A Quick Spin Malibu-Style Leaves Ferrari in Pieces

How is this for a Malibu story?

Start with a car zooming along the Pacific Coast Highway. Let's make it a $1 million Ferrari, with only 400 like it in the world. Rev it up to more than 160 mph, and throw in a couple of airborne moments on the hills.

Now pan wide for a crash that leaves pieces of that car scattered 1,261 feet along the road. Zoom in on a guy climbing out of the car with a bloodied lip (otherwise unharmed) and a blood-alcohol level of 0.9. Finally, toss in a mystery: Who's the driver?

It's not a screenplay pitch, it's a Malibu traffic report last week. Bel Air resident Stefan Eriksson was standing next to a totaled Ferrari Enzo when Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies arrived at the scene. Eriksson held the title to the car but said he wasn't the driver. That was an acquaintance known as "Dietrich," who Eriksson said had run into a nearby canyon.

Dietrich was never found, and deputies aren't looking for him anymore, Sheriff's Sgt. Philip Brooks said. The investigation is continuing. Eriksson, meanwhile, turns out to be something of a flameout artist. He's the former head of a video game company called Gizmodo, which sank with $100 million in losses last fall. He's also -- surprise! -- a recreational race car driver.

-- Sonya Geis

NASCAR President Offends the Family

NASCAR President Mike Helton was explaining a few weeks ago how the organization was going to diversify its fan base.

Then he said this:

"We believe strongly that the old Southeastern redneck heritage that we've had is no longer in existence."

The remark soon elicited a torrent of commentary from fans and newspaper columnists in the region who said that the sport, long associated with the South, had lost touch with its roots.

"He's welcome to believe that, but folks in these parts know better," an editorial in the Charlotte Observer said.

In response, NASCAR officials trotted out statistics showing the sport now has appeal across the nation, and they tried to placate offended fans.