There are some stories so bizarre that even trying to understand them is impossible, so it's best just to lay them out on the table:

Tim Tebow's posse stole Darrell Waltrip's car.

Now, when you put it like that, it sounds bad. Real bad. Don't worry, Tebowheads; this wasn't a case of Grand Theft Auto IV come to life. And Tebow wasn't trying to up his draft stock by adding a felony to his jacket. No, this was purely a case of mistaken identity, with a dash of what-the-hell-was-Waltrip-thinking thrown in for extra spice.

The Sporting Blog brings us the story, via the Orlando Sentinel, of how the former Daytona 500 champion and the former all-everything Gator QB crossed paths. The mystery began Monday with a mysterious tweet from Waltrip that sounded like the setup to a joke:

@AllWaltrip:Tim Tebow took my car last night , problem is I didn't tell him he could , he took it by mistake , its 3 o'clock and he hasn't returned it !

Here's how it went down. Waltrip had left his black Lexus SUV parked at a private Nashville airport while covering last weekend's race in Las Vegas for Fox. Waltrip, apparently unfamiliar with the concept that someone might actually steal his car -- carjackings are rare on NASCAR tracks -- actually left his key in the car and left the doors unlocked.

Enter Tebow, his brother, one of his agents and the head of a Nashville-area training facility, D1 Sports. On Sunday night, Tebow and his associates were returning from the NFL combine. D1 CEO Will Bartholomew was told to drive Tebow's agent's car -- a black Mercedes -- back to D1's facility while Tebow and the rest of the crew rode in another car. Well, it was dark, the Mercedes just happened to be parked next to Waltrip's Lexus, one thing led to another, and there was no car when Waltrip got back to the airport later Sunday evening.   

Waltrip asked the airport personnel what had happened, and this was their account:

“They turned to me and said, ‘Tim Tebow has your car,’” Waltrip said in a telephone interview. “I said, ‘What is he doing with my car? I didn’t tell him he could take my car.’ The guys said, ‘We thought you told him he could drive your car.’ I know the guy, but I’ve never met the man. I didn’t tell him he could take my car.”

Waltrip, ever the prankster, briefly considered reporting the car stolen just to see the look on Tebow's face, but his wife wisely talked him out of that one. (It's worth noting: it appears that at no time was Tebow ever in the car.)

The lesson Waltrip learned? "Don’t leave your car unlocked. Because you never know what celebrity might take it."

And the lesson Tebow learned? When you're in the NFL, your friends are going to cause you all kinds of headaches. Best get used to it now, Tim.

Darrell Waltrip and the Accidental Saga of Grand Theft Tebow [The Sporting Blog]
Tim Tebow + Darrell Waltrip: The Great Car Caper [Orlando Sentinel]

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For more daily NASCAR and automotive news throughout the 2010 season, click here to bookmark Yahoo! Sports' From The Marbles blog and follow us on Twitter.

Lost in all the oh my gawd Jimmie Johnson's winning again I'm gonna quit NASCAR for real this time nonsense and the pothole/false caution light silliness of the first three weeks of the season is the fact that Joey Logano -- he of the incessant is-he-shaving-yet jokes and godawful nickname -- is running in 8th place in the Chase standings.*

Logano ended in 6th place, just barely losing out to Matt Kenseth on his second straight top-5 berth. And while his lone win, last year at New Hampshire, came about because of a rain-shortened race, there's been no luck involved in his strong performances this year. 

"Last year, at this time I was ready to kill myself and this year I'm definitely having a blast, and that all comes with running good," Logano said. (Oh no! A teenager talking about killing himself! Not funny, Joey!) "It makes it a lot more fun when you come to a race track instead of dreading going to the next race because 'I don't know if we're going to be good here?' Now I'm pumped up and looking forward to getting back to the race track, so it's fun."

We've had so much fun with Logano around here that it's easy to forget the guy's only run 42 races to date. And he's been so hyped for so long that it's almost surprising to see him live up to the hype. But so far, so good. Ten percent of the way through the season, and about 2 percent of the way through his career, and all's going very well indeed.

*-Man, that was a long and tortured sentence. But you get the point.

Gained experience brings improvement for Logano [NASCAR.com]

Bringing you the best in NASCAR news and info to get your day rolling right ... or left, whichever.

• So what was the deal with the all-white Jack Roush cars in Saturday's Nationwide race? The truth is a little better for the long-term health of the sport than you might expect. [NASCAR Insiders]

• Will the spoiler be in place by the Texas race in April? Mike Helton says there's a "doggone good chance." Yee-haw! Strike a match and stoke the fire, mama! Wheee-doggie! [Racin' Today]

• NASCAR has tagged William Hileman, a crew member from the No. 76 team in the Camping World Truck Series, for substance abuse violations, and will be suspending him indefinitely. [SpeedTV]

• Shell/Pennzoil, Richard Childress Racing and Kevin Harvick are all lovey-lovey now. But with their contracts all coming to an end at the conclusion of the 2010 season, who knows where we'll all be this time next year? [Scene Daily]

• Remembering Jake Elder, who could have taught Chad Knaus a thing or two about crewing a car. [Insider Racing News]

• Nice gesture: Dale Earnhardt Jr. is donating $1 million to the Victory Junction camp to create the Dale Jr. Corral and Amphitheater. It's such a magnanimous effort that I will restrain from making jokes about horses missing their paddocks in the corral. Way to go, Dale! [Miami Herald]

Got a link/tip? Hit us up at jay.busbee@yahoo.com and follow us on Twitter.

Bringing you the best in NASCAR news and info to get your day rolling right ... or left, whichever.

• OK, we all know that Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson are, like, best buds and stuff -- but could the race to get championship No. 5 put a dent in that friendship? [Fox News]

• Las Vegas may not have had the best racing of the year so far, but 140,000 people turned out to see the Jeff and Jimmie Show, which ain't bad. [Las Vegas Review Journal]

• So how did NASCAR end up at Daytona in the first place? Handy history lesson for those of you who want to catch up. [Calgary Herald]

• Life's rocky for everybody, but teams and drivers are bending over backward to accommodate their sponsors. Don't leave us! Don't leave us! [USA Today]

• All right, enough with the Cup drivers in the Nationwide Series. [Bump Drafts]

Got a link/tip? Hit us up at jay.busbee@yahoo.com and follow us on Twitter.

Yet another former open-wheel driver could possibly be making the switch to NASCAR, though in Graham Rahal's case, it may be out of necessity more than desire.

Rahal, the son of former Indianapolis 500 winner Bobby Rahal, is only 21, yet doesn't have a ride for the upcoming IndyCar season that starts March 14th in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Rahal drove for Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing throughout his major open-wheel tenure, but was let go at the end of the season when his primary sponsor, McDonald's, left N/H/L.

(Where did McDonald's go, you ask? To Jamie McMurray for 10 races, starting this weekend at Las Vegas. Guesstimates put the price of a 10-race top-notch Cup sponsorship as roughly equivalent to a typical full-season IRL sponsorship deal.) 

Rahal's got plenty of talent, as evidenced by winning the first IRL race in which he ever competed in 2008. That was actually the second race of the season, the street course in St. Petersburg, because Rahal had crashed in practice for the first race at Homestead. Since Newman/Haas/Lanigan was a transition team from CART to IndyCar during the merger, they were having to play catchup buying cars, and the team only had one speedway car at the time Rahal wrecked.

But since that win, Rahal seemingly struggled. However, much of that could be attributed to the catchup that N/H/L was still having to play to get competitive in a series that's dominated-especially on the ovals-by Team Penske and Target Chip Ganassi.

If Rahal does make the switch, it's not going to be an easy transition. (Just ask Danica Patrick.) However, he's got youth on his side, and he's incredibly polished and mature enough to handle the struggles that would inevitably come along with moving over to stock cars. But unlike Danica, road racing is Rahal's forte, so short-track racing would be even more of a new experience for him.

Given Rahal's pedigree, I think he's got a great chance of succeeding, and maybe we'll see him in the Nationwide Series later this year.

[Reader Jeffrey Boswell brings us a set of post-Vegas power rankings, along with a bit of commentary and hypothetical driver quotes. Offer up your thoughts below. --JB]

1. Jimmie Johnson: With a crafty four-tire pit stop during the race's final caution, Johnson and the No. 48 Lowe's team outsmarted the competition once again. Johnson's full set of fresh tires allowed him to catch and pass teammate Jeff Gordon, who opted for two tires. Johnson's win in the Shelby American 427 moved him up seven spots to fifth in the points, and also made him NASCAR's all-time wins leader at 1.5 mile tracks.

What Johnson should have said:
"How often can you say you ‘had no luck' in Vegas and still came out a winner? I called everyone's two tires and raised them two more ... The Lowe's team goes into every race with the intention of winning. We always anticipate victory. Suffice it so say my wife isn't the only one ‘expecting' on this team."

2. Kevin Harvick: For the second week in a row, Harvick finished runner-up to Jimmie Johnson, this time in Las Vegas in a race in which luck played no part in Johnson's win. Although winless for the year, Harvick and the No. 29 Chevrolet team served notice to Johnson that they'll be on Johnson's tail all year.

What Harvick should have said:
"Everybody knows Kevin Harvick pulls no punches. Literally and figuratively. I like to speak as frankly as John Mayer tweets. On that note, in regards to Johnson, if you take the ‘lucky' away from ‘lucky S.O.B,' you still get ‘S.O.B.'"

3. Clint Bowyer: Bowyer opted to stay on the track while the leaders pitted during the final caution on lap 230 of the Shelby American 427. Crew chief Shane Wilson's gamble paid off. Bowyer led three laps after the restart, and the track position helped secure an eighth-place finish, Bowyer's third top-10 result of the year. He trails Richard Childress teammate Kevin Harvick by 47 in the point standings.

What Bowyer should have said:
"The No. 33 Cheerios/Hamburger Helper Chevy was again strong. And speaking of the Hamburger Helper mascot, I've got to ‘hand' it to Shane for making such a gutsy call. He knows when to gamble; I know when to drive. Like Lady GaGa, he showed his ‘Poker Face,' like Burt Reynolds, I drove like ‘Stroker Ace.'"

4. Mark Martin: After spending much of the day hovering around the top 15, Martin made a late charge to the front, finishing fourth at Las Vegas to put a decisive Hendrick Motorsports stamp on the Shelby American 427. Teammates Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon finished first and third, respectively, and collectively led 237 of 267 laps. Martin jumped three spots in the point standings to third, and trails Kevin Harvick by 49.

What Martin should have said:
"There was some concern about mechanical issues prior to the race, mostly due to the wheel issues experienced by Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. earlier in the year. Like Guns N' Roses, we feared we might face some ‘Axl' problems. But they never a-Rose."

5. Matt Kenseth: Kenseth recovered from an early tire-vibration issues that forced an extra pit stop to finish fifth at Las Vegas, his third top-10 finish of the year. Kenseth and the No. 17 Royal Crown Ford benefitted from a late caution that allowed the car to remain on the lead lap. Kenseth is now fourth in the points, 58 behind Kevin Harvick.

What Kenseth should have said:
"Last year, Las Vegas was the beginning of the end for this team. After two wins to start 2009, things went downhill starting in Vegas. Luckily, I wasn't under Crown Royal sponsorship then. Otherwise, the season would have been known as a royal ‘flush.'"

6. Greg Biffle: Always strong on Las Vegas' 1.5 mile oval, Biffle again showed prowess with a solid tenth-place result that could have been much better if not for an unfortunate pit incident. On lap 109, Biffle, running fourth, entered his pit box, but was blocked in when he tried to exit by A.J. Allmendinger's No. 43 car. Biffle restarted in 25th, and spent the balance of the race making up ground, and handling issues prevented a top-5 run. Biffle fell three spots in the Sprint Cup point standings to sixth, and is 63 out of first.

What Biffle should have said:
"Not since Cale Yarborough and Donnie Allison wrestled at Daytona in 1979 have I seen anyone so intent on going for the ‘pin.' NASCAR wants to take our wings? This is one time when I could really have used them."

7. Carl Edwards: After welcoming a baby daughter, Anne, on Wednesday, Edwards hoped to ride the euphoria of fatherhood into victory lane at Las Vegas. But after a loose No. 99 Aflac Ford Fusion put him a lap down early, focus shifted from winning the race to regaining that lost lap. Edwards returned to the lead lap on lap 230, and battled his way to a 12th-place finish.

What Edwards should have said:
"In light of the fact that I'm winless in Cup races since 2008, I think it's totally appropriate to call me ‘Daddy-0. This role as a father will be something entirely new for me. Midnight feedings. Diaper changes. Bedtime stories. And giving Anne her pacifier for the first time will truly be a memorable moment, for me and for Matt Kenseth. Finally, Matt will have good reason to call me a ‘pacifist.'"

8. Jeff Burton: Burton fought back from a lap down to finish 11th at Las Vegas, just missing out on a top-10 result to match those of his Richard Childress racing teammates Kevin Harvick and Clint Bowyer. Burton now sits seventh in the point standings, 76 behind Harvick.

What Burton should have said:
"RCR keeps piling up the top finishes, but we've yet to cash in with a victory. I predict that will change in Atlanta, where I will shock the world with an earth-moving win, appropriately in the No. 31 Caterpillar Chevy."

9. Joey Logano: Logano showed the patience and poise of a veteran with a sixth in the Shelby American 427, his second consecutive top-10 finish after his fifth last week in Fontana. The 19-year-old prodigy again outraced his teammates, as fellow Joe Gibbs Racing drivers Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin finished 15th and 19th, respectively. Logano is now eighth in the Sprint Cup point standings, 93 out of first.

What Logano should have said:
"The early consensus was that the veterans, Hamlin and Busch, would lead this team, and I, the young guy, would follow. Now, everyone's wondering when the members of this team are going to start ‘acting their age.' Hamlin and Busch should be better than that. If I'm ‘Sliced Bread,' then those two are loafing."

10. Jeff Gordon: Gordon, in the No. 24 Pepsi Max Chevrolet, dominated from the start in the Shelby American 427, leading the first 52 laps after qualifying second. He lost that edge, however, on the race's final pit stop, when crew chief Steve Letarte elected for two tires while Hendrick teammate Jimmie Johnson took four. Johnson easily tracked down the No. 24, leaving Gordon with a third-place finish and a load of disappointment.

What Gordon should have said:
"That's one decision we'd like to have back. But we'll build on the positives and forget that mistake. As they say, ‘What mis-happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. Sure, we should have gone with four tires. And sure, hearing of Johnson's greatness is grate-ing, and tiresome. But give the man credit. He won in Las Vegas, earning a championship belt for his effort. And, until someone knocks the four-time champ off his pedestal, he, like a tire, will remain ‘still-belted.'"

Thanks to Jeremy for the rankings, and have your say in the comments below.

We give Kyle Busch a lot of grief around these parts, and for good reason. He gripes, he complains, he has an annoying tendency to beat most of our favorite drivers.

He's rough on his crew, rough on the media, rough on the fans who don't dig him. But there's another side of Kyle, the charitable puppy dog, that doesn't get nearly as much press.

Until now, that is. The Las Vegas Review-Journal did a little digging into Kyle's life and found that the dirt is just on the surface -- what's underneath is the creamy nougat of sensitivity and compassion.

"Our ratio [cheers to boos] is getting better. I've heard it's better to hear any noise than no noise at all," says his fiance Samantha Sarcinella. "It's part of the show. I feel like they're booing Kyle the character, not Kyle the person, so I don't take it to heart. ... It's hard to hear people boo him because I know the other Kyle, the true Kyle. Kyle the nice guy, the funny guy."

Yes, really. Kyle has a history of charitable efforts, and if you're wearing his colors, he might just pay you a surprise visit in the infield, too.

He'd better be careful; at this rate, he's going to start getting people to like him.

Booed and beloved [Las Vegas Review Journal]

(Hat tip to kinggeorge for the find.)

This one was obvious, wasn't it?

The words that Juan Pablo Montoya publicly had for Jamie McMurray after their collision in Sunday's Shelby American were pretty heated for anyone, let alone a teammate. 

McMurray and Montoya were racing for position when McMurray -- who was on the inside -- got a little loose entering turn three and and slid into Montoya, sending the Target car into the wall. As you can see, McMurray was caught up in it, as well as Kurt Busch, so he didn't get off scot free:

The war even extended to Twitter, where Montoya's wife Connie even had some choice words for McMurray (in Spanish) seemingly comparing him to the McClown. (No word on if that was in reference to Michael McDowell and Danica Patrick's incident in Saturday's Nationwide race or Ronald McDonald.)

However, McMurray responded on his Twitter that the incident was being blown out of proportion.

(Side note: Twitter has already become the place to go to get driver reaction. Something else happened in NASCAR this weekend that first came to light on Twitter as well. More on that tomorrow.)

Montoya's reaction was understandable because he had a pretty good car, but also surprising given the recent Sports Illustrated article that talked about how well that McMurray and Montoya got along.  

Does this spell the end for the great chemistry at Earnhardt Ganassi? I have my doubts that it does, as McMurray doesn't seem like the type of personality that would keep a feud simmering, especially given his newfound status since winning the Daytona 500.

Think this feud has any legs? Or like most NASCAR dustups these days, will this be long forgotten by the time the green flag drops at Atlanta?

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For more daily NASCAR and automotive news throughout the 2010 season, click here to bookmark Yahoo! Sports' From The Marbles blog and follow us on Twitter. 

On Thursday, Kasey Kahne did a little promotional gig for Bristol Motor Speedway, and fans of the Speedway's Twitter feed got a look at what Kasey was up to -- which looked a whole lot like an afternoon at Chuck E. Cheese's or the like. First off was a stint in the batting cage; no work on how Kasey hit.

Below, more from Kasey's big adventure.

Rock climbing! Kasey scampers up the side of the wall. No complaints about grip, and no Juan Pablo Montoya around to put him into the wall.

And finally, Kasey rocks the pop-a-shot. You think he hit the kiddie tubes after this?

Good stuff, and thanks to Bristol Motor Speedway for letting us all join in on Kasey's day.

I admit, I was thinking that Fox had done a really good job with the broadcast of Sunday's Shelby American (what type of name is that?) with about 60 laps to go.

And I was thinking that as the race wound down to the final laps and Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson were fighting for the lead.

But Fox didn't want me to be incredibly positive. What the heck were they thinking going to commercial with 19 laps to go and Johnson on Gordon's bumper?

I realize that Fox has to get in its commercial allotment, and that it had one more set of commercials to get in. But Stevie Wonder could have seen that a pass for the lead was coming -- and coming SOON -- as Fox split away.

Fox tried to play it off as smoothly as possible as it came back from break, showing the pass like it was happening live, but that's like trying to polish a turd. Things like this will always keep fans annoyed with television broadcasts, no matter how great the rest of the broadcast has been.

The Good: I appreciated the full field rundown with about 60 laps to go, and again in the dwindling laps. It was a great decision by the crew to not try to create artificial drama about Gordon's ability to catch Johnson and instead go through the field. Digger was conservatively used again Sunday, and I can handle that.

The Bad: No one caught the potential penalty on Gordon's pit stop. The fuel man was engaged before he backed up over the line. No one explained exactly why Dave Blaney was running the full race this week. Addressing all the reading that went on between the lines during the week about the car confiscation would have been nice.

Overall Grade: C-. I'm docking them down from the B I had in mind for the misplaced commercial. That's probably pretty harsh, but you can't miss the pass for the win. Ever.

Via Hendrick Motorsports comes this shot of Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr. in discussion. I feel certain that there is sport to be made of this photo. Have at it, friends.

After the jump, Kevin Harvick and Brock Lesnar discuss strategy.

Dan:
Lesnar: "You say he drives the #18 car, right?"

Robert C:
Lesnar: "What? You guys have to actually earn your way into a Championship?"

n88car:
Lesnar: "Jimmie sent me. Said you were talkin some trash."

AND

Kevin gets a BIG surprise, after he screamed at his crew chief to go find a "Brake Loosener." 

EMTNoodle:
Harvick: " I feel like I'm back in elementary school. Momma! Momma! Where are you?! The bully is picking on me again!"
Lesner: "Dude. I just wanted an autograph. No wedgies or swirlies required!"

Bringing you the best in NASCAR news and info to get your day rolling right ... or left, whichever.

• Dale Earnhardt Jr. is feeling good about his chances at Atlanta Motor Speedway: "It’s a wide track, and it gets slick. Atlanta is a driver’s track – if one groove doesn’t work, then you can find another one. It’s a fun track, and it’s a fast track." If he can beat out Jimmie Johnson, he'll have even Junior Haters cheering for him. [Scene Daily]

• NASCAR is having all kinds of problems -- attendance, ratings, on-track action. So is the time right for IndyCar to step up and take advantage? Well, they do have this weapon called "Danica Patrick" -- nobody's sick of her yet, right? [San Diego Union-Tribune]

• What do Jimmie Johnson and Darrell Waltrip have in common as drivers? Stinkin' up the show, that's what. [Racin' Today]

• New racing edict: the last-place finishing, non-wrecked car will also be subject to inspection. Hmmm. Guess all those "engine failures" on start-and-parkers will suddenly stop occurring, huh? [LA Daily News]

• Nelson Piquet Jr., despite running well in ARCA and Truck races this season, apparently won't have a sponsor for Atlanta. Shame. [Autoweek]

• Welcome new TNT broadcaster Adam Alexander, who'll be handling play-by-play (lap-by-lap?) duties for TNT's Summer Series of racing. Lindsay Czarniak also gets a bump up to hosting duties pre- and post-race. [NASCAR.com via Yahoo! Sports]

Got a link/tip? Hit us up at jay.busbee@yahoo.com and follow us on Twitter.