NASCAR Drivers take their victory lap through downtown New York

NEW YORK (AP) -- Welcome to New York City Speedway, the world's busiest, bumpiest race track.
That's what part of midtown Manhattan turned into for about 15 minutes Thursday when traffic was halted long enough to allow nine of the 10 drivers from NASCAR's inaugural Chase for the Nextel Cup championship to drive their cars in a loud parade that began in Times Square.
Calling it "NASCAR's New York City Victory Lap," the drivers who will be honored tonight at the awards banquet, bumped and thumped their way along Broadway and finished in front of NASCAR's New York offices.
The drivers were cheered as they were introduced before the drive, with the biggest welcome for fifth-place Dale Earnhardt Jr. With the cars lined up side-by-side, there were more cheers as entrepreneur Donald Trump said the traditional, "Gentlemen, start your engines."
The only top 10 driver missing was Jeff Gordon, who had the flu. Gordon spent Wednesday night in a New York hospital to receive intravenous fluids for dehydration, and was released Thursday.
Led by a bright yellow Chevrolet pace car and champion Kurt Busch in his blue and red No. 97 Ford, the procession took off slowly, with some of the drivers revving their engines and squealing their tires. The noise echoed off the skyscrapers along the route.