(dis)believe the dialogue: Weekly news in review

NASCAR.com's Marty Smith and Elliott Gordon have both agreed on numerous occasions that some changes are necessary to turn Petty Enterprises around, but apparently they can't agree as to where that starts.

Should team engine builders be given the pink slip? The debate is on.

Also, not to be missed in the news this week, is the yearly discussion about whether or not Tony Stewart is leaving the sport

And what is going on with the No. 88 team?

See if you agree with the "DIS" of what has been reported, or maybe you "BELIEVE" everything you read, because if it is printed, it is true ... right?

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Elliott: DIS

Kyle Petty must be the most patient, loyal, trusting person I have never had the pleasure of meeting. He sounds like the best boss of all-time! If being 35th in the points with zero top 10 finishes and one top 10 start doesn't get you fired in Winston Cup racing these days, I don't know what will.

	Kyle Petty currently sits 35th in the points. Credit: Autostock

The Pettys have a great name, with great family racing tradition, but if things don't get shaken up over there soon, I can only assume that the sponsors are going to step in and start demanding changes.

How can they not?

Ironically enough, at this point in the 2002 season, Petty had the exact same stats for top 10 starts and finishes, but sat 18th in the points.

Not staying on the cutting edge of technology to be competitive has cost him 17 positions in the standings by basically running in place with the same people doing the same things.

I think I have said this in three straight editions of this column -- it is time for a massive reorganization of personnel and a change in philosophy if we are ever going to see Petty Blue return to glory, and who knows, maybe that includes Petty giving up his seat as well.

Marty: BELIEVE

The engines are merely a bullet point on a laundry list of issues-to-be-addressed-immediately at Petty Enterprises.

And just because PE lacked the horses to make the Pepsi 400 with two of three cars doesn't mean it's time to up and fire an engine builder that has yet to lose an engine in 2003. Yates Engines can't say that. Hendrick engines can't, either. Penske can't. Bill Davis can't.

And Roush certainly can't.

Some say that's evidence of lack of aggression. But if I'm not mistaken, isn't it ultimately the crew chief's job, and not that of the actual engine builder, to determine how hard to push the engine?

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Elliott: DIS

Would someone please locate the UPS tracking number for Dale Jarrett's season?

Jarrett, who was 11th in the standings at this point last season, currently sits 29th in the points, a position certainly resulting from finishing 30th or worse is seven of the last nine races. Brutal.

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Where can the finger be pointed? Lady Luck? Maybe. Chemistry? Definitely.

Just look at the changes Jarrett has had to endure: Teammate Ricky Rudd, gone. The Parrott brothers, gone. New teammate Elliott Sadler, welcome, and oh by the way, Sadler has more top-10 finishes this season than Rudd and Jarrett combined.

If team chemistry is key, Robert Yates should have never sent his guys home to ponder their mistakes and problems. Having them at a track with no distractions, in an environment where they can talk and experiment together, sounds like perfect team-building.

If I got sent home from work for doing a crappy job, I am pretty sure I wouldn't feel good that about it.

Practice makes perfect, but if turning around and going home is the answer, Jarrett better consider the heart of his team before he signs on the dotted line for an extension.

Marty: BELIEVE

Let's cut the crap here. The 88 team is awful right now and needs every last bit of information they can garner.

And considering that teams get just five tests total this year at sanctioned venues, it makes perfect sense for them to bail on the Indy test, use Sadler's setup of choice at the Brickyard next month and save this testing date for later use at another track.

Jarrett knows how to negotiate Indy, having won the Brickyard 400 twice. He just needs a proper setup, and relying on Sadler and Raymond Fox to provide it is legit. Jarrett has already won once this year with a Sadler/Fox setup.

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Marty: BELIEVE

I believe in this because Bodine is a legitimate title contender and deserves the chance to vie for it. But saying he's benefiting from sponsorship woes is absurd.

	Todd Bodine is looking to stay in the Busch title hunt. Credit: Autostock

He was the points leader in a Herzog-Jackson Chevrolet, but lack of sponsorship backing has forced HJM to miss races of late and nearly cost Bodine the opportunity to compete for the championship.

It's a bit shocking that Randy LaJoie was let go, but if he's out, Bodine is a good choice to replace him. He runs up front consistently in a Busch car, so Kleenex is guaranteed TV time and, if the contracts are worked out, could end up with some championship apparel to boot.

Elliott: BELIEVE

Todd Bodine may be the only driver who might actually benefit from all the sponsorship woes plaguing the Busch Series right now. Mike Wallace certainly isn't. Stanton Barrett certainly isn't.

If Bodine was floundering around in the high teens in the points, I would DISagree with this deal and suggest another driver should get a chance at some seat time, but he deserves this chance. He has only finished outside of the top-10 a handful of times and he was the points leader for almost half the season to date.

Bodine devoted himself to winning a Busch Series Championship at the beginning of the season so I am glad he got this opportunity. The sad thing is it only pays to race in Winston Cup, regardless of how priceless that Busch Series Championship trophy would be to Bodine.

You do the math.

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Elliott: DIS

Is Tony Stewart going to leave Winston Cup racing? Yes. Will it be in 2004? Nah.

Stewart is a winner and a champion, and his resume says so. 1997 IRL Champion. 2002 Winston Cup Champion. But what's missing? Indianapolis 500 champion.

	Will Tony Stewart stick around to do this again? Credit: Autostock

His heart hasn't strayed that far from open-wheel racing (he has been a co-owner of an IRL team and currently owns a World of Outlaws sprint car team), but I believe Stewart would like to be the first driver to hold up the Nextel NASCAR Cup trophy in 2004, and with Coach Joe, Bobby Labonte, and Zippy at his side, that is a real possibility.

He won't forfeit such an awesome opportunity to reach that goal with Joe Gibbs Racing for his dreams ... yet.

Stewart once joked with me that it would be fun to drive the Pope mobile, which I would consider an open-wheel car, so if that isn't a true sign he will eventually leave for open-wheel racing, nothing is! Ha.

Marty: BELIEVE

Mark my words: Stewart isn't leaving NASCAR any time soon, and may never leave until it's time to hang up the helmet for good. The boy ain't dumb. And even if he were, he'd have to be oblivious to the CART/IRL facade to leave a juggernaut for a joke.

With paltry television ratings and waning fan support, both open wheel leagues are mere shells of their former selves. And neither can touch NASCAR at present.

Both leagues are still reeling from the mid-1990s split that triggered the downfall of open wheel racing in America, and it seems no end is in sight.

Speculation in recent days says CART head cheese Chris Pook is out, and both leagues have failed miserably with premier series sponsorships in the past five years.

Even the Indy 500 lacks luster these days. Sure, Stewart yearns to fulfill his childhood dream of winning Indy, but he can do that as a full-time Winston Cup competitor.

As open wheel fizzles, NASCAR's brand equity soars, growing exponentially by the year and making Stewart and his colleagues richer by the day. Stewart often complains about the hoopla surrounding the Winston Cup Series, saying all he wants to do is race and not be troubled with the fans and the circus.

To get his wish, all he has to do is hop in a CART car.

The opinions expressed here are solely those of the writers.