Ricky Hendrick (17) at Daytona, 2001. Credit: Michelle Mecha/HSP

Track Smack: Atlanta

Best Ricky Hendrick memory?

Ryan Smithson: I have not heard anyone mention this, but I remember his Truck Series win at Kansas in 2001. Man, it was like 300 degrees, and engines were blowing left and right, and Sprague blew one. Ricky went on to win. Drove well. I am not 100 percent sure of this, but I guess Ricky will always hold the first-ever NASCAR victory at Kansas Speedway. But I think that was the inaugural. Place was packed.

Marty Smith: Impossible call, though earlier this year I was in New York with Brian Vickers and Chris Haid, and Ricky kept paging Vickers' Nextel, pestering him about when he'd be home for dinner. I found that to be hysterical.

Lee Montgomery: I remember after Rick came back from leukemia, he told the story about how he often used John to take phone calls from the media. John and Rick sounded exactly alike, you see, and Rick said, "Chances are you talked to John and not me."

Dave Rodman: Out of respect for the Hendrick family, and the families of all the victims, I decline to participate in this section.

Marty Smith: And as I wrote about in my column earlier this week, his generous nature knew no bounds. When he picked up the dinner tab for Lainie, myself and our friends, without even telling us -- that was who Ricky Hendrick was. He was a wonderful person, who will be dearly missed.

Lee Montgomery: Not much else to say. This is simply an unimaginable tragedy.

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Ryan Smithson: Marty, I read several other instances of that, did you read Mike Massaro's column on ESPN? It mirrored yours.

Marty Smith: No, I missed that one. What did it say?

Ryan Smithson: Basically same thing you did -- that he'd give you the shirt off his back, and have fun doing it.

Marty Smith: It is indeed accurate, then, because he most certainly would do that.

Ryan Smithson: You know, when a kid with a famous dad like that starts racing, you figure he's just doing it to do it, but Ricky had a lot of driving talent. People forget that. He did a good job in the limited time he was in the car.

Can Robby Gordon prove that a driver-owner can do well in Nextel Cup?

Marty Smith: These days it seems a virtual impossibility. He's tried before with marginal success. I'd say in order to truly succeed he can't go it alone. He must align himself with a conglomerate.

Lee Montgomery: He'll run well at Sonoma and Watkins Glen.

Ryan Smithson: Oh man. Tough, tough call. He better get him the best engines available instead of hoping to build them himself.

Robby Gordon

Lee Montgomery: But that's about it. It's tough sledding for an owner/driver and for a single-car team.

Ryan Smithson: But like Lee said, his season will be built around the road courses anyway. And all's fair there.

Marty Smith: To his credit, Robby's done very well in the Busch Series, but Cup is an entirely different obstacle.

Ryan Smithson: A single-car team like the Wood Brothers will have a hard enough time cracking the top 15 with all their knowledge, experience and talent, so for Robby, it'll be twice as tough.

Dave Rodman: The Busch Series is not Nextel Cup, and to think you can simply transfer everything over and run just as well might be overly optimistic. Having said that, the solid chemistry Robby's got on his Busch team will go a long way to helping him succeed, but like someone said, the alliances he creates -- particularly in the engine department, will be critical.

Dave Rodman: Don't forget, Robby's won on ovals, at Daytona and Loudon -- and he made up all those laps at Richmond. He can succeed, but it will be a lumpy path.

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Ryan Smithson: Gosh, I am sitting here trying to remember who supplies his Busch engines, Childress I am sure, so it's safe to assume RCR will lease him engines for 2005?

They certainly have the personnel to take on a new client.

Lee Montgomery: I don't think it's safe to assume that.

Ryan Smithson: Really, Lee? Who else can he get them from?

Lee Montgomery: Who knows?

Ryan Smithson: Hendrick doesn't really lease engines to anyone not directly associated with them, do they? And neither does DEI. Heck, he could be running a Dodge for all we know. I guess we'll find out Friday.

Dave Rodman: RCR will be his best bet. Richard is opening a new 40,000-square-foot engine shop, and he said he's going to be supplying to five or six teams. Don't know if he was counting Robby Gordon Motorsports in that number, though.

What will happen at Atlanta? Can Earnhardt Jr. bounce back?

Marty Smith: Sure, and I think he will. The No. 8 guys always seem to excel the week after they struggled. Plus, he won there in the spring.

Lee Montgomery: Junior can certainly bounce back, but he's in a deep hole. He'll need some help from Busch and Gordon to win the title this year.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Ryan Smithson: Martinsville was bad. Way bad for Earnhardt. They worked so hard for that race, and they came out with nothing. Meanwhile, Kurt Busch looks invincible. But you never know. All it takes is one blown piston.

Ryan Smithson: Lee, you're right; he can't out-race them at this point.

Marty Smith: I think you'll see many Chasers do well this weekend. Sadler has been awesome on 1.5-mile tracks this year, and Jeff Gordon won this race a year ago.

Dave Rodman: I think the Hendrick resolve is going to step up here. Jeff and Jimmie could easily go one-two.

Ryan Smithson: It'll be interesting to see if Bobby Labonte can keep his winning streak alive. He hasn't had a top-10 since July, so if he breaks through with a win in the last four races, it'll be a remarkable feat.

Dave Rodman: It is still a three-man race, as I've said for a few weeks now. Junior is hanging on by his fingernails, but he's got about six-and-a-half hangnails.

Marty Smith: I think I read in People or somewhere that he said his worst habit is chewing his nails.

Dave Rodman: Having said that, he can certainly dominate at AMS -- but then again, would we have predicted he'd have a race at Martinsville like he did? Absolutely not!

Lee Montgomery: My wife does that. Chews her nails. I gave up trying to help her stop.

Marty Smith: Remember, boys. Casey Mears was awesome at Atlanta before his motor grenaded. He has continued to excel. Could be his weekend.

Dave Rodman: Well, if that is true -- look out. I was going to say it's a two-man race, but I'll give him credit for being only 30 points behind Jeff. But Kurt looks better and better, each week that goes by.

Ryan Smithson: I really love Atlanta. It's my favorite superspeedway. By far.

Marty Smith: Should be. You're at home.

Ryan Smithson: I love the three grooves. I hope Texas is that way soon.

Lee Montgomery: As I've always said, worn pavement makes for better racing.