Track Smack: Triple Crown (cont'd)

2. A stockholder of Dover International Speedway wants Bruton Smith to buy that track. Jeff Gordon says he's shocked Pocono still has two races. Do either of those facilities deserve to lose a date?

Raygan Swan: NASCAR scheduling annoys me more than filing my taxes!

David Caraviello: I'll tell you what, Dover has some issues. That excuse for a garage area is pathetic. They had a surprisingly sparse crowd last Sunday. And they're in Dover, Del. But that track has done absolutely nothing to deserve having a race taken away. Not given its proximity to so many major markets, its unique configuration, and its track record of getting people through the gate.

Raygan Swan: Agreed David, my first time there I think I was nearly ran over about six times. Drivers need spotters in the garage as well! But if you're Tony Stewart, he tries to run over reporters on purpose!

On the market?

Dover's largest outside shareholder wants the racetrack's assets to be sold.

• Complete story, click here

Dave Rodman: There's a number of facilities that deserve to "temporarily" lose a date. I know Brian France said enough changes for a while -- but I've said it before and I'll repeat it here. Go to an alternating events schedule. Kentucky, Nashville, Iowa -- at least -- all deserve a shot. NASCAR can set parameters and if you fail any of them, or a set number of them, for any reason, you fall to one race in the successive season. And one of those other venues comes in.

Raygan Swan: I don't think Dover should lose a race, Pocono maybe, but the Mattioli family has a death grip on the place. Too much history and ties to the France family to sell.

David Caraviello: The alternating date sounds like a good idea, but it won't happen. How's that track supposed to make any money the year it's off the schedule?

Dave Rodman: Well, I don't know the exact specifics, but tracks have all kinds of intricate ways to make money away from their major dates -- and if they don't, God, they need to. And what they do if they can't meet the parameters isn't NASCAR's concern. As for Dover, it should be fine, as track president Denis McGlynn pointed out. Within the physical constraints they have, with the horse track inside the infield, they have done pretty well.

David Caraviello: But Bruton is infatuated with Kentucky and Las Vegas, and should he get his hands on Dover, who knows what might happen. As for Pocono ... when Jeff Gordon blasts you, you know you're in trouble.

Raygan Swan: OK, at Lowe's Motor Speedway, Smith said Kentucky had sex appeal. Can someone explain that to me?

David Caraviello: Sparta, Ky., is one sexy place.

Raygan Swan: I've been there, I must have missed something. But I am happy to have another track close to Indy.

Dave Rodman: The logistics of doing a race at Kentucky in its current configuration would be overwhelming, so I can't imagine it unless Bruton adds the seats he says he would.

David Caraviello: Boy, another 1.5-mile tri-oval coming to the Cup schedule. Thanks, Bruton! And I've never been to Pocono -- and I am thankful of that every day -- but if somebody who's been going there 16 years tosses you under the bus, then well, it's hard for me to disagree.

Dave Rodman: Obviously, I'm not gonna cut my wrists over it, but that alternate venue idea, I think would work and it would serve everyone -- the fans who deserve some different venues, ditto the race teams and also the track owners, who deserve a shot.

Raygan Swan: Pocono is fine but the races are too close together, the track is not easy to get to and yes the facilities leave something to be desired, namely the fact that reporters male and female share one bathroom in the media center.

David Caraviello: What? There's only one media center bathroom?

Raygan Swan: Yes, and that should be a health hazard. There are two, but when I was there, one was broken.

Dave Rodman: And to skip back to Jeff's comments, he as much said he didn't necessarily want to see Pocono go anywhere as he said it needed upgrades. I think most competitors would want to lose neither it nor Dover.

Raygan Swan: Yeah but do either deserve two races? No.

David Caraviello: Although when Jeff Gordon says you're outdated and he's "shocked" you still have two races, that's a wake-up call.

Dave Rodman: That head situation at Pocono actually doesn't seem so bad since there's a third bathroom in the outer media area -- and I guess it doesn't because the population in that room isn't overwhelming.

David Caraviello: That's Dave for you. Knows the secrets to everything. He's the Indiana Jones of the NASCAR circuit.

Raygan Swan: No kidding!

Dave Rodman: And don't forget, since the fans rule, Doc Mattioli is justifiably proud of the "world's largest bathroom," or whatever it is he has out there in the Pocono grandstand area.

Raygan Swan: Sweet, maybe I'll walk out there every time.

Dave Rodman: That's survival, man. You got to have those intricacies mastered or you go nuts. (Continued)