Track Smack: Banquet

CONCORD, N.C. -- Random rumblings while watching Tony chat up Matt and Katie....

Tony Stewart met with President Bush. What do you think they discussed off the record?

Dave Rodman: Maybe GW grabbed him by the ear and scruff of the neck, pulled him up close and said, "Curry favor with the media, boy. They are your friends." Actually, if Tony is anything like me, what they talked about probably couldn't be repeated in polite, civilized company.

Ryan Smithson: He probably profusely thanked him for keeping his taxes relatively low. If Gore had been elected, you can bet a lot of more of that $10 million would have went to Washington. Then Bush asked him to pitch for the Rangers. I hear they need him.

Marty Smith: I bet the President lobbies Stewart and Helton for a second Texas date, and Stewart lobbies W for more Papa John's joints. I think W has some pull, boys.

Dave Rodman: Every day is a classic with him. If what I read from a California paper was true, after Turkey Night at Irwindale -- unless Tony was quoted out of context -- he wrote off all his Winston Cup fans. Said short trackers were the only true fans. Actually, I could definitely see Tony being a smart-butt -- asking GW if he was a Sprint fan. If not, just giving him a smirk and exquisite sarcasm.

Ryan Smithson: Tony Stewart misquoted? That would never happen! And certainly not in a newspaper!

	NASCAR.com writer Marty Smith is led away in handcuffs after stealing one of Tony Stewart's french fries in a fast food restuarant. That's Stewart laughing in the background. Credit: NASCAR Photography/Sherryl Creekmore

Ryan Smithson: Actually, the Prez is a pretty big NASCAR fan, as much as you can get in the Oval Office, anyway. I am not the biggest fan of his, but I'll always remember that he handled the whole Earnhardt affair with dignity -- pretty befitting for the loss of a great American like Dale Earnhardt.

Marty Smith: Great call, Smithson. W's brother handled the Earnhardt situation very well. Those pictures should not be public record, and I applaud Jeb Bush to the utmost for disallowing it.

Ryan Smithson: I'll bet Tony's pretty stoked that the Whopper is only 99 cents now, MartDawg.

Marty Smith: Sure he is. Though he's more Big Mac than Whopper. That HomerBurger? All Tony.

Ryan Smithson: Tony likes McDonald's better? For real? And what's a HomerBurger?

Marty Smith: Some deal at Burger King. Homer Simpson Burger or something.

Dave Rodman: What's so surprising about that? You don't think they really serve wormburgers, do you?

Send us bail money for Marty MartDawg Ryan Tim Dave

Marty Smith: Wormburger: Value Meal No. 1 at Dave Rodman's Soda Shop.

Dave Rodman: Not in my establishment -- allegedly served at Mickey D's.

Ryan Smithson: Do you guys really think Tony gained weight this year? I have not noticed much difference. I know Kurt Busch didn't gain any weight.

Dave Rodman: No. Tony's junkfood days may not be a thing of the past, but I think that label is quite a bit overblown.

Marty Smith: Me either. He's never been the most svelte fellow. The chicks dig him, though. I got an email from a lady who took a picture of his butt and sent it to me. I wrote her back and requested that she please not send me anything of the sort again.

Ryan Smithson: Must have been important Marty -- you don't write many people back. I guess you don't still have that picture. Otherwise, we'd publish it.

Who is the early favorite for Rookie of the Year in 2003?

Dave Rodman: Besides Sprague, McMurray and Biffle, who's in the running?

Ryan Smithson: For the fourth straight year, we are going to have a pretty good rookie class. I think you nailed down all three, Dave.

Dave Rodman: I don't think they will come anywhere near to grading up to anyone from Kenseth/Junior to the present day.

Marty Smith: They won't touch this year's duo, that's for sure.

	Can Greg Biffle find the consistency that Ryan Newman and Jimmie Johnson enjoyed as rookies? Credit: Autostock

Ryan Smithson: Kenseth and Junior won three races. Johnson and Newman won four. I'll say Biffle and McMurray will win two or three. Not bad.

Dave Rodman: Kevin Harvick won two on his own last year. The 2003 crop won't equal him, put together.

Marty Smith: I think the 2003 Rookie of the Year will be Jimmie Johnson. NASCAR owes him one.

Dave Rodman: Don't forget, Jamie will have his team, not Sterling's. As good as he has shown with veteran teams, Greg and Randy Goss have struggled in Cup mode. Ditto for Jack and Dennis Connor, who are an effective pairing.

Ryan Smithson: I would not have had a problem with Co-Rookie of the Year. Biffle drives so hard though. I gotta think he'll win at least one race.

Dave Rodman: Co-Rookie of the Year? That is awful weak, Ryan.

	Co-Rookie of the Year. Well, not really. But shoulda been. Credit: AP

Ryan Smithson: Shut up, Rodman. The only thing that is weak is you. Co-Rookie of the Year would have been a fine solution. How can you argue that?

Marty Smith: I don't think a co-ROY would have been weak at all, Dave. It's only fair. Jimmie got the shaft, man. Sure, Newman had a phenomenal year, but Jimmie won more, led more laps, had more poles, and had less DNF's.

Dave Rodman: Newman kicked his butt in the point standings. Should have beat Jimmie in the overall standings. Statistically was arguably better -- so why should that have been a tie?

Ryan Smithson: If Johnson had won one more race, there would have been a problem. People forget that he should have won Charlotte. Heck, he could have six victories.

Dave Rodman: Newman had six poles.

Marty Smith: He also won in the rain on a day when he didn't have the best car.

	Days of Thunder: "Go get your own car and see how you do." Credit: Autostock

Ryan Smithson: Poles Schmoles.

Marty Smith: Newman could have easily been 0-fer, Dave.

Ryan Smithson: Johnson also should have won the Winston, and would have had the field not been inverted.

Dave Rodman: Ryan -- don't fall into that trap again. Jeff Gordon would have won his fifth championship, too -- if Tony Stewart didn't bust his rear end.

Ryan Smithson: The only time Tony busted his rear end was when he blew his rear end gear at Richmond. This was not Gordon's year. He was never really close.

Dave Rodman: Biffle will win a race before McMurray does -- but I don't think either one will. Then again, concentrating all their effort on Winston Cup, they could win by the end of the year.

Dave Rodman: Wasn't Jimmie's year to win rookie of the year, either.

Marty Smith: I'll have to go with Biffle, too. McMurray's going to perform well, but it'll take those guys a while to get acclimated to one another. The JJ/Knaus,Newman/Borland deal only happens a couple times a decade.

Ryan Smithson: Rodman, dad come it. First, you say Biffle won't win a race, and then you say he could win. Make up your mind.

	Ryan Newman won more money, had more top-fives and more top-10s than Jimmie Johnson -- but he had fewer victories. Credit: AP

Marty Smith: Rodman, how can you say it wasn't Jimmie's year to win it? Because he didn't? That's crap, son. He deserves it just as much as Newman does.

Dave Rodman: They are good enough that they could win a race if they pull their stuff together -- but what we have seen so far in Winston Cup makes it seem unlikely.

Ryan Smithson: I know Co-Rookie of the Year has never happened before. But we've never seen a Johnson-Newman duo either. In this case, we have to match up historical occurrences.

Dave Rodman: Negative. The rookie points are set up as a head-to-head exercise against the other rookies. How do you think Newman beat Johnson by more than 20 points?

Ryan Smithson: He beat him by scoring more top-five finishes, old man. But Johnson won more races. The argument is cyclical.

Dave Rodman: Race wins don't matter. That is a 54-year-old argument that has never held water, Smithsonian.

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Marty Smith: So you think the Rookie of the Year format is legitimate, Dave? Usually, it's a moot point because the ROY race is such a runaway. This year, that wasn't the case and Johnson got screwed.

Ryan Smithson: I agree with Marty. This was actually the first year that the Rookie formula didn't work.

Marty Smith: Rodman! Race wins don't matter???? Are you insane?

Dave Rodman: The format is what it is. Under the current format, Newman won. Didn't say they didn't both have phenomenal seasons. One year doesn't mean you change the format.

	It's even cold in Daytona Beach Credit: AP

Ryan Smithson: You're asking if Rodman's insane? Will it be dark tonight?

Marty Smith: Why the hell are they out there Dave?

Ryan Smithson: According to Rodman, they are out there to score rookie points! That's all that matters! Rookie trophy, not race trophies!

Dave Rodman: Race wins don't matter in the points formats the series is set up under. Period. Winning races is obviously the point of the exercise. Other than a trophy, though, what do you get?

Marty Smith: The satisfaction that you whooped 42 other teams' tail end that day!

	This guy's gonna want a picture......that girl's gonna want an autograph....stay in the car.....stay in the car......Credit: AP

Dave Rodman: Time for this week's predictions. I predict Tony Stewart will get the Winston Cup championship trophy on Friday night.

Ryan Smithson: He gets the trophy, announces his retirement. Live on TNT. They know drama.

Marty Smith: I will order a red label Budweiser in a high-falootin' Manhattan bar-- and they'll have to ask me to repeat what I said three times.

Dave Rodman: You know, I hate to say I was almost right with last week's prediction. That was a vicious crash Tony was knocked into at Irwindale.

Ryan Smithson: Just don't predict his taxi will wreck this week, Dave. Please.

Dave Rodman: Speak slowly. Drives those New Yawkahs crazy.

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The opinions listed here are solely those of the participants.