Track Smack: Phoenix

CONCORD, N.C. -- As usual, if you want to have a hot topic discussed in Track Smack, email us and tell us.

Tony Stewart has been keeping his emotions pretty close to the vest in his championship chase. Why do you think he's doing that?

Ryan Smithson: I respect the fact that he feels he can't trust too many people, but he's taken it a little too far. He blew off a pit reporter before the race a couple weeks back and I thought that was pretty rude. He can do what he wants, though.

Dave Rodman: After he pushed himself right to the edge, Tony said he was going to work on it. I have said right along his roughness, his emotion, is part of his attraction. Everyone has to learn to work with that.

Tim Packman: I think he's just going into the final races in "the zone" and doesn't want to distract himself or his teammates. Anything can happen in the last two races to take his full attention away from the Winston Cup Series trophy and he just wants to focus on that.

Marty Smith: It's funny, as much as he wants to be a champion driver, he doesn't want to deal with any of the responsibilities that coincide with being a champion. He doesn't want to address the media, doesn't want to make the required appearances. Being number one comes with a price, y'all.

Dave Rodman: I think it's a shame that, despite winning no less than four series championships in the past, Tony never learned anything about working with the media. It's a cooperative venture -- both sides have to give and take, but love them or hate them, the fifth estate is here to stay and Tony had better learn to work with them.

Tim Packman: Yeah, but he has taken some extra crap this year. Not that he didn't bring it upon himself, but the incidents got so much attention.

Send us hate mail MartDawg Ryan Tim Dave

Dave Rodman: After Sunday's race, a local reporter did a column -- he had scanned Tony and Zippy for the race and he documented all of Tony Stewart's flowery language.

Ryan Smithson: He looked like he was so angry after Rockingham. I could feel his rage through the TV screen.

Marty Smith: I was standing right in front of him. He was way fired up.

Tim Packman: He was mad, Ryan. He just hates not having a good run and with Martin finishing second, that fired him up even more.

	Tony! Look at all these cameras! Credit: Autostock

Ryan Smithson: Tim, he is going to have to learn. He is not going to run well every week. Anger management. Being a champion is very difficult. The media pressures are something you have to learn to deal with. It will be tough for him.

Dave Rodman: Yeah, but during the race, his radio conversations were private and no one's business. After the race, he should have been relieved and pretty proud of the way he had made something out of what seemed to be a dire situation.

Tim Packman: I am positive he will get a good talking to from Winston and NASCAR. But, he will probably handle it because the pressure will be off with the season over.

Marty Smith: He still dislikes the media, Tim.

Ryan Smithson: I disagree, Tim. The media will be all over him come Daytona. When you're the champ, everyone attacks you.

Dave Rodman: As Marty says -- the championship comes with a price. I think he will do OK, but there will never be a dull moment, that's for sure.

Marty Smith: Be it May or December, Tony still doesn't like talking to us. It'll be a trip to see him on Regis & Kelly, all decked out in a suit. Wonder what Letterman will ask him. I can't wait to see that one.

Tim Packman: Wonder if he'll shave for those shows?

	Dennis Setzer shaves a few seconds off a bathroom visit.

Ryan Smithson: We get to see Dennis Setzer shave, but not Tony Stewart. Go figure. I guess they don't allow him anything sharp!

Dave Rodman: I think he will do OK. In a pressureless situation, he is fine, more or less. Then again, it is like a lot of guys going to a road course or to Darlington -- if they ain't liking it, they are halfway beat to start.

Ryan Smithson: Marty, let me ask you a question, if you don't want to answer, then cool. Were you scared to approach him?

Marty Smith: Scared? No way. Tony's a good person and does a lot of good that people never see. He doesn't want them to see it, either. Apprehensive after he had an awful day? Maybe a bit. You just don't know if you're going to get lit up or not. I think he gets a raw deal sometimes in the media, but I'll be damned if he doesn't throw gas on the fire a lot, too.

Dave Rodman: You have to have a plan to attack him. If he blows off one approach, you need follow-ups. But he is not alone in that respect -- there are a lot of guys that are that way.

Tim Packman: It's a respect thing. If he says he doesn't want to talk, then I let it go. No sense and trying to make something happen that won't.

	Top 10 ways to approach Tony Stewart after a bad run! Credit: AP

Ryan Smithson: But in Tony's defense, every driver has to be careful with the media. Everything gets misquoted, and with the Internet, it blows up like an A-bomb.

Ryan Smithson: He's too careful, but I understand his caution.

Marty Smith: He has a very valid point that I've heard him make. The way that quotes are doled out via email allows people to cut them out in any manner they choose. Hence, quotes can be misconstrued. It's like an IM chat. If you can't see the person's face or hear their voice inflection, you don't know how to take what they say.

Ryan Smithson: That's a good argument, Marty.

Marty Smith: It's not my argument; it's Tony's.

Tim Packman: What?! You want to argue?

Marty Smith: And you're right, it's good.

Ryan Smithson: I doubt most fans even know that.

Marty's Fan Email of the Week  Stewart ain't got it in the bag yet. I'll bet you a waffle on it! Waffle House! Now you're talkin! My favorite place. Nothing rules more than Waffle House at 1 a.m.. One word of advice. Watch out for that lady in the corner booth, the one with just one front tooth, smokin a cigarette. Her biker boyfriend is in the bathroom, showering in the sink.   -- Gregg in Oklahoma

Marty Smith: Hell no, they don't.

Ryan Smithson: So what do they do to change it?

Dave Rodman: I hope he learns that, all in all, the media is a better ally than they are an enemy.

Marty Smith: Undoubtedly, Dave.

Ryan Smithson: I think the media is a tool they can use effectively if they know how, but few know how. Fans only know what they read and what they think they heard, in some cases. You should hear the conversations I overhear amongst fans in places on race weekends.

Marty Smith: Not all of us are out to ruin these guys.

Tim Packman: Exactly.

Did it look like team orders were in place for Roush Racing at Rockingham?

Dave Rodman: I think team orders got a real bad name in Formula One this season. And they should have. Dictating finishing positions is the worst thing you can do in racing.

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Ryan Smithson: Well, yes and no. I think they knew Martin had to lead the most laps, but Busch really didn't have the best car at the end.

Tim Packman: That team order stuff is a bunch of crap, I think. Martin said that Busch blew by him a few times during the race.

Tim Packman: It just doesn't fly with the NASCAR bunch like it does with those F1 skippies.

Dave Rodman: But someone dictating strategy from the sidelines, when they can do the math and figure out how many laps Mark had to lead to get five extra bonus points -- then turn them loose to race -- there is nothing wrong with that.

Ryan Smithson: Martin's tough to read anyway. He lets people go by as a habit if they have a better car.

	Yes! I led the most laps! Credit: AP

Marty Smith: That was the buzz in the media center, that Kurt would allow Mark to lead the most laps and get those five crucial points. That's legit, but were Kurt told to move over and let someone else win, no way. That's the worst thing that could ever happen. I don't see Kurt being overly willing to move over and let someone else win, anyway.

Tim Packman: I don't see anyone in NASCAR doing that, Marty. There is too much on the line all the way around.

Ryan Smithson: I think Busch is smelling third place in the points anyway. He was pretty patient on Sunday.

Marty Smith: He's a baller, man. I tried to tell you boys, but you wouldn't listen. As I recall, Smithson told me he'd "tear up too many cars to finish in the top-10."

Ryan Smithson: Jimmy Spencer's wrecked more of Busch's cars than Busch himself this year.

Tim Packman: And, Busch hasn't forgotten that.

Dave Rodman: The impression I got watching the broadcast and listening to radio traffic was to enable Mark to lead the most laps -- once he did that, all bets were off. I think the race turned out exactly as it should have, in terms of the best

cars finishing where they should have.

Tim Packman: That kid has come along quite a bit since his Truck Series and rookie Cup years. It looks like he's learning that you have to go slow to go fast sometimes.

Marty Smith: Agreed, Dave. That's exactly the case.

	Maybe if I wear this big hat and glasses, I won't get any stupid brown truck jokes. Credit: Autostock

Marty Smith: Once the 6 got those five points, it was every man for himself.

Tim Packman: That was a great battle between him and Benson at the end. That was some racin' fellas.

Ryan Smithson: Boy, they made sure though. Martin led a lot more laps than anyone else. I tell you what. We've had very few good races this year compared to last year, but the two this weekend were both barn-burners. Rockingham's a good track.

Marty Smith: Saturday's race was unbelievable. Ol' McMurray, that kid's got a horseshoe the size of Texas up his little butt.

Ryan Smithson: This won't be 1990 and Martin will lose the title by a heckuva lot more than 26 points.

Tim Packman: Yeah, it almost makes fans want to renew their season tickets to some tracks.

	Mike, the DuPont Automotive Finishes Chevrolet is going to be awesome today. Credit: AP

Dave Rodman: I think Busch proved everything he needed to prove in Trucks -- but I think some unfair expectations were placed on him last year. In two years, Roush may have as many as four title bangers.

Ryan Smithson: McMurray was lucky, sure, but he was in the top five all freakin' day. Confidence is a killer.

Tim Packman: They all ran pretty stout on Sunday, that's for sure, Dave.

Marty Smith: He's oozing with confidence, too, Smithson.

Ryan Smithson: He don't need to go to the store to buy it.

Marty Smith: You can just see it in his face and hear it in his words. He's not getting cocky, either.

	Let me by, Jeff!

Dave Rodman: Well, luck is one thing -- but he had to be there and in every instance he was. Dawg, you right, the confidence factor is huge for them right now -- in both series.

Ryan Smithson: Boy, Waltrip and Green acted like their life depended on that win. It was great racing.

Tim Packman: I just hope he keeps this demeanor and attitude for awhile and doesn't let it get to him in ego or depression when he puts too much pressure on himself thinking every weekend has to be like this.

	Doh!

Ryan Smithson: Biffle's lucky he didn't crash, although he would not have mattered because he was on the lead lap anyway.

Marty Smith: You knew it was coming. As soon as Mikey got to Jeff's left rear quarter panel, you knew it was on like Donkey Kong.

Tim Packman: That, was two short trackers from Owensboro, Ky. slugging it out there at the end with Michael and Jeff Green.

Can Jeff Burton make it three in a row?

Marty Smith: Yes. And he will. Stewart finishes in the top-five, too. Game over.

Tim Packman: Doubt it. I don't want you all to be shocked here, but I'm going to make a different pick for this weekend.

	Packman picks Wallace again. Shocker. Credit: Autostock

Dave Rodman: Rockingham, Burton might have gotten overlooked to a little bit of an extent since he was only the third-best Roush car. But he is with the program at Phoenix and shoot -- he could double it up with a Busch win as well.

Ryan Smithson: This should be one of the best races in Phoenix history. Lots on the line and there will be some hard racing. I'll pick Stewart to win.

Dave Rodman: It will be hard to imagine Tony having two bad weekends in a row, that's for sure.

Tim Packman: It'll be Rusty Wallace in Victory Lane keeping the streak alive.

Ryan Smithson: Packman the Punter.

Marty Smith: Packman, you tool.

Tim Packman: Hey, I had Benson as my dark horse at Rockingham. Look how that turned out?

Marty Smith: You know what they say, bro. The sun shines on a dog's -- nevermind.

Ryan Smithson: The sun will definitely be on it this weekend.

Marty Smith: The way the weather's been, it'll probably snow in Phoenix.

Ryan Smithson: Canadian air sucks.