Track Smack: Ring(er) around the road course

1. Can Juan Montoya win this week on the road course in Sonoma?

Joe Menzer: He can. He did it in Mexico on a road course in the Busch Series. But he won't have "teammate" Scott Pruett to kick around this weekend.

Dave Rodman: Montoya might be the ultimate road-course ringer. No offense to anyone else who's practiced the art, but he's a Formula One winner, CART champion and he won his first stock-car road race.

David Caraviello: Sure he can. The guy won at Monaco, for Pete's sake. If you can get around the streets of that little principality, you can win anywhere.

Joe Menzer: Now the real question is, will he?

Dave Rodman: Does anyone else think his momentary lapses will hurt him at Sonoma as much as they have hurt him everywhere else, lately? Juan himself said it's a long race and the least little mistake can doom you.

David Caraviello: Yeah. Hard to think so, the way he's been running the last two months. He's hit some serious dog days in his first full Nextel Cup season.

Joe Menzer: I do think he's frustrated. But if there was ever a race for which he should be totally focused from start to finish, I think it's this one. He thought he would have had more strong runs by now.

Dave Rodman: Well, Scotty would give him all he could handle at Sonoma, Joe -- if he didn't have a Rolex Series race to run at Mid-Ohio. But I think for sure he'd do well to follow Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart and Kurt Busch around for a while.

David Caraviello: And then there's the whole aggressiveness question. He probably can't be as aggressive at Infineon as he was at Mexico (watch video), given how much more complicated the course is.

Dave Rodman: If he gets on a roll, as he was at Mexico City, he'll be able to be aggressive -- but the problem is Infineon has as few passing spots as Mexico does.

David Caraviello: He's going to have to bide his time and pick his spots. Can Montoya do that? He did often in F1. But he's not in an F1 car anymore.

Dave Rodman: My opinion after Mexico was that this was a guy who came from Formula One, where the start might be your only chance to pass someone -- so there was some desperation involved in his dive bomb of Pruett.

Joe Menzer: I think Montoya will have a strong run, maybe a top-five. But the other thing you have to wonder is that if he gets up there, will someone boot him? He's ticked off lots of guys already this year.

Dave Rodman: Well, I think his tire management skills and skill in driving over-horsepowered cars on worn tires will serve him well. And if he gets in a position where he can use pit strategy to have better stuff at any point -- look out, as Mexico proved. Bombs away!

David Caraviello: You have to think Stewart will be up front, and they haven't always gotten along.

Dave Rodman: Hmm. Someone would have to catch him to boot him -- and at Infineon, there's only one good place to do that ...

Joe Menzer: Could make for a very interesting race, fellas!

Dave Rodman: Tony would love to take Juan to school at Sonoma, plain and simple -- and neatly and cleanly, too.

David Caraviello: It could be an interesting week.

Dave Rodman: I'd say Jeff is the favorite, for sure, now that we don't have to consider the previously incomprehensible -- a committed championship leader skipping races.

Joe Menzer: But I can't believe anyone thought maybe Gordon shouldn't put the birth of his child first. He was right on with that decision.

David Caraviello: Just as Menzer announced that he would skip playground basketball games to be there for the birth of his children.

Dave Rodman: Well, that's one thing I bet Brian France didn't have in mind when he hatched the Chase.

Gordon's baby born

Jeff Gordon and Ingrid Vandebosch on Wednesday welcomed a new daughter into the world, Ella Sofia Gordon.

• Complete story, click here

2. OK, so Jeff and Ingrid have brought Ella into the world -- does that change his focus this weekend?

Dave Rodman: Uh, no. He already said he was gonna start the race, and if he started the race he'd see her later that night. He was committed either way.

David Caraviello: You'd have to say yes, just a little bit, at least when he's outside the car. If I were him, I'd be on the cell phone about every 10 minutes.

Dave Rodman: Focus is what gets you four Cup championships and 79 wins. I don't think it will be the least bit of a problem for him.

David Caraviello: Little if anything has ever seemed to shake Jeff's focus once he's behind the wheel.

Joe Menzer: I think his focus inside the car will be fine, and that team is All Pro, so they will do everything they need to do in terms of preparation, so that they won't miss a beat. That's the only thing he'll be missing out on perhaps -- upsetting his usual preparation routine.

Dave Rodman: It will be neat to see if -- in the techno-driven, limitless-financed world he's in -- what kind of Web cam he'll have back to their home on the transporter.

David Caraviello: Funny, everybody's been talking about his concentration and dedication ever since the whole fatherhood question came up. And he's in the midst of the best season of his career.

Dave Rodman: Focus, focus, focus.

David Caraviello: You'd think folks would get the message.

Dave Rodman: There are a lot of things that people have a hard time absorbing around this deal -- across the board, fans and media.

Joe Menzer: Yeah, not everybody is as smart as us. The bigger question might be, is there going to be a Web cam on the stroller?

David Caraviello: Can a baby monitor transmit from New York to Sonoma?

Dave Rodman: Well, I don't know if we could get Jeff to admit Ingrid was e-mailing him WAV files of Ella cooing.

David Caraviello: Satellite baby monitors, great -- with one screen on the No. 24 pit box dedicated to little Ella. I can see it now.

Dave Rodman: I bet that would be the biggest crowd on pit road, guaranteed. Now, THAT might be disconcerting.

David Caraviello: Bottom line is, he'll do fine. He might win the race and spray Similac in Victory Lane.

Joe Menzer: As long as there is no breast-feeding in Victory Lane -- EVER.

Dave Rodman: If the kid has on earmuffs, I say, bring it on. Here's a guy who was gonna skip a race for his child -- if he wants his wife to breast-feed in Victory Lane, I say records are there to be broken.

No. 1 free agent

With Dale Earnhardt Jr. announcing his plans for 2008, Kyle Busch is now the top driver searching for a home.

• Complete story, click here

3. If DEI lands Kyle Busch, how will he do as second fiddle to Martin Truex Jr.?

Joe Menzer: Whoa, you really think he would be second fiddle to Truex? I mean, Truex has been brilliant the last three races and looks to be an up-and-coming star, but ...

Dave Rodman: Well, we're talking about a team that let Dale Earnhardt Jr. walk out the door, so to blow your chemistry apart by bringing in an outsider and jumping him over someone that has an in-house legacy like Little Martin wouldn't be a surprise, I guess.

David Caraviello: Strange how DEI has seemed so mediocre so much of this year, but after the Junior thing breaks, they go gangbusters. I mean, Truex is looking scary. One race, even two, you can discount as a fluke. But three top-threes in a row?

Joe Menzer: I've got to admit, I thought losing Junior would put DEI on a quick path to irrelevance in the sport. But it's looking like I was dead wrong.

Dave Rodman: Don't beat yourself up too much -- you were in good company on that score.

Joe Menzer: First they blunt the loss of Junior a little by announcing the engine-shop merger deal with RCR. Then Truex starts catching fire -- and the other Junior wasn't bad at Michigan, either.

Dave Rodman: I really think it's coincidence that Martin and Bono have turned it on. Some other competitor -- Biff maybe -- was pointing out how well Martin's run all year, and the bogus luck they've had. And Biff's a good one to talk about bogus luck.

Joe Menzer: I'm beginning to think DEI is going to be more than all right in the long run. But I still think they could use the shot-in-the-arm publicity that signing Kyle Busch would give them.

Dave Rodman: True. But let him come in and work his way to the forefront, if he can. DEI might be the ultimate test in humility and deference for Kyle. And obviously, I think his ability will make that team a winner.

David Caraviello: Kyle's like the most popular girl in high school, with 100 offers to go to the prom. With anywhere to pick from, do you go to DEI? Or, personal relationships aside, a possible fourth car at a more consistent RCR?

Joe Menzer: Which brings us back to the original question: If Truex continues to kick butt, who would be No. 1 there -- him or Kyle? And would it matter? I mean, who's No. 1 at Hendrick between Gordon and Jimmie Johnson?

David Caraviello: I think they want Truex to be No. 1 at DEI. Some of Junior's aura and popularity have rubbed off on him.

Joe Menzer: There is certainly nothing wrong with having two number ones, so to speak.

Dave Rodman: There is no question Jeff Gordon is the man at HMS.

Joe Menzer: Agreed, in terms of his career as a whole. But for this season, at the present time, you could argue that Jimmie is at least 1A to Gordon's No. 1.

Dave Rodman: Longevity and achievement certainly earn him that distinction, but JJ has just as certainly earned a ton-and-a-half of credibility in his time in the sport.

Joe Menzer: All I'm saying is that two outstanding drivers in one organization is a plus in just about every case.

David Caraviello: Maybe last year, Joe. Gordon is back to his old dominating self this season.

Dave Rodman: For the period of his career I think no one would argue with Jimmie being a definite 1A to Jeff. But everyone still defers to Mr. 24.

Joe Menzer: The only thing that could make it a negative is if one of the top drivers is, um, a jerk and hard to get along with. But then that will be up to young Kyle Busch to mature and fit in wherever he goes.

Dave Rodman: I don't think fitting in is his problem. And given their ages I think the two guys DEI has now and he could co-exist very well.

Joe Menzer: Really? I don't get the feeling that it was all warm and fuzzy with his soon-to-be ex-teammates at Hendrick.

Dave Rodman: A competitive threat will do that.

David Caraviello: Kyle is young and often impatient. But at 22, he's handled this exodus from HMS rather well. Maybe that will translate into more on-track maturity in his new job.

Joe Menzer: I guess we'll see. Until then, just remember that I'm No. 1 on the NASCAR.COM staff in basketball. Caraviello is going to have to do some work to get to 1A.

The opinions expressed are solely those of the participants.