Cross' Words: Richmond (cont'd)

Say what?

"If we meet, it might just be a nod. I don't know if she'll be able to understand me -- I don't speak English."
-- "King" Richard Petty, before his scheduled meeting with Queen Elizabeth II of England at the Kentucky Derby on Saturday

Figuratively speaking

1992 -- The last time one manufacturer won nine of the first 10 races, when Ford reeled off nine consecutive victories before Dale Earnhardt won at Charlotte. ... Chevrolet's nine wins mark its best start since 1996 (7 of 10).

Up Next

Dodge Avenger 500 | Darlington | 7 p.m. ET Saturday, FOX
Race No. 11 of 36 | Get your tickets | Book your travel

• Defending race winner: Greg Biffle
• Most victories at the track: 6 -- Jeff Gordon
• Best average finish (minimum five starts): Jimmie Johnson (7.2 in eight starts)
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Mailbag

From Brooks ...
Is there something to the fact that the 24's good start comes after the 48 won a championship? It seems the 24 team's performance dipped a bit when the 48 team started. The 24 team's performance has not been dominating like it was before the 48 team started. Then the 48 team wins a championship and the 24 team is dominating again. Could it be that Jeff and Mr. Hendrick made sure the 48 team had everything it needed and guided it to its first championship at the expense, albeit small expense, of the 24 team? You know, to make sure the 48 team was set up for a good long time? Now that it seems the 48 team is set up, the 24 team has turned on jets.

I think you're on to something there, Agent Mulder. Let's crunch the digits: Since 2002, JJ's first full season, he leads the Cup Series in wins, top-10s, average finish and points. Gordon is second, fourth, fourth and fifth in those categories. (They are tied for second in top-five finishes.) ... If there was a conscious effort to bring the 48 team up to speed, it certainly worked.

From Brett ...
I thought that the idea of the COT was to level the playing field. Yes, I realize that Harvick had some misfortune on pit road, but Hendrick Motorsports has won all four COT races now and had three of the top four spots Sunday. One Ford, two Dodges and seven Chevrolets in the top 10 ... looking at this, NASCAR has not leveled the playing field. In fact, it seems like they may have dealt HMS the upper hand now that it has won seven of the first 10 races. I am definitely looking for other things to do with my Sunday afternoons, as it is not a lot of fun hearing about the same couple of guys every week.

Leveling the playing field is a working theory. The reality is that Hendrick has the pockets to out-spend, out-test, out-everything the other teams. Before condemning the COT, let's see how the field levels when four-car teams are the rule. ... Question is, will anyone be around to see that come to pass?

From Kevin ...
I'm a Dale Jarrett fan and like everyone else and I support him, but watching the race on Sunday I noticed an ironic twist of fate. During the race the UPS commercial played in which Dale met his new spotter and he warned him, "Richmond, Lap 57, go low and stay there." Ever since the commercial started showing I've waited to see if it would have been comedic irony if on the 57th lap something would happen at Richmond. Guess we will have to wait till the next Richmond race. Too bad he couldn't warn him that he would end up missing the race entirely ...

Yes, art does imitate life. Eerie, ain't it.

From Mike ...
Not again -- Chevy, Chevy, Chevy ... guess I'll start watching drag racing. Has NASCAR looked into why it's been a Chevyfest every week? Let's see them take some of the Hendrick cars and inspect them.

Casey Mears is ready when NASCAR is. (Continued)