KYLE PETTY MIGHT CONSIDER THE HANDS-FREE OPTION: Bill Taaffe of the LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL reports that TNT actually employed NASCAR driver Kyle Petty as an analyst while driving in Sunday’s Nextel Cup Toyota/Save Mart 350.

Petty dropped an f-bomb on-air during a crash, and Taaffe asks whether “Petty’s dividing his attention between his announcing and driving duties contributed to the crash“.

I think Taaffe is being a little hard on Petty. If thousands of female drivers every day on L.A. freeways can safely apply makeup while simultaneously inhaling a McGriddle during morning rush hour, Petty can certainly match the broadcasting acumen of Wally Dallenbach at 200MPH.

And on the bright side, the gig also isn’t expected to harm Petty’s chance of winning, considering he hasn’t seen the checkered flag since Bill Clinton’s first term.