Smack: Laying the rubber from Mexico to Montreal (cont'd)

3. Which will be a more compelling race this weekend, Sunday's Sprint Cup event at Pocono or Saturday's Nationwide tilt at Montreal?

David Caraviello: Vive le Montreal! I guess that's how you say it. Gosh, we can only hope for something like last year's Robby Gordon vs. Marcos Ambrose confrontation. Pocono can't match that.

Raygan Swan: Well, Robby Gordon won't be there to punt Ambrose and conduct his own Victory Lane celebration in Montreal. But then again, some drivers have been highly critical of Pocono this season.

Dave Rodman: I think there is no question that with the way the table was set last year -- Robby in the 2008 house or not -- there is no question Montreal is tons more compelling than Pocono.

Raygan Swan: You're right, Dave. During the last Pocono race I had time to go outlet shopping, if that tells you anything.

“

On one hand you have French food and a cosmopolitan, almost European city. On the other you have a triangle on a hilltop. You make the call.

”

DAVID CARAVIELLO

David Caraviello: On one hand you have French food and a cosmopolitan, almost European city. On the other you have a triangle on a hilltop. You make the call. Of course, if one right-front tire at Pocono begins to show the first sign of wear, then watch out!

Raygan Swan: Triangle on a hilltop, poor-to-no cell service, no nightlife ...

David Caraviello: Come on, Raygan. There's plenty of nightlife in Pocono! All those heart-shaped bathtubs!

Raygan Swan: Eeeewwww. Again, it's the media center bathroom where all the other reporters can hear your business that disturbs me most!

David Caraviello: All right, maybe not. But the folks in Pocono must be doing something right. They've been on the schedule forever, and they sell tons of tickets with two races only a few weeks apart. Give 'em some credit.

Raygan Swan: The racing is fine, not as fun as the road course in Montreal, but fine. And I've heard the track pulls from a broad market? Explain further.

David Caraviello: That's New York City's racetrack, baby. Closest Cup circuit to the Big Apple, if I remember correctly. That's it's trump card. And I'm not talking about Donald Trump.

Dave Rodman: Pocono is a tradition that definitely doesn't need to be messed with at this point. The Docs Mattioli have done a lot of good things, it's a neat area, so I say game on.

David Caraviello: And all the people that fill that big grandstand would agree with you, Dave.

Dave Rodman: Now, if they did something about 500-mile races, I wouldn't complain. But to get back to Montreal, if it ain't a barnburner again, I hope people don't demand their money back. That was weak. Of course, as the favorite phrase goes these weeks, it seems like, "I have no skin in that game," so I apologize to all the hard-working fans who feel slighted.

David Caraviello: But Dave, you are correct in that there are some fans out there who have quite the sense of entitlement. Guess they've never been to a baseball game that's been rained out. Of course, that's not excusing what happened at Indy. Let's hope all those tires hold out at Pocono!

Dave Rodman: The people who gave me elaborate explanations of what they watched and were entertained by at Indy were more like the page I'm on -- but we're regressing. With Boris Said and Scott Pruett, a rejuvenated Marcos Ambrose who'll be coming off a Road Atlanta test for the Wood Brothers -- though that place is nothing like Le Circuit Gilles -- not to mention the intrigue those Canadian heroes Carpentier and Villeneuve muster. Voila!

David Caraviello: Is this the beginning of another of Dave's parables?

The opinions expressed are solely those of the writers.