Cross' Words: Atlanta

A week after winning at Las Vegas, Jimmie Johnson dominated again on Sunday at Atlanta, a track noted for its water cooler chat-worthy finishes. A week ago the storyline was NASCAR turned a blind eye to a wayward tire during a late pit stop, thus helping the No. 48 team's cause. This week the story is that he pinched off Tony Stewart. Can the guy win and enjoy it without being under the proverbial microscope?

After the race Johnson seems nonplussed, noting that he had the position and was racing for the flag.

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"Tony had a good run coming on the outside and when I heard he was there coming it was just too late for me to adjust and I certainly squeezed him in the wall and didn't leave him a lot of room," Johnson said. "It wasn't intentional.

"When I heard clear in the center of the corner, I opened the steering wheel and focused on my corner exit and really didn't think much of it until the last second when I heard that he had some momentum coming back into that tight spot off of [Turn] 2. I certainly apologize and have the utmost respect for Tony Stewart as a racer and I think we showed that in the laps leading up to that in racing side by side."

When did NASCAR turn into tennis, where manners and consideration for the foe are paramount? Fans cannot have it both ways -- old-school and All England Lawn Tennis Association. It's stock car racing at its highest level. Fenders (and feelings) are gonna get bent outta shape; deal with it.

If nothing else, take a cue from Smoke.

"To be honest whatever I say is probably going to be wrong. I even hate to answer that," Stewart said. "We're both racing hard with three laps to go. You don't know if his spotter told him he was clear so he just kept coming. You don't know what the circumstances are with that without talking to him. It is what it is. At the end he's in Victory Lane and we're here talking about finishing second."

The sport has enough "corporate" to choke a goat. What's next, Driver X's fans picketing the tracks because their favorite didn't get as much air time (what little there is)?

A byproduct of the Car of Tomorrow is supposed to be better racing, by someone's definition. Ultimately it won't be good enough for someone and they, too, will have a blog rant or a message board post or an e-mail rip. That's cool; NASCAR isn't one size fits all.

But if the best you've got to complain about is banging fenders ... here's a crumpet; enjoy Wimbledon. (Continued)