Smack: Friend or foe? (cont'd)

Raygan Swan: I don't blame them, I guess. So really, is the general consensus NASCAR is not a team sport -- though teams compete against one another? It's a team sport only when it's convenient?

Dave Rodman: Shame on me for not considering it, but obviously a number of people found it strange that, after saying he'd noticed a weakness in his teammate's car in Turn 4 for the last three laps, Tony chose to drive through him rather than around him on the fourth lap after the initial finding.

Company line

Clint Bowyer tells Beau Estes that he's tired of the same old post-race interview. He wants a Victory Lane celebration.

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Raygan Swan: Right, Roadman. What's his deal? Zippy needs to intervene, or I see potential for more disastrous behavior on the horizon.

Dave Rodman: Uh, I thought racing meant catching the next slower car you can, and passing him?

David Caraviello: What's that they say, Rodman? Getting to him is one thing, but passing him is another -- unless you plow through him, of course.

Dave Rodman: Well, Tony is the classic tempest in a teapot. At the moment, man -- you'll get scalded. But he'll be focused and ready to go at Joliet.

3. Of the Chase contending drivers, only Tony Stewart, Clint Bowyer and Dale Earnhardt Jr. have yet to win. If you add Penske teammates Ryan Newman and Kurt Busch to the list, who'll score first?

Raygan Swan: Tony -- if he can get his mind right. Then my second pick is Bowyer, and that's if he doesn't hit his ignition switch again -- hee hee; wink, wink.

David Caraviello: Man, every bone in your body tells you Stewart. We're halfway through the season and Tony hasn't won? That just doesn't seem possible.

Raygan Swan: I know. Remember in the media center, Dave? Johnson said something like, "Wow, I thought Tony had already won this season." Dingbat!

Dave Rodman: That's a really tough question, because obviously Tony is a serious threat to win anywhere. But when you talk "overdue," this season the ol' Gil Martin bunch is writing the book. And Clint Bowyer is riding that hoss for all it's worth.

Raygan Swan: Right!

David Caraviello: Yeah, Clint's had a few good shots. I really thought he'd break through at Vegas, where he had the best car all weekend.

Dave Rodman: Speaking of horses, you hate to beat a near-dead one, but it proves again what these guys all seem to say: These races are hard to win. And it ought to make everyone appreciate even more what Gordon and Johnson have done.

Raygan Swan: Hey Dave -- Bowyer is taking that same car he had in Vegas to Chicago so maybe this will be his weekend.

David Caraviello: Good point, Raygan. Somebody's been reading her advance notes!

Raygan Swan: The same car he finished sixth in at the California race.

Dave Rodman: It's gotta happen. He's gotten to the point where he's a contender virtually everywhere. I feel like that team is Most Improved in Nextel Cup, without question.

David Caraviello: Yeah, Clint has a solid pit crew, and Gil Martin is a proven guy. He'll break though sooner or later.

The opinions expressed are solely those of the participants.