There is no problem in assigning responsibility.

NASCAR runs the Sprint Cup Series. It falls on NASCAR to make sure the events in stock-car racing's premiere series are staged and conducted in an acceptable manner.

In that regard, the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard was an abject failure.

After the race degenerated into a series of short runs between cautions for excessive tire wear, virtually everyone was saying how nobody liked how things turned out. At the same, though, most everyone was asking what could have been done differently.

The correct answer, sadly, is nothing. At least not once everyone had arrived in Indianapolis. The tires Goodyear brought didn't work and nothing that could be done on site was going to change that.

NASCAR did what it could to make sure that all teams had enough tires built to complete the 400-mile race at this 2.5-mile track. It managed to get through the day, barely, without having to switch to a tire built for Pocono – which could have ignited an even bigger fiasco.

Did the fans get their money's worth? Not entirely, but they did get a completed event with a full field. Because of that, nobody's going to be getting any refunds like the ones this track had to give when a tire issue mucked up its Formula One race in 2005.

But NASCAR does owe two things to the fans who attended the race and those who watched on television at home.

First, it owes them an apology.

Yes, there were circumstances that led to this debacle; and, once the weekend began, those circumstances were beyond the point of being managed. But decisions made weeks and months ago put those circumstances into play; and, as the body responsible for staging Cup events, those decisions are NASCAR's domain.

Should there have been a full test involving all Cup teams at Indy? Should tires have been dragged around the track to fill in the grooves in the diamond-ground surface that had created challenges in past years? Is there anything else that could have been done?

The answers matter, but the real problem is that NASCAR and Goodyear seem to be guessing too often about what's going to happen with tires – especially right-side tires – on the new car being used at all tracks this year.

That leads to the second thing NASCAR owes the fans: a vow that things like what happened Sunday won't happen again.

The only way to make that happen is for NASCAR to get up off its backside and off its corporate wallet to establish and maintain a testing operation that can work with Goodyear and the sport's manufacturers to know its race cars and the parts and pieces that go with it.

NASCAR has no business guessing what the new car is going to do to tires or brakes or anything else when it goes to a track for the first time. It has to know, and it has to figure that out – and not by peeking over the race teams' shoulders.

A race team tests to make its car go fast. The last thing a team is trying to do is make the racing better. The team is trying to make the racing horrible, with that team kicking everyone's tails. And then there's the simple point that a Cup team owner shouldn't be spending his money to develop the general package of the race car.

That, again, is NASCAR's responsibility. The car needs to get better and NASCAR needs to know it backward and forward, top to bottom. NASCAR needs to work to understand it and improve, and that needs to be done on NASCAR's time and on NASCAR's dime.

“I can't say enough how sorry we are,” Pemberton said. “It's our responsibility being NASCAR that we don't go through this situation again.” Pemberton’s comments on a teleconference with reporters made him the second top NASCAR official in two days to apologize for the race Sunday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, in which teams were unable to run more than about 10 laps before tires wore out beyond use. Jim Hunter, NASCAR’s vice president of corporate communications, also apologizes Monday afternoon in an interview on Sirius NASCAR Radio.

Pemberton said NASCAR and Goodyear officials had a long conference call Tuesday morning to begin assessing what went wrong and how to prevent it from happening again.

“We've already got after it, and we're moving forward with a plan to get ahead of the situation so we don't go through this again,” Pemberton said.

“We're still working on it. We're trying to find out what was different, if anything, but everybody's pointing toward the fact that the rubber looked to be a little bit drier or a little bit dustier look. So we're going to look into it and find out, you know, exactly what it is.”

Goodyear officials say the right-side tires, which caused the problems at Indy, were made from the same tread compound as the tires used in the same race a year ago. But unlike last year, Sunday’s race used the “car of tomorrow.”

Pemberton said Sunday’s race was a disappointment to everyone who worked to stage it for NASCAR.

“Everybody takes it personal,” he said. “There's a reason we're here. …I think next year will be my 30th year in the Cup garage. I love this sport. We all love this sport. We take it personal. …It hurts us when we have a weekend like we've had.

“There is nothing worse than coming away from a race and knowing that the result wasn't even close. It wasn't even close. It wasn't even in the 25 percentile of what we're capable of doing and what we do, week-in, and week-out.

So I don't feel real good about it right now. I think if you had talked to anybody that's been around me the last 48 hours, they'll probably back me up on that. It's difficult, it's hard. We do beat ourselves up.

“But when we see things we know we can fix, we're going to go fix them. That's what we're going to set out to do. We're going to put this behind us.”

Johnson has added the Aug. 9 Nationwide Series race at Watkins Glen, N.Y., to his schedule, where he will compete in a No. 48 Chevrolet fielded by JR Motorsports.

In addition, Johnson has agreed to drive the No. 81 Chevrolet owned by Randy Moss Motorsports in the Aug. 20 Truck Series race at Bristol, Tenn. Johnson has never previously driven in the series.

In what may be a coincidence, Johnson's Truck will be sponsored by Kobalt Tools, a company which has been mentioned prominently as a sponsor for the Truck series after the departure of Craftsman at season's end.

"Watkins Glen and Bristol are two tracks where I really want a win," Johnson said. "I enjoy racing at Watkins Glen and for some reason always seem to be a little better there than Sonoma.

"As for the trucks, I am really looking forward to that. I have never run a truck race so it should be fun. Heck, my brother Jarit has run more than me, but it's going to be a good time."

“I can't say enough how sorry we are,” Pemberton said. “It's our responsibility being NASCAR that we don't go through this situation again.” Pemberton’s comments on a teleconference with reporters made him the second top NASCAR official in two days to apologize for the race Sunday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, in which teams were unable to run more than about 10 laps before tires wore out beyond use. Jim Hunter, NASCAR’s vice president of corporate communications, also apologizes Monday afternoon in an interview on Sirius NASCAR Radio.

Pemberton said NASCAR and Goodyear officials had a long conference call Tuesday morning to begin assessing what went wrong and how to prevent it from happening again.

“We've already got after it, and we're moving forward with a plan to get ahead of the situation so we don't go through this again,” Pemberton said.

“We're still working on it. We're trying to find out what was different, if anything, but everybody's pointing toward the fact that the rubber looked to be a little bit drier or a little bit dustier look. So we're going to look into it and find out, you know, exactly what it is.”

Goodyear officials say the right-side tires, which caused the problems at Indy, were made from the same tread compound as the tires used in the same race a year ago. But unlike last year, Sunday’s race used the “car of tomorrow.”

Pemberton said Sunday’s race was a disappointment to everyone who worked to stage it for NASCAR.

“Everybody takes it personal,” he said. “There's a reason we're here. …I think next year will be my 30th year in the Cup garage. I love this sport. We all love this sport. We take it personal. …It hurts us when we have a weekend like we've had.

“There is nothing worse than coming away from a race and knowing that the result wasn't even close. It wasn't even close. It wasn't even in the 25 percentile of what we're capable of doing and what we do, week-in, and week-out.

So I don't feel real good about it right now. I think if you had talked to anybody that's been around me the last 48 hours, they'll probably back me up on that. It's difficult, it's hard. We do beat ourselves up.

“But when we see things we know we can fix, we're going to go fix them. That's what we're going to set out to do. We're going to put this behind us.”

Speed, who won last weekend's Automobile Racing Club of America race at Berlin Raceway in Marne, Mich., is testing a Cup car at Nashville Superspeedway Tuesday and Wednesday, team general manager Jay Frye said.

Speed is expected to get the opportunity to run some Cup races this season for Red Bull, but Frye said no decision had yet been made when and where his debut would be attempted.

The 25-year-old native of Manteca, Calif., won his first NASCAR race earlier this season when he won the Craftsman Truck Series race at Dover, Del. He has three wins this season in the ARCA series and is 55 points out of the lead of the series' standings.

Red Bull currently fields Toyotas in the Cup series for Brian Vickers and A.J. Allmendinger.

On his own, Stewart also agreed to pay the costs of new radios and uniforms for USAC officials.

Stewart, a car owner in the USAC midgets, was penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct on pit during Thursday night's race at O'Reilly Raceway Park in Clermont, Ind. In actions captured on video, while arguing a race procedure issue involving his team's driver, Stewart swiped off the radio headset of one USAC official on pit road and shoved another.

“USAC immediately assessed the incident and it was determined that unacceptable behavior detrimental to the sport had occurred, and that the professionalism and the integrity of the series and its promoters had been severely compromised,” Smith said.

"While we respect the passion of our teams in the spirit of competition, we regret this incident occurred and are dedicated to averting a recurrence in the future.”

Stewart apologized for his actions.

"My own misinterpretation of USAC policies in place at the time led to confusion and elevated emotions,” he said. “I’m very passionate about my race team and will stand up for them when I think something isn’t right.

"Obviously, I handled this particular situation the wrong way, and if I had to do it over again, it never would’ve happened.”

1. (1) Kyle Busch - car No. 18

He wasn't a factor at Indianapolis, but as screwy as that race was does that matter?

2. (2) Carl Edwards - car No. 99

Second at the Brickyard and wasn't particularly happy about it. You have to like that.

3. (5) Jimmie Johnson - car No. 48

Maybe they got their lull out of the way early this year. Class of wacky field at Indy.

4. (4) Dale Earnhardt Jr. - car No. 88

Early victim of Indy tire mess but came back to finish 12th. But it's time to pick it up.

5. (6) Kasey Kahne - car No. 9

Needs to be a factor in the return trip to Pocono to get momentum going once again.

6. (7) Jeff Burton - car No. 31

Finished ninth at Indianapolis after running better than that pretty much all day long.

7. (3) Matt Kenseth - car No. 17

Probably took the biggest hit, points wise, from the debacle that was the Brickyard. 8. (11) Denny Hamlin - car No. 11

Couldn't quite convert strong Indianapolis run into victory, but it was a good day.

9. (9) Jeff Gordon - car No. 24

Like the 88 team, this team needs to start converting top-10 runs into some wins.

10. (10) Greg Biffle - car. No. 16

He's having a pretty solid year, but solid isn't going to be enough to win the title.

11. (8) Tony Stewart - car No. 20

He now has only a 39-point cushion between him and being outside of the top 12.

12. (13) Clint Bowyer - car No. 07

Final Chase spot might just come down between him and teammate Kevin Harvick.

13. (15) David Ragan - car No. 6

14. (12) Kevin Harvick - car No. 29

15. (14) Brian Vickers - car No. 83

16. (18) Ryan Newman - car No. 12

17. (19) Mark Martin/Aric Almirola - car No. 8

18. (16) Martin Truex Jr. - car No. 1

19. (20) Elliott Sadler - car No. 19

20. (17) Kurt Busch - car No. 2

21. (23) Jamie McMurray - car No. 26

22. (21) Bobby Labonte - car No. 43

23. (22) Juan Pablo Montoya - car No. 42

24. (24) Casey Mears - car No. 5

25. (25) David Reutimann - car No. 44

26. (26) Robby Gordon - car No. 7

27. (31) Reed Sorenson - car No. 41

28. (28) David Gilliland - car No. 38

29. (32) Sam Hornish Jr. - car No. 77

30. (27) Travis Kvapil - car No. 28

31. (34) AJ Allmendinger - car No. 84

32. (35) Patrick Carpentier - car No. 10

33. (36) Scott Riggs - car No. 66

34. (29) Paul Menard - car No. 15

35. (30) Dave Blaney - car No. 22

36. (37) J.J. Yeley - car No. 96

37. (40) Joe Nemechek - car No. 78

38. (33) Michael Waltrip - car No. 55

39. (38) Regan Smith - car No. 01

40. (39) Michael McDowell - car No. 00

1. (1) Kyle Busch -- car No. 18

Just in case you were wondering, the team in this slot won't be changing for a while.

2. (2) Carl Edwards -- car No. 99

Great car at Chicago, but the way the 18 team is going there's no room for mistakes.

3. (6) Matt Kenseth -- car No. 17

After a slow start, this team officially has its act together. But a win would be nice.

4. (3) Dale Earnhardt Jr. -- car No. 88

In a way salvaging 16th at Chicagoland with how this car ran speaks well of this team.

5. (7) Jimmie Johnson -- car No. 48

Without final yellow Chicago's story would've been this team stepping up to duel 18.

6. (4) Kasey Kahne -- car No. 9

It a bit of a stall after brilliant stretch. But this team has always had a knack for Indy.

7. (5) Jeff Burton -- car No. 31

Just when it needs to be showing improvement this team looks a little wobbly lately.

8. (9) Tony Stewart -- car No. 20

Not sure we buy the into the pressure's off, watch out line. But watch out at Indy.

9. (10) Jeff Gordon -- car No. 24

A way to keep Busch from tying your modern 13-win record would be to win some.

10. (11) Greg Biffle -- car. No. 16

This team's fourth-place Chicagoland finish was its first top 10-finish since Dover.

11. (8) Denny Hamlin -- car No. 11

If Joey Logano drives the 20 next year, Hamlin will be Gibbs team's senior driver.

12. (13) Kevin Harvick -- car No. 29

Six top-10 finishes in eight tries at Chicago, and he's been good at Indianapolis, too.

13. (12) Clint Bowyer -- car No. 07

14. (16) Brian Vickers -- car No. 83

15. (15) David Ragan -- car No. 6

16. (17) Martin Truex Jr. -- car No. 1

17. (14) Kurt Busch -- car No. 2

18. (18) Ryan Newman -- car No. 12

19. (19) Mark Martin/Aric Almirola -- car No. 8

20. (21) Elliott Sadler -- car No. 19

21. (20) Bobby Labonte -- car No. 43

22. (22) Juan Pablo Montoya -- car No. 42

23. (25) Jamie McMurray -- car No. 26

24. (23) Casey Mears -- car No. 5

25. (28) David Reutimann -- car No. 44

26. (29) Robby Gordon -- car No. 7

27. (24) Travis Kvapil -- car No. 28

28. (26) David Gilliland -- car No. 38

29. (27) Paul Menard -- car No. 15

30. (31) Dave Blaney -- car No. 22

31. (33) Reed Sorenson -- car No. 41

32. (32) Sam Hornish Jr. -- car No. 77

33. (30) Michael Waltrip -- car No. 55

34. (36) AJ Allmendinger -- car No. 84

35. (34) Patrick Carpentier -- car No. 10

36. (38) Scott Riggs -- car No. 66

37. (39) J.J. Yeley -- car No. 96

38. (35) Regan Smith -- car No. 01

39. (37) Michael McDowell -- car No. 00

40. (40) Joe Nemechek -- car No. 78

It, however, surely is tempting.

When Johnson passed Busch for the lead with 16 laps to go, Busch came over his team's radio and declared, “Race over.”

That's not how it turned out. Not this year, when everything that happens somehow adds up to 18 – the number on Busch's Toyota.

Johnson was pulling away and sailing toward his second win of the season until a late caution for David Gilliland's blown engine set up a two-lap race to the checkered flag.

That opened the door for Busch, 23, and he plowed right through it for his seventh win of the season.

Johnson is the two-time defending Cup Series champion, and he's going to be around in the final 10 races when the Chase determines the 2008 title winner.

He won 10 races on his way to last year's crown, and when you win that many races in a season, it sometimes seems like every break goes your way. In case you hadn't noticed, that's what's happening for Busch this year.

Even Busch has noticed.

“I don't know how to put it, it's so different,” he said of his winning roll; he's won three of the past four races. “After winning one or two races a year, this is something that's crazy.

“Last year, you would see Jimmie coming with 100 laps to go or 50 laps to go and I would tell my team, ‘Race over.' And I was pretty much always right. … I was over there (at Hendrick Motorsports, as Johnson's teammate) last year and it was like, ‘How can I get some of those wins?' Now I know how he felt. You have to stay humble and you have to stay hungry. Somehow it's paying off and working out.”

Part of that somehow is the fact that Busch's new team at Joe Gibbs Racing was hungry for success. Bobby Labonte won a championship with that team, but there had been some lean days after that.

Crew chief Steve Addington said he knew the team had good people and good race cars, but he also knew there was a part of the puzzle that wasn't fitting. Busch has provided that piece, and the results have been startling.

“I never dreamed it could be like this,” Addington said. “Winning seven races already is crazy.”

It also might have been crazy how, coming into this season, Johnson was being somewhat overlooked despite the fact he'd won the past two titles.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. moved in as his teammate in the Hendrick stable, and it had almost become a foregone conclusion that Johnson would win his handful of races and have the team through which the path to the championship ran.

As the series heads into its final off weekend of the season, however, it appears there's a new route. To win the title this year, Johnson and everyone else is going to have to deal with Busch and his team.

Busch said he won Saturday night's race by “pulling a Jimmie Johnson on himself” with the pass off the final restart.

“Anywhere from here on out Jimmie could do the same thing right back to me,” Busch said. “I know there will be times when it's reversed. But with him being the defending champion, I have the utmost respect for them.

“To beat guys like that is really special.”

The problem for Johnson and everybody else, however, is it's becoming routine.

-- The only race Kyle Busch hasn't won in the past four was won by his brother, Kurt. The last time that happened was in 1955 when Tim Flock won at Montgomery, Ala., and Langhorne, Pa.; Fonty Flock won Raleigh; and then Tim won at Greenville-Pickens. The Flocks, with Bob also contributing, also won four straight in 1952. The Thomas brothers also did it in the final four races of that year, with Herb winning three of them.

-- This was TNT's last race. It seemed like it the network's first-ever. Viewers missed a restart early and significant action on pit road all night long during commercials. But, for absolutely no reason imaginable, fans did see Larry McReynolds attempt some Mickey Mouse magic. The only trick TNT pulled was making broadcasting competence disappear.

PIT STOPS

Big turnaround for Harvick

Kevin Harvick's third-place finish couldn't have come at more opportune time as he has been floating above and below the cutoff spot to make the Chase over the last several weeks.

He gained four spots in the series standings to ninth, but still needs good finishes over the next seven races to ensure his participation in the Chase. Harvick is 52 points above the 13th spot -- the top 12 qualify.

"We have made a lot of gains this month and I hope we have put ourselves in position with these new cars and new engines to get some momentum," said Harvick, who earned his first top-five finish since the March 16 race at Bristol, Tenn.

Harvick was running third on the final restart when Kyle Busch moved to the outside to pass Jimmie Johnson and was keeping an eye on the front two in case an opportunity presented itself.

"I thought I might be in the right spot there coming into the last corner," he said. "We just came up a little short." -- JIM UTTER

Stewart's big weekend ends with top-five

With all the hoopla around Tony Stewart's announcement he was leaving Joe Gibbs Racing at season's end and was now 50 percent owner of Stewart-Haas Racing, one wondered how Stewart would fare on the track.

Stewart ended up fifth -- his best performance in three weeks -- and gave himself a little breathing room in race to secure a spot in the Chase. He improved two positions to 10th.

"We weren't bad. We just got in a situation where we got free in the last couple runs and that's when we needed to be really good and we just fought loose for some reason," Stewart said.

"You look at the top of the board there and (Busch) is winning races. We ran with him the majority of the day. We just lost the handle on it at the end." -- J.U.

Strong night for Red Bull

Red Bull Racing teammates Brian Vickers and A.J. Allmendinger spent much of the race near each other and in the top 10.

Allmendinger was making his debut with new crew chief Jimmy Elledge. Vickers' engine blew just before the end of the race but he coasted across the finish line in sixth place, while Allmendinger was 13th -- one spot off his Cup career high of 12th.

"We definitely had a top-five car. Unfortunately, the engine blew on the last lap. We were down a cylinder on the restart, so those guys got a jump on us," Vickers said. "It could have been worse."

Allmendinger was nearly ecstatic about his first race with Elledge.

"I had more information than I ever could imagine. I knew exactly where I was running the whole time, what lap times I was running, and what the guys near me and behind me were running," he said. "It's everything I could ask for and it seems like it makes driving so much easier." -- J.U.

Kenseth overcomes early problem

Matt Kenseth spent the early part of the race in the thick of the battle for the lead but just as he seemed ready to settle in up front he was forced to pit road with a cut tire.

He fell a lap down at one point, got it back on a free pass under caution, and battled back for a seventh place finish which moved him up to a spot to eighth in the series standings.

"We just had a flat tire and there was a log of green-flag (racing) and it took us a long time to get our lap back and then we sort of ran out of time," Kenseth said.

"We were better than most, but it was still a huge advantage to be out front. When we were out front, we were running side-by-side with (Busch) and he ended winning the race." -- J.U.

Ignition problem hampers Hamlin

Denny Hamlin appeared to have a car capable of contending for a win Saturday night but fell off the pace early when he developed ignition problems and was forced to go to the garage for repairs.

Hamlin finished the race four laps down in 40th place which cost him five spots in the series standings. He is now 12th, the last position to qualify for the Chase, 27 points ahead of 13th place Clint Bowyer. -- J.U.

KEY MOMENTS

Lap 134

Matt Kenseth comes to pit road with a tire going down on his Ford. Kenseth had worked his car to the lead before that problem, but the unscheduled stop leaves him a lap down.

Lap 212

Shortly after taking the lead away from Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards comes to pit road thinking he's got a flat tire. What's actually wrong is that there's a broken brace on the nose of his Ford and his splitter has been dragging.

Lap 251

Two laps after a restart, Jimmie Johnson surges to the outside and takes the lead away from Busch. It looks like Busch, after having led 165 laps, is not going to pick up his seventh victory of the season.

Lap 261

David Gilliland's Ford begins spewing white smoke, its engine having let go. That brings out a caution without which Johnson would have clearly been on his way to victory.

Lap 266

Johnson leads coming to a restart with two laps left, but Busch isn't willing to settle for second. He makes his move to the outside going into Turn 1 and makes it stick. Busch completes the pass and holds off Johnson and Kevin Harvick to win.

NEXT RACE

Allstate 400 at the Brickyard

Where: Indianapolis Motor Speedway

When: Sunday, July 27, 2 p.m.

TV: ESPN

Radio: Indianapolis Motor Speedway network

Last year's winner: Tony Stewart

His face is stock-car's Rushmore. His wrap-around sunglasses and custom-made cowboy hat – resplendent with feathered accoutrement – are iconic.

He is a living, breathing trademark.

He is a walking, talking history book.

At 71 years old, “The King” is a fully realized legend.

Petty won 200 Cup races, a number so far beyond logic it almost loses value, and racked up seven championships. The second-generation racer from tiny Level Cross stood for a sporting epoch as the name and the face of his sport, the way Muhammad Ali did for boxing and Arnold Palmer for golf.

It had to start somewhere.

For Petty, the beginning came 50 years ago Saturday on a half-mile dirt track in Columbia, where generations of the Southeast's finest cut their racing teeth.

Three years earlier Richard had asked his father, stock-car pioneer Lee Petty, about driving.

“I'd already done everything there was to do except drive,” Richard says. “I'd built cars, I had worked on them, I had painted them and I had worked in the pits.”

He had even attended the first Strictly Stock series race – Cup's forerunner – in Charlotte in 1949, having to thumb a ride home after Lee wrecked the car they'd rode in.

Lee told his 18-year-old son they'd talk about driving when Richard turned 21.

“And if you knew my daddy,” Richard says, “you knew that was the end of it.”

Richard waited until his 21st birthday – July 2, 1958 – and brought it up again.

“Daddy said, ‘There's a car, you get it ready and you can race in Columbia,'” he says.

The Grand National Series ran that night at McCormick Field in Asheville. Lee took the family's No.42 Oldsmobile there and won $265, finishing fourth.

NASCAR's convertible series was running at Columbia.

“Daddy just sent me off on my own, basically,” Richard remembers. Dale Inman, who would go on to a career as one of the greatest mechanics racing would know, went too as Richard's crew chief. “If you look at it now in the scheme of racing, it was just Saturday night racing. But to us it was major league.”

Petty finished sixth, five laps down to winner Bob Welborn, but brought the car home in one piece along with $200.

Richard's clearest memory of that night is the ride home.

“We were in the pickup truck, me and Dale and one other fellow. I told them, ‘You know, I think I am going to like this driving thing,'” Richard says, smiling at his understatement.

His first Grand National start came six days later, at Canadian Exposition Stadium in Toronto, finishing 17th of 19 in a race Lee won. In 1992, after 1,184 races in NASCAR's top series, Petty retired.

“The winning?” Petty says of what came in between. “No, that never got old.”

Not even in 1967, when he won 10 straight on the way to 27 victories in 49 races.

“Plymouth took us to New York and that was the first time I'd ever been in New York for the press,” Petty says. “That was one of the first times that we were exposed to the rest of the world. We were a Southern sport. Every once in a while we'd get lucky and get our name in the paper in Osk Kosh or something like that. But once we started winning all of those races people started covering it.

“I have a clipping some guy sent us from a paper in Canada and all it says is “Petty runs second.” It doesn't tell who won or anything else. It got to that point.”

Petty remembers those days with another type of fondness.

“In 1967 we had eight people working for us,” Petty says. “That was it. They went to all the races. … I was there every day, working on the car. … Those were the real satisfying years because I was involved in the whole program. I owned the car and paid the bills and you did it all.”

Earlier this year the Petty family sold a majority stake in the team to Boston Ventures, an investment group with the kind of dollars needed to compete in today's NASCAR world. That pushed “The King” another level away.

But no matter what it might say on the deed to Petty Enterprises, Petty's mark on his sport is indelible. He not only helped define it competitively, he laid the framework for how it deals with the people who love it. While the fan's accessibility to NASCAR's stars has eroded, Petty rightfully is cited as the man who set the standard for that to start with.

“We never got a dollar from a race track or from a sponsor,” Petty says. “Every dollar I ever got came from the fans. They're the reason Richard Petty exists. Their money came through the tracks, but without the fans there are no race tracks. They're the reason we had sponsors.”

It was Petty's farewell tour in 1992 that expanded the sport's merchandising horizons.

“I wasn't trying to lead anybody. … We just thought it would be a better deal for us and our people so we could get better cars and win more races. We were just riding the horse through the pasture along with everybody else, but we were leading the crowd without knowing it.

“The good Lord put me in the right place in the right circumstances at the right time. I got stuck here at the right time to ride that horse through the field.”

And, after 50 years in the saddle, he still rides tall.

Audience with 'The King'

Richard Petty competed head-to-head with many of his fellow all-time NASCAR legends. Here is how Petty fared one-on-one against some of them (head-to-head wins means which driver finished ahead of the other in races where they both competed):

Petty vs. David Pearson (550 races)

Petty vs. Bobby Allison (693 races)

Petty vs. Cale Yarborough (518 races)

Petty vs. Darrell Waltrip (562 races)

Petty vs. Dale Earnhardt (415 races)

Told to follow race leader Tony Kanaan, Dixon instead stayed on the track at the Nashville Superspeedway and grabbed the lead on lap 149. Dixon stretched his fuel until rain ended the Firestone Indy 200 with 29 laps left, giving him his third consecutive victory at this track and his fourth this season.

"When they called me to pit, or follow Kanaan was the words, I was way past ... there was no coming in," Dixon said as he cradled the trophy Gibson guitar under cover.

Dixon said he would have spun out if he had tried to follow Kanaan into the pits, which was why he didn't pit himself. Dixon was furious over the pit call for a few laps.

"But when I saw that rain coming down, I thought, 'Oh, this could work out pretty good,'" Dixon said.

It was a nice change from a week ago when Dixon spun out under yellow chasing his fourth consecutive win at Watkins Glen. That rare mistake dropped him to 11th.

"I'd like to keep winning more so everyone would forget about that," Dixon said.

IRL officials hoped to squeeze in at least 101 laps to make the race official with rain on the radar. This race was washed out a year ago and run on Sunday with lots of empty seats.

The third caution of the night came on lap 139 when the rain finally hit. The cars kept rolling even as fans were asked to evacuate the grandstand immediately due to weather. They went back to green before the fourth and final caution came on lap 167.

IRL officials kept the cars rolling until the rain came harder, and the race was red-flagged on lap 171. Officials checked the radar, which showed heavy rain stretching out far to the west. This race became the 13th IndyCar Series event with a red flag, the first since the Indianapolis 500 in 2007, and the fourth red-flagged and not restarted because of rain.

"It worked out fantastic," Dixon said of the mixup. "I'm bloody happy for the championship to be honest."

Dixon won his 14th career victory and the 100th overall in motorsports for Chip Ganassi Racing with an average speed of 148.072 mph. Dixon also expanded his lead over Castroneves in the points race from 48 to 63.

Ganassi teammate Dan Wheldon finished second after gambling that he could stretch his fuel until the rain hit. It was the 26th time in IndyCar history that teammates have finished 1-2, the fourth time for Target Chip Ganassi.

Pole-sitter Helio Castroneves took advantage of a track cleaned of the rubber chunks chewed off the tires by the concrete track to pass both Danica Patrick and Kanaan on lap 153 after the last restart. He finished third.

Kanaan wound up fourth with Patrick fifth, and Kanaan wasn't second-guessing the decision to pit.

"It was the right call to come in on Lap 148. Who can predict the rain? Unfortunately, the rain and I don't get along too well," Kanaan said.

Castroneves started on the pole, the first he had earned in qualifying this year. He looked strong early but lost the lead on lap 55 when Dixon passed him with Kanaan and Patrick coming with him. At least Castroneves led a lap on this track for the first time in now seven starts, leaving Sonoma as the only track where he has never led at least one lap.

"It's one of those days. Those guys had what, 10-15 laps on the fuel (left). They took a chance. Chances sometimes pay off. It paid off for those guys. We did everything we could, and third-place is not bad. We're still in the championship hunt. We're going to keep working hard," Castroneves said.

After watching a thunderstorm delay the Indy Lights race by nearly two hours Saturday afternoon, the race started with everyone hoping to run at least 101 of 200 laps and make the race official.

The race was only on the third lap when Marco Andretti, who ran 73 laps in Connecticut earlier Saturday, lost his car and slipped into Ryan Briscoe coming out of Turn 2 in a crash that sent Briscoe's car backing into the wall. The left side of Andretti's car slammed into the wall, forcing the first caution.

Team Penske worked furiously to get Briscoe's car fixed to return, but Andretti was knocked out. He was treated and released at the infield care center. He said he felt badly for Briscoe being hurt as an innocent bystander.

"This morning's race didn't contribute to that driver mistake," Andretti said. "It got loose, and that's what happens."

That was the first of only four cautions over 37 laps, two for rain. Then came the red flag on lap 171.

"I feel very lucky to be here in second place because we didn't quite have a second-place car today," Wheldon said. "But they say it's better to be lucky than good sometimes."

As hard as it is to believe, it got better again Saturday night as the 23-year-old driver snatched a victory back from two-time defending Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson in a two-lap battle to end the race.

Johnson passed Busch for the lead on Lap 251 and was pulling away. But David Gilliland’s blown engine on Lap 261 brought out a caution and gave Busch a chance.

He seized it, anticipating that Johnson would try to bring the field slowly to the restart. Busch basically pushed Johnson to the green with two laps to go, then jumped to the outside heading for Turn 1.

Busch cleared Johnson as they came to the white flag and held off Johnson and a charging Kevin Harvick from there.

“I gave up on myself,” Busch admitted. “I just didn’t think I could do that. I’ve watched Jimmie do that several times. I don’t know how I did it. …I pushed Jimmie to go.”

Busch, who led 165 of the 267 laps, has now won seven Sprint Cup races this year. With 17 left, he could be heading toward history by challenging the modern era record of 13 victories in a season set by Richard Petty in 1975 and tied by Jeff Gordon in 1998.

Perhaps fans who love to boo the 23-year-old can hope that, with the Chase points reset coming after 26 races, Busch’s championship bid is peaking too soon.

For now, however, Busch is the story in stock-car racing.

“This is a dream season, man,” Busch said. “I just cannot believe this.”

Busch now has 11 career victories. Only Gordon, with 15, had more before reaching his 25th birthday.

After winning Friday’s Nationwide race he completed a weekend sweep at this 1.5-mile track with his 14th victory this year in NASCAR’s top three series.

He also beat the varsity for the third time in four races. Busch won at Infineon and then, after his brother, Kurt, won at New Hampshire – Kyle won last week at Daytona when he was a whisker ahead of Carl Edwards when a caution came out to on a green-white-checkered finish.

This time, Busch had to rally back twice in the late going.

Carl Edwards took the lead from Busch on Lap 203, but Edwards made an unscheduled pit stop on Lap 212 when a brace broke and the splitter on the nose of his Ford began dragging on the track. Edwards wound up a lap down in 32nd.

Johnson then took command after a restart on Lap 249, running down and passing Busch within two laps. But the last caution set up the final restart.

“He timed it just right and rolled up on me,” Johnson said. “When I heard the spotter say. ‘Looking!’ I knew I was in trouble.

“I didn’t make the best decision there on the restart. I should have given him the inside. I really wasn’t thinking defense, we had such a good car. Looking back if I had to do it all over again I would have played defense more.

“The bright side is we showed we could beat that 18 car. We were pulling away until that caution.”

Harvick, who won the first two races held at this track, picked up his first top-five finish since he finished second in the season’s fifth race at Bristol.

Greg Biffle finished fourth, with Tony Stewart fifth and Brian Vickers sixth. Matt Kenseth, who lost a lap with a flat tire after being in contention for the lead early, fought all the way back to finish seventh.

Sports Illustrated reported Friday that the Democratic presidential candidate is in talks to sponsor Schrader's No.49 car at Pocono on Aug. 3

Late Friday, however, the Obama campaign said there would be no sponsorship.

“The Obama campaign will not be sponsoring a car in the Sprint Cup series, though we will continue to look for ways to reach out to voters,” said Bill Burton, an Obama campaign spokesman.

Obama wouldn't have been the first presidential candidate to buy into racing. In 2002, Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards' political action committee sponsored a dirt-track racer in Iowa.

Friday night, Kyle Busch shined the spotlight in the other direction.

Busch, driving the No. 18 this weekend, blew by Brad Keselowski and David Reutimann on Lap 95 of 200 to take the lead and never let go, powering to a dominating victory in the Dollar General 300 at Chicagoland Speedway.

Busch finished more than three seconds ahead of his nearest rival, JGR teammate Denny Hamlin who was driving the No. 32 this weekend for Braun Racing.

The win is the fourth of the year for the No. 18, which has competed in 10 of 20 races. Busch has been behind the wheel for three of the wins with JGR teammate Denny Hamlin earning the other. The win is also the 13th for JGR in the series this season, tying the record set by Richard Childress Racing last season.

“We had an awesome race car tonight. This thing just came to life. We woke it right up and it went right to the front,” said Busch. “We just weren’t sure how good it was at the beginning of the race.

“It’s been a phenomenal year for us. This is something special that doesn’t come along for a long time. We’re looking forward to being able to get some more wins here. This season is not over yet.”

After taking the lead, the only time anyone other than Busch led the race was during a string of green-flag pit stops that occurred with about 50 laps left. Hamlin made up some ground in the closing laps but came up short.

“We felt like we had something for Kyle. We just needed a caution or something,” Hamlin said. “We couldn’t overcome that track position without another caution.”

Friday’s race saw an abundance of Sprint Cup drivers entered, in part this is the first season Chicagoland hosted night races.

“This will probably end up being the most useful Nationwide race I’ve run this year,” said Brian Vickers, who finished fourth. “This is the first time either series has run at night and I think I’m going to keep what I learned to myself.”

Tony Stewart, driving JGR’s No. 20 this weekend, had an opportunity to tie a series record if he could give the team its 10th victory of the season but he missed a shift at the start of the race and Kevin Harvick plowed into the rear of his Toyota.

Both cars received extensive damage. Stewart was able to make his way back into the top 10 but never contended for the win after that.

Brad Keselowski finished third, Vickers was fourth and David Reutimann completed the top five. Series points leader Clint Bowyer finished seventh.

“Those Toyotas were gone like they’ve been every week,” said Keselowski’s crew chief, Tony Eury Sr. “Brad did a heck of a job tonight. He’s been sick all day and last night. We asked him to do the job today and he did it.”