NASCAR says safety comes first

Jeremy Mayfield might have won the battle, but NASCAR chairman Brian France thinks his racing organization won the war -- in doing what's right for the safety of all Sprint Cup drivers and their fans.

Mayfield was suspended indefinitely May 9 for what NASCAR said was a positive test for methamphetamines. He sued to be reinstated, and a federal judge issued an injunction Wednesday that allowed Mayfield to return to competition based on the racer's argument that NASCAR's testing system is flawed.

But France said Friday the sport needs a tough system that bans impaired drivers from competition.

"We remain very comfortable ... despite the ruling, that our policy is thorough, it's accurate and it's fair," France said. "It's our responsibility to protect the drivers, the fans, other participants within the events.

"We have a very unique challenge relative to all sports, which is the inherent danger of somebody impaired on the racetrack."

In short, better safe than sorry.

• ON ANY GIVEN SATURDAY -- The 12th-ranked U.S. men's soccer team opens play in the CONCACAF Gold Cup tonight in Seattle against Grenada, a tiny island nation ranked 88th in the world.

So, the Americans have to feel good about winning, right? Sort of like how top-ranked Spain must have felt when it played the U.S. in June in the Confederations Cup semifinals in South Africa before the underdog Yanks put a stunning 2-0 bite on the vaunted Spaniards?

Adding to Grenada's inspiration tonight: U.S. coach Bob Bradley gave most of the national team's regulars the next few weeks off before the start of the European preseason. Only four of the 23 players on the original Gold Cup roster were at the Confederations Cup before CONCACAF allowed the travel-weary Americans to add seven players Thursday.

Oh, what a Fourth of July bummer it would be for U.S. soccer if little Grenada were to steal a page from the American team's upset book.

• THIS IS NO GAME -- The soldiers expressed their gratitude over and over to the NFL coaches who made the trip to Iraq.

"They kept thanking us," the Tennessee Titans' Jeff Fisher said. "We kept thanking them."

Fisher, the New York Giants' Tom Coughlin, the Baltimore Ravens' John Harbaugh, former Pittsburgh Steelers coach Bill Cowher and former Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Jon Gruden are taking part in the first NFL-USO coaches tour this weekend.

A world they knew only through the distant glimpses of news reports turned real for the coaches as they met with hundreds of soldiers in three cities in a long first day Thursday. In a phone interview from Baghdad, Cowher recalled talking to military members on their second or third deployment who described how much the bombs and casualties have decreased from several years ago.

"The whole concept is about trying to build a team based on trust, camaraderie, sacrifice," Cowher said. "They can identify with our game."

LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL WIRE SERVICES