Track Smack: Off week

The Park firing was not a surprise. Reaction?

Marty Smith: I said it right here one week ago and got obliterated for it by his fans. I hate it for him, but the team wasn't performing and, sadly enough, that's what it's about no matter how nice a guy you are. I just hope he resurfaces somewhere soon.

Ryan Smithson: It's a shame, obviously, but a change of scenery will do Park some good. It obviously can't get any worse than what it was. Hopefully he can make a Craven-style comeback. It sure will be weird seeing him without a yellow uniform. I mean, he was with DEI for longer than all but a few Winston Cuppers had been with their current team.

Lee Montgomery: Let's look on the bright side. This is probably the best thing that could happen to Steve. He was obviously under a lot of pressure at DEI to live up to the "old Steve Park." Maybe he can land somewhere where he can just drive the stinking car and quit worrying about other things. The next team needs to tell him that from the start.

Marty Smith: It'll be odd seeing him with a different team, for sure. He was the cornerstone on which DEI was built, man.

Ryan Smithson: This is a top-quality ride, the likes of which have not been available for a long time. Whoever gets it will immediately be expected to win.

Send Hate Mail Marty Ryan Lee Marty, Ryan, Lee

Lee Montgomery: And that's unrealistic, I think.

Ryan Smithson: Sure it is. But that is the business these days.

Lee Montgomery: It's never easy to switch drivers and expect things to change overnight. Is Green any better than Park? I doubt it. We'll see though.

Marty Smith: I feel certain Jeff Green will perform well in it. For some reason, I see him and Tony Gibson getting along well.

Ryan Smithson: I think DEI is smart and waiting to see if he will work out or not.

Send Nice Mail Marty Ryan Lee Marty, Ryan, Lee

Marty Smith: Sure, you don't want to just confirm him in the seat for the rest of the season. As I've said before, chemistry is everything in Winston Cup.

Lee Montgomery: I'm sure Green will at least relax the team some more. That's gotta help.

Marty Smith: That said, y'all are right that the 1 is prime property. Green's lucky to land on his feet the way he did. Hell, he's in a better car today than he was at RCR

Lee Montgomery: Yeah isn't it funny how things work out? Get fired. Get hired by DEI.

Ryan Smithson: Not much better, but in this business, every little bit counts.

Marty Smith: I'd say the equipment is similar, but the 30 needs to take some serious strides.

	Hey Tony, can I have an autograph? Credit: AP

Ryan Smithson: People forget how Robby Gordon gets fired in the 4 car, gets hired by RCR, wins that same season!

Marty Smith: Robby got fired after five races, man. Talk about impatient.

Lee Montgomery: Like Marty said, it's all about chemistry.

Ryan Smithson: I am sure he's happy now. And I am sure Jeff Green is happy now.

Lee Montgomery: Here's a quote for you: "It is amazing what can be accomplished when nobody cares about who gets the credit."

Marty Smith: Word on the street is that Ron Hornaday will drive the 30 now.

Ryan Smithson: Jeff Green was the best available driver. Now it's a race to get the next best one.

Last Week's Smack  We got so many letters about Track Smack (concerning Steve Park) last week that we decided to publish several of them instead of just one. Click here to read the letters.

Lee Montgomery: You think DEI pulls the trigger if Green wasn't fired?

Ryan Smithson: Yes, merely because it's an off-week.

Marty Smith: That's the million dollar question, Lee. I was thinking about that earlier. They saw an opportunity and jumped on it, I'd say.

Lee Montgomery: Probably a smart move, all things considered. Green is a proven driver, just not in Winston Cup yet.

Ryan Smithson: Only takes one win.

Lee Montgomery: You're kidding.

Ryan Smithson: Yes, I am. See Robby Gordon.

	The bathroom is back that way, guys. Credit: Autostock

Lee Montgomery: So Bobby Hillin is a proven driver?

Ryan Smithson: See Robby Gordon.

Ryan Smithson: No, I promise I was kidding.

Marty Smith: Derrike Cope won the 500. He's not proven.

Ryan Smithson: No, but his hair looks great.

Lee Montgomery: Robby impressed me at Richmond. That might have been his finest drive yet.

Ryan Smithson: He didn't have a scratch on that car, Lee.

Marty Smith: To come back from three laps down and finish fourth on a short track is insane. Now, he had to have every single caution go his way, which they did, but it's still amazing.

Lee Montgomery: To come from three laps down, that was really awesome. Robby is a talented guy. Again, it's all about chemistry.

Who is the man to replace Jeff Green at RCR?

Ryan Smithson: This may sound stupid -- as usual -- but I would have seen if I could have traded Green for Scott Riggs. Given PPC Racing a nice buy-out to get Riggs. Riggs will be in Winston Cup someday. Might as well be now.

Marty Smith: That's an extremely difficult question at this point. There are not a lot of unemployed guys out there right now, aside from Hank Parker Jr. and Casey Atwood. One thing is for sure: Silly Season is in full swing. Green was the first domino.

Lee Montgomery: I wonder if RCR will stay within the company and move Ron Hornaday up. Maybe Hornaday can do something like Harvick did a couple years ago.

	Dale Jr. gets Byrned Credit: Autostock

Marty Smith: I think Riggs-for-Green is a solid idea, Smithson, but I don't think Riggs would leave PPC Racing in the middle of the year after all they've done for him.

Marty Smith: We need to take a moment right quick to send get well wishes to Jerry, Jada and Natalie. Here's to a speedy recovery, brother.

Lee Montgomery: Amen.

Ryan Smithson: They said Ernie Irvan would never drive again either. Jerry can do it.

Lee Montgomery: Nadeau has been through a lot of crap in his career, so he won't quit fighting, I can assure you.

Marty Smith: The kind of hit he sustained is quite traumatic to the body. His body took a lot of G-forces, you guys. Driver's side hit and the car didn't slide very far, so the G-forces aren't dispersed throughout the car. In that kind of hit, the driver takes most of them.

Ryan Smithson: Good thing he didn't hit 10 years ago, or even five years ago. Safety's come a long way.

Lee Montgomery: Or even two-and-a-half years ago.

Marty Smith: Not far enough, obviously. There's still a long way to go to assure that these guys stay safe.

Lee Montgomery: I don't think drivers will ever be 100 percent safe, but like Kyle Petty said, we need to do all we can to make sure they are as safe as they can be.

Ryan Smithson: I hope everyone continues the seat development research. It sure saved Petty at Bristol.

Marty Smith: But NASCAR deserves credit, for sure. They're putting a lot of effort into the safety venture.

Lee Montgomery: And drivers need to take responsibility. The carbon-fiber seat is the best out there, and guys need to get in them.

	Cal Wells (right) with Ricky Craven Credit: Autostock

Ryan Smithson: Are they less uncomfortable? I do not know much about them -- I need to study a little bit.

Lee Montgomery: There's no doubt in my mind that the PPI seat saved Petty's life at Bristol. He still got banged up pretty good.

Marty Smith: They're very cocoon-ish. They wrap the body.

Lee Montgomery: They're different, that's for sure, and drivers had things that are different. Kyle Petty said they take a while to get used to, and that has kept a lot of guys out of them. And they're a lot more money, but that's not a big deal for Cup guys.

Marty Smith: That didn't stop anyone from putting on a head-and-neck restraint, Lee. When NASCAR mandated them, a lot of guys had reservations.

Lee Montgomery: But there's no doubt even the aluminum seats are 100 times better than they were before Earnhardt died. I think now, everyone wants to see the SAFER barrier ready

Marty Smith: You make a good point, Lee, with the difficulty of trying something uncomfortable. I guess I just want these guys to take every measure of safety possible.

So was the Green firing unexpected?

Marty Smith: I was shocked. He was struggling, sure, but I didn't see that coming.

Ryan Smithson: I was really surprised, because now we have two vacancies, and there are really not many guys available.

Lee Montgomery: After Richmond, heck no. But maybe Richmond was just the straw that broke the camel's back. That had to be embarrassing for Childress, and I wonder how much that played into it.

Ryan Smithson: No doubt Childress was extremely embarrassed. Two kids arguing. It was painful to watch.

Lee Montgomery: Green was doing most of the arguing, Ryan.

Ryan Smithson: You can't help but feel bad for Green. He has run like crap all year, and he was running so well -- RIR is one of his best tracks -- and he got wrecked. Flat out got wrecked. But then again, so did a lot of guys.

	Jeff Green came out smelling like a rose during the early part of Silly Season. Credit: Autostock

Marty Smith: A lot of people think the fact that Jeff got in Richard's face on national television was a determining factor in his firing. I don't know that I agree. Was it smart? No way. But Richard's a racer. I got to think he understands emotion, how pissed off you get when you're running fifth and hit the wall. I just don't think it was that huge a deal that Richard would fire him over that single instance.

Ryan Smithson: Well, it shows that teammates have to get along these days -- maybe they didn't have to in 1997, but now, it's a must, and I am sure Green's going to go a lot quicker than Harvick will. Harvick's a lifer at RCR.

Lee Montgomery: Funny thing was, RCR was having a good night. Probably first time all year. I mean, Robby Gordon was awesome, Jeff Green was great, and Harvick was running good, too.

Ryan Smithson: Something bigger must have been boiling. Something no one other that RCR insiders knew.

Marty Smith: Good point, Lee. All three cars in the top-10 and pushing to the front. I don't ever remember them all being really good at once.

Ryan Smithson: Daytona, guys. They had an awesome start.

Marty Smith: In qualifying, yeah. Not in the race, dude. Green dropped like a rock when the green fell.

Ryan Smithson: Like a rock. No pun intended I guess.

Marty Smith: We'll be there.

Ryan Smithson: Obviously, Green won't. And that's a shame.

Marty Smith: Maybe Chevy will give me a Monte Carlo if I say they're slogan a few times. We'll be there. We'll be there.

Lee Montgomery: Grab life by the horns. How 'bout a new Intrepid?

Ryan Smithson: New Pontiac. Fuel for the soul.

Lee Montgomery: Shameless, aren't we?

Marty Smith: Good Lord, what have I started?

Ryan Smithson: Built Ford tough.

Lee Montgomery: What's Yugo's slogan?

Ryan Smithson: Yugo: Not the Ultimate Driving Machine.

Marty Smith: Watch out for road kill.

Ryan Smithson: Did know that Yugos had 55 horsepower? I am serious. 55 horses. I remember when Yugos cost $3,995.

Marty Smith: I had a buddy in high school that had a Yugo. During the break between two-a-day football practices one summer, he fired up his stereo and promptly blew the entire rear window out. Shattered it. A million pieces. It was hysterical.

Lee Montgomery: Sounds like a scene from "Fletch." One bump, and "boom!"

I'm showing my age. Forget Yugos. My first car was a Ford Pinto.

Yugo jokes  •  How do you make a Yugo go faster? Use a tow truck.  •  What do you call the shock absorbers inside a Yugo? Passengers.  •  This guy went to a Chevy dealer the other day and said, "I'd like a gas cap for my Yugo." The dealer replied, "Okay. Sounds like a fair trade."  •  How can you get a Yugo to go 50 miles an hour? Push it off a cliff.

Ryan Smithson: Everyone had a buddy with a Yugo, Marty, if you grew up in the 1990s or 1980s. In my town, it was D.J. Rogers. He had a blue 1987 Yugo.

Marty Smith: His parents Jarrett fans?

Ryan Smithson: No, why? Wait. Duh.

Lee Montgomery: D.J.

Ryan Smithson: I get it. Sorry.

Marty Smith: His name is D.J., son.

Lee Montgomery: Ryan's slow sometimes.

Ryan Smithson: Bad joke, MartDawg!

Marty Smith: Yep.

Ryan Smithson: I definitely go out and just make laps sometimes. I admit it.

Lee Montgomery: I could have said "Ryan is as slow as DJ these days," but I refrained.

Marty Smith: That would be a much better joke than mine, Lee.

Track Smack appears every Wednesday on NASCAR.com at 11 a.m. ET sharp!

The opinions listed here are solely those of the participants.