Doors flew open, bumpers tore loose, and cars spun wildly and zipped around a Home Depot Center course that resembled some bizarre outdoor pinball machine during the X Games' marquee event on its final day Sunday.
But the rally car racing super final was not all that super.
That's because the actual final -- after the highly entertaining but not always competitive early rounds -- pitting defending champion Travis Pastrana and former Indianapolis 500 champion Kenny Brack ended in a sputter.
Pastrana, 25, a freestyle motocross star who gave up that sport for a safer career in rally car racing, hit a wall midway through the two-lap race and could not continue because of front-end damage.
The red flag was raised and Brack, a newcomer to the X Games, was declared champion.
"It was a fun event and I want to thank everyone, including my dear competitors for kind of letting me win," said Brack, 43, who is from Sweden.
Pastrana added: "I was kind of handed the races all the way and really wanted to get some racing in, and I finally had a good shot and I hit a wall -- not for any other reason [other than] that I was pushing very, very hard.
"If he wasn't quite so fast that would not have happened."
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Rear-end damage
It didn't take long during the post-event interview for Brack to change the subject to Pastrana and his accident Friday night during the much-hyped moto X best-trick competition -- an event Pastrana had not competed in since 2006.
Pastrana, a nine-time X Games gold medalist famous for his crazy motorcycle antics, tried to unveil a 720 while back-flipping his motorcycle -- a trick that just does not seem possible -- but he fell with a monumental thud onto his rear end.
Said Brack to Pastrana: "I was a little worried about kicking your butt because you fell on it the other day."
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A good sport
Pastrana joked that he has since named that freestyle trick the "Atomic Butt Drop" and added that the swelling has yet to subside.
"I've got a butt that would definitely give J-Lo a run for the money right now," he said.
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Rune is in tune
Rune Glifberg left no doubt who won the skateboard park final with his smooth moves.
Though the scores were reasonably close -- Glifberg edged Andy Macdonald, 125-118 -- it was clear early that he was comfortable on a new course that drew rave athlete reviews.
