Track Smack: The Coca-Cola Racing Family 600

Young Gun (Yungun) noun, adj. [slang] Someone who is not Dave Rodman.

What were your thoughts on The Winston?

Ryan Smithson: I think I finally realized that The Winston is about entertainment first -- and the racing comes after that, and that is not a bad thing at all. Especially after watching Sadler bounce his shell off Newman's turtle.

Tim Packman: I wasn't sure how I would like the field being chopped down after each segment. But, seeing as how 10th place wasn't a contender during the 20-lap segment I liked how it went.

Dave Rodman: For a variety of reasons, this was a vintage The Winston. At the very end I was hanging on the edge of my seat waiting for each corner -- to see when Junior was going to dump Newman. But in the end, when he didn't I just sat there going wow! The night had it all -- wrecks, controversy, big mouths and looming paybacks. Great stuff!

Marty Smith: You can't dispute the excitement -- Elliott's helmet toss, the Gordon/Waltrip race for 10th, Junior all but turning Newman sideways on the final lap, before letting off so he could correct it. You simply can't deny what a killer show it was. I don't think the best car won, though.

Dave Rodman: Robby Gordon said last night on BP's show that that pinhead Busch would pay -- whether NASCAR did it or Gordon got himself collected.

Ryan Smithson: BP has a show? They need to sponsor a car. I buy gas there all the time.

	Ryan Newman earned 75 million pennies for winning The Winston. Credit: Autostock/NASCAR Images

Tim Packman: That was one expensive toss by Sadler. NASCAR fined him $5,000 and those helmets aren't cheap that he scratched up, either.

Ryan Smithson: Marty, I don't see how you can argue that the best car didn't win. Newman finished third, first and first!

Tim Packman: Such is racing, at times, Marty. Like my dad used to say, "It's always something."

Ryan Smithson: Without that last caution, Dale Jr. might not have even finished second.

Marty Smith: Jimmie Johnson was unstoppable in clean air, Ryan. No one could touch him.

Tim Packman: You have to hand it to Newman for getting into the race the way he did and then won all the coins.

Dave Rodman: In racing you're only as good as your last lap -- however he did it, Jr. had the best car at the end... No question.

Marty Smith: I'm not saying Newman's car wasn't bad fast, for him to even be in that position is quite impressive. But Jimmie had the best car that night, y'all.

Ryan Smithson: I don't know, Marty. It's all hearsay. Johnson was not available for Newman to race, you know?

Marty Smith: Thanks to the inversion.

Ryan Smithson: Yeah. Gordon came close to winning the whole thing actually, and he didn't even make the last segment.

Dave Rodman: Well, that's the point -- Gordon could not have been that good if he did not even make it through the elimination phase.

	Mike Skinner borrowed Jeff Gordon's uniform and hat for The Winston. He also shrunk several inches. Credit: Autostock/NASCAR Images

Marty Smith: Good call, man. Had the 24 gotten to 10th, well, I'd bet he'd had been tough to beat.

Dave Rodman: And if you ask me, Jimmie has got a long way to go in terms of being a master tactician.He should have simply figgered out how good his car was in the first 20 laps of that segment, then sidled back to eighth, ninth or 10th.That's what I thought Stewart had done, but he was too much a piece of junk in the final segment.

Tim Packman: Those grandstands were all wound up on those last few laps. Newman checked out and was headed to the bank before that final caution. Robby Gordon had a strong run, too. He and Kurt Busch aren't having lunch anytime this week.

Ryan Smithson: I don't think Robby vs. Kurt would be much of a fight.

Marty Smith: They'd have it in Vegas, in front of Busch's hometown crowd.

Dave Rodman: Yeah, Robby would kick his ass from here to next week. I can't wait to actually see how he's gonna pay him back. What a future -- a pair of big mouths in hot cars!

Tim Packman: Heck, Kurt is so skinny that if he turns sideways in the driver's meeting they mark him absent.

Ryan Smithson: Tim, you've used that line five times already in Smack. Retire it!

Tim Packman: Ryan, get a life and quit counting.

Ryan Smithson: You've used that one too.

Do y'all think all this "young gun" talk is beat to death?

Marty Smith: Lord yes.

Ryan Smithson: Not really, because we are witnessing something that has never happened before -- scores of young, relatively inexperienced guys in the best rides.

Tim Packman: I think they need to move onto another topic. Yes, the younger guys are doing well, can't take that away from them. But, the more experienced drivers are the ones they are still learning from on the track.

Matt Kenseth: "If I hold this big trophy just right, maybe the sign behind me will catch fire!" Credit: Autostock/NASCAR Images

Marty Smith: Look, those younger drivers are awesome, and yes they're kickin' ass from here to China, but if I hear the term 'Young Gun' one more time I'll puke.

Tim Packman: I'll raise a glass to that one, Marty.

Ryan Smithson: "Young gun." Puke in Tim's glass.

Marty Smith: Even the so-called "young guns" themselves are tired of it.

Tim Packman: Then again, I'll raise a glass to just about anything it seems.

Marty Smith: Bless the cold Clydesdale Light.

Dave Rodman: Well, it's a fact they are a special group right now -- I guess it's up to us to think of another way of referring to 'em 'cause they are here to stay. In very few cases in racing does someone splash on the scene and disappear.

Tim Packman: So, what happens if their luck runs out through next 11 races? Do we look back to the other drives and say experience won out over youth?

Ryan Smithson: Yes, we do.

Tim Packman: Ok, can I use THAT line later this year if it happens?

Ryan Smithson: Sure, you can do anything you want. You have a press pass!

Tim Packman: Ahhh, yes. The magic of the hard card in racing.

Ryan Smithson: Not sure what Marty is doing, because since his shameless Budweiser plug, he is long gone.

Marty Smith: I wonder if part of the young guns theory with that they're not yet educated enough to really think about the repercussions of hitting the wall? Like, do they drive a bit more on the edge than the older guys who've hit the wall a lot?

Marty Smith: I love Budweiser, Ryan. Almost as much as you love white socks with black docksiders.

Tim Packman: Bill Elliott told me he couldn't remember how he was treated when he first started because he hit so many walls.

Sometimes the right car makes all the difference. I'll say. Credit: Autostock/NASCAR Images

Dave Rodman: Of course, that has got to be some part of it, I think. Until you know how much it really hurts, there is no quantifying what you are actually risking.

Marty Smith: See, that's what I'm thinking, too, Dave. I know one thing; Newman puts that car where those other boys don't.

Ryan Smithson: It was so different when Elliott started. He worked on his own car. I can't see Johnson or Newman adjusting their setups with actual tools, although I sure they could do it if they had to.

Tim Packman: Newman has come out of the box laying the car down like he owned that real estate.

Marty Smith: A rival crew chief told me today that the 12 is on top of their game like no one else.

Ryan Smithson: Do y'all think Newman and Wallace get the same exact cars?

Marty Smith: It's only a matter of time before Newman starts winning points races.

Tim Packman: They are built the same, but the setups vary from driver to driver. That is especially true with Ryan and Rusty.

Marty Smith: I bet Rusty runs a really unique setup. I remember how different his was from Mayfield's, too.

Dave Rodman: I hate to say it but I think Ryan may win more races (points and specials) than Rusty this season.

Ryan Smithson: The Mayfield-in-the-12-car Era seems like ages ago.

Ryan Smithson: (Girl:) Heeeeeeeeeeeeey Jeremy! (Jeremy) Hey baby.

Tim Packman: Is that 94 octane you're wearing?

Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeey Jeremy Credit: Autostock/NASCAR Images

Marty Smith: Ohhhhhhhh yeah.

Ryan Smithson: That commercial actually has to put a disclaimer warning people not to put gasoline on their neck. Are we that stupid?

Marty Smith: Watch Jackass, dude. Yeah, we're that stupid.

Dave Rodman: Yup. We are.

Tim Packman: You mean, motor oil in the bath isn't good?

Ryan Smithson: That is so sad. What's next, showing commercials showing joggers dodging cars?

Dave Rodman: At least, all those people I followed up a road at Nazareth the other day seriously seem to be in the position of needing a warning and a disclaimer.

Tim Packman: Yeah, next thing we know we are going to start naming pets after drivers. How silly is that?

Ryan Smithson: Down Tim Packman, down! Wait, that sounds really bad.

Tim Packman: Yes, it does.

Ryan Smithson: I think if Ken Schrader were driving a regular car in a commercial, it would blow up.

Tim Packman: Hey, if that voting keeps up on that M&M color deal, he might have to drive a pink car.

Ryan Smithson: Couldn't hurt his luck any.

Track Smack appears every Wednesday on NASCAR.com and the opinions expressed here are solely those of the participants. And we mean that. Also, the above words that appear under those pictures are not entirely the truth.