It was um, a busy news week for Junior. No s---. Credit: AP

Track Smack: Kansas

Dale Jr. Again.

Marty Smith: There was no other choice. NASCAR's credibility was on the line, and considering the precedent they set with Hornaday and Sauter, Mike Helton had to penalize Junior similarly. That was the only viable way to maintain credibility.

Ryan Smithson: Well, he certainly knows how to divert attention from the 60 Minutes deal, doesn't he? But you know, NASCAR was in a lose-lose situation. If they don't dock him, they are playing favorites, if they do, then they are taking the title away.

Lee Montgomery: First off, this is a complicated subject. No. 1, I credit NASCAR for having some integrity and backing up the precedence they set earlier this year. I still think it's wrong to take away points for something off-track, but I'm not sure it's NASCAR's fault. The FCC made it clear to networks they wouldn't tolerate stuff, so NASCAR had little choice.

Dave Rodman: The interesting thing is, the FCC has never actually acted like they're going to do anything to NASCAR -- but you don't want to give those boys an entree. Having said that, all the drivers I've spoken to say Junior deserved to get whacked, so that about says it all.

Lee Montgomery: I hope beyond hope Junior wins by more than 25 or loses by more than 25.

EMAIL Lee Dave Ryan MartDawg

Marty Smith: It's a shame that a non-competitive mishap may decide this championship. Moreover, it's asinine that a driver can purposely wreck another competitor and receive no backlash from NASCAR, but a slip of the tongue can cost you 25.

Ryan Smithson: You know, guys, I don't think this will hurt him much. Isn't like he is running badly. He might win it by 50 anyway, you know?

Marty Smith: I pray he doesn't fall 15 points short, LeeMo. Hurricane Junior Fan will come through Florida.

Ryan Smithson: They have some tests left, got some good tracks coming up. He might be ok.

Marty Smith: Tough call, Smithson. I think it'll be tough for the 8 guys to make those points up. Busch looks awfully consistent right now.

Lee Montgomery: This whole thing seems silly, frankly. One word can change the championship. But, the bed was already made.

"Yeah! 31 car in the wall!" Credit: AP

Dave Rodman: That's a pretty good point, guys -- about praying he loses by more than 25, if he loses. The phones over at NASCAR headquarters have been ringing off the hook -- not surprisingly punctuated by a lot of curses. Pretty funny actually, that some dummies will load five bullets into the gun and then play Russian roulette.

Ryan Smithson: Marty, I ran the numbers, and Busch is a tough guy to call. He's only got seven top fives all year. The 24 has been much better.

Marty Smith: It all goes back to precedent. NASCAR HAD to penalize him or lose all integrity in the garage. They've been questioned so much this year, this was a no-brainer.

Ryan Smithson: Marty, lee, it didn't take NASCAR long either. I mean, Tuesday at 9 a.m, they released it, so they probably decided Sunday night. Easy decision.

Oh man. Tell me that isn't pink.

Dave Rodman: Well, can you all believe that -- just like everyone says -- Talladega is telling the tale on this championship, but not in the way that anyone imagined. I can't believe we now have three legitimate championship contenders, one dark horse and six guys that almost amount to also-rans if the "no mulligan" theory comes true.

Lee Montgomery: I agree.

Marty Smith: Agree with what, Lee?

How in the world can I draft with a pink car?

Lee Montgomery: I think it goes back further than that. Goes back to the Super Bowl.

If Janet Jackson doesn't expose herself, we're not talking about this.

Ryan Smithson: Janet, how dare you mess with the title chase.

Marty Smith: Like you're upset about that, Lee!

Ryan Smithson: Lee liked it.

Lee Montgomery: I don't want to see that, and I know millions of parents don't want to, either.

Marty Smith: Headline: Jackson's breast major player in Cup title Chase.

Lee Montgomery: That's not far from the truth.

Ryan Smithson: Headline: Dale Jr. thinks Janet's breast not too cool now.

Victory Lane interview Victory Lane Dale Jr. lets a profane word slip

Dave Rodman: Just pray the FCC doesn't fine NBC for that non-delayed gaffe.

Ryan Smithson: Rodman, I will hardly pray NBC doesn't get fined, I think I will pray for world peace first.

Lee Montgomery: So, Junior fans, if you want to blame someone, blame the FCC.

Marty Smith: I know, LeeMo, just giving you a hard time. Parents tune into race broadcasts with confidence their children won't be subjected to R-rated language, regardless its tone.

Marty Smith: There's a question, Rodzilla -- where was the seven second delay? I've yet to get an answer on that.

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Dave Rodman: This is not a forum for larger, real issues, so we don't have to go there.

Ryan Smithson: Yeah but Marty, I got some emails, I am sure you got them too; TV runs promos for wife-swapping, for crying out loud!

Marty Smith: My mailbag just posted, and my email is going insane.

Lee Montgomery: It's odd, in a way. The majority of race fans are Republicans, so I'm guessing the majority of Junior fans, too. But it's not a stretch to say it was a Republican government that might steal the title away from Junior.

Marty Smith: I'm not even going to address that statement, Lee.

Lee Montgomery: I know. But it is odd.

The media doesn't help its credibility any when it wears hats like this. Credit: Autostock

Ryan Smithson: I still say that if Junior keeps it up he'll win the title by way more than 25, Lee. Dale Jr. hardly gets the credit he deserves for his consistency.

Marty Smith: I agree with you Smithson. Junior's wheelin' that 8 right now, which is remarkable considering he was burned so badly.

Marty Smith: I wonder what Justin Timberlake thinks of all this.

Ryan Smithson: He's more worried about Britney's new man.

Dave Rodman: Guys, guys, guys -- no one is stealing anything, here. And I'm a redneck, so I can say this. A redneck kid made a redneck comment thinking he was above getting penalized for it -- and as soon as he did, he said "oh s---, did I just say that?' Then he started dancing.

Marty Smith: You're from New Hampshire, Rodman. You ain't a redneck.

Lee Montgomery: Is the FCC an independent agency?

Ryan Smithson: Rodman, you're from New England. How can you be a New England redneck?

Lee Montgomery: There are plenty of rednecks in New England.

Ryan Smithson: Not the real kind.

Dave Rodman: I know plenty of New England rednecks, boys.

How do I get this yellow stripe off?

Ryan Smithson: I've been to Fenway and my neck never got as red as it did when I went to Rockingham.

Lee Montgomery: Fenway ain't New Hampshire International Speedway.

Marty Smith: New Hampshire fans rule. I swear y'all, 100 of 'em stood in the freezing cold, pouring rain to watch five media idiots run their mouths on Pit Bull. I simply could not believe it.

Do you guys think non-Chase drivers have been getting enough media attention?

Marty Smith: I think Dale Jarrett and Ricky Rudd have a point, but mostly because of the potential sponsorship ramifications. Where I struggle with their point is that drivers outside the top five or seven were rarely mentioned under the old system anyway.

Ryan Smithson: I think that the 29, 18, 88, 42 and 9 got so much in August that it balances out a little. I don't think they are getting slighted, no.

Marty Smith: Now, the fact that the media isn't covering DJ's great run right now does, utterly, suck.

Dave Rodman: I think it's definitely been slanted toward the Chase contenders. As has been aptly pointed out -- look at Richmond: career best for Mike Bliss -- ignored; race leading top-10 performance by Mike Wallace with a team not known for short track prowess, ignored.

Lee Montgomery: Yes and no. The way you get attention is by winning, and a non-Chase driver hasn't won yet. On the other hand, Jarrett at Dover and Bliss at Richmond were practically ignored.

Ryan Smithson: Joe Nemechek ignored at Talladega.

Lee Montgomery: Not on Friday.

Ryan Smithson: No, Sunday, Lee.

We guess this means Bobby Labonte and Ricky Craven have the same-sized head. Credit: Autostock

Dave Rodman: So even good performances -- potential winning performances by non-Chase drivers are getting short shrift -- and that's not right.

Marty Smith: Did y'all know that just two races have been won by non-Chase drivers? Rusty at Martinsville and Biffle at Michigan.

Ryan Smithson: Yeppers. Although Kahne should have 2-3.

Dave Rodman: Well, Joe did not run all that well on Sunday. But at the end he was coming.

Lee Montgomery: He finished seventh.

Ryan Smithson: But yeah, Marty, when Dale Jr. won at Dega, I thought, "Another Chaser wins."

Marty Smith: All said, I'll agree that in unique instances, some non-Chasers are slighted. But overall, no.

Dave Rodman: And again, as the pole winner, you would think he would have been monitored a little bit better.

Lee Montgomery: Harvick and Gaughan kind of got ignored Sunday.

Marty Smith: What did you just say, Smithson?

Ryan Smithson: When Dale Jr. won at Dega, I thought to myself, "Another victory by a Chaser." Like 27 out of 29.

Marty Smith: Well aren't you Einstein.

Lee Montgomery: Biffle did win. I had forgotten about that.

Thanks a lot, Janet. You're more dangerous to Junior's title hopes than Jimmie Johnson. Credit: AP

Ryan Smithson: Biffle and Rusty. We'll see another one. Maybe one more. Still think Kahne on a 1.5-miler.

Marty Smith: In the 20 minutes we've been doing Smack, I swear my Blackberry hasn't stopped buzzing. Junior's fans are furious.

Dave Rodman: Are they cussing? I bet they are...

Dave Rodman: Honestly, this a subject I wish we did not have to waste any time on. You'd like to be able to say NASCAR should put some pressure on the networks to be more even-handed, when it's necessary -- but you have to think a lot of people want to know what's happening to the contenders.

Ryan Smithson: Marty, you gotta expect it though, I mean, we can beat this to death.

Marty Smith: What do you mean the networks, Rodman? It's all media. We didn't do a story on Jarrett on Sunday. We did a story on Jimmie Johnson blowing a motor up.

Lee Montgomery: We did do a Harvick story, though.

Ryan Smithson: We did a story on Jarrett at Dover, though.

Dave Rodman: Yeah -- but we did DJ and Rusty at Dover.

Lee Montgomery: And I did a Nemechek story at NHIS.

Marty Smith: I'm sure they appreciate it.

Ryan Smithson: Fans, we really do try to balance it out.

Dave Rodman: Kasey Kahne at NHIS. Those are just stories I've done. We have done a lot of non-Chase pieces.

Marty Smith: Though I reckon you're right -- no one cares about much outside of network TV.

Lee Montgomery: TV rules the world

Dale Jr. fans riot in Peru after word that their man was docked 25 points. Credit: AP

Lee Montgomery: Junior cussed up a storm in the press box, but no one cared.

Ryan Smithson: I want a driver to say "damn it to hell" 39 straight times. On NBC.

Dave Rodman: Well, it's nice Little E feels he's by the fireside, among friends, but dang -- get the wrong media jerk in there with a microphone and bam! What kind of expose would that be?

Ryan Smithson: Expose? The fans would go out and buy more t-shirts! People love that stuff.

Dave Rodman: What? Media jerks?

Ryan Smithson: No, honesty and realism. He's a real person, not a freakin' robot.

Dave Rodman: Which is why he's so lovable -- but not above set standards of decency.

Lee Montgomery: My fault for going back to Junior.

AUDIO Track Smack Audio Where does new points leader Kurt Busch go from here?

Ryan Smithson: Sorry we couldn't talk about your beloved Todd Bodine winning at Fontana, Rodman. He did a hell of a job in that truck. Hillman's a good crew chief.

Dave Rodman: He has done a job and a half in that thing in every race they've run, except

New Hampshire -- which undoubtedly would have been more of the same since they qualified about top five, as usual. They are a real catch, for Toyota; and give a lot of hope to a lot of other team owners, I would think.

Ryan Smithson: Bodine won that race his self, as LarryMac would say.

Dave Rodman: Well, he has the team behind him and you're right -- him and Mike are a real good pair.

Marty Smith: The same shout out could go to Shane Hmiel ... he's been wheeling that 15 like nobody's business.

Ryan Smithson: Shane Hmiel could put a Gremlin on the Bud Pole.

Predictions for Kansas?

Lee Montgomery: Kansas. Kenseth. Has a nice ring to it.

Ryan Smithson: I think Stewart will bounce back and get the win.

Marty Smith: I'm going with Newman to win his second straight, and the 9 will be awesome, too.

Ryan Smithson: Old Tony hasn't had a top-five since winning at The Glen.

Lee Montgomery: The 9 will be good. So will the 20.

Dave Rodman: Of course, if Jeff Gordon totally gets his head down -- look out, cause that is his venue, don't forget.

Ryan Smithson: I hope Janet Jackson will be at Kansas to answer questions from the media.

Do you like my new glasses, Ray? Ray? Credit: Autostock

Marty Smith: Back to Junior a moment: Some dude just wrote me and called me about 700 expletives, with a few brown nose comments in between. This is great.

Lee Montgomery: Wonder if he can get fined?

Marty Smith: I'm going to take a bunch of these emails and put a notebook together. Fans will crack up at this stuff. It's welcome comic relief for me, for sure. They're very creative. They call me things I wouldn't call my worst enemy.

Ryan Smithson: I enjoy watching Martin Scorsese movies on cable. Marty, you melon-farming idiot.

Dave Rodman: Everyone wishes they could cuss at will -- that must be one of the reasons why they love Jr. -- fining him is like taking away their privileges.

Ryan Smithson: I remember Vanderbilt's football team banned cursing. They said "Frap" a lot.

Lee Montgomery: You have to take the good with the bad. Network TV can be a home to profane language. It's that simple.

Ryan Smithson: Wife swappers! Go buy Levitra. Dad, what is that?

Marty Smith: I hope you meant "can't be" LeeMo.

Lee Montgomery: Oh, yeah, can't be.

The opinions listed here are solely those of the participants.