Track Smack: The COT, Watergate and Nation rides (cont'd)

Joe Menzer: You are so right about that, DC2. I love guys who respect history. Too many guys in today's world -- NASCAR and elsewhere -- don't.

Dave Rodman: Look for those in many aisles of your local Kmart next year. I hope they would not go to that great effort and expense -- but I don't know enough about that die-cast industry, so what?

David Caraviello: And Joe knows a lot about history, as he's witnessed plenty of it.

Joe Menzer: It reminds me of a story from my NFL days. Roman Gabriel, the former NFL great, spoke at a luncheon and a current Pro Bowl receiver said to him afterward, 'Wow. You played?'

Dave Rodman: No way!

Joe Menzer: The receiver shall remain nameless, but he used to play for the Panthers and now plays for the Chicago Bears. You figure it out.

Dave Rodman: Nameless is better for that dorkus.

David Caraviello: I once heard a story about Ray Fox being denied entry into a will-remain-nameless Nextel Cup facility because nobody knew who he was.

Dave Rodman: Hmmm. I mighta been there. Just goes to show you the mechanical geniuses have never, and probably never will get the credit they deserve.

2) Where does the water in the fuel fiasco from Atlanta rate in Cup racing history -- and could something just as strange happen at Texas?

Joe Menzer: Well, as far as this sport goes, you are the resident historian, Roadman -- but that water in the fuel tank thing at Atlanta seemed about as strange as anything I've seen lately. What about you?

Dave Rodman: Without question, that's one of the weirdest ones I've seen in a long, long time -- maybe ever.

Joe Menzer: I guess it's Watergate II.

David Caraviello: Well, during my graduate studies in petroleum storage at Texas A&M, I learned that unleaded fuel at a certain temperature ... dude, how the heck do I know? We need someone from Sunoco on the panel.

Joe Menzer: You know what? Something just dawned on me. Wasn't there a guy lurking at our live Track Smack location last week at Atlantic Station in Atlanta who looked a little like Gordon Liddy?

John Darby

Dave Rodman: The neat thing is, as Brother Aumann covered to a "T" (read more): There are smart people working on it; and reading Mr. Darby's explanation -- it's a good thing they're a helluva lot smarter than I am about fuel dynamics.

Joe Menzer: Can you imagine, though, if during one of these last Chase races, one of the top Chasers suddenly goes kaput on the last restart because he has water in his fuel?

Dave Rodman: Ain't gonna happen. But yeah, at Atlanta that was too late to have affected the pumps -- or is that effected?

David Caraviello: Strange things like this used to happen all the time at Texas. Remember the seeping racetrack? Thankfully, the place seems to have shaken off the gremlins of its youth.

Dave Rodman: I bet someone will be monitoring that on a daily basis from here on out. In fact, I bet NASCAR has already sent operatives to Texas, Phoenix and Homestead to test the systems already.

Joe Menzer: I know one thing. If something really strange happens and it affects (yes, affects) the outcome of the Chase, the NASCAR cover-up to follow could be greater than the original Watergate!

Dave Rodman: I was impressed with the system checks that Sunoco had in place to monitor water content in its tanks at AMS. But that makes it all the odder how the murky stuff showed up.

David Caraviello: Maybe NASCAR was just trying to go green. You know, water the stuff down to help the planet. Stretch out a scarce natural resource. Then again, maybe not ...

Dave Rodman: I was glad they debunked any theories of sabatoogey, to quote Moe. Or was it Larry? And the fact that it affected such a wide range of competitors: From Blaney fighting for his life in the top 35 to Hamlin and Burton in the Chase, to who knows who else; was somewhat comforting -- though not to them.

Joe Menzer: Yeah, I'm sure they were very comforted by that!

David Caraviello: Somebody probably just knocked over a bottle of Dasani.

Joe Menzer: Maybe so, but it must have been one big bottle!

Dave Rodman: Where did sugar once get put in a number of fuel systems? Was that Riverside or Talladega? Or was there even a tampering scandal at Atlanta one time that Alan Kulwicki was involved in?

Joe Menzer: You're asking us? I thought you were the history buff?

Dave Rodman: Whatever, that is the stuff of legends and I'd like to think it could not happen here. Though at a place like Martinsville, or Bristol -- where the garage and infield are one and the same, who knows? (Continued)