Track Smack: Off weekend

The Track Smackers start this week on a somber note. Last week, our friend Ken Patterson, the PR head at Talladega Superspeedway, passed away. He was only 38. All four of us dealt with him often, and he was one of the friendliest and most well-liked people in the sport. He will missed be missed greatly.

Our guest this week is Diane Felhaber, a Sterling Marlin fan from Norfolk, Va.

Did Kasey Kahne have a right to be upset when he said that NASCAR needs to take a look at the amount of laps that are run under caution?

Diane Felhaber: I think so. I've seen a few times when I felt that wins have been lost by a caution. Like Kasey and a few others. I think that track debris is a joke. Other guys have lost races through a caution as well.

Marty Smith: Yes and no. NASCAR's effort to assure the track is clear of debris is for his safety. But at both Bristol and Texas, the final caution lasted an eternity. So I can see where frustration would build. There's no question about the validity of Kahne's comment that, given a few more laps, the race was his for the taking. He had the best car all day long, and one of the strongest cars in Texas history, period. Sadler even said so.

Ryan Smithson: Probably. That was his race. But it seemed that Bristol was worse. The track at Texas has got to be clean -- so many guys were loose -- and you've got to make sure. But Kasey said they were cleaning the bottom of the backstretch, which is weird.

Lee Montgomery: It did seem a little strange to have a caution last seven laps at a 1.5-mile track. NASCAR has added one lap for safety reasons, so that's part of it. I'm not sure what took so long.

Dave Rodman: It was just the latest case of getting out of a car and the mouth is still running 190. It's hard to give a blanket endorsement to anything, but having monitored NASCAR's control channel for many years and many races, 95 percent of the time I'd stand behind what they're doing.

Marty Smith: This has happened to the 9 team so many times. I can understand their issue. Remember at Kansas last year? Bill Elliott had the best car, hands down, but Newman won on fuel mileage. That's got to get old.

Dave Rodman: Kasey was just frustrated -- and he should have been. But the way the race played out, at 501 miles, he was half a car worse than Sadler. Wouldas, shouldas and couldas are less than a dime a dozen. Don't count for squat, here. Other guys have lost races through a caution as well.

Send a nice letter Marty Ryan Dave Lee

Ryan Smithson: You know, if Sadler hadn't had that pit miscue on Lap 181, he might have won it a little more easily. I don't want Sadler's win sullied by any means. He had an awesome car and handled Kahne's charge like a pro.

Lee Montgomery: I don't think Kasey was dissing Sadler.

Ryan Smithson: I didn't say he was.

Marty Smith: I agree, Smithson. But back to your comment about Sadler's pit miscue. What-ifs are useless in racing, man. I mean, if Jeff Gordon hadn't had that ignition problem...Seriously, he was hauling freight when the caution flew.

Send a mean letter Marty Ryan Dave Lee

Diane Felhaber: But Sadler did have a great car and he handled Kahne's charge well.

Marty Smith: Yeah, it's not the first time the best car didn't win. I'm elated for E. It's not like he fell into this. They're stronger than nine rows of wild onions this year. He's been beating on the door. It finally fell down.

Ryan Smithson: Marty, I think that is a lot of it, Evernham frustration. They could have 10 wins in two years. But they don't.

Dave Rodman: They'll win before too long, here. Don't you think that's going to be some kind of celebration?

Diane Felhaber: Kasey reminds me of Ryan Newman two years ago. How many races did he come in second before he won one?

Ryan Smithson: Like 4 or 5, Diane. That is a good comparison. OK, I checked. It was four races, Diane. Good memory.

	NASCAR.COM's Lee Montgomery (left) poses with Dwayne (The Rock) Johnson. Five minutes later, Montgomery's head was ripped off. Credit: Autostock

Diane Felhaber: Their driving styles are similar. Give Kahne a little more time and I think everyone will be afraid of him.

Marty Smith: They already are.

Diane Felhaber: I love them Dodge Boys.

Marty Smith: The 9 is the only team to be consistently good everywhere. I don't think they were stellar at Daytona, but they've been top-five everywhere else.

Ryan Smithson: Marty, Kahne was fast at Daytona. All during Speedweeks.

Marty Smith: I can't remember back that far, man.

Ryan Smithson: It'll be fun to see how he handles Sonoma.

Dave Rodman: He is going to shock everyone at Sonoma -- except for those of us who remember his days as a Ford boy, when they had him run in some road racing series prepping for a possible Indy car career.

Marty Smith: Diane remembers 2001. I don't remember last week.

Diane Felhaber: Who could forget 2001?

Ryan Smithson: You know, Marty, Kahne sounded like he was surprised Martinsville would be so tough. He tested there last week.

	Sterling, they took my car man.

Marty Smith: I read an awesome column by Steve Rushin in Sports Illustrated about how he wishes he could quote Sir Isaac Newton, but he can't because his brain is full of quotes from Nate Newton. Hysterical...

Diane Felhaber: Short tracks always are tough.

Ryan Smithson: I think we made Lee Montgomery fall asleep.

Marty Smith: Martinsville rules, boys. It's full throttle, hammer the brake, full throttle, and hammer the brake. 1,000 times. Awesome.

Diane Felhaber: Lee, wake up!

Lee Montgomery: Long weekend at Texas.

Ryan Smithson: Martinsville: Wait until you see a guy with a yellow bumper. Move him out of the way. Repeat.

Dave Rodman: If they can catch him, that is. Ray has got the program in full effect and Kasey is executing it. Of course, the same wouldas, couldas and shouldas that could mean a win can also keep him out of Victory Lane for a while.

Who is the best team in Nextel Cup right now?

Diane Felhaber: Evernham.

Lee Montgomery: Kahne and Tommy Baldwin have got it going on.

	It's a good thing Sadler won this race. He's one of the few drivers strong enough to lift the 209-pound trophy.

Ryan Smithson: The obvious answer is Evernham, but I still think the 17 bunch is the best right now, and Roush Racing as a whole. Biffle's on fire, too. But no one has noticed.

Marty Smith: I'm sticking with Team Lowe's. Jimmie's a hot shoe and the 48 is the best pit crew in the game. They won him Darlington. The only place the 48 has been off is Rockingham. They were awful there, but everywhere else they've been awesome.

Dave Rodman: Chad and Jimmie show a lot of signs of being what Ray and Jeff Gordon were in the mid-1990s.

Lee Montgomery: The 17 and 8 are close, but no one has been as fast as Kahne all year long.

Dave Rodman: If you base it on potential -- blindingly so -- it's Evernham in general and the 9 specifically, especially if you look at how all three of his cars were running at Texas. But if you base it on production, it would have to be the Roush organization and either the 17 or the 97.

Diane Felhaber: Ryan, that is because poor Biffle has no personality. Think of that goofy Subway commercial.

Ryan Smithson: Diane, you're crazy, Biffle's got a ton of personality.

Lee Montgomery: Biffle has plenty of personality.

Diane Felhaber: I'd have to meet him to know.

Lee Montgomery: That's like saying Ryan has no stats in his head.

Ryan Smithson: Biffle's on the verge of winning 2-3 races.

Marty Smith: Exactly. The same must be said about Matt Kenseth and Bobby Labonte. Two of the funniest guys around. Yet, people think they're boring.

Lee Montgomery: Ryan Newman, too.

Ryan Smithson: Bobby Labonte's got the driest wit in the land.

	Bobby Labonte, right before he cracks a joke.

Lee Montgomery: Newman cracks me up.

Dave Rodman: That's some sly humor going on, there. Something you've got to work at.

Diane Felhaber: Next to Sterling Marlin, the class clown.

Ryan Smithson: Newman's not scared to talk, either. He wasn't happy with the track on Sunday, and he said so. He was enraged.

Dave Rodman: Yeah, but that's kind of a dead horse he was beating.

Everyone knew Texas wouldn't have SAFER barriers when they went there -- and they had announced they would have them this summer. Yipping about it is kind of like piling on...

Diane Felhaber: Newman tells it like he sees it.

Ryan Smithson: Diane only mentioned Sterling because she loves that boy. Well, not a boy. He's a boy's grandfather now.

	Ah! I can't get my earplugs out!

Diane Felhaber: He older than me, and I'm 45! When did he become a grandpa?

Ryan Smithson: Last week. After Darlington.

Diane Felhaber: OK. I heard about it but didn't know when.

Will Elliott Sadler maintain his success?

Dave Rodman: Absolutely. Getting Todd Parrott was the best thing that could have happened to that team, after they were so good last season only to get dismembered for the good of the organization. They are making good on the potential Little Raymond and Shawn Parker showed at the beginning of '03.

Diane Felhaber: Maybe if they can keep the motors intact and the bad luck demons away.

Marty Smith: Yes. He said something crucial after finishing fifth at Darlington -- he's learned how to drive. He said he's always known how to go fast, but he didn't necessarily have the patience to stay fast. Now, he does. That's huge.

Ryan Smithson: I don't think Elliott will stay in the top five, but he will make the playoffs. He's still got some consistency to work on. But he'll win again this year.

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Lee Montgomery: There is no reason why Sadler shouldn't be able to keep it up. RYR is clearly improved over last year, but are they ready to run up front every week? Probably not, but they might win again.

Ryan Smithson: Elliott's always been a quick starter, Marty. We'll see if he can put two good halves together. Sadler's always been tough early in the year for some reason.

Dave Rodman: It's usually got to happen, eventually, for everyone. I think this year is their year. They have been good everywhere except one race that -- due to Marty's disease -- escapes me -- but they will win in multiples and be steady most everywhere else.

Marty Smith: He may win Martinsville, Lee. Finished fifth in the spring there last year.

Dave Rodman: Look for him to shine at Richmond, too. Homestanding.

Diane Felhaber: Only if the bad luck dudes stay away.

Lee Montgomery: It's so tough to stay consistent these days. That's what makes Kahne's run so spectacular.

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Marty Smith: Kahne has me convinced. Then again, we all should have listened to Tony Stewart. He told us all a couple years ago that Kasey was going to be a baller.

Diane Felhaber: It's hard to be consistent in anything in life. That why it looks so cool when someone is. Do you suppose Ford is getting heartburn now?

Track Smack appears every Wednesday on NASCAR.com at 11 a.m. ET sharp. Even on off-weeks.

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