Spring finally seems to have arrived for real here in The Garage. Mamma G’s P5 has new summer boots, I’m cleaning out The Garage and today will be the 8 year old’s first time driving a go kart. On a track. I’m afraid. You’ll read more later about all 3 topics, but here’s a bit of a hint. We’re about to have our first ever contest in The Garage! For now though, grab a pail o java and let’s check out this week’s submissions to the CoW.

The Nextel Cup race in Texas last weekend was full of bumps and drama, and Brian from RaceDriven has the full scoop. One question though. Where the hell was Kyle Busch? Having a sit down with the latest Speed Sport News in the nearest porta john?

This week, Jeff from DrivingEnthusiast has decided to let up the pressure on Ford a bit and turns his keyboard towards a pair of Japanese roadsters. A couple of weeks back, Honda showed a track ready S2000. Jeff rightly points out that the car, while close doesn’t really fit on the track in today’s safety conscious world. The MX-5 takes a slightly different approach to topless motoring. A bit less power and you get a car that is fun, not a serious track beast. Then again, who said super fast is all that counts. Is the driver of an Hp Sprite having any less fun than the guy in a Cobra? Well, maybe a bit, but you get my point.

I’ve got to admit that I’ve never claimed to be on par with the really big brains. I’m just a car guy. So when I took a peek at Alvaro’s post at SharpBrains, I pretty much glazed over halfway through the first paragraph. His post is all about the big brains from Stanford Media X. I saw the words car and Tesla in there somewhere, so there must be some future motoring development going on.

The Disney movie about young drag racer Erica Enders was a big hit around our house, given that we have a young lady who races, so Sheila’s post this week is really cool. Young Miss Enders races in the big leagues these days, still running as an independent. Racing has never been cheap, and even with some hefty corporate sponsorship the Enders family has to keep building their brand to ensure the dollars keep coming. For $50, you can pick up a fan share in Erica’s team that includes a whole bunch of swag and VIP treatment at the track. This is a very cool branding idea. Well done Enders family.

Continuing his Ultimate Lineup theme from last week, Leroy at Houston cars is having another go. This time, he’s created his Ultimate Lineup from another bloated DCX line. Dodge. There are some interesting choices, though I would have axed the T&C and kept the Caravan. I just think it has a stronger brand.

Jeff at Think or Thwim has written about the new treadmill wind tunnel simulator that HAAS Racing is developing. It really does look like a pretty cool device. Just one question though. How the hell do you secure a car to it? Scary.

To finish things up, we’ve got a newcomer to the Carnival of Wheels, Granny J who has shot a cool series of car photos. A dead car dealers museum just sits there while his family tries to figure out what to do with it. Granny J caught some neat reflections from the museum windows which combine images of new and old. It’s almost spooky.

That’s it for this week’s Carnival of Wheels. Be sure to visit our contributors and then come back next Sunday for another cruise through the blogosphere. You can submit your own article here.