Track Smack: Darlington

Was there too much road rage at Bristol? What's next? Metal-chair throwing?

Marty Smith: No way man. That's why people divvy up their 401k plan to go to Bristol Motor Speedway, man. That's a stupid question -- unless you ask Jimmie Johnson or Rusty Wallace.

Ryan Smithson: Some fan emailed me saying that Ward Burton could have been killed going out on the track. You know what? Probably so. Good thing they are only going 60 mph.

Dave Rodman: Never in a million races. Bristol is Bristol and that is what it needs to be. Someone reminded me today that Rusty nerfed Kevin Harvick out of his way, too -- so it's just a case of what goes around comes around.

Tim Packman: C'mon, don''t read too much into something that makes Bristol what it -- short track racing where someone is guaranteed to get mad.

Marty Smith: You can die at 60 mph, Smithson. What if someone blew a left front tire as they zoomed by him. I don't even want to think about it. Sure, it makes for good TV when drivers throw stuff at each other, and sure, i'd be pissed. But they've got to be careful.

	I don't know why I hit that ambulance, Joe. But I know one thing -- nothing burns fat faster. Credit: Autostock

Dave Rodman: Yeah, and Mike Harmon just knew his accident was gonna be a simple wallbanger, right? Anyone who goes out on the race track under ANY circumstance should be heavily levied -- who knows, it might even eventually sink in. They could do all the hand gestures they want from the sidelines -- or take off a shoe and fling that.

Ryan Smithson: Elliott Sadler now leads the 2002 series in confrontations -- with two. Several tied with 1.

Tim Packman: Sadler is the only one to have taken on an ambulance this year.

Ryan Smithson: Jarrett kind of took on one at Daytona.

Tim Packman: No, he just didn't take it.

	Hey Dale! Race the truck!

Marty Smith: I still think Scott Riggs had the best reaction of the year, at Richmond, when he got all over Kenny Wallace in the Busch race. Though, when Sadler threw that helmet at The Winston. That was some classic sheezy, too.

Dave Rodman: Yeah, but the guy he hit said it improved the aero on his car -- so I guess he had the last word, there.

Ryan Smithson: That was not bad. Riggs' face got all red.

Marty Smith: Those fans at Bristol got their money's worth. What a show, man. I was shocked to hear the raucous applause for Jeff Gordon.

Rodman's Word of the Week Stupendous (adj) Causing astonishment or wonder. Like when Jimmy Spencer passes Kurt Busch without wrecking him.

Dave Rodman: Even though they might've forgot that he won that way, once before at Bristol, they appreciated the man's way in which he won -- just drive up, knock the crap outta the guy, not once but twice and drive off into the sunset.

Ryan Smithson: People like it when you win by hand-to-hand means.

Marty Smith: I really do believe his overall perception has begun to change.

Tim Packman: Yeah, I was waiting to see what reaction he got when he got out of the car in Victory Lane. They were respective of what he did by winning.

	I wonder if Rusty will get me back the way he did in 1998? Credit: Autostock

Marty Smith: Gordon moved Wallace the right way, too. He won that race by moving him, not punting him. You have to respect that.

Ryan Smithson: Gordon had to move him though. He can't settle for second. I wouldn't have cared if Gordon had wrecked him.

Dave Rodman: At first, I would've used a bad word to describe what I knew Gordon was gonna do -- because I thought Rusty had the best car -- but after seeing how craftily Gordon saved his car then just unleashed it at the end, I was pretty impressed and thought the fastest car definitely won.

Marty Smith: You wouldn't have cared, Ryan? Does anyone care if you'd have cared, dude?

Ryan Smithson: Nah. But you know what I mean.

Tim Packman: I don't think I've ever seen Rusty so down or disappointed after a race. He was so close at a track he's owned.

Ryan Smithson: I think Rusty was madder at Richmond in 2001 when Gordon got into him.

Dave Rodman: Good point, Tim. I can't believe Rusty didn't think Gordon would come after him with chrome horn bared, but down in the dumps does not begin to describe the depths he was in after that second place.

	Next on Gordon's hit list: That 60th career win. Credit: Autostock

Tim Packman: Mad and disappointed are two different things, Ryan.

Is Jeff Gordon going to win 3-4 more races before the year is up? Yes or no?

Dave Rodman: Most definitely. Nothing was wrong with their program before, except for little tweaks here and there -- but now that the floodgates are open -- he could win three or four in a row.

Marty Smith: I've said all along that if he got one, he'd get four. So I say yes.

Ryan Smithson: Gordon's season is going to be very similar to Stewart's rookie season. Win in August/September -- end the season on a tear.

Tim Packman: If he wins two more, I would be surprised. Competition is tougher than when he was winning 10 or more a year.

Marty Smith: He's sitting pretty right now, boys. He'll win Darlington this weekend, too.

Tim Packman: Jeff or Tony?

	Tony Stewart hasn't won at Darlington. Yet. Credit: Autostock

Marty Smith: Gordon will win Darlington.

Dave Rodman: Hear, hear, Dawgie. The only thing he has to be careful of is payback, but he could definitely win.

Tim Packman: Good track to choose after he won four in a row there and had that thing tamed in such a short time.

Ryan Smithson: Jeff Burton will win Darlington. He's had crappy luck for too long. He's running well, but no one has noticed.

Marty Smith: He's good there, Smithson, but he won't win this weekend. You know what I was thinking the other day, how much I miss that Exide Batteries paint scheme under the lights. That car was gorgeous. It had that refective tape all over the lettering. Thing was phat.

Ryan Smithson: You know what? I liked it best when Geoff Bodine drove it.

Tim Packman: I guess we're right into the predictions already. I think Stewart is going to finish what he tried to do in the first race at Darlington. He got wrecked out while leading.

Marty Smith: Stewart will undoubtedly contend, Pack. But like I say, that 24 bunch has tasted the blood. Now, they're gonna pour it on. No one is smoother than Gordon, and to win at Darlington you MUST be smooth -- gotta save those tires.

Dave Rodman: Ummm -- I don't know Marty. Tony is shaping up as a nice blend of articulate ferocity -- behind the wheel, of course -- he still don't have a lot to say -- but that's OK. A Gordon-Stewart championship brawl could be better than stupendous -- and with Sterling and Martin in the mix there won't be a seat set in the rest of the year.

Tim Packman: If a group could do it, it would be them, Marty. But, I think Tony took too big a hit in points last week and wants to make up for it in the next three races to give Sterling a good chase.

Marty Smith: Wonder what Nadeau was thinking at Bristol, slamming his brakes on in front of Tony?

Tim Packman: Not much.

Ryan Smithson: Prolly thinking where he was going to drive in 2003.

EMAIL MartDawg Ryan Dave Tim

Marty Smith: Speaking of Tonys, my man Tony Hawk was unreal again at the X Games. That guy is unreal, man. And racers love him, too. At Jeff Gordon's fund-raising bowling tournament at Indy, a Tony Hawk deck went for 6 bills.

Ryan Smithson: Define "deck."

Marty Smith: The actual board that the rider stands on.

Ryan Smithson: Oh, you mean a snowboard.

Dave Rodman: I hate to call you an idiot again, bro -- but he's a skateboarder, I think.

Tim Packman: Tony Hawk doesn't have diddly on Evel Knievel, Marty.

Ryan Smithson: I just got done with an Evel Knievel biography. He's from Butte.

Marty Smith: Y'all have something in common. He's from Butte, you are a butt.

Ryan Smithson: Not a lot of NASCAR drivers from Montana.

Tim Packman: Yes, but Evel dressed way better than Smithson ever will, Marty.

Marty Smith: Knievel was a pimp, man. That dude has all kinds of glittery gear. I bet he tore up a lot of cool suits in his day, biting the dust so much and all.

Ryan Smithson: Knievel had a hauler that would put NASCAR tams' rides to shame, and that was 30 years ago.

Marty Smith: How do you know? You've never been in it.

Name the next driver to either enter or fall out of the top 10 in points.

Tim Packman: Kurt Busch showed how fast you can drop by going from fifth to 12th in three races. Getting back into the top-10, and staying there, is tough in Cup. I hate to even try and guess.

Dave Rodman: I hate to say that Matt Kenseth is erratic enough to fall out -- but his luck has bordered on the ridiculous at times and he has been teetering back there for a bunch of races. And with Ryan Newman showing no signs of cooling off much, he could be the next to ease in there.

Ryan Smithson: It will take a few races, but Jeff Burton will climb back into the top 10. He's about to go off.

Marty Smith: I have no idea on that one, y'all. This points race is tighter than USAir's budget.

Tim Packman: You sound like you just joined the Jeff Burton fan club today and now you're trying to validate your purchase, Ryan.

	Jeff Burton: Two wins since 2000. Credit: Autostock

Ryan Smithson: Nah. He's the one running well. He just does not have the results to back it up. He will soon, though.

Dave Rodman: Ricky Rudd is another one that could go either way. Not from lack of trying, but just because.

Tim Packman: Ok, great prognastictor of Winston Cup racing. Although, Darlington would be a nice place to get that deal going for a top-10 point run.

Ryan Smithson: Burton's got a ton of strong tracks coming up. He damn near won Pocono and he's not even that good there. Wait until he hits Darlington, Richmond, Charlotte.

Marty Smith: I wouldn't mind that, Smithson. Burton's quite outspoken about things, so the more he wins, the more access we get to him and the more he can help shed light on certain issues.

Ryan Smithson: Burton's had two off-years in a row. Quite alarming.

Tim Packman: I was surprised he was so quiet about that gate thing at Bristol where Mike Harmon's car got sliced up like it did.

	Kurt Busch's season has gone from great to good. Credit: Autostock

Marty Smith: I just thank God Harmon was uninjured. That was awful.

Ryan Smithson: Doesn't Burton concenrate on cockpit safety?

Marty Smith: He's quite proactive in every facet of safety.

Tim Packman: He has worked on seat development and other inside-car issues to make them safer.

Repeat your winner at Darlington. One driver.

Marty Smith: Jeff Gordon.

Dave Rodman: If I have to go with someone different, Dale Jarrett is my call.

Tim Packman: Tony Stewart.

Ryan Smithson: Burton. Jeff, not Ward.

Ryan Smithson: Watch those heel pads, Ward. He's a member of the Heel Pad club. Tony Stewart, president.

Dave Rodman: If you recall, Ward is the charter member. He threw those bad boys at KC last year.

Marty Smith: Junior's comment was funny -- "I wish he'd have gotten 'em in there, so I could see what he was throwing at me."

Ryan Smithson: Didn't someone hit Park's cockpit with a helmet once? I mean, went rght in there. Park threw it back out i think.

	Credit: Autostock

Dave Rodman: No, Ryan. That was a couple Northern boys -- Joe Bessey and Dale Shaw -- in the Busch Series. Bessey threw it in the car in Turn 3 -- Shawn threw it out in Turn 1.

Tim Packman: Helmets are very expensive to use like a dodge ball game participant.

Dave Rodman: Bobby Labonte at Bristol was a classic -- he slammed his helmet into his own car's window. Very classy.

Ryan Smithson: Helmets to them cost what gumballs cost to us. No big deal.

Tim Packman: Tell that to the team owner.

Ryan Smithson: I'd rather get hit with a gumball than a helmet though.

Marty Smith: Ok, I'll chew one up and whiz it right at your fat melon.

Ryan Smithson: Let me put my helmet on.

Track Smack appears every Wednesday on NASCAR.com. The opinions expressed here are solely those of the participants. We mean that.