Weekend That Was: Bristol (cont'd)

"That's what we said last year, too, and it didn't work out. So hopefully, we are. I think we have a lot of great ideas," Labonte said. "We have some good things that could happen to us if we do the right things over the wintertime and in the last part of the year. Those are going to enhance the race team. That is going to be key for our growth. If we do that right, hopefully we'll be stronger when we unload at Daytona next year."

Labonte actually has had a more consistent overall year this season, and currently stands 17th in points. He had hoped for more, though, after finishing last season with three top-fives and eight top-10s, most of them coming late.

"We have to build as a race team. We can't stay the same. We're a two-car team [at Petty Enterprises, which also fields the No. 45] and we've got to keep rolling. There is growth to be had; we've just got to grab it," Labonte said. "I believe that is the sustaining method of staying there. I mean, we have to do that to have the chance to be in the top 10 every week -- and not just twice now and twice later.

"We've got to build our race team -- and a race team is built around people. You've got to get key people, keep key people, and then it's built around confidence and camaraderie. Everything that we did [at Bristol], we have to keep doing."

Keeping Randolph around would appear to be a good start.

"I'm still the same guy," said Labonte, who has 21 career victories and won the points championship in 2000 while driving for Joe Gibbs Racing but hasn't won a race since 2003. "We've just got some new fresh ideas, some new blood. Everybody is working really good with Doug. It's just been a great transition."

Randolph, 41, has worked in the past with drivers such as Dave Blaney, Jimmy Spencer, Scott Riggs and Sterling Marlin and most recently with Regan Smith in the Busch Series. Perhaps the most impressive aspect of Saturday's strong finish at Bristol was the fact that he had never previously worked a Cup race featuring the Car of Tomorrow that was used in the Sharpie 500.

"I relied on a lot of the people here with the background of what has worked for Bobby in the COT races," Randolph said. "I think the biggest thing is we just worked on communication. ...

"I think we're just trying to stay in the ballpark and learn a little bit at a time and not step out of bounds too far, where it's hard to step back in. You know, it was a tough weekend for us. We got here and tried some stuff sort of out of the box and were off a little bit. But then we gained on it all weekend. ...

"I have a lot of Cup experience in years past, but this was the first Car of Tomorrow race I've ever done. So I obviously leaned a lot on all the guys at Petty that have had the experience with this and know what Bobby likes. That's what it's all about. It's not any one person. It's about using all the resources you have available, and making the right decisions."

That includes, of course, keeping that wild man Bobby Labonte under control during the process. And for Petty Enterprises, keeping Randolph and other guys like him from leaving and going to other teams.

Keep 'em coming

It appeared nothing could stir the emotions of race fans as much as a column about Tony Stewart, although one chastising owner Bobby Ginn for prematurely dismantling Ginn Racing and putting lots of good folks out of work came awful close.

And then the new challenger arrived, as readers have flooded the inbox in the wake of Saturday's race at Bristol. This one Menz opinion stated that it was boring, an observation with which roughly 85 to 90 percent of e-mailers and media colleagues appear to agree. The e-mail count has surpassed 500 in the less than two full days since the race, or about the same as what the Good Tony/Bad Tony column stirred up a few weeks ago.

A spectacular finish might have saved the race and helped everyone forget the lack of action near the front throughout, but alas, it never materialized when race winner Carl Edwards simply drove away from the field in his No. 99 Ford at the end.

To answer those who have questioned my sanity for having the audacity to call a Bristol race boring: No, I do not judge the quality of an event by how many wrecks there are -- but without at least the threat of a few, it's just not as exciting and not nearly as much fun to watch. The combination of the sturdy COT on the newly resurfaced concrete at Bristol and the tremendous skill of the drivers [except maybe rookie David Ragan, who kept spinning out] meant that they didn't have to beat on each other at all to gain positions. It was too much like watching a really bad race at Michigan and too little like the slugfests that made Bristol night races so famous.

All we're asking for here is something more in between. (Continued)