Warning: Horribly bad pun ahead

Here's a quick Wednesday evening update or two or three of my "pet" projects. (You'll have to read to the end to see what a bad pun that truly is.)

Update No. 1 is on the shop tour I am going to do the Monday after the Sprint Cup All-Star Race to a winning bidder on the Pennies for Wessa auction being held at www.nascar.com/foundation. You can add two tickets to the all-star race, courtesy of the fine folks at Lowe's Motor Speedway, to the package.

So now the bonanza that's up for grabs is two tickets to the all-star event on May 16 followed on May 18 by visits to several race shops with me acting as your friendly tour guide and driver.

Update No. 2 is from Atlanta race winner Kurt Busch, who has decided to officially let the fans help him pick the name for his reverse victory lap that followed the Kobalt Tools 500.

“It has been unbelievable – I’ve been just blown away by it all,” Busch said of the response to the lap. “It’s amazing to see the attention it (the celebration lap) has gotten. We’ve done hundreds of media interviews since Sunday and every time it’s inevitable that they’ll get around to wanting to discuss our unusual victory lap."

Fans can post a comment on this blog and offer their suggestions. Busch and his minions will pick a winner and give a lucky fan who suggests it a gift basket after announcing the winner at Bristol on March 20.

Update No. 3 is where the pun begins.

Ryan Newman is doing a follow-up edition to his book "Pit Road Pets." The new book will be subtitled: "NASCAR Stars and Their Pets, the Second Lap." But it also will include photos of fans with their pets, too.

"My wife, Krissie, came up with the idea to include the fans in our second book because they are the heart of NASCAR," Newman said. "The fans are out there volunteering for their local animal shelters, adopting pets from rescue groups and spaying and neutering their pets. They are making a difference at the grassroots level across our nation. We think adding the fans to the next Pit Road Pets book will make our second edition extra special."

A photographer will be taking pictures of NASCAR fans with their pets at the Pit Road Pets tent in the Earnhardt Campground at Bristol 9 am until 2 p.m. on March 21 and March 22.

"We're going to try to squeeze as many photos of NASCAR fans and their pets as possible in the book," Ryan Newman Foundation Executive Director Rosalie De Fini said. "Everyone will get their time to shine because all the photos we take of fans and pets will be posted on the Ryan Newman Foundation website, www.ryannewmanfoundation.org."

See, it's an actual pet project ...