Burning Questions: Darlington

1. Does Roush Racing have significant engine problems?

Yes and no. Losing four on Sunday means a long week and even longer faces in that particular department, but Jack Roush isn't alone. Hendrick Motorsports lost one (Jimmie Johnson). Evernham Motorsports lost two (Bill Elliott and Larry Foyt). Chip Ganassi Racing also lost one (Jamie McMurray), as did BAM Racing (Ken Schrader).

	Mark Martin Credit: Autostock

In this case, misery does love company. If causes are addressed, then data from all those blown engines will prove valuable later. That's because Atlanta serves as a lightning rod this early in the season. It's the fastest non-restrictor-plate track patronized by Winston Cup, and high-banked turns coupled with the 1.5-mile distance stressed those motors like they hadn't been stressed during the first three events. So even though silver linings were slim for affected teams, they do exist: OK, now we know this won't work.

Or, you figure out how to do it better. Teams constantly seek horsepower, adding, subtracting and reinforcing. Something's always new or cutting-edge. Remember last year's fall race at Talladega, when Hendrick Motorsports lost every engine -- Jeff Gordon's, Terry Labonte's, Jimmie Johnson's and Joe Nemechek's? And the two leased to MBV and MB2 Motorsports (the No. 10 and the then-No.36)?

Roush had 2002 problems, too. Several times, more than one of his engines expired in the same event, and by season's end in Homestead, he thought the cause had been isolated in a faulty part. No one except engine types knows if it's the same problem, but playing it safe isn't acceptable, either. With the one-engine rule ironclad, and competition so tight, as soon as builders think they've got something extra, they usually play the card.

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Broken motors are only one cost of doing NASCAR business; always, it's too high.

2. Is Bobby Labonte a championship contender?

He probably thinks so, as he should. And there's no reason to argue. Just remember -- as he does -- that it's a long season. He and new crew chief Michael "Fatback" McSwain are still acclimating (they're off to a good start). McSwain is still settling in, and it's likely there are still hurdles to cross, rocks to move, and speed bumps to negotiate.

	Bobby Labonte Credit: Autostock

They look pretty good, though, don't they? Labonte led a race-high 172 of 325 laps en route to victory Sunday at Atlanta. Before that, he'd finished 41st at Daytona, 16th at Rockingham and fourth at Vegas. And if you like argument, Sunday's win represented only half a surprise; Joe Gibbs Racing has dominated Atlanta in recent years and skeptics might claim Labonte merely validated the fact. His win was JGR's seventh in the last 14 Atlanta races, and Labonte's sixth in 21 career starts there.

However, Sunday marked the first time Labonte had led the most race laps since Rockingham's spring event in 2000 -- the year he won the Winston Cup title. It also boosted him from 13th to fifth in the point standings, and the last time Labonte saw the top five, he was the defending champion -- in 2001. The highest he got last year was 12th a couple of times; he spent most of the season stuck in the lower teens.

McSwain has made a difference. So has the switch from Pontiac to Chevrolet. Labonte's longtime crew chief, Jimmy Makar, remains active and available as JGR's team manager for both Labonte and teammate Tony Stewart, and Labonte not only had the best car Sunday, he's got plenty of incentive: He's finished sixth in 2001, and 16th last season.

So keep him pencil-ready for those fantasy lineups. Racy is as racy does.

3. Was this Atlanta's final spring race?

	Credit: Autostock

Don't know. But track officials have to be nervous. The ongoing schedule war between NASCAR patriarch Bill France and Speedway Motorsports Inc.'s Bruton Smith looks like a season-long thing (Atlanta is an SMI track). Atlanta was one track mentioned by France in January's opening salvo, when the idea of 2004 realignment was publicly introduced, and Sunday's crowd, although healthy (said to be anywhere between 100,000 to 125,000, the largest for a spring event there), may not save the date.

However, Atlanta is better off than two other two-date tracks, Rockingham, and this week's destination, Darlington. Atlanta is a major media market, and both Darlington and Rockingham suffer saturation from each other and Lowe's Motor Speedway near Charlotte. Darlington is an International Speedway, Corp., track (a NASCAR track under France control).

Last Thursday's rally at the Georgia state capitol - Governor Sonny Perdue was the star - means Atlanta track officials will politic all they can to save both their dates. And if you haven't been to Darlington in the spring and would like to, better start scrounging tickets. Goodbye columns already are being written, and it's very likely that NASCAR won't see the trees budding again in South Carolina.