Track Smack: Atlanta

Michael Waltrip's best-ever points finish is 12th. Will he be better than that this year?

Lee Montgomery: At this point, you'd have to say yes. Sure, he wasn't great at Rockingham, but a win and a third in two other races. The boy looks pretty good. Now, can he be a championship contender? Let's wait and see on that.

Ryan Smithson: It is exceptionally difficult to finish in the top 10, or even top 15, and it will be really hard for Michael for stay in the top 10 in the second half. I think he'll finish about 14th, where he did last year. And that is not bad.

Dave Rodman: In terms of ratcheting up his performance steadily, a bit at a time, he is virtually to the point that he is a contender week in and week out. That's what it takes to get into top-10 territory and I think Mikey and Slugger are there.

Marty Smith: Yes. For the first time in his career he's got a crew chief that knows what Mikey wants in a car at every venue on the circuit, the money to get it done, and a good enough pit crew to maintain track position.

Ryan Smithson: I do think he'll win a non-restrictor plate race this year.

Marty Smith: I think he'll win at a fast 1.5-miler -- Charlotte or Texas.

Lee Montgomery: Obviously, when the rumors started circulating last year about his future, Mikey picked up the pace. He even admitted that he started concentrating more on racing.

Send Hate Mail Marty Ryan Dave Lee

Dave Rodman: Well, there's too many of 'em and he runs decent enough where it could happen. I agree, it will more than likely come at a 1.5-miler, but remember how well he ran at Homestead a year or two back?

Marty Smith: That is a 1.5-mile track, isn't it? I know it's not cookie-cutter. But it's still 1.5 miles long.

Lee Montgomery: Homestead is a bigger pastel-colored Martinsville.

Ryan Smithson: Sure, but 2001 is not 2003. And Homestead feels like a cookie-cutter.

First e-mail with poor usage of common contractions  Lee,  Your a moron!! I think before you go talking smack about the military you ought to thank them for the ability to spew that dribble out of your mouth!  From the looks of your picture the only jumping you do is to get a beer and another bag of chips!! Have a little more respect for the military and the rest of us will be thankful you are not a part of it.  Sgt. Name Withheld  Fayetteville, N.C.  Home of Ft. Bragg and Pope Air Force Base, Einstein!

Dave Rodman: Yeah -- but it's not one of them high-speed 1.5-milers.

Lee Montgomery: Thanks for clarifying.

Ryan Smithson: How come all the DEI cars have the long black stripes in the paint scheme?

Lee Montgomery: That's E.

Marty Smith: They're E's, dude.

Dave Rodman: It forms a tribute to Big E.

Ryan Smithson: I know that. But when did it come to fruition?

Lee Montgomery: Three answers, all the same. Something's wrong.

Dave Rodman: They decided to do it over the winter. Teresa probably had a big hand in it -- just like she's stepping up in the advertising program -- taking a higher profile.

Marty Smith: How bout Mikey cutting doughnuts after a third-place run, then calling himself a redneck. I about died laughing.

Lee Montgomery: That was hilarious.

Ryan Smithson: If you're that excited about third place, something is wrong. I didn't agree with that, but oh well.

Second e-mail with poor usage of common contractions  Marty,  Your fired, man. Youre "stoked" about Martinsville? What is this the X games or NASCAR? No wonder youre on the side of a guy named Shane. Its words like stoked used by people like you that cause Mike Wallace to blame the "young craze" on the media, dumb ass. Hey, Sugar Ray, take some of that lube out of your hair and (expletive). I dont know how Lee, Dave and Ryan can put up with you any more. Sincerely, Name Withheld

Marty Smith: He's right, though. Us rednecks get excited about most anything. I get real excited about cutting my grass.

Ryan Smithson: You got one-tenth of an acre, Marty.

Lee Montgomery: I saw nothing wrong with what Michael did. Was it silly? Sure, but we can use some joyous silliness in NASCAR.

Dave Rodman: He continued the same trend Monday in "Inside Winston Cup..." The whole danged panel was talking about taking to the grass at AMS!

Ryan Smithson: If a guy finishes third in a golf tournament, he does not throw his Titleist into the crowd. Save it for the winner.

Lee Montgomery: Golf is boring. About as boring as the first half of Sunday's race.

Ryan Smithson: I didn't say it wasn't. I'd rather watch bowling.

	Martha Burk does not plan any Martinsville protests during the weekend of The Masters. Credit: AP

Dave Rodman: There's nothing wrong with a little spontaneous emotion -- even if it's rehearsed.

Marty Smith: I can't keep up with the golf schedule. Or hockey either. When do they start and finish?

Ryan Smithson: Hockey died 20 years ago, Marty. NHL is no more.

Lee Montgomery: It's almost playoff time in hockey, MartDawg.

Lee Montgomery: Golf? Who cares? When does Annika play?

Is this a big weekend for Atlanta Motor Speedway? They rarely sell out their spring race.

Lee Montgomery: You'd have to think NASCAR will be watching attendance at every track this year.But Atlanta is different than Rockingham. SMI does not want to move one of Atlanta's date.

	Sell out! Sell out!

Ryan Smithson: Atlanta won't lose a Winston Cup race. It's a market of four million, and you can't discount that, whether they sell out or not. NASCAR gives them terrible dates. It'll always rain in March. That simple.

Dave Rodman: I would dare say that virtually everyone is under a microscope, these days. Everyone is going to be watching every least little crack in a facility's presentation.

Marty Smith: It's a huge weekend for Atlanta. They need to pray for good weather and few empty seats. Poor Rockingham likely lost a race after they're showing. Atlanta does not want to do the same.

Ryan Smithson: MartDawg, even if they draw only 50,000 on Sunday, they won't lose a date. No way.

	Jeff Gordon races Jeff Burton at Atlanta. You can clearly see empty seats in the background.

Lee Montgomery: Don't you think Bruton and Ed Clark will go kicking and screaming into the night (and maybe a courtroom) if NASCAR takes away one Atlanta date?

Dave Rodman: Trying to create a door to drive that reorganization truck through.

Marty Smith: It's not NASCAR' s decision, Lee. It's ultimately Bruton's. If he wants to move a date from Atlanta to Texas, he can.

Lee Montgomery: And Bruton has said he doesn't want to move one from Atlanta.

Marty Smith: But NASCAR can't tell him to.

Ryan Smithson: Sure, but he said he would never do that.

Lee Montgomery: So why are we talking about this? Unless Bruton buys a date from somewhere else, which doesn't seem likely.

Ryan Smithson: Because Atlanta gets a ton of rain and does not sell out 124,000 seats in a city of four million.

Marty Smith: Why not? He can make a lot more money in Texas than Atlanta, considering the current lack of filled seats in Hampton, Ga.

	NOOO! NO more rain! Credit: AP

Dave Rodman: Well, SMI is not going to decide to abdicate one date to Texas. It is more likely that NASCAR... uh, I mean ISC would opt to shuffle its own dates, in house.

Lee Montgomery: Right, Rodzilla. Bruton won't move a date from Atlanta, and NASCAR won't move one either. So nothing is going to happen?

Ryan Smithson: Bruton Smith has not been awarded a Winston Cup date since 1960. He will have to buy one. Which means he will buy a track, like he did at Wilkesboro, and go to work spreading them around to Texas and Las Vegas.

Lee Montgomery: Who is going to sell him one? ISC? HA!

Marty Smith: Nobody is.

Lee Montgomery: Exactly.

Ryan Smithson: Sure, they said North Wilkesboro was not for sale either.

Lee Montgomery: So maybe all this schedule talk is pointless unless you're Rockingham or Darlington.

Marty Smith: I agree with that, Lee. I don't know that SMI should be included in the talk.

Lee Montgomery: We solved the schedule problem.

Who is the man to beat at Atlanta?

Ryan Smithson: Gibbs. Pick a car. Either one will work. Labonte's got the track record, and Stewart's simply due.

	Bobby Labonte Credit: Autostock

Lee Montgomery: My vote is Bobby Labonte, and not because of his success there. I'm not sure past success has much to do with things anymore. Bobby's been good so far in 2003, and this could be a big weekend for him.

Dave Rodman: I still think Bobby Labonte is on an upswing -- and given the magic he once had here and the fact that Jimmy Makar is still in the mix -- he'd be my pick. Jeff Burton has graduated from "dark horse" territory and he's due.

Marty Smith: Heck, first week I don't pick Matt Kenseth, he wins. Go figure. I hate prognostication. That said, I'm going out on a limb this week: Jerry Nadeau wins in the 01. An Army of One whoops a pack of 42.

Track Smack appears every Wednesday on NASCAR.com.

The opinions listed here are solely those of the participants.