This weekend marks the 96th running of the Indianapolis 500. And while it’s always an awesome race, after the death of Dan Wheldon at the season finale in Las Vegas, it’s certain to be tinted with sadness. Let’s keep our fingers crossed that all the drivers have a safe race on Sunday. Here’s some of the stuff that happened this week.  

* HRE makes wheels for wheels for tons of rides, even high-end hardware like Ferrari’s 458 Italia. And now the California company has expanded its line to include a line of bead locks for off-road applications. They partnered with Rhys Millen Racing to develop these bad boys and they look sick. Rhys Millen Racing

* When citizens decided to become soldiers, they know that they might wind up paying the ultimate price. So it important to remind the families they’re not alone when the unthinkable happens. To lend a hand to grieving families, Edge Products and Superchips have teamed with Wheeler Motorsports to raise awareness for Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors. Nice work gents. TAPS.org   

* 24/7 Wall St.just put together a list of the most expensive cars to own. The only think is, they didn’t put include any really expensive cars. 6speedonline had an issue with that. 6speedonline 

* With Memorial Day Weekend Upon us, it’s nice to see gas prices falling. And less pain at the pump means folks are in a better mood about the economy. That’s good news for everybody. MSNBC