Track Smack: Better than ever and worse than ever

1. Jeff Gordon, with two victories in nine starts, appears to be at his best since the years of winning double-digit races in the late 1990s, so how does the current Gordon, and the sport he competes in, compare to the racer and the series back then?

Mark Aumann: He may not be as aggressive but he's a much smarter driver than he was a decade ago. I think that accounts for his resurgence as much as anything.

David Caraviello: If anything, the competitive field now is much tougher. Look at all the fully-sponsored teams going home every week. I don't think Nextel Cup was quite as deep in 1995 or 1996, when Gordon was at his previous peak.

Dave Rodman: Mark, I think he is by God no less aggressive -- but he is just as much more experienced and that experience brings additional smarts -- so that is a pretty daunting obstacle for anyone else who wants to win.

Mark Aumann: Oh, I don't know that he takes the same kind of chances he did a decade ago. I think his race strategy is so much better.

David Caraviello: I think Gordon's aggressiveness has been rekindled. I think he's tired of playing second fiddle to Jimmie Johnson in his own shop. I think his competitive fire is burning hotter than ever. Which is ironic, since everyone thought the changes in his personal life might soften him.

Dave Rodman: To your competition point, this is the gold standard for Cup competition. Obviously, there has never been this depth or number of competitive cars. I don't think the number of potential winners matches the number of good teams -- but the margin from first to 43rd ain't great.

David Caraviello: Totally agree. There's a difference between the number of cars trying to make races and the number of cars trying to win races.

Mark Aumann: Plus, sometimes success goes in peaks and valleys. It's not a surprise that Gordon couldn't keep up a torrid pace, especially as other teams began to show strength.

Dave Rodman: I got one thing to say about that. Actually, two: Terry Labonte. I know Gordon's recent history is probably not as extreme a comparison as Terry winning titles in 1984 and 1996.

Mark Aumann: Dave, Terry Labonte has 22 career victories. Jeff Gordon had 23 over a 65-race span in 1997 and 1998.

Dave Rodman: Obviously, I was not referring to pure stats, because they're just numbers. I was talking about Terry's dip between championships and how getting back with a guy he was on a hand-in-glove deal with, Gary DeHart, resulted in a championship.

Mark Aumann: NASCAR is filled with drivers who were good for a short span, then faded. But there's only a few who were at the top, dropped down and then returned to No. 1.

Sweet Letarte

He's part crew chief, part advisor and part cheerleader. Steve Letarte plays many roles atop Jeff Gordon's pit box.

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Dave Rodman: That's why it's a huge shame Big E did not get to finish that 2001 season. He would have contended for the title, after a few off years that just so happened to coincide with Gordon's greatness.

David Caraviello: But getting back to these days -- you just look at Gordon's own team -- he gets no breaks anywhere.

Dave Rodman: I can't hardly think of anyone who gets any breaks, can you?

David Caraviello: Dude, when your own team includes two other guys capable of winning the title, you're not exactly getting it handed to you.

Mark Aumann: I'm trying to think of another situation like this, David, and can't come up with one -- where two teammates have been this good at the same time. Perhaps the Roush guys three years ago.

David Caraviello: Yeah, when they got five in the Chase.

Mark Aumann: Right. But I don't remember the flat-out domination that we're seeing right now.

David Caraviello: Here's how tough it is today: Jeff Gordon is in the midst of maybe his best start ever. And he still has one less win than his teammate, Jimmie Johnson.

Dave Rodman: Well, that's life at the top of the tree ...

Mark Aumann: Hendrick's top two teams are obviously doing things right, plus they're getting good breaks. I'm with Denny Hamlin -- the Gibbs team could easily have as many wins but haven't had the same fortune.

Dave Rodman: But for Jeff to rekindle things in the intense environment everyone has to compete in these days is pretty danged impressive.

David Caraviello: And let's face it, the kid has always been good. He's gone through tough times because of personnel or car changes that have made him less comfortable behind the wheel.

Dave Rodman: Gordon and crew chief Steve Letarte are looking pretty sporty right now -- though this Chase format, as we well know, makes no promises for anyone.

David Caraviello: As a driver, Gordon is just as good now as he was 10 years ago. His charge through the field at Talladega is proof of that.

Dave Rodman: You know what would be cool as hell? To have Gordon have a 1997-esque season -- or one of Rusty Wallace's non-championship years when he won all those races -- and lay waste to the Chase field by 300 points. That would be sporty.

David Caraviello: Don't think that's going to happen. Those days are over. So are the days of a guy winning 13 races.

Mark Aumann: You know who I'd compare it to? Richard Petty. After a few dismal years in the early '70s, the King came back to dominate in 1974 and 1975. Can Gordon compare to that extent? I don't think so, only because the sport has changed so much since then.

David Caraviello: But Mark's point does prove that the great ones stay great over an extended period of time. It's tough to win in different decades.

2. Just when we thought it couldn't get any worse for Michael Waltrip Racing -- what's on the horizon this weekend, when Dale Jarrett, whom Michael has out-qualified virtually every week despite having eight consecutive DNQs, is out of champion's provisionals?

Mark Aumann: Well, instead of a race setup, the team will have to put a qualifying setup on Jarrett's car. If it's as good as Reutimann's, he's got the skills to make it.

Borland out at MWR

Michael Waltrip Racing announced Thursday that Matt Borland was out as crew chief for Dale Jarrett and the No. 44 Toyota. Jason Burdett was named as his replacement.

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Dave Rodman: For their sake, I hope he still does.

Mark Aumann: Reutimann really has been the bright spot. Too bad he had such tough luck Sunday.

David Caraviello: To be honest, I don't know if it can get any more embarrassing for Jarrett than it was last week, when he was 13 seconds behind the pack 10 laps into the race.

Mark Aumann: Well, David, I heard a lot of that was an electrical problem, but the car hasn't been that good, anyway.

Dave Rodman: I thought that was shades of DW -- just circulating around at the back waiting on things to chill a little.

David Caraviello: Whatever the reason, it can't make UPS happy to see their car puttering along so far behind, so soon into the event.

Mark Aumann: No, I don't think NAPA or UPS can be too thrilled with 2007 so far. That's two longtime supporters of NASCAR. One has to wonder if anyone in Daytona Beach has figured out a better solution.

Dave Rodman: I thought it was somewhat odd that an ignition failure that early in an event would eliminate you from competition -- especially needing points as badly as they do -- and with the prospect of there being mass carnage at 'Dega, even though that never occurred.

David Caraviello: The scary thing here, Mark, is that Jarrett has been slow almost everywhere -- practice, qualifying, race -- every week.

Dave Rodman: Seems I said earlier this season it's going to be a looooonnnngggg two years if DJ can't find something good about that Camry -- and soon, considering he's "in on time" for probably the rest of the season.

David Caraviello: It's like they've never hit on anything. That gives you little confidence about their chances in Richmond. Matt Borland has to be banging his head against a concrete wall, wondering what's happened to him.

Mark Aumann: And Richmond hasn't been one of DJ's favorite places, either. His 12 top-10s there are his only lead-lap finishes.

Dave Rodman: I'd say missing six races the rest of the way is a conservative estimate.

David Caraviello: That does not bode well. We could have UPS and NAPA going home every week from now on.

Mark Aumann: Oh, I think it's no better than 50-50, Dave.

Dave Rodman: You mean he'll miss 13.5 of the last 27?

Mark Aumann: Yeah, he'll have half a car at Talladega in the fall.

David Caraviello: Maybe he should race the truck. At this rate, it might be faster.

Dave Rodman: I still feel like Mikey will pull a rabbit out of his helmet here, soon. Richmond could be the place. He tested well.

David Caraviello: But now it's time to deliver.

Dave Rodman: But speaking of testing well, I was pretty darned impressed with how Tony Furr and Wyler Racing's COT came out of the box there. It will be good to see Johnny Benson back in a Cup car, but that adds another full-time car to the "done gone home" list, to quote Br'er Smithson.

Mark Aumann: Well, if Benson makes it -- like Said last weekend -- that's one of the big problems with the top 35. A full-time team packs up.

Dave Rodman: Guys (and gals) are talking about cockamamie changes to the qualifying format. I was pleased Mike Joy didn't take the bait and said you can't do that, because everyone is competing for the Bud Pole.

Mark Aumann: I heard someone refer to outside of the top 35 as "being in quicksand." That's really an apt description.

David Caraviello: Funny. For all the issues with the top-35 format, it's given the back markers more attention then they'd ever have received otherwise. They're in the spotlight every Friday now.

Mark Aumann: At least for an hour or two. But point taken, that's more than in the past.

Dave Rodman: I would be in favor of bringing back a version of the provisional system. Forty fastest cars are in, two provisionals based on points, one past champion, which if not needed goes to the next best owner.

Mark Aumann: Blow up the past champion. That's the most useless provisional ever created.

Dave Rodman: If you can't get in under those parameters you might need to look at the Hooters Pro Cup.

David Caraviello: If Waltrip was making every race under the old format and finishing 42nd every week, he'd be receiving a fraction of the attention he is now. So in that way, NAPA might actually be coming out ahead.

Dave Rodman: But would he be that bad in the races? Brian Vickers is the enigma of the current deal. Whenever he gets into a race, he runs like Jack the Bear. But he's DNQ what, five times?

3. You hate to throw out the baby with the bath water, but is it time for the ISC to do a one-race ban of all fans' personal beverage containers at Talladega after some peoples' shameful display last weekend?

Mark Aumann: No. The actions of a fistful of stupid fans shouldn't force anybody to change what has worked successfully in the past.

Dave Rodman: As long as no man, woman or child's skull got cracked.

David Caraviello: Of course not. You punish everyone because a few morons act up? No. You find the guilty people, prosecute the hell out of them, and never let them back in.

Mark Aumann: There's already a number of reasons why tracks want to eliminate coolers -- and some already do. Don't let this instance be the factor that ruins things for everyone.

David Caraviello: I've never understood why they let them in to begin with. Is it a vestige of the old blue laws? It has to cost the track's concession companies money.

Dave Rodman: It's a nice human element for tracks to allow it. Ticket prices, depending on your perspective, are exorbitant, so it's nice they cut people a break somewhere.

Mark Aumann: I agree with the Talladega officials. It's hard to stand there and try to figure out who threw something. However, with closed-circuit cameras and recording devices, the odds of you getting a decent shot of the can-thrower go up.

Dave Rodman: Great points, guys. I figured banning personal containers would peeve people enough that they would turn in the jerks.

Send 'em home

David Caraviello applauds Talladega's attempts to put an end to unruly fan behavior that can be dangerous but definitely projects the sport in a bad light.

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David Caraviello: Mark is right. That's how the NFL and the NBA do it. Look at the videotape, analyze the seating chart, and hunt these idiots down.

Dave Rodman: But that's as bad an idea as our buddy Dave Despain had about inviting the National Guard to a race and then turning them into the Gestapo at the checkered flag.

Mark Aumann: No, increased police presence isn't going to make that big a difference. You're talking about a grandstand that's more than a quarter-of-a-mile long. You can't put enough cops there to catch everyone.

David Caraviello: They had increased police presence Sunday. They had armed deputies up there. It's not going to make a difference to a dude who's had too much Bud.

Mark Aumann: And most fans don't want to "get involved."

Dave Rodman: True -- but the more they could catch the better. And nor should fellow fans have to "play cop."

Mark Aumann: And I can see their point. Do you want to finger out a hoodlum, only to have his buddies meet your face with their fists?

Dave Rodman: Let the National Guard direct traffic and the uniforms arrest people for assault.

David Caraviello: I think the National Guard has bigger problems.

Dave Rodman: True. It wasn't my idea, anyway. But I'm just trying to figure out a way to get rid of a little more post-race traffic.

Mark Aumann: Unless the National Guard builds wider access roads, that ain't gonna help.

David Caraviello: Some of the e-mails I've received in the wake of this, from fans who have had awful experiences sitting next to drunks in the stands, are scary.

Dave Rodman: Considering the races I've sat in the stands, I'm mighty impressed anyone even goes to races. I guess I have lived a more sheltered life than I could have ever imagined.

David Caraviello: Scary thing, Dave, is it's like that everywhere now. NFL, NHL, you name it -- too many people think sporting-event attendance gives them a license to get drunk, curse up a storm and act up in public.

Mark Aumann: It's a growing problem in today's society. People just don't have as much respect for others as they once did.

Dave Rodman: Talladega should put its jail on wheels and tour it around to every track on the circuit.

David Caraviello: I think the fans were throwing beer bottles because their lanyards weren't as nice as those worn by people in the garage.

Dave Rodman: I definitely do need to get out of the house more. Just when I think the people milling around NASCAR races are totally clueless and self-centered, I realize it might be the same at any large sporting event. Probably is.

Mark Aumann: Well, most other sporting events don't allow you to bring your own missiles. They allow you to purchase beverages for an outrageous sum. And then they get the recycling profits, too.

Dave Rodman: I think they do let charitable organizations in to do the recycling. Too much time and money, otherwise.

Mark Aumann: I wonder if the accused at Talladega got special striped lanyards on Sunday?

Dave Rodman: You want an interesting exercise in physics? See how far you can toss a cup with liquid in it, without spilling any more of it than you have to -- since the weight of the liquid would be inversely proportional to the attainable distance.

David Caraviello: Huh?

Dave Rodman: Was that a scarecrow-esque comment, or what?

Mark Aumann: I think your thought process is inversely proportional to your common sense, but then again, I haven't thrown a cup of liquid in anger.

Dave Rodman: Me either. I was just trying to use my imagination. Now the contents, that's another thing. I saved the cup to get a refill.

David Caraviello: At least you haven't since that day in Tijuana in 1975, right, Mark? But we'll save that for another day.

The opinions expressed are solely of the participants.