Track Smack: Richmond

We apologize for lack of driver presence this week -- everyone and their brother is testing at Charlotte. Our guest fan is Doug Goodwin, a Sterling Marlin fan from Georgia.

Richmond got a re-pave job -- how will it affect the racing?

Doug Goodwin: As long as the track doesn't come up in chunks like Martinsville did, I'll be happy. I think any track needs multiple grooves to be interesting, long as the new paving job is conducive to that.

Marty Smith: It'll take a while to get a legitimate second groove, so we won't see much side-by-side racing. But the dynamic will still be the same. Handling will be everything. Tire wear will be big. With all that grip, the right front will wear out in a hurry. Tires will probably fall off after only a couple laps.

Ryan Smithson: Pretty simple. It will be good for the fall race, but for right now, the track will be ultra-fast, which means single-file racing until maybe late on Saturday night.

But the Busch race will probably be a parade. But it needed to be done.

Lee Montgomery: I don't know why they repaved. What was wrong with the old surface? Well, anyway, new pavement always means lots of grip and one groove, so I bet it won't be pretty.

Doug Goodwin: And lots of crunched cars who try the upper groove too early.

Lee Montgomery: Speeds will clearly be up, with both new asphalt and the softer tire.

AUDIO CLIPS If you can't get enough of Track Smack, then get your head examined. But if you need more discussion, check our audio version, where we discuss Ricky Craven's troubled year with Cal Wells. / 5:31 Listen

Ryan Smithson: Richmond's a tough place. It's a lot tougher than it looks on TV. TV does not do it justice. It gets so crowded entering 1 and exiting 2. It will be interesting to see who gets bunched up.

Lee Montgomery: Yeah, we'll hear a lot about tire wear. I hope the SAFER barrier doesn't get tested because of it.

Doug Goodwin: Drivers' patience will be tested to the max. 'Ol Happy Harvick better keep some ice in his uniform.

Ryan Smithson: Speaking of SAFER, I can't believe it's already been a year since Jerry's accident. That seems like it was last week.

Send a nice letter Marty Ryan Dave Lee

Marty Smith: The thing about Richmond, and why it's so vital that they have SAFER, are the angles entering the corners. They're very steep, very dangerous, and with drivers carrying so much speed there it can get ugly in a hurry.

Lee Montgomery: Derrike Cope's wreck a couple years ago was one of the ugliest I've ever seen.

Send a mean letter Marty Ryan Dave Lee

Ryan Smithson: Cope wadded up again bad last weekend at Gateway, but I will never forget his Richmond crash in 2002, I think.

Ryan Smithson: Well, Lee, you read my mind. He was lucky.

Lee Montgomery: No, you read mine.

Marty Smith: Look what happens when y'all sit all close together on the couch. Osmosis, baby.

Ryan Smithson: He rode that wall for a half-mile.

Doug Goodwin: It took them forever to get him out of there.

Ryan Smithson: You remember that one, Doug?

Doug Goodwin: Oh, yeah. Nasty.

Marty Smith: The track is only three-quarters of a mile, Smithson.

Ryan Smithson: Figure of speech.

Marty Smith: Incorrect one.

Doug Goodwin: Sterling's crash in '03 at Richmond ended his Championship run.

Marty Smith: Either way, so glad Derrike got out of that one, OK. It was awful, visually, so I can't imagine what it must have felt like. He's a super nice guy, one I've learned a lot from.

Ryan Smithson: Kansas, Doug. I think.

	So, Robby, best of luck for a three-peat on the road course next month!

Doug Goodwin: The Richmond crash is what broke his neck, though!

Ryan Smithson: But he had also crashed at RIR that year.

Lee Montgomery: Kansas and Richmond.

Ryan Smithson: But I thought Kansas is what did him in.

Marty Smith: Damn this song is sad. Letters from Home by John Michael Montgomery. Y'all heard it?

Doug Goodwin: Nope, but I've heard 'Redneck Woman' by Gretchen Wilson!

Lee Montgomery: Didn't we listen to that on the way back from Atlanta?

Marty Smith: She's smokin...

Ryan Smithson: Women named Gretchen are usually pretty good looking.

Marty Smith: Yep, sure did Leemo.

Ryan Smithson: That, and Alicias.

Is it a concern that Ryan Newman has not won yet?

Lee Montgomery: For Ryan Newman, sure.

Ryan Smithson: It has got to be frustrating for him.

Marty Smith: To me? No. To him? Yes.

	Our only photo of Mark McFarland

Lee Montgomery: But why be concerned? This is a guy who could win at any track at any time.

Doug Goodwin: I thought the same, but looking at his early 2003 stats, he was a slow burn last year, too.

Ryan Smithson: He can always reel off three in a row.

Marty Smith: It's a different race this year. He can't lean on the right front tire so hard, like he's been able to do for the past two years.

Lee Montgomery: He could win five of the next nine races, and we'll look stupid for talking about this.

Doug Goodwin: And he can't rely on Matt Borland's fuel conservation strategies, either!

Marty Smith: We look stupid for talking about this, anyway, Lee. It's not like he's running 35th every week.

Ryan Smithson: This may be off subject, but I think Newman will give Robby a run for his money on the road courses.

Marty Smith: Speaking of Newman, he got me good at California. I was wearing a mohawk, and he lit me up. Said my aero package looked like it had a ton of drag. I had to give it to him, quite humorous.

Lee Montgomery: He is hilarious.

Archive  Read past issues of Track Smack! Only $0.00!

Doug Goodwin: Don't forget about that No 24, Ryan. He'll want that road course retribution this year.

Lee Montgomery: Dry, but hilarious.

Ryan Smithson: Doug, it's too easy to pick Jeff Gordon on a road course, but Newman has caught up.

Who will win this weekend at Richmond?

Doug Goodwin: Kasey Kahne's going to use that short track experience to pull off his first victory.

Lee Montgomery: Tough to predict since so much has changed. But what the heck, I'm going to go with Newman. Should've won there last year but broke a rear end.

Ryan Smithson: Tony Stewart seems to win the week after huge controversy, so I am picking him. Then again, only huge controversy was 2002, but hey, Tony's tough at RIR.

Marty Smith: Jeff Gordon goes three straight, and Rusty is strong. The Rusty/Jeff rivalry is reborn. (I hope, anyway. It's fun when they don't like one another).

Ryan Smithson: But I guess this weekend it's going to be even more important to qualify up front.

Doug Goodwin: Or maybe my boy Sterling will finally come back to form this weekend. A boy can hope, can't he?

Be on Smack  We've gotten tremendous response to our effort to include the fans in Track Smack. Keep those letters coming. And it helps tremendously if you have an AOL account. Want to be in Track Smack? Email us. Then email us again.

Lee Montgomery: Speaking of Rusty and controversy, think he'll get after Stewart?

Ryan Smithson: It won't be easy, Lee, because it's not like either of them will be a lap car. But I doubt it.

Doug Goodwin: NASCAR doesn't think Tony's out of line, so Rusty better watch how hard he plants the fender on the No 20.

Marty Smith: Naw, he won't purposely dump the 20.

Lee Montgomery: I loved what he said at California. That's how things used to work in this sport. Let the drivers handle it.

Doug Goodwin: But let us see it on TV when they're handling it!

Marty Smith: I couldn't believe it, Lee. He looked me right in the eye and said Stewart had lost respect throughout the garage. Awesome quotes, boys.

Ryan Smithson: Easier said than done, Doug. TV can't be everywhere.

Doug Goodwin: Wouldn't it be great, though? Speed Channel could have a new reality show...

Ryan Smithson: Lord knows we need more reality shows.

Lee Montgomery: No matter if you like Rusty or not, he spoke his mind. And you got to respect that.

Ryan Smithson: He was so angry though, Lee, tough not to! I mean, talk about a momentum killer. And for no good reason.

Lee Montgomery: This is what makes our sport great. Drivers who talk the talk and walk the walk.

Track Smack appears every Wednesday at 11 a.m. ET.

The opinions listed here are solely those of the participants.