -- wasn't an issue at all with the nixed agreement.

MWR still had the fall New

It's a new season, and that means a new year 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. It is not scientific, nor is it meant to be. And remember, whoever your favorite driver is, we're biased against him and like someone else better. So let's begin with a guy we haven't seen around here lately ...

Much of the talk around the entrance of the 2012 season was NASCAR's switch to electronic fuel injection from the standard carbureted engines that have been a staple of the series since its inception. And for the most part, drivers and teams said that not much would be affected when it came to to performance and on-track activity.

On Sunday, we might have seen the first glimpse at how electronic fuel injection could impact a race, and it came at the expense of Tony Stewart.

Stewart, perhaps the best driver in the series at saving fuel, flipped off his engine when a caution came out with 66 laps to go in the Subway Fresh Fit 500 at Phoenix. It was a standard fuel-saving practice: shut the car off, let it coast for a bit, and then refire it and sped up. Rinse, repeat as often as necessary, and voila, gas is saved. Stewart said he practiced the standard method on Monday at Daytona with no issue

However when Stewart went to refire the car on Sunday, it didn't start. Cars passed him under

c0304jimmieThis is how much a second-to-last finish in the season opener and a 25-point penalty hurt you:

After a race in which he finished fourth and looked to have one of the best cars of the field, Johnson has amassed exactly 18 points. That leaves him in 37th place, 71 points behind leader Denny Hamlin and 45 points, more than one full race, out of 10th place.

That's not so good.

"We tried to make sure we got home and got some points," Johnson said afterward. "Leaving Daytona 42nd on the board wasn't a good way to start the season."

Sure, it's early yet. And yes, Johnson gained 12 spots in one race alone. But this is the Rattlesnake Hill-sized mountain he'll have to climb; the new points system penalizes poor finishes (and negative points totals) far more than it rewards positive ones.

In the wake of Johnson's disastrous finish at the Daytona 500, it was tempting to look at Kevin Harvick's record; in 2011, he too finished second-to-last at Daytona, and within five races was back in the top

Denny wins! Denny wins! (Getty Images)The voice came over the radio, cheery and relaxed:

"Could somebody please point me to victory lane?"

You could forgive Denny Hamlin for being a bit confused. After all, it had been awhile since he'd visited the winners' circle — just once last year after an astonishing eight-win season in 2010 — and even longer since he'd been a factor in the Sprint Cup series. But with a sterling performance the final half of the Subway Fresh Fit 500 in Phoenix, Hamlin wiped away the last vestiges of his forgettable 2011.

You average out the Daytona and the Phoenix races, and you'd have two pretty darn good stories. Problem is, Daytona was one of the great stories of NASCAR history, which means Phoenix was ... well, a race. Long green-flag runs, relatively little passing ... yes, there was a record set for most leaders with 15, but most of those lead changes came during pit-stop switchovers. Hamlin, Kevin Harvick and Jimmie Johnson — the Warriors Three of the 2010 championship — handed the lead back

So Tide got plenty of exposure thanks to the Daytona 500 explosion on Monday night, and sure enough, the company parlayed that into a brand-new ad that premieres at the Phoenix race.

Well played, Tide. Well played. Now how about ponying up for some on-car sponsorship?