This is a severely cringeworthy story that, thankfully, ended up OK, so we can exhale and relax a little with it.

Don’t know about you, but falling down an elevator shaft is one of my phobias. How many times has a door opened and you’ve walked blindly onto an elevator … never knowing when you might be walking off a cliff!

Well, just that scenario happened to F1 legend Sir Stirling Moss this past weekend, though fortunately it wasn’t a cliff, it was an elevator in his three-story home. He broke both ankles and chipped four vertebrae, but is otherwise fine. According to a statement, Moss said his "body still has the same resilience to injury as it did in his racing days."

Speaking of which, let’s check out one of those times, the 1961 Monaco Grand Prix: 

Moss won 16 Grand Prix events and was runner-up for the World Championship four times. Glad he’s OK, and I’m betting he takes the stairs once he’s walking again.

Moss falls down elevator shaft at London home [AP via Yahoo! Sports]

Let’s start here — no driver deserves to get flipped in the air and risk death. Nobody’s advocating that, nobody wants that.

But Brad Keselowski can’t claim that he doesn’t deserve at least some measure of payback for what he’s done over the last couple of years in Sprint Cup and Nationwide-level racing. He’s dumped several top-level NASCAR drivers, and he’s drawn criticism from many more.

Sunday’s flip was terrifying, and you can see by the look on Keselowski’s face above that he was deeply shaken. Thing is, could this be a case of Keselowski sowing the wind and reaping the whirlwind? Has he, by his own actions, set in motion retaliation that ended up being worse than anything he ever did? 

Let’s review the video evidence, shall we?

We’ve all seen the videos of Carl Edwards’ flip at Talladega last year. You can argue whether Keselowski was to blame; many say he wasn’t, and there’s evidence to support that. But last fall at the same track, Keselowski apparently contributed to a Big One that torpedoed the Cup chances of Mark Martin and Jeff Gordon:

But it was the Nationwide Series where Keselowski has had the most, shall we say, "incidents." Here’s the dustup between Edwards and Keselowski in Memphis last year that may have precipitated Sunday’s wreck:

Also last fall, Keselowski got into longtime rival Denny Hamlin in Dover:

After the Dover incident, Hamlin and Keselowski had this to say on their feud:

Two weeks later in Fontana, Keselowski tangled with Justin Allgaier:

Later in the race, Keselowski got into it with Hamlin and Greg Biffle:

And in Phoenix a few weeks later, Hamlin and Keselowski once again crossed paths:

Check out these reactions from Phoenix, particularly Jason Ratcliff, Kyle Busch’s crew chief, who said, "Somebody’s going to get angry and [retaliate] at a higher-speed racetrack." 

Finally, in Homestead, Hamlin gave a clinic on how to spin somebody:

And looking back, here’s where it all began, as Keselowski, Hamlin and Dale Earnhardt Jr. got into a fight that spilled over into their crews.

So there you have it. Many drivers have knocked Keselowski for being immature and reckless. Perhaps after this, everybody will think a little more about their actions. And perhaps not.

Interesting piece from David Caraviello of NASCAR.com Monday on how Jimmie Johnson doesn’t have a nickname:

There’s a Rowdy and a Happy, an Ironman and an Iceman, a Smoke and a Smokey. There’s a Junebug and a Jaws, a Mayor and a Herman, a Franchise and a Four-Time and a Sliced Bread. There’s a Front Row Joe and a Million Dollar Bill, a Gentleman Ned and a Handsome Harry, a Mr. Excitement and a Cousin Carl. There’s a Cotton and a Buckshot, a Rocketman and a Fireball. There’s a Big Bud and a Little Bud, a Tiny and a Red, and of course an Intimidator and a Silver Fox and a King.

And then there’s Jimmie. Plain ol’ Jimmie.

See, I’d disagree. Around here, we’ve thrown out a few nicknames that are ever-so-slowly starting to make their way into the NASCAR mainstream — "Senator" Jeff Burton and "Rawhide" Clint Bowyer, for two. And the commenters at the Marbles have a way of creating their own little unique monikers for their drivers. And Jimmie isn’t exempt. Matter of fact, I discussed this very issue with Jimmie almost two years ago. Here’s what he had to say:

Around here, we try to give drivers new nicknames. What’s the best nickname you’ve ever had?

Jimmie: I’ve been very fortunate to dodge a nickname throughout my entire career. I’ve never had one.

Anybody ever called you Johnny?

Jimmie: No, I’ve not heard that one.

Caraviello suggests "The Foreman." Now, no disrespect to Mr. Caraviello intended, but that’s just a flat-out awful nickname. Here, offhand, are a few that we’ve come up with here in recent months and on Twitter:

• Jimbot (effective, but he ain’t gonna like it)
• Johnny Jimson (funny, but nobody’s gonna get it)
• The Hammer (Hank Aaron would say you can’t touch this)
• Horseshoe (best of the lot)

So here it is. I’m going to start calling him Horseshoe until somebody comes up with something better. Have at it in the comments, folks. 

Take a good look at that photo there. It’s from the very start of Sunday’s Kobalt Tools 500, and it marks the very last time that Dale Earnhardt Jr. would reach the start/finish line before anybody else.

Shortly after this picture was taken, Kyle Busch absolutely blew past Junior on the outside, taking the lead before the end of Turn 1. And although Kyle wouldn’t win — the victory went to someone another branch up the Busch DNA chain — the result for Junior was the same: fast start, disappointing finish.

Wasn’t this supposed to be the year it all came together? Wasn’t this supposed to be the year everything was going to be different? Wasn’t the bat-outta-hell charge at the end of the Daytona 500 supposed to be the opening act on Junior Nation Domination? What the hell happened?

This week’s excuse — and, granted, this time it may be valid — was the tires, which went south for every member of the Hendrick team. "We got two bad right side tires and right rear tires," Earnhardt said. "It felt [like] the damn wheels were coming off. We pitted and the wheel was fine, but the car was vibrating so bad I couldn’t hardly see."

We are literally running out of places on the car to blame for Junior’s lack of success. I think we’re down to the windshield and the window netting at this point. 

I try, man. I really try. I want Junior to succeed, because his success is the best thing for NASCAR. I want to believe that he’s a quality driver who’s just missing by inches, inches that turn into laps. I don’t want to think that the mindless haters who can’t string together anything more comprehensible than JR SUX and "Hey, has anybody noticed he’s not as good as his daddy?" might actually have a point.

Golf has a saying: "drive for show, putt for dough." In other words, anybody can bang the ball a mile off the tee and look tough, but it’s the elite who can knock down the putts and close out the big holes when the pressure’s the greatest. In NASCAR, we could modify that to "drive for show, pit (or pass) for dough."

When he’s got nobody else on the track, Junior’s one of the best there is. He’s already got three top-4 starting positions in just four races, including a record-breaking pole run on Friday night. But introduce that pesky element of other drivers, and things start to go sideways in a hurry.

Junior’s supporters will no doubt point to that second-place finish at Daytona, plus the fact that he now sits exactly seven points out of the Chase. But that’s just short-term rationalization; when Paul Menard and Scott Speed are ahead of you in the rankings, something’s definitely amiss. Junior needs to start giving people something to cheer about, not merely justify. 

Another season, another Carl Edwards flip drama. As soon as Edwards’ collision sent Brad Keselowski flying into the Atlanta dusk on Sunday night, the screaming began — was it intentional? Was it payback? Did Edwards realize he could’ve killed somebody?

Edwards took to Facebook to explain himself, and the answers were, in order, yes, yes and no. In short, Edwards himself confirmed what everybody already suspected:

My options: Considering that Brad wrecks me with no regard for anyones safety or hard work, should I: A-Keep letting him wreck me? B-Confront him after the race? C-Wait til bristol and collect other cars? or D-Take care of it now? I want to be clear that I was surprised at his flight and very relieved when he walked away. Every person has to decide what code they want to live by and hopefully this explains mine.

So there you have it. Carl Edwards likes the frontier justice. (And there’s video evidence showing he may have a point.)

On a related note, no, Carl is not interested in playing Farmville with you, though he’d be happy to rub someone out in Mafia Wars. Poke him.

Carl Edwards Fan Page [Facebook]

_______

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 at @jaybusbee.

Related stories:
Did Keselowski deserve Edwards’ payback? A video compendium
Jimmie Johnson doesn’t have a nickname? Really?
Let’s not mince words: what the heck happened to Dale Earnhardt Jr.?

Other popular stories on Yahoo! Sports:
• Photo: NBA star’s crazy gold-and-purple hairdo
• NFL player’s kind deed while leaving city
• Vick’s dream of being a starter takes a big hit

NASCAR has taken the reins off its drivers this year, and perhaps as a result we have the first spectacular wreck of the season. As with so many wrecks of the last few months, it involved Brad Keselowski — but the difference this time is, Keselowski was the victim, not the instigator.

Late in the race, Keselowski was powering to a top-10 finish when Carl Edwards, more than a hundred laps down thanks to a wreck involving Keselowski from earlier in the afternoon, snapped his wheel upward into the No. 12 Dodge, and …

The wreck was ironic, a virtual photo-negative of last year at Talladega when Keselowski spun Edwards and sent the 99 careening into the fence:

This time, there were no fan injuries, and Keselowski himself was fortunately unhurt, if a bit dazed. ("Did I just fly?" he asked his crew chief over the radio. Yes, Brad, yes, you did.)

What this wreck will do is put NASCAR’s new "Boys, have at it" rule to the test. NASCAR immediately black-flagged Edwards and called him to the hauler; there’s been no word as of post time on any penalties. But should there be any? Should Edwards lose points or be fined?

After the race, Edwards came this close to admitting the wreck was intentional: "Brad knows the deal between him and I," he said. "The scary part is that his car went airborne, which was not at all what I [pause] expected." The pause was significant; this is speculation, but Edwards certainly seemed like he wanted to just spin Keselowski, not send him halfway into orbit. UPDATE: Edwards has updated his Facebook page with exactly that explanation.

"It could have killed somebody in the grandstands," Keselowski said. "I know that’s a little ironic that it’s got me saying that, but at least I didn’t do it intentionally when it happened. It will be interesting to see how NASCAR reacts to it. They have the ball. If they’re going to allow people to intentionally wreck each other at tracks this fast, we will hurt someone either in the cars or in the grandstands."

_______

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 at @jaybusbee.

Related posts on The Marbles:

Tim Tebow’s posse stole Darrell Waltrip’s car! Sort of …
Be a shame if an accident were to befall Jimmie Johnson
Kyle Busch: Not such a bad guy after all, as it turns out

Other popular blogs on Yahoo! Sports:
• Front-row seat for fan tossed by legendary coach

• Dodgers star models funny new batter’s helmet

• NHL player taken off on stretcher after big hit

ATLANTA, GA. — The Marbles is live from Atlanta, and that means we’re going to be bringing you along for all kinds of inside-the-infield action. (Not inside-the-garage. They don’t let us near that place after that incident with the arc welder.*) Anyway, you can follow me on Twitter at @jaybusbee as I give updates from throughout the garage and infield throughout the morning. During the race, I’ll be doing the live chat out on the mothership. But feel free to hang here and chat about whatever comes into your mind in greater detail. Race starts a little after 1 p.m. Eastern, and the pole is held by that fella there at right, Dale something-or-other. Enjoy the race!

*-To my bosses: I’m kidding. I’m not banned. I blamed the "incident" on some ESPN guys.

[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.

As an avid video gamer, I’ve always had to have the latest NASCAR game and I have been terribly disappointed with EA Sports’ next-generation NASCAR titles.

Heck, disappointed may be an understatement. NASCAR 08 and 09 have been so bad that when I need a virtual NASCAR fix, I fire up my old XBox and play NASCAR 07.

EA tried to make the game more realistic, and while they succeeded from a graphics standpoint, driving the car was almost impossible without the right setup and a $100 wheel instead of a controller. And when you did hit the setup correctly, you were competitive when racing online, but if you wanted to race against the computer, you were way too fast.

And let’s face it, we want our NASCAR games to be realistic, but at the same time, a lot of us just want to spend the majority of our time actually, you know, driving the car instead of trying to figure out if another half round on the trackbar is going to keep the car stable on the exit of turn two at Texas Motor Speedway. (Sure, you could use the same general setup at every track on NASCAR 07 and have fun, but at the same time, you couldn’t blow the field away unless you used Tony Stewart-the best driver in the game-and got his adrenaline meter or whatever it was called up to 100%)

So when it was announced that EA wouldn’t be producing another NASCAR game, part of me was disappointed, but at the same time I was ready for someone else to take a swing at it as it couldn’t be too difficult to beat EA, right?

Well, enter Polyphony Digital.

You probably haven’t heard of them, but they’re the creators of Gran Turismo, and according to that blog post and accompanying video, it looks like the long-awaited Gran Turismo 5 will have a Sprint Cup simulation and if the video and past Gran Turismos are any indication, it could be fantastic:

However, the market will be a little limited as Sony produces Gran Turismo, so it will only be available on the PlayStation 3. I’ve been a lifelong Xbox loyalist, but when Gran Turismo 5 finally comes out, I’m probably going to get a PlayStation 3. If nothing else, it’ll make a great Blu-Ray player.

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!"