Answer this...

Lost title has no cooling effect on this...

NASCAR WAGs come. NASCAR WAGs go. Rarely are they missed by fans once they've hit the road.

Athena Barber is an exception to the norm. Her off-season departure from NASCAR's fast lane still has people wondering, "WTF were you thinking, Clint Bowyer?"

Athena's natural beauty and outgoing personality, genuine fan-friendliness, affinity for the sport and dedication to her driver's career made her wildly popular even among female fans--and that's no small feat.

You can take NASCAR WAG out of her title, but she's still the Hottest -- and single men worldwide have taken notice. Eat your heart out, Clint "get this man a nickname" Bowyer.

NASCAR's Hottest Girlfriend Now Hottest Auto-Racing Fan

FHM - "In 2007, Athena Barber, Clint Bowyer's girlfriend at the time, was voted NASCAR's Hottest Girlfriend by the drivers in a Sports Illustrated poll, and it's not hard to tell why — beautiful, loves NASCAR and knows more about cars than your neighborhood mechanic. The recently single, high-octane hottie dished to FHM Online about the secret life of a NASCAR girlfriend."

Going back to school with this...

A firm believer in education (hi, dates a med school grad!), Carl Edwards, a former substitute teacher, has gone back to the classroom:

ESPN The Magazine helps Edwards relive his days at the front of the classroom. Filmed August 7, 2008, in NYC.

Life gives the final shaft to this...

Soul legend Isaac Hayes dead at 65.

"They say this cat Shaft is a bad mutha ..."

Indeed. RIP, Isaac Hayes. Thank you for your immeasurable contributions and influence on popular music and culture.

Amanda Beard gets under people's skin with this...

Olympic Swimmer Amanda Beard Makes Waves
Outside the Pool. Again.

Olympic swimmer -- and part-time nude model -- Amanda Beard has exposed herself again ... but she didn't do it for her own exposure this time around (see previous: Amanda Beard in Playboy) ... this time she's showing some skin to get under yours and expose the reality of cruelty to animals at the expense of the human fashion condition.

The efforts were effective on Chinese authorities, who insisted that the risque ad only be displayed outside the Olympic Village. Beard herself is surprised by the controversy the ad has sparked. 'Cause, you know, it's always a shocker when controversy arises from a publicity stunt intended to created controversy.

On a side note, the former gold-medalist also happens to be swimming in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The starting gun for the Women's 200m Breaststroke event will fire on Wednesday at 7:30pm Beijing time, which translates to 7:30am EDT / 4:30am PDT. Yeah, I won't be tuning in. But I hope she takes the gold medal and maybe even breaks a record like her USA Swimming teammate Michael Phelps did last night!

Premature speculation of the engagement of this...

Q. Did Kyle Busch get engaged?
A. Nope. This local newspaper article incorrectly refers to Kyle's girlfriend, Samantha Sarcinella, as his fiancée:

[Dan McLaughlin] raced through the Street Survival course on Friday in his neighbor's BMW station wagon with Busch's fiance [sic] in the passenger's seat.

They've jumped the gun a little -- TGOM can confirm that the couple is not engaged. Yet? But several of you are very excited at the prospect!