"A lot of good things have happened to me since I announced my retirement," said Baltimore Orioles third baseman Cal Ripken Jr., who served as honorary starter and grand marshal for the NASCAR Winston Cup race that bears his name.

"There are a lot of things going on in a lot of ballparks I'm playing in for the last time, and that's neat. But this is probably the coolest thing as a result of baseball that's happened to me."

Ripken never had experienced the feeling of starting a 43-car freight train with the flick of the same wrists that played more consecutive games than anyone in Major League history.

After shaking hands with all 43 Winston Cup drivers, Ripken took an honorary ride around the "Monster Mile," waving an American flag from the back seat of a convertible with his wife, son and daughter as the emotional crowd chanted, "USA, USA, USA."

Country music singer Lee Greenwood preceded Ripken's appearance by performing "God Bless the USA" and Tanya Tucker followed with "God Bless America" and "The Star Spangled Banner."

Quick to admit he's an auto racing novice, Ripken received a lesson atop the flag stand moments before officially getting the MBNA Cal Ripken Jr. 400 under way.

"I want to make sure I do (wave the flag) the best I can and deliver it the best I can," he said. "No, they haven't given me any directions of how not to drop the flag. In my book, that would be an error."

Dover Downs donated $100,000 to the American Red Cross' relief efforts in New York and Washington and also combined with sponsor MBNA to distribute 140,000 American flags to fans as they entered the grandstands.

Then Ripken had to hustle back to Baltimore for Sunday night's game against the New York Yankees at Oriole Park at Camden Yards.