Track Smack: Dodge needs a big Talladega weekend

1. Dodges took six of the first eight spots in the Daytona 500, and have hardly been heard from since. Will they return to prominence in this week's plate race at Talladega Superspeedway?

David Caraviello: I've said this before, I'll say it again: Daytona is great, but it's an anomaly. It's no indication of the season as whole. I'm not surprised at all that Dodge has barely made a dent since February.

Dave Rodman: If Ryan Newman does, I'd say "here, here" to Team Penske, since his Daytona-winning car is sitting in the Daytona 500 Experience. But I actually think Toyota may put an even bigger hurt on people there. The Gibbs boys were pretty damned nasty last fall, and that was in the pre-Toyota days.

Joe Menzer: Dodge sure needs it. Whatever happened to Kurt Busch, by the way? Remember when it used to be that Kyle Busch was referred to as Kurt's younger brother? Now it's the other way around.

David Caraviello: I think that's an indication of how Dodge is struggling right now, Joe. Their best driver is nowhere to be seen. They talked big with all that "Dodge boys are back" stuff in the preseason. They backed it up for one week.

Joe Menzer: Agreed. And you're right about Daytona being an anomaly, but I still thought that maybe with the way they finished there that this might be a year when Penske was more of a force. It doesn't look that way now.

Dave Rodman: Considering the way they ended 2007, and then started at Daytona -- anomaly or not -- I thought they would truly step up across the board. Still, Dodge has five cars in the top 20, so statistically, that means they are holding their own, doesn't it?

Joe Menzer: But now it's getting back to the same old sad story. With all the resources Penske has, why in the heck aren't they more consistently good?

Dave Rodman: Good question. Daytona and its lead-up seemed to indicate they really had their stuff together as a team, so now it's odd they have slipped some.

David Caraviello: Maybe they have trouble finding one another in that monstrous race shop. I think this is a big week for Jeff Gordon. That No. 24 team has been struggling to hit it as of late, and they need the kind of run he turned in last year on the big track.

Ryan Newman hopes to win again, not for the points, but for the Victory Lane smooch.

Joe Menzer: No question Gordon needs a good run this week. His season is slipping away (even though I thought we were talking about Dodges).

David Caraviello: Please, Joe, continue your dissertation on the Dodge -- didn't mean to interrupt.

Joe Menzer: So it sounds like there are going to be some pretty desperate drivers for some pretty desperate teams going at it this weekend -- that's a recipe for The Big One if I've ever heard of one.

David Caraviello: And then we have Junior's first Talladega ride in his new car. Boy, wouldn't this be the place for him to end that winless streak. Remember, these poetic finishes have a way of happening in NASCAR.

Joe Menzer: I'm looking forward to going. It will be my first trip there!

David Caraviello: Do you have all your shots? Or was that Charlotte? Can't remember which track that Congressman had his interns vaccinated for.

Dave Rodman: DC, can you tell me what would be poetic about a stream of Amp cans sailing over the fence?

Joe Menzer: Dude, those fans are STILL drinking Bud!

David Caraviello: Talladega has done a better job of cracking down on that stuff. There were still projectiles last year after Gordon won, but much fewer than in past years.

Dave Rodman: I didn't get any shots for Mexico. The locals didn't even notice.

David Caraviello: Joe, be prepared for an array of fish camps and the biggest campground you'll ever see. It's easy to find. Just look for the bonfires at night.

Joe Menzer: I've been told to be careful. I will watch my step.

2. Danica Patrick's victory in the IRL last weekend is going to cause some to wonder why there's no woman racing full-time in NASCAR's top division. Are the comparisons fair?

Joe Menzer: Well, I certainly think it's fair to wonder why it hasn't happened in NASCAR -- especially since it has been nearly 33 years since Janet Guthrie ran in the Coca-Cola 600.

Dave Rodman: My knee-jerk reaction is that that is an extreme apples-to-oranges comparison. But I don't know for sure if it is, or not.

David Caraviello: People are going to wonder, guys. Here you have the IRL with a female race winner and F1 with a black championship contender, and NASCAR struggles to diversify its ranks. It has to make some folks in Daytona Beach uncomfortable.

Head2Head

Danica Patrick made headlines this past weekend by becoming the first woman to win an open-wheel race. Did she shed light on an issue in NASCAR?

• Complete story, click here

Joe Menzer: The real question, when it comes down to it, is this: Why are there female drivers coming up through the ranks in IndyCar, but not in NASCAR? At least not to the top level yet. But you can't snap your fingers and suddenly have a black driver or a woman driver in top equipment competing in the Sprint Cup Series. It just doesn't happen that way -- for anyone, regardless of race or gender -- in this sport.

David Caraviello: It's strange, because I think NASCAR is something of an easier series to get into, given the volume of cars and the fact that you're often buying your ride in IndyCar racing.

Dave Rodman: I think it's just going to take time. Don't take this the wrong way, but forever and ever, women have been an extreme anomaly in American motorsports.

Joe Menzer: Boy, Roadman, you are going to get some e-mails on that one!

David Caraviello: But it's happened in other series, guys. The thing is, it's not like NASCAR isn't trying here. I believe the series brass desperately wants diversification in the ranks. They have put some initiatives in place. But nothing's worked, and when Danica finally wins, they look bad in comparison.

Dave Rodman: Given equal experience, Danica is not even the best woman in American open wheel racing.

Joe Menzer: Let's get one other thing straight: Danica Patrick was making her 50th start in IndyCar, is in top equipment, and I believe has been racing since she was in pigtails. Why shouldn't she be able to win?

David Caraviello: But to the public at large, guys, that doesn't matter. They're not getting bogged down in fuel mileage and split fields and equipment quality. They see her win, and wonder why the same thing isn't happening in NASCAR.

Dave Rodman: If the economy improves, race teams stay viable and they stay motivated, open wheel could have three competitive women within the next few years.

Joe Menzer: Therein may lay one of the keys to why you aren't seeing more women come up through the NASCAR ranks. The schedule is more of a grind. You have to race almost every weekend, and it is very physical.

David Caraviello: So Joe, are you saying a female couldn't handle 38 weeks on the road?

Dave Rodman: They could handle it. Up until now, they haven't seemed to have been inclined to.

Joe Menzer: DC is trying to get me to say something that will offend all the females out there. That is not my intent. I'm just saying, given the two choices of what to get into at a very young age, young women are more likely to choose open wheel. It is less of a grind. Plus now I think you have to look at another factor. Now there is a track record of success for young women in open-wheel racing; but not in NASCAR.

Dave Rodman: Well, if they start in karting, they are more apt to road race. And road racing, for novices, is way more adaptable and way more fun.

Joe Menzer: So now young women who might be looking to get into racing could be even more likely to get into the open-wheel side. It's a catch-22 for NASCAR.

David Caraviello: Here's what I think -- NASCAR can't make this happen. It's the teams who scout talent, sign drivers, and provide development. When it happens, it's going to be because a Hendrick or a Roush made it happen. And not Drive for Diversity, which, despite its intentions, just hasn't worked.

Joe Menzer: I agree with DC. The austere governing body can't just snap their fingers and make this happen. It is going to be up to one of the super-teams to give the funding and training and equipment to a young girl who shows talent.

Dave Rodman: If someone had to look for role models, they would be much more apt to see and follow Danica, Katherine Legge or Simona de Silvestri than ... hmmm, just who is a racing female in NASCAR these days?

David Caraviello: Yeah, who is NASCAR's female standard-bearer at the moment? Chrissy Wallace?

Joe Menzer: I guess so. But the fact that we have to think about it for a minute indicates there is a problem.

Dave Rodman: Still an anomaly (that's our word for the day, ain't it?). The proof of that is the inside-out treatment SPEED gave Chrissy's Martinsville debut. Chrissy deserved the notice and she did a great job. But women in oval track racing are still so much of a rarity when anyone almost even shows up and qualifies, it's noteworthy.

Joe Menzer: Say what you will about Danica Patrick perhaps being overrated, but she has marketed herself very well. And the IndyCar folks have marketed her well, too.

David Caraviello: Some would say that's because they have no one else to market.

Joe Menzer: And now she has a race win on her resume to back it up.

3. A crowd of over 72,000 watched Juan Montoya win in Mexico City last year. Last week, 57,000 watched Kyle Busch win. Does the Nationwide race south of the border have staying power?

David Caraviello: Right now, yes. This race isn't about how many people watch it in Mexico City. It's about trying to capture the Hispanic market in the United States. It's part of a wider approach that also involves Spanish-language broadcasts of some races.

Joe Menzer: I would say there is a direct correlation between the fact that there was no Montoya there this year and the drop in the crowd. And as we have said previously, or at least I know I have, I think the fact that Montoya didn't go, that he apparently wanted no part of going, means the event there has run its course.

Dave Rodman: I don't think I understand anything about crowds. They talk about open-wheel fans vs. stock car fans, which are somewhat few and far between going back in the day, in Mexico. From what I understand, the open-wheel race on the same track in 2003 had a Champ Car record crowd of 214,000. Three years later, it was less than half that: 104,000.

Road race woes

David Caraviello is an admitted road race fan and would love to see more on the Cup schedule. But he says adding another one is more difficult than it sounds.

• Complete story, click here

David Caraviello: Wait -- Joe, so you're saying that because Montoya skipped it, then the thing is finished? Man, that's even worse than your comments earlier about women.

Joe Menzer: No, I'm saying if you have the defending champion, who is of Hispanic descent, and he has no interest in going back to defend his title, that shows there is apathy about the event even at the top.

David Caraviello: There didn't seem to be any apathy on Marcos Ambrose's part.

Dave Rodman: The NASCAR race has gone down four years in a row and is now just above having dropped a full 50 percent in that time. Go figure.

David Caraviello: And NASCAR has seen quite a decline, Dave, from that mammoth crowd in the inaugural event to last week's attendance numbers.

Dave Rodman: Juan isn't doing Nationwide races this season, so the fact he was defending champion in Mexico and is a Latin driver is coincidence. An unfortunate one, probably, for the promoters.

Joe Menzer: DC, you keep telling us that it's not about those crowd numbers, that it's all about getting the Hispanic viewers hooked on TV in the States. Tell us, DC, what kind of ratings did the race pull? Because I honestly don't know.

David Caraviello: Oh, I have no idea. And I don't think it's about raw ratings, per se. It's about raising consciousness in the Hispanic communities, which I think it's doing to some degree.

Dave Rodman: The interesting thing is, NASCAR already has a huge female following, even without women drivers in Sprint Cup -- or anywhere else. But to get a Hispanic following, everyone agrees they need to get a full-time Hispanic (read that, Mexican) driver into one of the series. They're trying, and there are some candidates, like Rogelio Lopez and a kid that qualified 10th last weekend, Antonio Perez. But it's gonna take time.

Joe Menzer: And Roadman, are you telling me that Juan couldn't have run this one Nationwide race? Not to get corny here, but for the better good of the sport, if someone convinced him it was that important?

David Caraviello: Dude, NASCAR teams do what's good for them. This isn't a charity.

Dave Rodman: I think someone is paying Chip to run Kyle Krisiloff. DC's right -- in NASCAR, money talks and good drivers take time off. But I can personally vouch for this: The job OCESA and NASCAR Mexico have done with their touring division is nothing short of phenomenal. They had 47 cars trying for 36 spots in the Corona Series. The 36-car field on Sunday had 35 cars that appeared to be fully decorated with sponsor signage. The race was great.

Joe Menzer: Fact is, it's not that important any longer. They've gone there, done that. Now they need to go somewhere else.

David Caraviello: Menzer is on the rampage today. It's like we're Smacking with Bill O'Reilly! And remember, people, 57,000 isn't that much less than what Darlington or Homestead draw for a Cup race. But if the numbers keep going down this precipitously ... NASCAR's going to have to reexamine it.

Joe Menzer: Is anyone making money by going to Mexico? Not the teams, I can tell you that.

Dave Rodman: Well, if you are racing for the purse, you're in trouble -- but winning Mexico paid nearly $40,000 more than winning Phoenix -- and you had to travel further to Phoenix to get paid less.

Joe Menzer: Phoenix is further than Mexico City? Since when?

Dave Rodman: You know how geographically challenged I am -- I have no idea where it is. What do you think would happen if I Mapquested Charlotte to Mexico City?

Joe Menzer: Are you kidding me? I may get killed on this by the e-mailers, but I am fairly certain Mexico City is farther than Phoenix!

The opinions expressed are solely those of the writers