Tony just being Tony, but Bristol has not been Bristol

1. Is Tony Stewart right to be spouting off at Goodyear like this? Sure, NASCAR wants its drivers to better express themselves, but isn't this taking it a little too far?

Raygan Swan: Tony is being Tony, no more no less, and his frustration is warranted. If you're the tire monopoly in the sport, you have to meet high expectations.

David Caraviello: Drivers are right to complain about anything that bothers them or makes them feel unsafe. Tony has as much a right to hammer Goodyear as Jeff Gordon does to criticize Las Vegas for not having a SAFER barrier on the backstretch.

Dave Rodman: After being on edge, going that fast for 500 miles -- yes, he has a right. But man, he took it to a personal level -- without all the facts he needed to back his case.

Raygan Swan: Put a tire maker in the car for 500 miles on tires with no grip and see how they like it or see how long they go without wrecking. I appreciated Stewart's comments, especially about bringing in a new tire company.

David Caraviello: I think you're right, Dave. Aren't there some limits? Didn't he push it a little too far? Don't you risk blowing your whole argument by getting personal or overstating things?

Dave Rodman: Wait a minute -- he's a driver, not a journalist. Him going off played right into our hands, so more power to him.

David Caraviello: Maybe that's part of the issue. Maybe we shouldn't print inflammatory statements that aren't necessarily correct, like why Goodyear got out of certain racing series.

Raygan Swan: Tony has been complaining about Goodyear for years. He tried to be nice and "PC" and eventually if nothing is being done then you're gonna get personal so someone will hear you!

Dave Rodman: The journalists actually needed to take his case apart -- wait, not apart -- but do better analysis. I would have pressed him harder on how in God's name he finished second, if it was that bad.

Raygan Swan: Because he's a damn good driver, that's how. He made chicken salad out of chicken ... (you know the phrase).

David Caraviello: That may be the case when you bring a 15th-place car home in 10th. But when you're a runner-up after 500 miles? That's some incredible high-quality damn chicken salad.

Dave Rodman: Obviously. Maybe he needs to ride over to Akron and have a meeting with Stu Grant. He has that kind of pull. Though I think Goodyear isn't putting itself in this position exactly by choice.

Raygan Swan: It's Tony being Tony.

David Caraviello: Tony's handling this the only way he knows how, which is to be completely blunt and honest and let it fly in public. That's not a bad thing. But you wonder how effective a few back-channel telephone calls might have been. Drivers have more sway than they think. You're right, Dave, a call to Akron might have gotten their attention as effectively as his tirade on Sunday. Of course, he may have done that as well. We'll never know.

Raygan Swan: Without competition within the series, why would Goodyear go above and beyond with new tires for the new chassis?

David Caraviello: The last time there was tire competition, there was a real safety issue. This might be the rare case for a necessary monopoly.

Dave Rodman: I told someone on radio the other night that it's a good thing Stewart drives for Joe Gibbs and not Richard Childress. That was your guys' cue to say "and why is that?"

David Caraviello: Dave, why is that?

Raygan Swan: Yeah, Dave, why?

David Caraviello: Tell us, Uncle Dave!

Dave Rodman: Them sour grapes don't make good wine.

Raygan Swan: Oh Lord, Dave, that was about a two out of 10.

David Caraviello: Tip your bartenders and waitresses. He'll be here all week.

• Also: Stewart leads opposition to Goodyear

2. After four races, are we getting a clear picture of how the season will look? Are Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards really the class of the field?

Raygan Swan: Not if NASCAR's penal system remains the same.

Dave Rodman: The coolest thing is, after launching the tirade against Goodyear, Tony's actually continued to laud Kyle Busch. It's way too early to hand them anything -- and they've done too good a job of taking it, anyway. But people need to start stepping up.

That's CTNLCBCWNOWETCI ... and by the way, it's 15 letters, Dave.

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David Caraviello: We made a few jokes in the preseason about engraving Kyle's name on the 2008 trophy because he was so good in testing in the new car. It's not a joke anymore.

Dave Rodman: The -- damn, I can't remember that 10-letter acronym Joe Menzer came up with two weeks ago for this car -- but anyway, the most telling aspect is that Kyle continues to hate it, yet he continues to excel. That's the sign of talent and commitment.

David Caraviello: Raygan, if memory serves me right, the guys who finished first and second in final points last year also suffered 100-point penalties, and they survived quite nicely.

Raygan Swan: One blow from NASCAR can drop you several spots in the points, regardless if you meant to cheat or not.

David Caraviello: Yeah, but all you have to do is get into the top 12. That's the thing. Under the old system, Edwards would be buried. Now he just has to make up five spots.

Raygan Swan: True, but NASCAR didn't take 10 extra points from Johnson after he made the Chase.

David Caraviello: And they haven't done that to Carl this year, either.

Dave Rodman: The most interesting thing will be when Edwards and Jeff Gordon and Johnson get back into the top 12. Then the battles will ensue for the remaining spots.

David Caraviello: The Chase has some good points, it really does. But it takes all the teeth out of any penalty levied against a title-contending driver between February and September. The top-35 guys are the ones who feel those the most.

Raygan Swan: Bottom line, penalties can change the landscape, drastically. NASCAR knows that.

David Caraviello: Not as much as they used to, Raygan. Those penalties levied at Sonoma last year didn't change the landscape much.

Dave Rodman: If Brian Vickers hangs in there, that will be the story of the year.

David Caraviello: Dave, you're right about Vickers. That would be unbelievable after what they went through last year. New VP Jay Frye, one of the best guys in the garage, is doing some good work over there. And I don't think Hendrick has quite warmed up yet. Johnson can't be as mediocre all year as he's been the past two weeks. Gordon is lurking. And nobody mentions Junior, who might be the points leader had a weeper not taken him out at Fontana. Earnhardt has quietly lived up to every billing.

Dave Rodman: Yes, Junior has lived up to the billing -- so again, it makes this top-12 race, which has been some degree of scary every year, truly terrifying to some of these guys. Newman, Kahne, Vickers, Junior and Biffle are all in there -- and they weren't last year. We're gonna have some new dropouts this season, gang.

David Caraviello: The thing is, people like to say, "Well, it's early." No, it's not. You look back over the past few seasons, and the teams that would become the best that year rarely waited until midseason to get going. Tony's last championship year is a notable exception.

Raygan Swan: Regardless, it's too early in the season to say Kyle and Carl are the class of the field. RCR and Hendrick haven't stepped up, and they will.

David Caraviello: I don't doubt that. But it's much easier in this game to play from ahead than play catch-up.

• Also: Roush opts not to appeal penalties against 99

3. It's been a while since we've seen the kind of helmet-throwing histrionics for which Bristol is known. Have the new car and the Chase forced drivers to tread more lightly around the place?

Dave Rodman: This will be the telling weekend, I think. Michael Waltrip had some good insight into it the other night, when he said the new configuration enabled guys to properly "race" instead of just rooting and gouging. Which in turn enabled fans to show their true colors by turning their backs on it. That was a year ago, now.

"Raygan, take me to your leader."

David Caraviello: Hard to believe it, but the place seems to need the help. Everybody seems to get conservative for that fall race, with the Chase looming. And last spring everybody was careful trying to figure out the new car.

Dave Rodman: Someone else said that when the guys get more used to it, it might create an atmosphere where there will be more fireworks. I'll tell you this -- a nice mix would be interesting.

Raygan Swan: I just wanna know what adjective Kyle Busch will use this time to describe the new car if he wins this year.

Dave Rodman: "Still sucks," I'd bet.

Raygan Swan: Ha!

David Caraviello: Yeah, a mix would be nice, Dave. One of the more enjoyable races I've ever watched on TV was a few years ago when Ward Burton threw his heat shields at somebody, Elliott Sadler threw his helmet, and there was craziness all night long. That's the kind of night Bristol was built on. Nobody expects that week after week there, but things have been awful tame lately. Too tame.

Dave Rodman: Yeah, but you know what one of my favorites was? Bobby Labonte "trying" to throw his helmet into his own car after wrecking out. Of course, that's because Bobby is a classy guy and would not bounce it off someone else's windshield.

Raygan Swan: Fans have grown to expect drama at Bristol, and so have the drivers. I think the drivers will keep that in the back of their minds. To an extent, drivers have their own way of putting on shows.

David Caraviello: Jeff Gordon going after Matt Kenseth, Kevin Harvick going after Greg Biffle, girlfriends going at it -- wasn't that all at Bristol?

Dave Rodman: Absolutely. Shane Hmiel's finger wag. Priceless. Everyone has to show their a-- every now and then.

David Caraviello: Oh, forgot about that. That was a good one.

Raygan Swan: Gordon really needs to take his helmet off first before he goes after anyone; he looks like a crazy little spaceman!

David Caraviello: Raygan, have you been seeing crazy little spacemen lately?

Raygan Swan: Yeah, I do every time I have to do Track Smack!

Dave Rodman: Bristol ought to be a series on Cartoon Network. If you put it in that context, helmets are apropos.

David Caraviello: It would be perfect for Adult Swim. Right after Robot Chicken. Somebody get the boys at Williams Street on that.

Raygan Swan: What else could a driver throw aside from his helmet, guys? Gloves wouldn't be that effective.

David Caraviello: I'm just looking forward to being there with Dave, who will gladly show me all the good places to scrounge food at the racetrack.

Raygan Swan: David, in Richmond last season I ate Rodman's cookies he had neatly tucked behind his computer. Word of advice: never eat Dave's cookies!

David Caraviello: Not sure if Dave and I have been on the road together since that time he saved my life outside Anniston, Ala. Still owe you for that one, buddy.

Dave Rodman: You're lucky it wasn't cold enough for gloves that weekend, Raygs. You woulda been ducking. As I told Jimmy White, the Raybestos Rookie of the Year rep, who worked aside me -- anything I got is yours, pal. Just let me know you ate it, so I don't go looking for it when I'm starving.

• Also: Bristol slugfests part of NASCAR since 1961

The opinions expressed are solely of the participants.