Ryan Newman (12) and Dale Jarrett (88) played bumper cars on a couple of occasions Saturday night at Bristol. Credit: Autostock

Track Smack: California

Should Dale Jarrett face a stiffer penalty for crashing out Ryan Newman at Bristol?

Marty Smith: You know, initially I thought they should park him. It was blatant. But Monday, after discussing the situation with Jeff Burton and Rusty Wallace, I have a new perspective.

Ryan Smithson: At the very, very least, they should have held him for five laps, not two. That was pretty blatant. Should they fine him? No, what good does that do? Does taking points away hurt him? Not anymore.

Dave Rodman: The only thing that would absolve him would be no precedent. And now that I think about it, that is the one thing that NASCAR is limply soft on, isn't it?

Duane Cross: I've gotten a ton of e-mails from fans saying that was the highlight of the race -- not that it was an intentional wreck, but fans cheering that it was Newman on the receiving end. The tone of the e-mails: Newman had it coming.

Marty Smith: How's DJ supposed to feel when he was dumped by a guy who's already all but locked in, and gets no repercussion for having wrecked him?! NASCAR isn't in a position where it can police those things, so sometimes the drivers get fed up with it and have to police it themselves.

Ryan Smithson: Marty, Newman is hardly all but locked in. I don't even think he will make the Chase now.

Marty Smith: True, I'll give you that. But the point is he was in FAR better standing than Jarrett was, when he wrecked the 88. And I doubt Newman will make the Chase now, either.

Marty Smith: The unfortunate part, of course, is that Kevin Harvick was caught up in the deal. That totally sucks for Harvick.

Dave Rodman: This goes in a million different directions. Yeah, it sucked being Kevin at that moment -- but as much as I hate spotters, his spotter plainly told him "low" and Kevin turned into the middle of the track -- boom!

In this corner, the Indiana Instigator -- Ryan Newman. ... And in this corner, the Hickory Stick -- Dale Jarrett. OK, fellas, best two out of three falls wins! Credit: Autostock

Duane Cross: Personally, I thought DJ handled it very well. Newman dumped Jarrett earlier -- though he says it wasn't on purpose -- and DJ retaliated. ... And I agree with MartDawg; Harvick was an innocent bystander who was in the wrong place.

Ryan Smithson: The Newman hit on Jarrett simply wasn't that bad. It was very typical what you see at Bristol.

Marty Smith: It wasn't that bad? Smithson, WHAT? Dude it put him in the fence. What's not bad about that? For a guy fighting for his Chase life, hitting the wall isn't bad?

Ryan Smithson: He didn't just put him in the fence, Marty. Newman doesn't race like that.

Dave Rodman: Newman's might have only been bad driving at that exact moment -- like the couple episodes the "momentary blind boy," Carl Edwards had with those Petty Enterprises cars. DJ was beyond the point of frustration.

Duane Cross: Ryan, fact of the matter is Newman ended DJ's Chase chances with that first bump -- and it was avoidable, from all indications. There's not another driver who would not have done the same thing Jarrett did.

Marty Smith: Nope, he doesn't, Smithson. And Burton and Wallace both said that, too. But they both also said they can absolutely understand Jarrett's reaction. They may not have done the same, but they understand why DJ did.

Ryan Smithson: I was listening to Mike Skinner on the radio driving into work today, and he didn't throw Jarrett under the bus either.

Dave Rodman: My math tells me there are 10 guys in the running for three spots in the Chase. Stunningly dramatic -- kudos to NASCAR -- but makes you shake your head even more about DJ's move. He's only 78 points out even with losing his mind, momentarily.

Marty Smith: True, Worm. DJ lost his composure. But drivers see races differently than we do.

Dave Rodman: Oh, man -- ain't that the truth? The only thing that is scary and funny is how deep Ryan's memory bank is. He came out of a pretty rough racing regimen, so look out -- this will make Martinsville pretty interesting.

Marty Smith: There are unwritten codes of conduct that we aren't necessarily privy to, and when one is broken, and again, NASCAR isn't in a position to do much about it, the drivers have to do something about it.

OK, Carl, I know you're relatively new to this game, but I'm Kyle Petty ... of the Randleman Pettys. Maybe you've heard of us? Credit: Autostock

Duane Cross: Marty, we all know those unwritten rules. When Newman hit DJ, the buzz in the box was the there would be retaliation -- and sure enough, it came to pass.

Marty Smith: Think about the playground as a kid. If a bully is picking on you, and your Daddy comes to fix it, he hasn't fixed anything.

Ryan Smithson: Someone really could have gotten hurt bad when Newman slid back down the track.

Duane Cross: Bristol has not been kind to Jarrett this year. Everyone remembers his one-on-one with Shane Hmiel in the Busch race ...

Ryan Smithson: Everyone forgets the Jarrett-Edwards tiff at Charlotte earlier this year.

Marty Smith: Everyone wants NASCAR to react now. But I asked John Darby after the race whether there would be further penalties, he said, 'No, we deal with in-race infractions during the race. It's over.'

Duane Cross: I thought the two-lap penalty was plenty; they could have held him for 10 and it really wouldn't have mattered. There was a big gap between how many laps down DJ was and the next guy.

Ryan Smithson: The whole scene looked like one of those movies where the guy hanging off the cliff pulls down the guy trying to rescue him, and both go over.

Duane Cross: The Edwards-Petty post-race talk was one of the highlights of the night. I tip my hat to Edwards; he's gone up 10-fold in my eyes -- for on-track performance and the respect he showed Kyle.

Ryan Smithson: Duane, you said Edwards was going to implode at Bristol, and the boy finishes 499 laps with a broken shock.

Duane Cross: I thought Edwards would be a rock in water at Bristol, but he hung in there and did what he needed to do. Kudos to the No. 99 team. I ain't too proud to say I was wrong about him.

Marty Smith: Edwards dodged a big bullet there for sure. But I think it's Kenseth and Gordon in the Chase, boys. I can't believe Kenseth has made up so much ground. They're peaking at the perfect time. He'll be awesome again this weekend, too.

Where do you see the Kevin Harvick-Childress relationship -- marriage counseling or divorce court?

So, Kevin Harvick ... are you angling for a new ride in '06? Credit: Autostock

Ryan Smithson: Kevin is really napalming his bridges right now.

Duane Cross: I hear Tammy Wynette warming up stage left ... D-I-V-O-R-C-E.

Dave Rodman: It's unfortunate he's under a microscope so everything he does is over-analyzed and possibly not too fairly. Everyone is yipping about people jumping out of their deals prematurely; the timetable Kevin is holding to is not unreasonable.

Marty Smith: Not knowing the entire situation, and judging solely by what we're seeing Kevin do and say, it's obvious he wants out.

Duane Cross: Maybe Harvick and Michael Waltrip put their heads together and start a team -- now wouldn't that be the bee's knees!

Ryan Smithson: I am not sure they will split now though. Harvick was highly critical of RCR last year too. This is not nothing new.

Marty Smith: That deal Saturday night was bizarre, fellas. Riggs was locked 'n loaded in the 29.

Duane Cross: When Kevin dropped the "we shot ourselves in the foot ... as usual," I think that said a lot as to where he thinks this team is.

Marty Smith: The interesting thing to me was that he didn't blame Jarrett or Newman for his misfortune. He blamed his spotter.

Ryan Smithson: I would have not wanted to be Marty Snider trying to chase Harvick down.

Marty Smith: Hell, dude, I chased him all the way through the tunnel. He wasn't in the talking mood, though.

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Dave Rodman: That was the most difficult thing to hear, Duane, for sure. If he said "We don't deserve to be in the Chase anyway," well, that is tough considering they still could get in.

Dave Rodman: I thought Kevin walking away from TNT's obvious try at inflaming him was priceless. "Screw you and your replays."

Duane Cross: I was just about to say that, Marty. Kevin tossed his spotter under the bus -- but on the replay, you could hear the spotter tell Kevin to go low, stay low -- and Kevin goes low, then back to the middle of the apron -- and boom, there's Newman.

Marty Smith: I didn't see that. I was too busy running after him and yardsaling my sunglasses and cell phone on pit road.

Dave Rodman: Yeah -- Kevin kinda threw himself under the bus on that one.

Marty Smith: Well, to his credit, BDC, had Harvick stayed low, I think he'd have plowed Vickers. That's what the replay looked like, anyway.

Dave Rodman: Well, if you put it that way he should have been slowing down at least as much as Brian was, so ...

Duane Cross: Either way, low is to the left -- not to the right.

Marty Smith: Whatever. Boys, the bottom line is Kevin has made it pretty clear he either wants significant change at RCR, or he wants out. Bottom line. End of story.

Dave Rodman: Well, I think we would agree that if they don't make the Chase for two years in a row -- time to plow that field.

Duane Cross: Yep, yep -- it's become another storyline for a very bizarre year.

Who's your pick to click at Cali?

	Joe Nemechek Credit: Autostock
	And the winner will be ... Predictions for California Smacker Driver Ryan C. Edwards Marty M. Kenseth Dave J. Nemechek Duane C. Edwards Last week's picks Smacker Driver Finish Duane R. Wallace 5th Mark T. Stewart 8th Marty K. Harvick 37th Ryan R. Newman 39th

Ryan Smithson: It'll be Roush Racing. Easy. I'll go with Edwards.

Duane Cross: No doubt, Roush will have all five guys in the top 10 for most of the race. ... And I'll go with Edwards, too -- but with an eye on Matt Kenseth. The dude is back to robot form.

Marty Smith: Tough call, considering all the dynamics. Kenseth is on fire and had an awesome car there in the spring. But Smoke, JJ, Biffle and Rusty can all pin the ears back without regard for points. ... I'm going with Kenseth.

Dave Rodman: Joe Nemechek. I say with the right circumstances, Joe marches into the Chase, and it starts with a win at California.

Ryan Smithson: Rodman, you've officially gone batty. Joe Nemechek couldn't make the Chase if 42 guys failed to show up the next two weeks.

Dave Rodman: Joe had that race won before he was the victim of that Hendrick engine debacle. Would be difficult, sure -- but he is due for a change of fortune. And just who do you think is gonna explode and fall out? I think there might be some surprises before two more weeks go by.

Ryan Smithson: Kenseth's comeback shows just how good this new points system is.

Marty Smith: Gordon needs to run well, boys. He was out to lunch at both Michigan races, and that's very similar to Fontana.

Duane Cross: Gordo will be there.

Ryan Smithson: Gordon wouldn't make the Chase if the next two races were Michigan-Fontana, but with Richmond, he'll be OK.

Duane Cross: And another thing, let's give NASCAR a pat on the back: The Chase has become a best-case scenario. People are buzzing about it and there will be a lot on the line at both California and Richmond.

Dave Rodman: That's what I said before boys -- 10 men going for three spots. What gets better than that?

The opinions expressed are solely of the writer.