Campfire chats from Watkins Glen

It's time for the annual plethora of topics that were discussed sitting around the campfire at beautiful Watkins Glen.

	Tim Packman

With so much going on as of late in racing, my dad will toss a log on the fire and we'll get right to some heated topics.

Spencer and Busch

You've all seen the numerous photos and replays of the young Kurt Busch smacking his butt and pointing towards the sky from Indy last week. Was it me, or did he look he was auditioning for a remake of "Saturday Night Fever"?

One thought kept coming to mind after listening to what Busch had to say about the veteran of Spencer. Would he have called him a "peanut brain," "has been" and "never was" if Spencer was standing right next to him?

Tale of the tape has Busch standing all of 5'11" and tipping the scales at barely 150 lbs. Spencer is listed in the media guide at 6'0" and weighing it at 230 lbs. You do the math.

Stewart's fighting and fines

Tony Stewart skipped the verbal barrage and got right down to business with the photographer at Indy last week. It was wrong for him to strike him and I am not going to try and tell you otherwise.

They say a picture tells a thousand words. Well, that one frame the photographer got off of Tony after the Brickyard 400 certainly prompted a few thousand words. And, was worth at total of $60,000 out of Tony's pocket.

If the photographer did get that one picture off, how come we haven't seen it anywhere? That should be worth a few bucks to him -- if it hasn't been already.

I hate it for Stewart that the outside crap is what he seems to get more attention for than his racing. After all, what brought him to the public eye was his ability to race -- and pretty darn well, too.

If he does get the help he says he needs, I hope it works for him. I have been with him away from the track and find him to have quite a sense of humor and be an easy-going dude. But, there seems to be a change in him when it comes to racing.

Again, that's what he's all about and why we know who he is in the first place.

The bandage for Stewart

After qualifying third, leading one practice session and being fifth in Happy Hour, wouldn't it be something if Stewart wins at Watkins Glen on Sunday?

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What a better bandage it would be after a hellish week for him than a 2.45-mile road course victory, a trophy and winning check. Sadly, if he does win, the news of the past week will crop into every story and the fact he won the race would be almost secondary.

Time out, or more cool down laps?

Some folks have talked about a cooling down period after a driver gets out of a car. Some said anywhere from a five to 15-minute period before a driver speaks to the media.

It's a good idea, but it won't fly.

If a driver doesn't want to talk, he then gets a free 15-minute head start on getting to the airport or helipad. If he finished out of the top five and he doesn't want to talk, he can head for the house.

There has been some talk of having drivers take more than one cool down lap after the race. But, if one driver is mad at another, it may give more time for bump and run or spins in retaliation for an earlier incident.

I feel the way it works now is fine. Drivers know what's waiting for them when they exit the car and it has rarely been a problem.

Race fans know how to tailgate

Doing the motorcoach thing at The Glen with my dad, uncle and cousin truly gives one the opportunity to see what makes racing so attractive.

Where else can you camp right next to the playing field, sit around a campfire and toss some cold ones back with 10,000 other people all there for the same purpose? Tailgating is big in most sports, but NASCAR fans take it to the next level.

I believe we have it perfected to an award-winning level.

Need a fork to turn the steaks? Ask your neighbor and you've probably just made a new friend. People just wander or golf cart around to have some fun and enjoy the weekend.

The one thing I've always been impressed with is that you rarely hear about fights among fans in the stands.

As the Rudd rolls

Looks like the question of where Ricky Rudd is going to drive next year might be close to an answer.

Havoline has scheduled a press conference to discuss it's future in NASCAR racing for this Tuesday. With most indications pointing him toward Chip Ganassi Racing, my only thought is what will become of the No. 28 if Rudd and Havoline leave Robert Yates Racing.

Havoline has spent millions on building brand awareness with that number. If the number and sponsor were not together next year, it would be another stunning reminder of how the business side of racing is becoming more prevalent than the racing itself.

Well, it's back to the campgrounds for more lies, cold ones and laughs. Some day, I might have to get a job.

Tim Packman's column appears every Saturday on NASCAR.com. The opinions listed here are solely those of the writer.