Track Smack: The Rock

What did y'all think of how the Daytona 500 ended?

Ryan Smithson: Well, it was unfortunate. February is a sweeps month, and I doubt Fox wanted to move the Daytona 500 any further into the evening. I do think television all but decided it. Moving it to Monday was not a real option.

Dave Rodman: God's will. What can you say about it? I wish we could talk about something else, because speculating is never that much fun, because you can come up with a million scenarios.

Lee Montgomery: Boy, was that as disappointing a finish as you've ever seen? Sure, NASCAR has its rules, and they need to be enforced equally, but I can't remember the last time a race left me so, I don't know, empty. What else could they have done?

Marty Smith: As I said in my mailbag this week, I think NASCAR did the right thing. Sure, the fans want to see what they paid for -- a 500 mile race. If I'd paid $350 for a seat, I'd want my money's worth. But, NASCAR has a rule that halfway counts, and by grannies they stuck to their guns. I applaud them. Mike Helton was in a helluva position, and there was no way in had he could please everyone.

Dave Rodman: Sure, I wish the thing could have played out because I feel like Junior had a pretty good chance to get his second lap back, then come back through and win the danged race. Oh well.

Send Hate Mail Marty Ryan Dave Lee

Ryan Smithson: Rodman, Dale Jr. was not going to make up those laps. You're crazy.

Marty Smith: Smithson, I disagree about Junior. One more caution and he's on the lead lap, bro. He was faster than Mikey, and I bet cars would have chosen him in the draft instead of the 15.

Dave Rodman: Ryan, there were not many cars down laps. Therefore, if the race had restarted Junior would have been near the front, and if he was and there was another caution he would have got back on the lead lap. Tony and the boys would have pulled off the rest from there.

Lee Montgomery: That race wasn't decided by NASCAR or FOX or anyone. That was up to the weatherman.

	You want some pizza? Credit: AP

Ryan Smithson: I didn't think they'd use the halfway rule for the 500, Marty, and I was proven wrong.

Marty Smith: I'm glad they called it, Ryan. It may be the most presitgious race on the circuit, but it still pays 180 points just like The Rock.

Dave Rodman: They had as heavy a heart as anyone -- but halfway is halfway and the radar made them realize there was no point in making everybody sit any longer. In fact, the night proved them correct.

Ryan Smithson: I know one thing. The rain helped NASCAR avoid a slew of negative media coverage for the lack of passing. It would have been 2000 all over again.

	Is seven pizzas enough? Credit: AP

Lee Montgomery: And who wanted to be there another day? The fans already suffer enough. But I'd bet the stands would've been full Monday...Tuesday....whenever.

Marty Smith: Lee, what about hotels, man? Fans are already paying out the wazzoo, much less another $200 for an added night in a hotel.

Lee Montgomery: That's what I mean. The fans paid enough. But I'd be willing to bet they'd do it again anyway.

Ryan Smithson: I think they would have been long gone. They have to go to work sometime. I saw a ton of them on I-75.

Lee Montgomery: Never underestimate the loyalty of NASCAR fans.

Ryan Smithson: It's not underestimation. It's common sense.

Marty Smith: NASCAR did the right thing, no matter how you cut it. It sucks, I'll agree with that. But they made the right choice.

Ryan Smithson: Oh, it did suck, Marty. No one likes seeing the man win while out of the car.

	Dude, I loved Grease when I was like, six. Credit: Autostock

Lee Montgomery: Except the man who wins.

Marty Smith: Yeah, that was certainly anitclimatic.

Ryan Smithson: Do you guys think Waltrip would have won a 200-lap race?

Marty Smith: Hard question, Ryan. He had the best car on the lead lap at the end. But who's to say he wouldn't have been punted by someone on lap144?

Dave Rodman: He could have -- but would he have? Here comes that speculation again.

He would have had to make two more pits stops. And I had some fans tell me the racing was tighter than they had ever seen it.

Lee Montgomery: Who knows? Like Rodman said, there could be a million scenarios.

	Ha! Wait in line? Never! Credit: AP

One could have been Kurt Busch nailing Waltrip because Mikey blocked one too many times.

Ryan Smithson: This may be off the subject, but I think the more Waltrip wins on plate tracks, the bigger the microscope he's going to be under for non-plate tracks. He needs a win at a Martinsville or Darlington.

Marty Smith: He continually cites his runner-up finish at Homestead in 2001 as proof he can get it done at non-plate tracks.

Dave Rodman: If you remember how he's run at a number of race tracks, I think it is safe to say that Michael will win somewhere else this season. As he himself said Monday, he's won plenty of Busch races and none of those have come on plate tracks.

Marty Smith: Good point, Dave. He's awesome everywhere on the Busch circuit. Then again, he has DEI equipment that's far and away better than 98 percent of the Busch Series field.

The weather is supposed to be good at Rockingham. Who will be leading on the 393rd lap?

Lee Montgomery: Do we have to pick just one?

Marty Smith: Well, I chose Matt Kenseth for Daytona and was called everything but smart. I'm gonna go with Matt again. He's one of the best drivers out thereat The Rock, and won there last year. The 17 it is.

	Let's make a little spoiler adjustment here.....Credit: AP

Ryan Smithson: Stewart has not won at Rockingham yet, and he is due.

Marty Smith: He'll be a contender, Ryan, for sure. Conserving tires there is so key, so it's conducive to smooth, steady drivers taking the checkers.

Lee Montgomery: Like Johnny Benson last year.

Marty Smith: I fell down there last year, skinned my knee real bad. That surface is like a nail file, man.

Lee Montgomery: Funny thing, Stewart is supposed to be a hard charger, but he seems to do pretty well at Rockingham.

Ryan Smithson: Dale Earnhardt Sr. didn't have a crappy record at The Rock either.

Dave Rodman: I tell you what, Joe Nemechek will be well over the flu, so I would say that him and Peter Sospenzo will not wait any longer to make a statement.

Random Letter to MartDawg  Marty,  Dude, that 500 sucked. I read the feedback and can only add one thing.  We were watching Dale Jr. pit with his alternator problem while DW is in the booth shouting “crash in Turn 3.”  But Fox is showing that wanna-be rapper pitting his piece of crap car.  All week we heard Dale Jr. this and Dale Jr. that. Thank God he didn’t win. It would have been a national holiday.  -- Jersey Nick

Lee Montgomery: Or Mark Martin. Or Bobby Labonte. Or ... heck... is there a driver out there who isn't considered smooth?

Ryan Smithson: Jimmy Spencer is not considered smooth.

Lee Montgomery: There you go. I wouldn't put Ryan's money on Spencer.

Marty Smith: Some are smoother than others, Lee. Some dudes are just hard chargers, man, tire wear be damned.

Ryan Smithson: I wonder what Ganassi would do if Spencer shocked the world with a Rockingham win.

Marty Smith: I saw this car at Daytona that was hysterical. It was a primered Dodge Horizon with white paint on it. The door had a big 7 on it, and the rear quarter panels said, "Ganasi Sucks." Note to that cat: Ganassi has two s's.

Ryan Smithson: Yeah, the SI guy wrote about it.

Ryan Smithson: MartDawg, Dodge never made a Horizon. Plymouth made a Horizon. Am I right?

Marty Smith: Oh yeah, you're probably right.

Ryan Smithson: I know because a guy on Unsolved Mysteries came up missing, and he had a Plymouth Horizon.

Marty Smith: It may have been a Dodge Daytona. That'd be fitting.

Track Smack appears every Wednesday on NASCAR.com.

The opinions listed here are solely those of the participants.