Still, despite another of the sport's dense political squabbles, when the green flag drops, as they say in auto racing, the hot air stops.

I'll be doing burnouts approximately three hours after the checkered flag drops.

It sounds to Henry like the Indy 500 just before the pace car runs for dear life and the checkered flag drops.

"You always have to race every lap for what it's worth, and until the checkered flag drops, your job isn't done," Busch said.

Fares start at $3.30 at the flag drop and run about $2.25 per mile.

She saw the white flag drop, caught her breath at the incredible leap as the animals surged forward.

While successful racing teams have long understood the benefits of driver fitness, their conditioning programs are generally put in suspension once the green flag drops.

San Francisco supervisors authorized a fuel surcharge on Oct. 11, raising the "flag drop," or base rate, to $3.10 from $2.85, the second highest in the nation.

Then, as the green flag drops, there's the thunder of 44 The opening scene of "Days of Thunder" promises the real thing.

Then, as the green flag drops, there's the thunder of 44 V-8 engines at full throttle drowning out the movie music in a roar that shakes the theater.