A Conglomeration of Miscellaneous Thoughts...

First off, I just realized I didn't update the IndyCar points table...That will be done just as soon as I throw this up.

-An American driver from the Indy Lights series is getting a ride. Now, let's just soak in for a moment how completely insane that statement is. As far as I can remember, the only two Americans to drive Indy Lights and be called up into the big cars were Ed Carpenter and Marco Andretti. Now that I think about it, Graham Rahal did run one race, but he cut his teeth in the Champ Cars for the most part. The latest call-up is one Richard Antinucci, nephew to Eddie Cheever, who will tackle the road race at Watkins Glen for the black hole that is Team 3G. In fairness to 3G, they've never been very strong, and they lost a lot of momentum having Stanton Barrett in control for the first six races. Maybe having Jacques Lazier and Antinucci around will bring some mild success.

-Formula One is plumb crazy. No, not on track. On the track, it's 2002 all over again except for the fact that the cars are white instead of red and Jenson Button is much cooler than Michael Schumacher. No, it's the off track shenanigans that have gotten so brutally ridiculous over the past few weeks that it's hard to know if Formula 1 will even exist in 2010. You can go somewhere like ITV or the BBC and read ad nauseam about the details, suffice it to say that Max Mosely and the FIA want one thing, while the teams disagree almost entirely. The key difference between this rift and the many others they've had is that the teams are a de facto union now, and all of them but Williams and Toyota could essentially boycott next year. Threats like this are nothing new, but this is the first time in a long time that the teams look to be serious.

The really tricky thing, which I don't think anyone in the media has really looked at, is what happens in the event that the current heavy-hitters are actually not part of the world championship next year. It's fairly well known that Max Mosely has a pretty solid backup plan in place, with a lot of teams applying to get into the new, low-budget F1. What happens to the Ferraris, McLarens, BMWs, etc. of the world though? What I see is Bernie Ecclestone jumping in with the teams, booking all of the tracks that he has a strong personal relationship with, and leaving the FIA in the dust. Unlike the American open-wheel split of the late '90s, this split will probably be resolved quickly and decisively should it take place. There is far too much at stake, the FIA has almost no star power at this point and Bernie is a marketing genius that can drive his competitors into the ground.

Friday will tell us how this might shake out, as that is the final day for applications to the 2010 championship.

Busch-whack Normally I find so very little compelling about NASCAR that I don't ever write about it. However, I thought I'd throw in my opinion on the story that every other racing journalist seems to be enthralled with. Here's a quick reference guide on how to conduct oneself when, while in Nashville, one is presented with a custom-built, custom-painted Gibson Les Paul guitar:

DO: Plug it into an old Fender or Marshall tube amp, crank out some sweet riffs or chords while you or someone in the near vicinity sings a melody that matches what you're doing on the guitar.

DO: Hang it up on the wall, show it to your friends, maybe put a nice plexiglass box around it...make it something that you'll be proud to show your friends, kids, and grandkids for the rest of time.

DON'T: Smash it like Pete (bleep)ing Townsend! You're in Nashville: country music capital of the planet, and you're smashing a custom-made Les Paul?! Maybe if they gave you a guitar for winning anywhere else on the planet, it'd be okay, but you do NOT do this in Nashville.

I've always liked the ireverance with which Kyle Busch presents himself to NASCAR fans because he so obviously loves it and loves egging the fans on. But when you take a priceless guitar that so very few people have had the opportunity to own and smash it to pieces anywhere near the Music City is a complete travesty. That's the last straw, and I officially join the world of NASCAR in hating him.

This makes me think: What would happen if Busch were in IndyCar? Would he try to get his team in on a win at Texas by shooting them with the revolvers? Would he celebrate the 500 by dropkicking the miniature silver Pat Vidan off the top of the Borg-Warner and throwing the milk at someone's head? Let's just not let this happen ever, for the love of everything that's good in the world.