Track Smack: Dover

So you guys get a lot of e-mail about leaving Mark Martin out of the title picture last week?

Marty Smith: Understatement. I think the entire Batesville, Ark., community banded together to rip us a new one. One lady wrote me and said she was tired of her little man being left out all the time. I got quite a chuckle out of that one. But in the end, they're right. We are stupid to have not discussed Martin when he was only nine points out. And we all know he's the leader now.

Ryan Smithson: Yes, we heard from a lot of Mark Martin fans. Still a lot of them out there. I guess we didn't mention him because Mark has not gone out and set the series on fire. I mean, one win. That's it.

Tim Packman: It's not that we left him out on purpose, it's just that he's been hanging in there so quietly, I guess. I would like nothing more than to see Mark take home the trophy from NYC. But, then again, I'd like to see a first-time winner this year. He's been so close before and hasn't closed the deal. That lends one to believe it could happen again.

Marty Smith: It would be awfully sweet for him to win it, especially this year. With Roush having endured so much with the plane accident and all.

Ryan Smithson: Roush has had a good year whether Martin takes the title or not. I never would have thought that Busch and Kenseth would combine for five victories. No one did. And if they said they did, they lied.

Tim Packman: I'm not saying it will, but it could very well happen. For Roush, he only has one NASCAR championship in all the years he's been an owner -- and it came in the Truck Series.

Marty Smith: He may well get two more this year, Pack. With Martin and Greg Biffle.

Ryan Smithson: I am a little worried about the integrity of the points system, though. What if he takes the title and does not win again? What does that tell you?

Marty Smith: It rewards consistency, Smithson. That's just how it is, man.

Tim Packman: That tells me that consistency is the key to success in NASCAR. Look how Bobby Labonte made it work for him in 2000.

	Despite his subpar season, Bobby Labonte remains a Track Smack favorite. Credit: Autostock

Ryan Smithson: Damn it, Packman, Labonte won four races when he took the title.

Marty Smith: I'm dying. Good call, Smithson. I guess Terry Labonte was really the last champion not to blow it up in the win column, right?

Ryan Smithson: Well, not trying to make Packman mad, but Labonte's season in 2000 -- if he'd had it this year -- he would have a 200-point lead.

Tim Packman: Yes, and he was consistent the rest of the way, you dork. Look where Kenseth is with four wins this year?!

Ryan Smithson: Well, again, Terry Labonte was different. He had 24 top-fives that year, and finished second like seven times.

Ryan Smithson: That is what is wrong with the points system, Packman. Kenseth does not deserve to be that far back. He was not rewarded for winning four races.

Tim Packman: That was the point I was trying to make, Sir-know-it-all Smithson.

Marty Smith: Why do you say that, though, Ryan? If a guy wins five races and blows up five times, it equals out. Pretty fair, if you ask me, in that aspect. That said, I still think more love should be given to the winner.

Ryan Smithson: A driver can't control if his equipment fails. Put more power in the driver. Reward risks.

Marty Smith: Interesting concept from a guy who doesn't drive for a living.

Ryan Smithson: Neither did the guys who made up the points system, Marty.

Marty Smith: That is why your argument has no validity, idiot.

Ryan Smithson: I wasn't arguing. I have not insulted you yet. That is how you know it's an argument.

	Robby Gordon Credit: Autostock

Tim Packman: He just wanted to spout off and try to make me look bad. But, he's blown up his own argument and my point stands. Labonte used his wins and consistency to get the title. Martin is relying on his 16 top-10s to do it for him. He and Newman are tied for that mark.

Ryan Smithson: Now I know how Robby Gordon feels. Y'all are ganging up on me. Spin me in the wall and I get penalized!

Marty Smith: Fair enough. I still think it's pretty killer that five guys can still win it. Six, if you think Rusty can make up 146 points and the others falter. I don't know that Rusty has a legitimate shot right now.

Tim Packman: I love the fact that five guys can win this thing. I want to see it come right down to Homestead just like the last race at Atlanta in 1992.

Ryan Smithson: I am not all that pumped up about finishing at Homestead. Puke. I'd rather finish at Atlanta. Of course, it would rain 10 inches.

Marty Smith: You ever had to sit through the weather at Atlanta Motor Speedway in November, Smithson?

Ryan Smithson: Yeah. Once. I'll never do it again. In 1998, when the lights came on. Morgan Shepherd finished fifth.

Marty Smith: I was there one year until 3 a.m. It was unbearable.

Ryan Smithson: That was the year, dude.

Marty Smith: I do remember, though, watching Mark Martin come through Turn 4 at precisely the same spot for 200 laps. It amazed me. That, along with the fact that it sucked, was what I remember about that.

What would you guys do to improve the TV broadcasts?

Tim Packman: I would put Marty and I on pit road to get the deal from crew chiefs and such during the race. We'd get a good reaction from the drivers when they fell out of races, too. Now, on a serious note -- here's Marty.

Ryan Smithson: This is out of the blue, but here goes. I wish I could watch more feature-type segments during rain delays. Go to Harvick's house, see what kind of set up he has, whatever. It's timeless and would kill a lot of time.

Tim Packman: People like to see drivers beyond the track and outside of the cars.

Marty Smith: Well, the two major complaints among fans seem to be the absurd quantity of commercials and the in-booth talent.

Ryan Smithson: Well, Marty, commercials are a thorny issue. If there are not a lot of cautions, it's a bad situation.

Marty Smith: Fans are infuriated by it, that's all I know.

Ryan Smithson: Hell, I don't like commercials on Law and Order, either.

Tim Packman: I think what they should do is just show logos on the bottom left/right of the screen of various sponsors during the race. Fans are smart enough to know why they are there.

Ryan Smithson: That is the most ridiculous idea I've ever heard, Tim. Advertisers would never go for that. That is why they logo the cars.

Marty Smith: I had a fan e-mail me wondering what ever happened to the deal where the race was shown in a lower portion of the screen DURING the commercial. I couldn't answer it. Hell, I'd forgotten about it, actually.

Ryan Smithson: I don't think advertisers liked it, Marty.

Marty Smith: You're probably right, man. They want you to see that damn Snuggle bear hit that load of towels, not watch Ward Burton lead the field through Turn 3.

Ryan Smithson: Actually -- I think the commercials are better than the race sometimes! Especially if it's a Kenny Wallace one!

Marty Smith: You might get shot for that comment, son.

Ryan Smithson: About the Kenny Wallace commercials, Marty?

Marty Smith: Not about Kenny, not at all. Saying that commercials are better than the race.

Ryan Smithson: I said sometimes. Not all the time.

Tim Packman: When NBC did the race box in commercials thing at the end of 2000, fans loved it.

	With some people, wouldn't a red flag be better?

Marty Smith: I'll admit, some of them are awesome. That one where that dude pulls out the caution flag upon exiting the bathroom kills me.

Ryan Smithson: That gets old though. They show it 87 times a broadcast.

Ryan Smithson: I wish Snuggle would sponsor a car so I could see the bear get crumpled on a hood after a wreck.

Marty Smith: Snuggle. My cat looks like that bear. Big, white, fluffy. Lies around on his fat back all day.

Tim Packman: Nice, Ryan, real nice. How about Bounce?

Ryan Smithson: I have no beef with Bounce. I like Beyonce though.

Marty Smith: I am quite smitten by this girl on my wife's Glamour magazine.

Ryan Smithson: Which girl?

Tim Packman: Are you sure it's your wife's magazine?

Marty Smith: Diana Kovalchuk. Unreal, that girl.

Rodman's Word of the Week  Tardy (adj.) Moving slowly. Which is what Dave Rodman did. As a result, he was late for Track Smack. Maybe he won't be late next week.

Tim Packman: I grew up thinking all voluptuous women had staple holes in their stomach areas.

Marty Smith: What the hell did you just say?

Tim Packman: See a centerfold from the 1970s and 1980s, Marty.

Marty Smith: Oh, I didn't know what a centerfold was in 1980, Pack.

Tim Packman: I sure as hell did.

Ryan Smithson: I was five.

Marty Smith: I was four.

Predictions for Dover?

Tim Packman: For all the B.S. the team has endured the last few weeks, I'm picking Ricky Rudd to roll into Victory Lane at Dover.

Ryan Smithson: I say Newman snags two in a row.

	In one of the greatest feats in NASCAR history, Ricky Rudd scores a direct hit with a water bottle despite attempts to restrain him.

Marty Smith: A lot of wrecks. Dover breeds mayhem. Jimmie Johnson makes it through the fury and records win number three. Marlin retakes the points lead.

Ryan Smithson: Marlin better run good if he retakes the lead with a Jimmie win, MartDawg.

Ryan Smithson: I think Marty is mad at the media for writing off Marlin.

Marty Smith: He will, bro. He's had two tough weeks in a row. He'll finish in the top-five, just hang out and avoid the crap.

Tim Packman: It's going to be a tough call. Goodyear is bringing a softer tire than they had in the spring, that is going to play into drivers that have raced there on that type of tire before, I think.

Ryan Smithson: Brett Bodine raced on that tire. That mean he's a threat?

Marty Smith: Rodman will most certainly answer yes to that one, if he were here.

Track Smack appears every Wednesday on NASCAR.com, with or without Dave Rodman.

The opinions expressed here are solely those of the participants.