Harbaugh will drive the pace car at this year’s Indianapolis 500, set for Sunday, according to the Indianapolis Star. Harbaugh owns a part of Indianapolis-based Panther Racing, so he does have some familiarity with NASCAR.

“I’ve already had a dream about it,” Harbaugh said. “I kept the car out on the track and won the Indy 500.”

All dream scenarios aside, Harbaugh said he is already nervous about performing his duties. He will get some practice time on the track before the big day.

“I know my heart is going to be beating out of my chest,” he said.

Harbaugh became a part of Panther Racing in 1997 while he was still with the Colts. The team chose its No. 4 partly because of him, and the Chevrolet-powered team will have JR Hildebrand, Townsend Bell and Oriol Servia in the race on Sunday, with Hildebrand driving the No. 4 car.

Harbaugh’s duties will be strictly ceremonial. Johnny Rutherford is the race’s traditional pace car driver.

In a creative marketing effort, the toilet paper brand, Charmin, posted an ad on the outside of the race venue. The billboard, shaped like a pair of, well, underwear, bore a cheeky message: “stop skidmarks.”

The marketing idea was the work of Charmin’s ad agency, Publicis Kaplan Thaler. The duo work so well together, they took silver in this year’s Ad Age’s Best Agency-Client Marriages contest. Publicis Kaplan Thaler has said of their relationship with the toilet paper company, “we think about poop and toilet paper all day, every day. And we love it.”

Check out the unique ad in the photo below.

Stop skidmarks. That's Charmin's message at Charlotte Motor Speedway for today's All Star race. http://t.co/4XeTwxSyjx

—
Tripp Mickle (@trippmickle) May 18, 2013

Trickle was 71 years old.

According to the Gaston Gazette, the incident occurred just after 12 p.m. at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Boger City, N.C.

“The Lincoln County Communications Center received a call apparently from the victim that ‘there would be a dead body and it would be [his].’ Communications Center workers tried to place a return call to the number but did not get an answer,” the report indicates.

Upon arriving to the scene, emergency responders found the body lying near the victim’s truck.

Photo via Twitter/NASCAR on Speed

The NASCAR driver, who doesn’t do a ton of hopping up and down in excitement when she succeeds on the track, appeared unmoved when she canned her shot on the first try. Her second, third and fourth shots, however, showed that perhaps beginner’s luck had been in play.

Check out Patrick’s try at ice hockey in the video below.

Patrick and Hospenthal filed for divorce in January, and Patrick has since revealed that their marriage was dissolving before then. But divorces can take some time, and in the space between Hospenthal and Patrick calling it quits and the divorce being finalized on April 17, Patrick found a new beau: fellow driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

Patrick and Stenhouse confirmed their relationship in early February. Both are first-year, full-time drivers in the Sprint Cup series.

Patrick filed for divorce Jan. 3, citing an “irretrievably broken” marriage, and the divorce was not contested, meaning it could become official after a 60-day waiting period, according to ESPN. A judge signed a consent decree April 15 and filed it two days later, making the divorce complete, according to ESPN, which cited court documents.

Patrick and Hospenthal had a prenuptial agreement when they were married in 2005, according to ESPN. The pair mostly kept their relationship private as Patrick rose in popularity in IndyCar racing and NASCAR’s Nationwide series.

Patrick and Stenhouse have been appearing together regularly in public as well as on the racing circuit, although neither driver has won in the Sprint Cup series.

Photo via Facebook/The Fast and the Fabulous

Photo of the Day

That’s Joe Andruzzi, keeping Boston on everyone’s mind at the NFL draft.

Tweet of the Day

Thanks, Magic!

Laker Nation: With Steve Nash & Steve Blake down with injuries there's no way the @Lakers have a chance to win.

—
Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) April 25, 2013

Video of the Day

Clayton Kershaw has quite the wrist action.

Matt Kenseth and Joe Gibbs Racing were no exception, getting hit with one of the largest penalties in NASCAR history Wednesday after the engine from Kenseth’s race-winning car at Kansas failed a post-race inspection. The team had nothing to do with the error, and manufacturer Toyota immediately accepted responsibility for one of eight connecting rods failing to meet the minimum weight requirement by 3 grams — less than an empty envelope.

“We take full responsibility for this issue with the engine. JGR is not involved in the process of selecting parts or assembling the Cup Series engines,” Toyota Racing Development President Lee White said.

It’s been a busy season for NASCAR discipline. In February, Nationwide Series driver Jeremy Clements was suspended after an apparently insensitive remark to an MTV blogger and Denny Hamlin was fined $25,000 for criticizing the new Gen-6 race car.

But in the past week, NASCAR has levied more than $450,000 in fines, suspended nearly a dozen crew members for upcoming points races, and knocked some of the top drivers in its series out of the top five as it punishes teams for rules violations involving the cars themselves.

Kenseth was stripped of everything but the trophy from Sunday’s win at Kansas.

He was docked 50 driver points in the standings — he earned only 48 points for the victory — and NASCAR also erased the three bonus points he earned for the win that would have been applied in seeding for the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship. In addition, the victory will not be credited toward his eligibility for a wild card berth in the Chase.

So, although Kenseth has two wins on the year, the Kansas win does not count in any form toward Chase eligibility. He lost his pole award, too, which could hurt eligibility for next year’s Sprint Unlimited exhibition race.

The penalty to Kenseth, who held off Kasey Kahne of Hendrick Motorsports to earn his second win of the season, dropped him from eighth to 14th in the standings.

NASCAR also suspended crew chief Jason Ratcliff for six races and fined him $200,000. And in a rare move, car owner Joe Gibbs had his owner’s license suspended for the next six races and he won’t earn car owner points during that time. He also was docked 50 car owner points while Toyota, which supplies the JGR engines through Costa Mesa, Calif.-based TRD, lost five points in the manufacturer standings.

JGR said it would appeal.

“It is our understanding that one of the eight connecting rods on the engine was ruled too light,” the statement said. “We are working with our partners at TRD on this issue.”

White said Kenseth gained no advantage from the light rod.

“It was a simple oversight on TRD’s part and there was no intent to deceive, or to gain any type of competitive advantage,” White said. “Toyota is a company that was built on integrity, and that remains one of the guiding principles of the company. The goal of TRD has always been — and will continue to be — to build high-performance engines that are reliable, durable and powerful, and within the guidelines established by NASCAR.”

It’s the second severe penalty against a Sprint Cup team levied by NASCAR in as many weeks.

It was Penske Racing and defending Sprint Cup champion Brad Keselowski who were punished last week after NASCAR said it found unapproved parts in the rear suspension of Keselowski and Joey Logano‘s cars at Texas. NASCAR docked 25 points each the drivers, fined the crew chiefs $100,000 each and suspended seven Penske employees for six races. Penske Racing’s appeal is scheduled for May 1.

Those penalties were for alterations to the body of the car, particularly in an area NASCAR has been working the last year to police after teams found a way to manipulate the skew of the cars last season. Team owner Roger Penske has maintained the team was not cheating, but “working in a gray area” of the rule book.

It’s not clear if that argument will fly before the three-member appeal board, and the 2013 rule book was specifically tightened this season to add language specific to the rear suspension systems.

In the case of JGR and the engine, illegal is illegal and there is no gray area.

NASCAR has proven that through penalties before. The last violator, Carl Long, was severely punished when he was found to have an illegal engine at the 2009 All-Star Race. Long was docked 200 points — which would be about 50 points under the current points system — fined $200,000 and suspended for 12 races.

His suspension was reduced to eight races on appeal, but Long has said he is unable to pay the fine and can’t work in Sprint Cup until he settles the debt.

“We’ve always known the engine and tires are sacred ground. You don’t mess with the engine or the tires,” said former crew chief and current Fox analyst Larry McReynolds, who added that all eight connecting rods would have been light if TRD was trying to cheat.

“This was pure human error,” McReynolds said. “But in NASCAR’s defense, they can’t completely determine intent or non-intent. They absolutely should appeal. I’d primarily appeal Ratcliff’s suspension. He was an innocent bystander in this. The engine is a different deal than the rest of the car. If I was Joe Gibbs, I’d be pretty ticked off about losing my crew chief under these circumstances. This was an error but an enormously costly one.”

JGR has the means to pay the fine and the personnel to recover from this setback. The appeal would likely be to reduce the penalties on the argument it was TRD that erred and the team had no control or access to assembly of the engine.

Kenseth is unlikely to get back his bonus points. NASCAR stripped Carl Edwards of his 10 bonus points under an older scoring system for not having a cover on his oil tank after a 2008 win at Las Vegas. The victory stood, but Edwards was not able to carry the 10 bonus points into the Chase. His crew chief was also suspended six races.

The seven-time winner on NASCAR’s shortest, trickiest track backed it up in qualifying with a track record.

Johnson made his fastest lap around the 0.526-mile oval at 98.400 mph Friday, leading a parade of six drivers who broke Tony Stewart‘s track record speed of 98.083 mph. It is Johnson’s 30th career pole, and third in 23 starts at Martinsville.

“That’s the icing on the cake,” Johnson said when told of the record. “That makes the day even better yet. Track records are hard to come by, so I’m very proud of that and happy to have that.”

Once he figured out how fast his car was, Johnson said, “I just needed to do my job and not mess up.”

The pole position is coveted at Martinsville as much as anywhere because pit road is tight, and the spot at the front of pit road gives the driver unencumbered access to the track. It is essentially the automatic stall selection of the pole sitter.

“If you get behind or if you’re off-strategy or if you have any reason that leads you to lose track position, that pit stall is worth three to five positions on the race track,” Johnson said. “It’s a big, big advantage from that perspective.”

Five other drivers also eclipsed Stewart’s mark on a cooling, later afternoon surface, led by Marcos Ambrose at 98.364.

Ambrose arrived 23rd in points after five races, and hopes the strong showing turns into momentum.

“Yeah, it can turn us around, no doubt,” Ambrose said. “We proved today that if we get our stuff right we can do it. We’ve just got to get some momentum and get some confidence back. Our little team is a tough team, but we’ve been knocked around pretty good. It’s like we’ve gone nine rounds with Mike Tyson, but we’re coming back strong here.”

He was followed by Brian Vickers, Joey Logano, Kasey Kahne and Jeff Gordon.

The race is one of nine Vickers will run for Michael Waltrip Racing in a job share with Mark Martin and Waltrip.

“It was two spots not good enough, but it was good,” Vickers said.

Stewart, whose team has struggled through the first five races of the season, qualified 26th and Danica Patrick, a rookie driving one of his cars, qualified 32nd in her first career appearance at the shortest track run in NASCAR’s premier series.

Points leader Dale Earnhardt Jr. qualified 17th.

Bucks forward/center Larry Sanders went up for the jump ball to begin the game and as he came down, his elbow knocked referee (and Doc Rivers hater) Bill Kennedy in the noggin. Kennedy worked the rest of the game.

It was unintentional on Sanders’ part (we think), but it is worth mentioning that Sanders leads the NBA with 14 technical fouls this season. It’s actually surprising that Kennedy didn’t T up Sanders given his history with a quick trigger finger on technicals.

Perhaps seeing a referee briefly down for the count helped inspire Milwaukee on their 131-102 trouncing of Charlotte. It certainly didn’t hurt Sanders, who went on to score 24 points and pull down 13 rebounds.

Watch Sanders hit Kennedy in the head in the video below.

After being blocked by Joey Logano after the final restart of the Auto Club 400 in Fontana, Calif., Stewart confronted the younger driver in a heated exchange that had to be broken up by pit crews from both cars. Stewart then ripped Logano to the media, calling him “a little rich kid who has never had to work in his life.”

Check out the tussle — and Stewart’s profanity-laced post-race tirade — in the video below.

While the Westboro Baptist Church, run by Fred Phelps and comprised mostly of members of his extended family, commonly protests events for a number of reasons, they’ve drawn the most attention for their anti-gay views. Perhaps the most controversial of all their protests was during the funerals of American soldiers, motivated by unrelated pro-gay legislation in the United States.

The organization’s targeting of NASCAR seems to be the result of an interview reigning Spring Cup champion Brad Keselowski gave to the blog Queers4Gears at the Phoenix Speedway, when he was asked if NASCAR was ready for an openly gay driver. He responded in the affirmative, at least among fellow drivers.

“I can’t speak for the fans, I can only speak for myself, but in this garage, if you can win, people will want to be a part of what you can do,” Keselowski said.

The Church’s decision to picket in Kansas seems to be a direct reaction to the Keselowski interview. On the organization’s website, a message with their schedule protest ends with “God Hates Brad Keselowski!” The group plans to picket on Sunday April 21 from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. prior to the STP 400.

Photo via Wikimedia Commons/Kansas Speedway

Woods’ on-course rival, Rory McIlroy, has a cross-sport relationship of his own. He’s dating tennis star Caroline Wozniacki.

Other athletes have decided to stay within their main sport when it comes to finding a significant other. Tennis legends Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf are married, and U.S. women’s soccer star Alex Morgan and Seattle Sounders midfielder Servando Carrasco are also in a relationship.

Those power couples have nothing on Sanya Richards-Ross and Aaron Ross, though. Richards-Ross, who won two track and field goal medals in the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, and her husband, a New York Giants cornerback, have even profited off their union, scoring their own reality TV show.

But where do they stack up against the best sports couples of all time?

Click here for the Top 10 couples in sports>>

Photo via Facebook/Tiger

The car killed a 14-year-old boy and 68-year-old man when it veered into pit row and hit the two standing side by side, according to The Associated Press. The man was pronounced dead at the scene while the boy was pronounced dead either at the hospital or in the ambulance. The 17-year-old driver, Chase Johnson, was not injured.

”There must have been a mechanical problem,” announcer Steve Blakesley said. ”The car didn’t slow down. ”

Marysville Raceway Park was hosting the California Sprint Car Civil War Series. The park is 40 miles north of Sacramento.

Thumbnail photo via Facebook/Chase Johnson Racing

For a new Pepsi MAX advertisement, the production team decided to follow the faux documentary trend, and chronicle Jeff Gordon giving a card dealer the ride of his life. In the ad, Gordon first gets extensive makeup done to make him appear older and unrecognizable. He then proceeds to test drive a Camaro — dealer riding shotgun — initially feigning surprise at the car’s power.

Pretty soon, however, Gordon’s showing all his NASCAR skills, with his supposedly unwitting passenger screaming all the while. Check out the video, which has since gone viral, below.

While guns and gun control remain controversial topics around the country — particularly in light of the recent massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary — there are no such qualms in the state where everything’s bigger. That goes doubly true for Texas Motor Speedway, as NASCAR events in Texas don’t even really require any jokes be made.

However, score one for liberal sensitivities, from the racetrack’s president, Eddie Gossage.

On Monday, Gossage announced that this year’s Sprint Cup Series race at the Speedway would be called the NRA 500, which, even in the land of stock car raising, made a few headlines. However, particularly in light of Sandy Hook and driver Michael Waltrip‘s tribute to the tragedy at the Daytona 500, Gossage says he’s willing to tone down some of the track’s more in-your-face traditions — namely winning drivers being adorned with an oversized cowboy hat and handed twin six-shooter pistols filled with blanks — according to ESPN.

“It’s a big part of the celebration, one of the things that makes us here unusual,” said Gossage. “It’s kind of our sip of milk in Victory Lane or the green jacket of Augusta. I think they’d rather do that than get the check.

“In looking at it [Victory Lane celebration], I just wanted to be sensitive to everybody involved because today it’s so difficult with anything you do … there are people that are opposed to it that you’ve got to be careful. This was probably more than most.”

Gossage says the plan is to meet with teams representing each driver taking part in the upcoming race, to see if there are any concerns.

“I want to be sensitive to the teams and their sponsors and didn’t want to place anybody in a potentially compromising position,” said Gossage.

Nonetheless, Gossage says that the response to the race’s name has been “overwhelmingly positive” in and around the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Moreover, he says a driver has never refused or even seemed hesitant to take part in the post-race celebration involving the pistols. However, if a driver did refuse, Gossage says he wouldn’t have a problem with it.

“Shooting those blanks in Victory Lane, that’s all in good fun. But I want to make sure we don’t step on somebody’s toes and make somebody uncomfortable. It could be a sponsor on the driver’s uniform or something like that just because this race has the very direct connection to the NRA.”

Photo of the Night

Mike Moustakas had some fans on hand on Tuesday in Surprise, AZ.

Quote of the Night

“My team in Orlando was a team full of people that nobody wanted.”
–Dwight Howard, being much more honest than he probably should be

Tweet of the Night

So, this is how Kobe Bryant manages to be so effective at age 34.

Right now, a hobo is waking up in a train yard, wearing a surgical gown and missing his arm just above the elbow.

—
  (@netw3rk) March 06, 2013

Video of the Night

Because of course the best night to score a hat trick is the game they give away free hats. No, not that kind of free hat.

Patrick’s car lost a tire on lap 176 as she was coming out of turn four at the Subway 500 at the Phoenix International Raceway. She bounced hard off the wall and smacked into David Ragan‘s No. 34 car, which sliced open the left side of Patrick’s car. Bits of Patrick’s car started floating all over the track, and Patrick’s hood popped straight open — which, as any car driver, professional or not, knows, left her unable to see a thing.

It wasn’t the rebound that Patrick, who finished eighth at the Daytona 500, was likely looking for. She came back from the crash to finish 39th but had an unmemorable day altogether.

It’s never a fun time, after all, when you’re stuck having to use your mirrors. Check out the crash in the video below.

Photo of the Day

Oh my.

Getting ready to shoot more Open Court shows, had to put on Shaq's suit jacket, it makes me look like I'm 8!!!! http://t.co/4w21qxbULM

—
Reggie Miller (@ReggieMillerTNT) February 28, 2013

Quote of the Day

“It’s frustrating. Right now, the frustrating part is you end up with 17 minutes in the penalty box when you should have been on the power play. It’s simple as that. It’s frustrating. Right now, they’ve got over 100 power plays, and it’s pretty obvious why. We’re trying to clean that out of our game, and it needs to be done soon. It’s not about tonight. It’s about the game, and the embellishment embarrasses our game, and we need to be better. It’s pretty obvious when P.K. gets hit and throws himself into the glass and holds his head. You know what? If we start calling those for embellishment, maybe teams stop doing it.”
– Claude Julien, who had some thoughts about a messy loss to the Canadiens on Sunday

Tweet of the Day

Don’t poke the bear.

cap·tain - noun Zdeno Chara

—
Sean Tuohey (@SeanTuohey) March 04, 2013

Video of the Day

One of the craziest finishes you’ll ever see in a basketball game. Also, good job on that assist to the other team on the game-winning basket.

Edwards broke the longest slump of his career by winning at Phoenix in 2010. He won for the first time since Las Vegas in 2011 by leading the final 78 laps of the 312-mile race around PIR’s odd-shaped oval.

Coming off a miserable week at Daytona, where he wrecked five cars, Edwards got a push from defending Sprint Cup champion Brad Keselowski on the restart with two laps left. He pulled away to win the first non-restrictor-plate race with NASCAR’s new Gen-6 car.

Edwards did his celebratory backflip for the first time in nearly two years then went into the stands to celebrate with the fans just like he did after his last win at PIR.

Daytona 500 winner Jimmie Johnson was second by inches and Denny Hamlin finished third with a bold pass on the apron during the final lap. Keselowski was fourth and Dale Earnhardt Jr. ended up fifth.

The last race at Phoenix, in November, set up Keselowski for his first Sprint Cup title after Johnson blew a tire. It also featured quite a sideshow.

A running feud between Clint Bowyer and Jeff Gordon boiled over late in the race, setting off a brawl in the pits and Bowyer on a WWE-style dash to Gordon’s hauler.

The drivers tried to downplay the confrontation after arriving in the desert this week, but it’s been hard to avoid, with video of the scrap-and-dash being shown all over in promos for the race and in replays.

The only running this time was Ryan Newman: across the track and away from his car after it blew a right-front tire for the second time in 140 laps.

Inside his car, Mark Martin failed in his bid to become the oldest Sprint Cup winner.

The 54-year-old became the second-oldest driver to start up front in a Sprint Cup car, a few months short of Harry Gant‘s mark. Martin led the first 49 laps and 26 more later on, but couldn’t sustain it, finishing 21st.

Danica Patrick had a rough follow-up to her breakthrough week at the Daytona 500.

She became the first woman to win a pole and lead green-flag laps during NASCAR’s season-opener, sending her popularity to a new level.

Patrick couldn’t stay with the leaders at Phoenix, ending her day with one of the hardest hits of her career. It happened with about 100 laps left, when the right-front tire on Patrick’s No. 10 Chevrolet went down and slammed her into the wall.

Patrick’s car careened back into David Ragan, flipping her hood over the windshield and shredding the left front fender as protective foam from the driver’s side door flew onto the track.

She came to a stop along the inside wall with a trail of debris covering about half of the home straightaway behind her. She climbed from the car and was quickly cleared by the medical center.

“Whenever those right-fronts go, they always hit hard because you don’t broadside, you hit more straight on,” said Patrick, who finished 39th. “It took a hard hit both sides and I’m fine, so NASCAR is doing a good job at safety. But no real good warning. The car wasn’t all that tight and most of the [problems] were in the rear, so there was no real vibration that told me that was going to happen.”

5:30 p.m.: The 2013 MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference has come to a close.

Thank you for following the events of the last two days.

Check NESN.com next week for a deeper look at some topics that emerged from this year’s conference.

5:20 p.m.: The Los Angeles Clippers trade for Chris Paul wins the award for best transaction.

5:15 p.m.: The San Francisco 49ers win the award for best analytics organization.

5:10 p.m.: The lifetime achievement award goes to Patriots head coach Bill Belichick.

“We all have different responsibilities,” Belichick said. “I certainly respect the mathematical and statistical ways of looking at the game and trying to use those methods and results to improve our product on the field.”

4:45 p.m.: We’ve reached the end of the last panel of the second and final day of the conference. An awards ceremony celebrating achievements and advances in sports analytics will take place at 5 p.m.

4:30 p.m.: Zarren says “I don’t think there’s any question that we would be better if Rajon [Rondo] was playing.”

He adds that the Celtics are learning a lot from the loss of the star point guard. Other players have to step up and do different things.

“Some of those, they’re good at, others they may not be so good,” he adds.

4:20 p.m.: The panel agrees that the defensive side is the hardest part of the game to quantify.

Pritchard and Van Gundy think that the team’s overall defensive scheme dictates how players perform.

“Unless you know exactly what we want defensively, you cannot possibly determine what’s going on in terms of defensive players,” he says.

Buford says a good way to analyze defenses is to measure how often defenses break down.

4:15 p.m.: Van Gundy argues that players don’t want or need a bunch of numbers. He believes coaches can pour through numbers and data points, but players need to keep things simple.

“Cluttered minds make slow feet,” he says.

4:10 p.m.: Are players ready for a general manager that has no first-hand basketball experience (as players themselves)?

The panel cites the Houston Rockets as an example that it can work.

4:05 p.m.: Pritchard says “10 or 20 percent” of building winning teams involves player selection. The rest is developing them and getting them to buy into the team’s culture.

4 p.m.: Van Gundy says good coaches aren’t the ones who best understand analytics. The best ones get their players to go out and perform.

He stressed the human aspect that’s involved in leading teams in most of his comments, arguing that “this isn’t a video game.” He says coaches build cultures and styles of playing the game, and the exceptions they make (following the numbers) often has a negative impact on the effort.

3:50 p.m.: Van Gundy thinks that eventually every team will have a lot of information. What will separate teams is how they use them.

3:30 p.m.: The final panel discussion of the day will cover the analytics of basketball.

Advanced scouting and analysis has changed the way many NBA teams do business before, during and after games. Moderator Pablo Torre will lead a discussion featuring R.C. Buford of Spurs Sports and Entertainment, Indiana Pacers general manager Kevin Pritchard, ESPN analyst Stan Van Gundy and Celtics assistant general manager Mike Zarren.

2 p.m.: Agoos warns against using data alone to analyze players, as there are too many other factors. He says it has to be part of the decision-making process.

It’s similar to what panelists who represent other sports had to say.

1:45 p.m.: Can the panel use analytics to settle the Messi-Ronaldo debate? No they can’t and neither can hundreds of millions of soccer fans around the world.

Context matters too much in debates like these, according to Wooster. Anderson believes it doesn’t matter on the practical level.

1:35 p.m.: Stein asks the panel what metrics fans should follow to better understand the game.

Larcada says timeliness is more important than specific data points. Anderson looks for team performances, particularly on defense.

Wooster believes the analysts that can measure intangibles and translate that into wins will give teams a competitive advantage.

The panel is having a tough time answering Stein’s question.

1:30 p.m.: Wooster says Michu was scouted by six Premier League teams, but Swansea City was the one to sign him and reap the benefits.

1:25 p.m.: Wooster says that the short-termism among managers and coaches discourages them from changing behavior and adopting a more analytical approach.

Agoos thinks it’s up to ownership to hire and promote coaches that are well-versed in analytics to make that change.

1:15 p.m.: Anderson cites the fact that soccer has gone from having “very little data to mountains of data” almost overnight.

The trick is for clubs to present it to their coaching staff in a way that makes it “actionable.”

Wooster says coaches are starting to lean on analytics in their pregame preparations. He adds that “the paradox in football [soccer] is that the most important things are the hardest to measure.”

1:10 p.m.: ESPN is using heat maps and other forms of data visualization which have been well-received by on-air talent and fans, according to Larcada.

1:05 p.m.: Anderson believes that fans and online media have adopted stats much quicker than the clubs themselves have.

Wooster thinks the long-standing culture in the game has slowed the acceptance of analytics because “that’s how it’s always been done.”

12:55 p.m.: The next panel we’ll watch concerns the beautiful numbers.

Elite-level soccer has been traditionally averse to using analytics, but that is starting to change. ESPN’s Marc Stein moderates the discussion that covers how teams and leagues are using numbers in the game. Joining him will be MLS technical director Jeff Agoos, author and Cornell University professor Chris Anderson, ESPN’s Albert Larcada and Prozone business development director Blake Wooster.

12:35 p.m.: The biggest takeaway from the ESPN panel is that numbers themselves can’t tell the entire story, but they can be used to illuminate certain points.

12:20 p.m.: ESPN is developing a college football power index and a college football QB rating system that helps people quantify the game in a new way.

12 p.m.: The next panel examines how ESPN uses analytics to tell stories.

One panelist referred to his job as being a “professional myth buster.” They strive to educate and entertain the audience.

11:20 a.m.: Del Rio says “sometimes you know — statistically what’s best … but I don’t want to educate the whole league.”

That’s why coaches sometimes choose not to defend their decisions to the media or public.

11:15 a.m.: Edwards says telling a defense to allow an opponent to score is risky. He thinks it sends a bad emotional message, and if a coach does it more than one or two times in a season “you’ve lost your defense.”

Del Rio disagrees. He thinks if making that call gives his team a better probability of winning, the players will support the coach — as long as he explains why he’s doing it.

11:05 a.m.: Burke thinks the game has changed to the point where offenses can “move the ball at will.”

He thinks offenses are much better than they were a generation ago, and that makes coaches much more likely to go for it on fourth-and-short situations.

Being unpredictable is an asset for a head coach. “You gotta be Sadaam Hussein on the sidelines,” Burke says.

Edwards says the best quarterback sneakers are the ones that wait for a little crease to open up and sneak through it.

10:50 a.m.: Del Rio says Maurice Jones-Drew wanted to score on a play when the Jacksonville Jaguars were in a tight game against the New York Jets.

Del Rio, then the Jaguars’ head coach, told Jones-Drew not to score on a play if he had the chance, but the running back said “coach I have to take care of my fantasy people.”

Del Rio managed to convince Jones-Drew to take one for the team.

10:40 a.m.: Burke believes parity in the NFL ensures that any team can compete and execute any one play, but the differences between good and bad teams are an accumulation of the total volume of plays that they run over the course of a season.

10:35 a.m.: Del Rio points to the probability charts that Advanced NFL Stats produces, but he says coaches are drilled in the old-school book that tells them to kick the field goal and take the points.

He adds that the media reads from that same book and judge coaches’ decisions according to it.

10:25 a.m.: The format of this panel follows ESPN’s Around the Horn.

The first play they’re debating was Justin Tucker’s fake field-goal attempt in the early part of Super Bowl XLVII. Edwards says the play was a 4th and nine situation, but the reality was that it was 4th and 17 (because of where he got the ball).

Edwards adds that “football is about personnel.” Numbers like 40 times are great, but the humans on the field are more important to executing the play.

Del Rio points to momentum as a factor in deciding whether to kick the field goal or go for a first down.

10:10 a.m.: We’ll shift our focus back to the NFL in the next panel. “Monday Morning Quarterback: In-Game Decision Analytics” will explore how football coaches and managers gain a competitive advantage using data.

ESPN’s Tony Reali will moderate the panel, which includes Advanced NFL Stats’ Brian Burke, Denver Broncos defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio, Atlanta Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitrioff, and ESPN football analyst Herm Edwards.

9:55 a.m.: The pooling of the revenue for MLB Advanced Media was the best business decision the league has made in the last 10 years.

He says it’s akin to the NFL’s decision to pool television money in the 1960s.

9:45 a.m.: The real competition is other forms of entertainment or a technological environment where people grow up with short attention spans.

Kasten says baseball must perfect the “second screen experience” at the ballpark to attract a new generation of tech-savvy fans. The natural breaks in the game allow fans to interact with the teams without missing any of the action.

9:40 a.m.: Skipper doesn’t look at lockouts (or strikes) as one side winning or losing.

Silver says he doesn’t see the deal that gave NBA players a 50-50 split of the revenue as a victory.

“We’re still not at the point where all the teams are profitable, but we’re hoping to work toward that point.”

9:35 a.m.: The job of the commissioner is to be “the steward of the best interests of the game,” Kasten says. “They work for the owners, but their job is to benefit all the interested parties.”

Kraft believes commissioners have to act like a CEO, as they manage brands worth tens of billions of dollars.

9:30 a.m.: Silver says teams want to “kill each other on the court,” but they’re partners in business off the court. They share best practices in business operations.

9:25 a.m.: Kraft says his family bought the Patriots at the dawn of the salary cap era in 1994.

They thought the time was right because they would be able to compete on the basis of their skill and expertise, as opposed to how much they could spend.

9:20 a.m.: Kasten says sports franchises are valued (and priced to sell) on “day-to-day, year to year numbers.”

Owners all believe they can fix, improve and make a return on their investments “down the road, but not necessarily annually or year to year.”

9:15 a.m.: The panelists agree that business operations at the team and league level have grown and gotten more complex.

Skipper adds that profitability is no longer a dirty word in the sports business. It’s become one of the key measures of success, which wasn’t always the case.

9:05 a.m.: When asked if owning a sports franchise is the coolest job in American business, Kasten starts with the dark side of the job.

Media dissecting every minute detail is a tough part of the business and he adds that Forbes’ franchise valuations “drive us [owners] nuts.”

9 a.m.: The first panel is set to begin. The topic is “The Changing Nature of Ownership.”

ESPN’s Peter Keating will moderate the discussion. The panel includes L.A. Dodgers president Stan Kasten, Kraft Group president Jonathan Kraft, ESPN president John Skipper and NBA deputy commissioner Adam Silver.

8:30 a.m. ET: The games people play are changing before our eyes, as those on the inside freely admit. Among the factors driving these changes is a deluge of data.

The second and final day of the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference promises to be full of insights and opinions on how data is changing the sports world.

Owners, staff and officials from the highest ranks of the sports world will be on hand to discuss some of the great changes in the sports and entertainment industry. Managers and coaches will discuss how data is affecting their strategies before, during and after games. We’ll even learn how elite soccer clubs are embracing the data revolution after.

Throughout the day, we’ll be on hand at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center to bring you the highlights of the day’s discussions.

Click here to review discussions from day one of the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference>>

Have a question for Marcus Kwesi O’Mard? Send it to him via Twitter at @mkomard, his Facebook page or send it here. He will pick a few questions to answer every week for his mailbag.

Photo via Facebook/Los Angeles Dodgers

6 p.m.: We’ve reached the conclusion of the first day of the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference. We’ll be back Saturday for day two. Be sure to check NESN.com starting at 9 a.m. to see what topics are covered in the country’s biggest meeting sports data analysts.

5:55 p.m.: When asked about over-saturation of sports on television, Walsh points to increased audience sizes and competition from other outlets as proof that fans are actually underserved.

5:45 p.m.: The common challenge that teams in the NBA and Major League Baseball share is how to make teams profitable, Postolos says. Broad revenue sharing is one way leagues are facing this test.

5:40 p.m.: Walsh says that a lot of research will on concussions will come out in the next 12-24 months. He’s sure decision makers will take notice and act on it.

5:30 p.m.: Media is the biggest international opportunity at the moment, de Picciotto says. The next is taking brands globally (through sports). Finally, the movement of talent across borders gives players and fans a chance to see athletes from around the world.

He also thinks gambling has the potential to generate vast amounts of revenue, but it could kill sports as well.

On the question of performance-enhancing drugs, he says essentially need to keep up with societal values.

5:20 p.m.: Walsh asks how to use analytics to value sports properties — especially in increments of time.

PepsiCo has a proprietary model, according to Storms. “Nobody knows our business better than we do,” she says. The company uses a multi-stage process to evaluate the impact of any potential sponsorship or endorsement.

She concludes that there’s no way to measure the exact amount of product that sports partnerships move, but PespiCo is closer than it has ever been to doing so.

5:15 p.m.: Carter says leagues partner with media and sponsors to try and “surround the fan.” She adds that the old model of signage at a stadium no longer works.

5 p.m.: Walsh says we need innovative thinking about the playing of the game and the experience of the consumer.

He points to the fact that players are bigger, faster and stronger than they were decades ago, yet the size of the playing surfaces (specifically in the NFL and NBA) remain the same. “Why not make fields bigger to provide more excitement for fans,” he asks.

4:50 p.m.: The business of sports is our final panel of the day. Industry leaders will talk about the money side of this multi-trillion dollar industry.

Kraft Sports Group vice president Jessica Gelman will moderate the panel. She will be joined by Soccer United Marketing president Kathy Carter, Octagon president Phil de Picciotto, Houston Astros president George Postolos, PepsiCo vice president of global sports marketing Jennifer Storms, and ESPN executive vice president John Walsh.

4:45 p.m.: Schatz says the most overrated players are the ones whose athletic ability doesn’t translate into football success.

He points to D’Angelo Hall who is fast and has good hands but is poor in coverage.

He says Tony Romo is underrated because he is consistently one of the six or seven best quarterbacks in the league and one of the best in the fourth quarter … “as long as the game is not on national television.”

4:40 p.m.: The 49ers use analytics to better understand the tendencies of coaches — how they manage the clock and when they call time outs.

4:35 p.m.: Pioli says mutual respect is lacking in football when asked how to convince an NFL head coach to listen to an analyst who has never stepped on the field.

He says a coach must have an open mind, but it’s important how analysts present, deliver and communicate their information.

4:30 p.m.: Kremer asks how to quantify injuries and off-field problems. What value do you attach to those events?

No two injuries are the same, but Shatz argues that, en masse, players  are better at recovering from injuries in today’s game than they were in the past.

As for the character question, Pioli approaches it on a case-by-case basis, saying there’s no real way to measure something like that.

Pioli discusses the new player assessment tool being used at the NFL combine. He wants to know as much about a player’s mental makeup — specifically his levels of work ethic and level of selflessness (or selfishness).

4:25 p.m.: Demoff says the middle class is shrinking because teams are better at scouting and developing young players. Teams are now paying a premium for players they call “difference makers.”

4:20 p.m.: Demoff says the salary caps affect the schemes teams use. They “ultimately look for undervalued players and get as many of them as you can.”

He said more teams started playing 3-4 defenses a few years ago because nose tackles were undervalued. Now the best nose tackles command $12 million salaries, so teams are reverting to the 4-3 because the market allows them to get more bang for their buck with tackles to fit that system.

4:15 p.m.: Marathe calls the Patriots the “kings of replenishing.”

In the age of the salary cap, it’s impossible to keep a team together over the long term. “If every player took a 15-percent discount on their market rate, we still wouldn’t be able to keep them all,” he says.

He adds that the Patriots have been incredible at churning players yet remaining successful.

Pioli says that the Pats’ practice of stockpiling draft picks increases their chancing of landing good players. “Every pick is a gamble,” he said before adding that taking more gambles increases the chances of landing good players.

4:05 p.m.: Pioli says it’s tough to come up with a measurement to predict a player’s chance of success.

“Football is such an interdependent game. The success of a play has so many variables and depends on 11 indiviudals.”

Marathe expands on it, saying that trades don’t often work out because a player can succeed in one system, but look totally out-of-place in another.

3:55 p.m.: Pioli is no fan of the combine because there’s a difference between “pure speed” and “playing speed.”

He finds values in measurements. He says Tom Brady is such an accurate passer because he’s got huge hands.

Marathe talks about “hidden value” of 40-yard dash times, citing the case of Jerry Rice. He says Rice had an average overall 40 time, but his speed between 20-40 yards (what insiders call “the flying 20″) was one of the highest ever.

He said it translated into separation speed on the field. Rice was rarely, if ever, caught from behind.

3:50 p.m.: Demoff and Marathe say their teams are looking to hire analysts. The Rams are still working out how to deeper integrate analytics into their organization, while the 49ers have used one on the salary cap side for over a decade and are now using them on the football side.

Pioli says analytics have played a role in the game for ages. “Gut” decisions are based on prior experience and analysis, he says.

We’re just calling it something else now.

3:40 p.m.: Are you ready for some football?

The National Football League is undergoing an analytics revolution of its own. The Football Analytics panel will discuss how NFL coaches and teams are using data to evaluate players, map out strategy and make in-game decisions.

Andrea Kremer will moderate the panel. She will be joined by St. Louis Rams executive vice president of football operations Kevin Demoff, former Patriots and Kansas City Chiefs general manager Scott Pioli, San Francisco 49ers chief operating officer Paraag Marathe and Football Outsiders founder Aaron Schatz.

2:40 p.m.: Robin van Persie does his exploring in the half second before the ball comes his way. It’s how he always seems to be one step ahead of defenders (despite not being particularly fast or quick) when he gets the ball in the final third of the field.

2:30 p.m.: Jordet says Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard have the highest frequency of “visual exploratory behavior,” meaning the two stars look around and gauge their surroundings before receiving the ball.

He says the midfield players who complete the highest number of forward passes are the ones who do the most exploring. In other words, they’re reading the game and playing it at the same time.

He bases the research on Sky Sports’ player cameras.

2:25 p.m.: We’re going from one extreme to the other. Baseball and statistics are inseparable, but soccer has been slow to adopt statistical analysis.

Geir Jordet, director of psychology at the Norweigan Centre for Football (soccer) Excellence is presenting some new research on “The Hidden Foundation of Field Vision in English Premier League Soccer Players.”

He explores the concept of field vision. How can some players make the right pass every time they get the ball? We’re about to find out.

1:50 p.m.: The panel discusses how difficult it is to predict how a young player will perform in the big leagues. There’s no exact science or measurement device that will predict which players will overperform or underperform at the top level.

1:40 p.m.: Posnanski says there’s a real divide in the way journalists cover baseball. He thinks younger writers — especially on the internet — are more versed in the “new language” of analytics, while mainstream media still focuses on wins, losses, errors and other 100-year-old statistics.

He thinks baseball coverage is currently changing and will continue to change with the times.

1:30 p.m.: Zaidi says analytics are changing the way the game is played and how managers manage.

McCracken adds that managers tend to want to avoid risk. If he plays a star player and the player doesn’t deliver, “it’s the player’s fault.” If the manager plays an untested rookie and the youngster fails, “it’s the manager’s fault.”

1:20 p.m.: When asked what the newest developments in baseball analytics, Keri says that teams are increasingly privatizing and keeping data in house. McCracken thinks this will slow the growth of the baseball analysis.

He goes on to say that video analysis is the next frontier in the field.

Zaidi says baseball analysis is too tied to outcomes rather than skills themselves. The A’s are trying to move in the direction of skill-based analysis rather than outcomes (which are the results of those skills).

1:15 p.m.: Zaidi drew chuckles from crowd when he said Billy Beane calls him “The Emotional Stat Guy.”

He adds that baseball decisions are very complex and there are a lot of disagreements, but Beane has to make the final call at the end of the day.

1:10 p.m.: Posnanski says that baseball provides new things to measure and quantify almost every day. Where some sports might see diminishing returns from the avalanche of data, he thinks that won’t be the case in baseball.

McCracken thinks the data can be dangerous. Some take a new stat and run with it without “completely understanding” the data that they’re seeing.

12:55 p.m.: We’re getting set for one of the most anticipated panels of the first day — on baseball analytics.

Sabermetrics are gaining influence among baseball’s decision makers. Grantland staff writer Jonah Keri, NBC Sports writer Joe Posnanski, statistical analyst Voros McCracken and Oakland Athletics director of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi will discuss how teams are using analytics to gain a competitive advantage. ESPN’s Lindsey Czarniak will moderate.

11:20 a.m.: Polian and MacMullan talk about the Manti Te’o hoax and its effect on the player.

The former Colts general manager thinks the hoax won’t have a negative impact on his career over the long term.

“The hoax that he was a victim of  is a story, and it’s a gigantic story —  people can’t get enough of it,” Polian says. “Does it affect Manti Te’o the football player? I would submit to you absolutely not.”

MacMullan agrees with that assessment, but she thinks the hoax has had negative effects on his preparation for the NFL combine.

“He was probably not capable of preparing the way he would have liked to have because of all the outside noise and all the outside things that have happened to him.

“I don’t know this for a fact, but perhaps he may have under-performed at the combine because anyone that went through what he went through, regardless of how much you think he was involved or not involved, it had to have been devastating. There had to have been a lot of sleepless nights. There had to have been a lot of days he probably didn’t eat, and I’m sure a lot of days he didn’t work out the way he wanted to.”

11 a.m.: Pagliuca talks about the perspective owners and managers need. The best ones see things over an 82-game season “like a movie.”

Polian talks about a parallel universe we live in. Fans and media expect perfection over the course of an 82, 16 or even 162-game season. Professionals know that perfection is “almost never achievable,” and coaches teach against mistakes that are part of the business.

10:50 a.m.: Burke and Van Gundy have spoken about the most difficult aspect of their jobs as coaches and general managers.

They agree that the hardest part is cutting players — guys that “bleed for you” as Burke says. The human element, specifically the bonds that form in the locker room are tough to break.

10:45 a.m.: Burke likes hard coaches. They’re his favorite ones. But the former Toronto Maple Leafs president and general manager says “the harder the coach is, the shorter his shelf life.”

10:40 a.m.: Pagliuca tells us that one of the best decisions the Celtics have made (since he’s been one of the team’s owners) was not firing Danny Ainge and Doc Rivers in the 2006-07 season.

10:20 a.m.: Van Gundy is discussing the Dwight Howard saga in Orlando. He says Howard asked for him to be fired and was causing a problem in the Magic locker room.

He wished Magic management would come out with a statement — either back him with a new contract or fire him — and end the distraction. They didn’t.

Polian says Jim Finks, Red Aurebach and Branch Rickey are the three greatest executives in history. He adds that coaches are useful for a maximum of 10 years. The ones that are able to “recognize and prepare them [players] are the ones that last longest.”

10 a.m.: “It’s Not You, It’s Me: Break-Ups in Sports” is our first panel of the day. Moderator Jackie MacMullan will lead a discussion about high-profile trades, public disputes over hirings and firings and other media spectacles.

John Buccigross, Bill Polian, Steve Pagliuca, Brian Burke and Stan Van Gundy will explore how high-profile changes affect on-field performances.

9 a.m. ET: In the span of seven years, the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference has become the place to be.

Sports insiders,  executives and leading researchers from around the country and beyond descend on Boston for two days  to discuss role of analytics in the sports industry with each other and thousands of students.

The Boston Convention and Exhibition Center is the site of this year’s conference. Nate Silver, Brian Burke, Adam Silver, Mark Cuban, Jonathan Kraft and Michael Wilbon are just a few of the panelists that will be on hand to give and receive insight into how sports are being changed by “big data.”

We are on hand for the 2013 conference, looking to see where the next breakthrough in sports analytics will come from. Join us here on March 1 for the latest on sports data analysis.

Have a question for Marcus Kwesi O’Mard? Send it to him via Twitter at @mkomard, his Facebook page or send it here. He will pick a few questions to answer every week for his mailbag.

Photo via Facebook/MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference

Matt Morgan, the Orlando-based lawyer for the fans, said at a news conference Tuesday than any suit would focus on the safety fence used along the track at Daytona International Speedway. He said he hopes to reach a settlement with NASCAR to avoid a lawsuit.

More than 30 people were injured last Saturday after a horrific wreck in a second-tier NASCAR series race sent chunks of debris, including a heavy tire, into the stands. Morgan declined to provide the identities of his clients, but said two of them were seated directly in front of the crash and sustained injuries ranging from a fractured fibula to abdominal swelling. All have been released from the hospital.

Some experts say there could be grounds for a lawsuit, and that courts have looked past liability waivers written on the backs of sporting event tickets. Others maintain the ticket is a legal contract that could be hard to overcome in court.

“Ultimately, I believe it would be gross negligence,” Morgan said. “We all know that when you go to a race you assume a certain amount of risk. But what people don’t assume is that a race car will come flying into the stands … That’s why they make the fences.”

Asked to comment on the fans’ retention of a law firm, NASCAR spokesman David Higdon wrote in a statement, “We are unaware of any lawsuits filed.”

Daytona International Speedway is owned by International Speedway Corp., a NASCAR sister company. Spokesman Andrew Booth said, “As per company policy, we do not comment on pending litigation.”

Donnalynn Darling, a New York-based attorney who has been practicing personal injury law for 30 years, said there is a theory that a spectator who buys tickets to a sporting event assumes the risk of objects coming out of the field of play, such as a foul ball at a baseball game.

But she said there is also a foreseeable risk question that promoters of events also accept.

“Did the sporting event promoter take action to prevent that specific risk?” Darling asked. “In terms of this fence … it was put up to prevent people from being hurt. You have people who were not only injured by falling debris, but by the failure of the fence.”

Others say such restrictive clauses on the back of tickets are generally disfavored by Florida courts.

“If it’s just something written on the back of the ticket and not called to the attention of the person purchasing, there’s reason to believe many courts in Florida won’t hold that they consented efficiently,” said University of Florida emeritus law professor Joseph Little.

Still, Paul Huck, an adjunct professor at the University of Miami School of Law, said contract law could take precedence.

“A ticket to one of these events is like a contract — and its provisions limiting liability are generally enforceable,” he said. “We enter into these types of contracts on a regular basis, and we often don’t give it a second thought that we may be limiting or even giving up certain legal rights when we do so.”

Darling also said that the fence’s manufacturer at Daytona would likely be “very much responsible” because of it being foreseeable that debris could go through a fence that has holes in it.

That seems to be theory that Morgan is adopting. He referenced a 2009 crash at NASCAR’s racetrack in Talladega, Ala., in which a car that launched into the catch fence sent debris into the stands and injured several fans.

“At that point in time a group of engineers got together and they said, ‘It’s time for us to manufacture a safer fence,’” Morgan said. “To my knowledge, that was done. But what we have to investigate at this point in time is what was done … If you can ever point to monetary considerations being put ahead of people, then there’s a big problem.”

Darling predicted that NASCAR would try to settle with the injured fans.

NASCAR “had an obligation to protect the fans that are so loyal, and it is bad from a public relations standpoint,” Darling said. “So they’re going to do something.”

Patrick made history out front at the Daytona 500, only to see five-time NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson reclaim his spot at the top in the end.

Johnson won his second Daytona 500 with a late push on Sunday, grabbing the spotlight from Patrick as she faded on the final lap. Patrick became the first woman in history to lead laps in “The Great American Race” and was running third on the last lap, but slipped to eighth in the late push for position.

Her fall began when Dale Earnhardt Jr. made his move, but his last-ditch effort wasn’t enough to catch his Hendrick Motorsports teammate.

There were several crashes during the day, none approaching the magnitude of the wreck that injured more than two dozen fans a day earlier in a second-tier race on the same track.

Johnson, who raced past defending NASCAR champion Brad Keselowski on the final restart, had pulled out to a sizable lead and nobody could catch him. He wasn’t challenged over the final six laps and cruised and added another 500 title to go with his 2006 victory.

This time crew chief Chad Knaus can enjoy it – he was suspended by NASCAR for the first victory.

Earnhardt Jr. settled for second as Hendrick drivers went 1-2 in the new Chevrolet SS. Mark Martin was third in a Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota.

Keselowski, who overcame two accidents earlier in the race, wound up fourth in the new Ford that Penske Racing is fielding this year.

Patrick, the first woman to start from the pole at NASCAR’s top level, was clearly disappointed with her finish. But she admitted she wasn’t sure what move to make if she was going to try for the win.

“You know I kept thinking about it the whole time,” she said. “You spend a lot of time thinking about what you’re going to when that opportunity.”

Patrick became the first woman in history to lead laps in the 500 when she passed Michael Waltrip on a restart on Lap 90. She stayed on the point for two laps, then was shuffled back to third. Still, it was another groundbreaking moment for Patrick, who in 2005 as a rookie became the first woman to lead laps in the Indianapolis 500.

Janet Guthrie was the first woman to lead laps at NASCAR’s top Cup Series, in 1977 at Ontario, where she led five laps under caution.

The field was weakened by an early nine-car accident that knocked out race favorite Kevin Harvick and sentimental favorite Tony Stewart.

Harvick had won two support races coming into the 500 to cement himself as the driver to beat, but the accident sent him home with a 42nd-place finish.

Stewart, meanwhile, dropped to 0-for-15 in one of the few races the three-time NASCAR champion has never won.

“If I didn’t tell you I was heartbroken and disappointed, I’d be lying to you,” Stewart said.

That accident also took Daytona 500 winner Jamie McMurray, his Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Juan Pablo Montoya, and Kasey Kahne out of contention.

The next accident – involving nine cars – came 105 laps later and brought a thankful end to Speedweeks for Carl Edwards. He was caught in his fifth accident since testing last month, and this wreck collected six other Ford drivers.

The field suddenly had six Toyota drivers at the front as Joe Gibbs Racing and Michael Waltrip Racing drivers took control of the race. But JGR’s day blew up – literally – when the team was running 1-2-3 with Matt Kenseth, Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch setting the pace.

Kenseth went to pit road first with a transmission issue, and Busch was right behind him with a blown engine. Busch was already in street clothes watching as Hamlin led the field.

“It’s a little devastating when you are running 1-2-3 like that,” Busch said.