The RP’s Weekly Web Gems: The Politics of Speed

Animal Kingdom (shown left, in the lead) was the eventual winner of the most exciting two minutes in sports. Animal Kingdom and owner Barry Irwin now look forward to the Preakness where they will attempt to win the second out of the three triple crown races. [ESPN]

In contrast to the jubilation from the Animal Kingdom camp, there is also sadness. After the race concluded it was announced that Archarcharch would retire from racing due to a fractured front left leg that was suffered at the beginning of the race. [ESPN]

In the world of NASCAR, both Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick have been fined $25,000 and placed on probation for the next four Sprint Cup point races. This punishment stems from pit road “violations” last week at Darlington. [NASCAR.com]

If you would like to watch the “violations” after last week’s race at Darlington, please check out the following link. Such “violations” would get you arrested outside of the race track. [Mocksession]

Jimmie Johnson is the most influential athlete in America (according to a recent Forbes study), beating out New England Patriots Quarterback Tom Brady who came in at number two. Fellow NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. took home third. [Yahoo! Sports]