Track Smack: Miami

Start off with your predictions for the title races this weekend.

Lee Montgomery: Matt Kenseth. Oh, not that one. I said Vickers a few weeks ago, and I'm sticking with him, Points Leader Jinx or not. And Gaughan certainly is the favorite in the trucks, based on his big-track performance.

Dave Rodman: You want predictions from the heart or fact-based? Trucks: Musgrave gets the heart, but Gaughan gets the title. Busch: Green -- Vickers. Thank God Matt will get a weekend to celebrate his title!

Ryan Smithson: Obviously, the Craftsman Truck Series one will be easy -- I think Gaughan will not only clinch, but will probably do so by winning the race. In the Busch Series, the Curse of the Busch Series Title Leader is in full effect. I will go with Green.

Marty Smith: Bobby Hamilton Jr. wins the Ford 300 and Brian Vickers takes the championship. As for Trucks, you boys are right -- Brendan wins the race and the championship.

Marty Smith: I honestly think Bobby Jr. has a shot to move from sixth to the championship. If he leads the most laps and wins and everyone else struggles, it could totally happen.

Dave Rodman: Little Bobby is too far out to jump over five guys to win the title, but I'd say he's better than even money to win the race. And 2004? Look out.

Ryan Smithson: Marty, no way. That is asking for too many guys to have problems.

Marty Smith: I'm just super impressed with Hamilton and Harold Holly. Holly's a genius, man, I swear it.

Lee Montgomery: Absolutely. He'll need a lot of help, but he's been hot lately.

Ryan Smithson: If Bobby Jr. and Harold Holly stay together in 2004, they'll have the type of season Jeff Green did in 2000.

Send us some love MartDawg Ryan Lee Dave

Marty Smith: Remember who Green's crew chief was, too, Smithson.

Marty Smith: I like the David Green call by you boys, too. David's old school, savvy. He knows the key is getting to the checkers this weekend, not necessarily winning the race. Vickers, Bobby Jr. and Scotty Riggs are on the throttle wide open the whole time, they're all hot shoes. That's a good thing, but it can lead to misfortune in this type situation.

Lee Montgomery: Vickers deserves it after he got screwed at Texas. Think how far in front he'd be if not for that call.

Ryan Smithson: I don't think Green will win the race, Marty, but he's a tad more consistent than Vickers. Vickers runs into problems every few races. Not his fault, but luck is better than skill.

Marty Smith: Come on, Lee. Don't drag that back up, man! (Though it's a good point).

Send us some hate MartDawg Ryan Dave Lee

Ryan Smithson: Lee, I agree that Vickers has been the best all year this year. He got screwed at Texas and he got screwed at Pikes Peak when the lapped car didn't get out of the way.

Dave Rodman: Well, that's what I've said about David all along, too -- but giving ol' Brian, with the might of Hendrick behind him, the point lead coming into this track -- especially with the general roll he's on, might be too much to overcome.

Lee Montgomery: Twenty-two points aren't much, but if Vickers doesn't have problems, they might be enough of a cushion.

Marty Smith: The pre-race test will prove vital. It truly depends on who utilizes it best, what with the new configuration at all.

Ryan Smithson: I figured Hornaday would sneak up and take the title, but he's 39 back, and he's not had a lot of top three finishes this year. And that is what it will take.

Marty Smith: You have to wonder if those young guys don't have an advantage from playing NASCAR Thunder, too? I know it sounds odd, but it's true. Those tracks on that game are exactly like the real thing, and the 2004 edition has the new Homestead configuration.

Marty Smith: Riggs will dump Hornaday for Richmond payback.

Lee Montgomery: Can you see Hornaday playing NASCAR Thunder?

	Matt! My head is stuck! Credit: AP

Ryan Smithson: Can you see Hornaday buying NASCAR Thunder?

Dave Rodman: Whoever doesn't make a mistake, and Riggs and Vickers have made more than the others... Hmmm -- that does play back into Green's hand, doesn't it?

Marty Smith: That's what I said earlier, Dave. And you're right. I think David's methodical approach could be huge for him in this scenario.

Ryan Smithson: If Harold Holly had joined Rensi after Angela's Motorsports went up in flames, the 25 would be leading the points.

Your gut feeling: Elliott retires, or returns?

Lee Montgomery: Funny, I got asked that Monday on a radio show, and I have no idea. The better question might be, why retire now?

Ryan Smithson: Some people think he'll retire because he's on top now. I believe the opposite: That running well will make it that much easier to come back in 2004. For a full schedule.

Marty Smith: His win last weekend makes that a tough question. It seems like he'll return, but with Evernham having inked Jeremy to a new deal and with Elliott having landed that final win, I wonder if he won't walk away gracefully. Guys, you have to remember, Elliott is very old school. He's over all the hoopla.

Marty Smith: He just wants to race, and he can do that with his buddies on dirt.

Lee Montgomery: Yeah, he doesn't care one way or the other.

Dave Rodman: Whatever he does, I think he'll announce it on stage at the banquet, so bring a notebook. My gut feeling is that Bill loves to drive more than anything -- but he detests all the other stuff so much, he will walk away while he's on top.

Lee Montgomery: That's why the whole partial schedule thing sounded weird to me.

	I need to enter more of these Busch races! Credit: AP

Ryan Smithson: Lee, glad I wasn't the only one.

Dave Rodman: Go race his dirt car.

Lee Montgomery: He would hate that. You won't see a Bill Elliott Fan Appreciation Tour.

Marty Smith: Right, Lee. A Bill Elliott Victory Tour? No way.

Ryan Smithson: At least he'd actually have a shot to score some victories, Marty. A lot of guys had the Lapped Car Tour.

Lee Montgomery: It would be awesome, pun intended, if he got out of the car at Homestead and said, "See ya'll later. I'm done."

Marty Smith: Let's say he did it, five races. Where would he race? Daytona, Atlanta, Darlington, Charlotte, Bristol?

Ryan Smithson: The shame of it is, the man looks 40, drives like he's 30, and is winning like he's 20.

Lee Montgomery: He's still clearly got talent, but if he wanted to go out on top, now would be the time. But if he came back next year, he'll win next year, too. Therein lies the dilemma.

	Man. I am still hung over from the Phoenix win. Credit: AP

Ryan Smithson: I mean, Elliott's really had a good year. He had a shot to win 3-4 races.

Lee Montgomery: How much longer does he want to put up with the non-race nonsense?

Ryan Smithson: You mean the appearances and such, Lee?

Lee Montgomery: Yep.

Marty Smith: Jeremy's come on like gangbusters, too, boys. Looks like Ray's finally getting where he'd hoped to be.

Dave Rodman: He won't talk about it at Homestead, so I'm already in a save-my-breath mode. A full schedule seems to make sense, but the partial would, too -- since that's on his terms.

Marty Smith: You know...Elliott was at the Talladega short track last year and was just so happy to be hanging out with those guys. He welcomed us to hang out, check out his car. It was totally his element. All that garage hoopla, he detests it.

Will we finally see a good Winston Cup race at Miami with the new banking?

Marty Smith: Nope. Not a chance. New asphalt means one-groove racing. It'll take three years.

Dave Rodman: If the pavement stays down and if they do something to develop a couple grooves, I think for sure it will be better than some of the snoozers they've had in the past.

Ryan Smithson: I hate to straddle the fence, but it could be as good as Darlington, or as bad as Dover.

Lee Montgomery: Remember, every time there's a new track or a track re-paves, there's only one groove. The low groove. I have a sinking feeling that's what this will be like. Sure, the low groove has less banking, but not that much less. They're doing the right thing, though.

Marty Smith: Junior said so at Martinsville, boys. He took a rental car around it before Martinsville and said it'll be one groove all day. That said, this is a huge step in the right direction. The boys at H-MS are to be commended for such a drastic undertaking.

Ryan Smithson: Texas sucked the first few years too. Now's it's dialed in.

Ryan Smithson: There will be a few practice crashes at Miami.

Lee Montgomery: Probably already have been.

	With only one win in 2003, Matt Kenseth is forced to supplement his modest income. Credit: Autostock

Dave Rodman: Well, here's the ultimate tongue choker for ISC -- the racing won't be as good as it was at The Rock.

Ryan Smithson: That was a good Rockingham race. Again. Shame.

Marty Smith: Save your breath, Smithson.

Ryan Smithson: Doesn't it seem weird to you guys that Elliott's team, might make a crew chief change? I mean, Mike Ford's the man right now. What is the latest new on that front?

Marty Smith: Sure it's weird. They're dialed in right now. Ray just likes that leadership by committee deal rather than having one go-to leader come race day. It's worked for Jeremy, too.

Ryan Smithson: Sorry to change the subject. I just thought of it.

Dave Rodman: Well, the question didn't come up to Bill, Mike or Ray on Dodge's Tuesday conference, so seems to be status quo on the surface. But if Bill steps back, Mike could segue into an R&D or development role very easily.

Ryan Smithson: Rodman, you just said Research and Development or Development.

Lee Montgomery: Mike is a great guy. Told me a few months ago that those guys were close, and when they got there, they'd be good for duration. He sure was right.

Ryan Smithson: Mike's from Tennessee, so he is obviously a great guy.

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

The opinions -- if you can call them that -- are solely those of the participants.