Smack: Agony, alignment and angst on the prairie (cont'd)

David Caraviello: Dave comes back with more plates than the inspection line at Talladega. Yet he keeps his svelte figure intact.

Joe Menzer: Well, if we're going to talk about food, make sure you hit Arthur Bryant's in K.C. for some great 'cue.

Dave Rodman: Tums optional? But to get back on topic, there are plenty of guys, after that debacle at Dover, that need to rebound in Kansas. And for those last three guys in the Chase rundown -- well, everyone keeps saying "Remember Jimmie Johnson, no one's out, yet."

Joe Menzer: With only 75 points separating the top eight at the moment, I don't think any of those guys can be declared out of it.

Dave Rodman: I think everyone's forgetting what Johnson did is the stuff legends are made of. I don't see anyone short of Tony Stewart or Jeff Gordon -- or Johnson himself -- knocking off that kind of stretch run.

David Caraviello: Jimmie finished what, no worse than second in four consecutive races? That's stout. You won't see that every year. And not every driver is Jimmie Johnson.

Dave Rodman: In the Chase, momentum is pretty critical. And after Dover, there are a number of guys who need to get it back.

Joe Menzer has an idea: make some sense.

Joe Menzer: And the thing is, I said this at the start of the Chase and I'll say it again, for anyone to get past the top three of Gordon, Stewart and Johnson, they will need those guys to screw up. And that's not gonna happen. Not with all three of 'em, anyways.

Dave Rodman: Denny Hamlin, even before he ran over Kyle, was looking kinda erratic. Mike Ford tried to talk him down a little bit -- but I don't think anyone could have seen the mistake Denny made coming.

Joe Menzer: Denny, Bowyer, maybe even Kyle Busch -- they lack the experience and maturity to be patient enough and not do anything rash and stupid when they get the chance to run up front.

Dave Rodman: The good thing is, I think the kid can bounce back. But he needs to. And I think this will also be a good place for Jeff Burton to have the kind of race that team is capable of. They dodged a major bullet at Dover -- actually two or three of 'em.

Joe Menzer: I'm talking about having that patience and maturity lap after lap, week after week.

Dave Rodman: Aah, Joe San, I think you err on the Shrub. I think you speak of his prior career. I see him challenging to the end, this time.

Joe Menzer: That's why I put the "maybe" in front of his name. He has slowly won me over this year, too.

David Caraviello: As long as he's not overcome by angst on the prairie.

3. Carl Edwards has been penalized post-Dover thanks to a celebratory love tap from his teammate, Greg Biffle. Fair or foul?

Joe Menzer: I think this one is totally unfair, and for a number of reasons. 1) Docking a Chase driver 25 points during the Chase is far more damaging than docking a non-Chaser the same; 2) a lower rear wouldn't have helped him win at Dover anyway.

David Caraviello: Boy, you'd hate to see someone lose the championship because of something like that. But given how narrow the margins are right now in the points, that's very possible.

Dave Rodman: You have to boil away all the fat from this one, all the innuendo and poor Geoff Smith's statistics on the relevance of a regular season vs. Chase as a percentage of total points available. The car was outside the rules after the race and a precedent had been set for penalizing that. Unfortunately, that makes it simple.

Joe Menzer: Nothing is simple in NASCAR, Dave. Even when it should be!

David Caraviello: Unfortunately, there's no precedent anywhere for separating the Chasers from the rest of the field -- when it comes to points or penalties.

Dave Rodman: That would probably be a single-Smack, Joe -- 10,000 words worth.

Joe Menzer: Well, that's a serious flaw in the system that needs to be addressed, then, don't you guys think?

Dave Rodman: I don't think so, just like I don't think doing anything to separate the non-top 35 cars from everyone else for qualifying is valid, either. Everyone's competing for the same pole award, so everyone needs to be on the same field.

David Caraviello: Joe, the system is riddled with that kind of stuff. You can lose the points lead because a non-Chase teammate taps you in congratulations after the race.

Dave Rodman: And the way this cockeyed deal is set up, everyone is competing for race wins, and oh yeah, there just happens to be a Chase championship in play, also.

David Caraviello: You can lose a title because A.J. Allmendinger goes sideways in front of you at the wrong time.

Joe Menzer: If you truly are going to have what you want to advertise as a playoff, then it needs to be addressed. You can't go halfway and say it's fair.

Dave Rodman: In the case of the Chase, only 12 guys are competing for the championship, but they don't have a separate rulebook -- or points table -- so they need to be extra careful not to fall outside the rules. And that means anywhere.