Busch, Edwards have too much to lose to lose it

1. In the wake of last weekend's bump-and-run and post-race altercation at Bristol, is it going to get ugly between championship leaders Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards?

Raygan Swan: If Kyle has his way, it will get ugly. But I think Carl is ready to put the incident behind him. He's not one that thrives on conflict like young Mr. Busch.

Dave Rodman: I don't think so and, considering all the tracks they still have to run -- with the exception of Martinsville -- I certainly hope not. No room for it in the Chase.

David Caraviello: I don't think so. These guys are professionals, and they have a lot on the line. It's not like they're going to be taking each other out every weekend. They both know what's at stake.

Dave Rodman: And no room for it on such high-speed tracks -- though, if they were to do it with the surgical precision Carl exhibited Saturday night, they just might get away with it.

Raygan Swan: But I see Kyle retaliating in some way -- taking his girlfriend, calling him Mr. Ed again, or something. Kyle, I don't think, can leave well enough alone.

David Caraviello: Now that said, should the opportunity for payback present itself, I don't think Kyle would be out of line in taking it -- if he can pull it off as deftly as Carl did Saturday night.

Dave Rodman: I'd like to think Jimmie Johnson -- who after all knows a little bit about contending for and winning championships -- had it right when he said they'd forget about it and get back to business. I should say, forget about it for the time being. Neither of them will forget anything, totally. If I were Carl, the biggest fear I'd have is that by Martinsville, Kyle will be in a Chase hole while Carl soars, and Kyle can safely wipe him out.

Raygan Swan: Yeah Dave, and I appreciated the fact that Jimmie called what Carl did "good hard racing". I agree.

Play nice, boys

NASCAR has placed Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards on probation for the next six races.

• For complete story, click here
• Menzer: Rivalry adds spice
• Rodman: What goes around ...
• Caraviello: What's all the fuss?
• Forum: Thoughts on probation

David Caraviello: If I'm Carl, I'm watching my rearview mirror intently for that No. 18 car at Richmond and Martinsville. But again, we're not talking about wrecking each other. We're talking about moving someone out of the way to win a race, which is completely different.

Raygan Swan: On a radio show, Carl said he was going to enjoy Fontana as long as Kyle wasn't behind him. He knows what the kid is capable of. Kyle has a reputation with the fans, and he has to uphold it.

Dave Rodman: Carl said that he could win the next two races given the same scenario, "If Kyle's not behind me ..." I think he was kind of playing to the masses with that comment, though he did add they could potentially wad up some stuff.

David Caraviello: I don't think Kyle's as reckless as some make him out to be. Yeah, he's gotten into people. But he's also been on the receiving end of it. Like when Dale Earnhardt Jr. punted him at Kansas. It's not like Kyle hammers people every week. Dave, do you take those comments by Carl to mean that Kyle is in his head a little bit? If so, that's something of a win for Busch.

Dave Rodman: Actually, as I said, I think it's more him being a showman. I think both of them are into the gamesmanship of it all. And I agree -- I don't think Kyle's propensity is to trash people. The problem seems to be, he isn't shy about it if he feels he needs to -- and he doesn't recognize there are two sides to the street. Six lanes, limited access with him, all going his way.

Raygan Swan: The last thing I want to say about Kyle is to cut out the name calling. It makes him look childish, because his insults are so sixth grade. Until he can bring the insults like Tony Stewart, then just bite your tongue, Kyle.

David Caraviello: The gamesmanship, though, is a whole lot of fun. We want and need the gamesmanship. Enough of this "one big family" and everyone being nice all the time. These are pro athletes, and pro athletes get mad and carry grudges and try to get inside one another's heads. Nothing wrong with that. It's an intense line of work.

Dave Rodman: Exactly. Rivalries are what they are -- and then the fan base and the media pick them up and embellish them -- kind of like paint-by-the-numbers deals. This one has the potential to rival Rembrandt.

2. NASCAR suspended seven crewmen on the Joe Gibbs Racing Nationwide team indefinitely for what appeared to be blatant cheating. Were the penalties severe enough?

David Caraviello: Too bad this happened too late for last week's Smack. No question this was a blatant attempt to circumvent rules -- you don't put magnets underneath the throttle for show. But interesting that the in-house penalties were stiffer than the ones NASCAR handed out.

Punishing its own

After NASCAR handed down its penalties against JGR, the team took it one step further.

• For complete story, click here
• Forum: Did penalty fit crime?
• Subs get Gibbs back on track

Raygan Swan: I think the penalties were fair, along with the in-house penalties because the Gibbs operation prides itself on class and integrity. This was a major black eye for the Gibbs family. It's rare to see an overt admission of guilt like J.D. displayed, so you know he was going to drop the hammer on those guys.

Dave Rodman: But were the penalties really severe enough? By simply keeping the guys at home, that sends a half-butted message. If you wanted to send a real message, someone needed to go down.

David Caraviello: Dave, I can't disagree more. Dropping the hammer doesn't necessarily mean firing someone. It's like people want blood on this one. Yeah, they screwed up. Bad. Some of these guys will never see the racetrack again. But it's not worth putting families and lives in jeopardy.

Dave Rodman: This would take a court of law to satisfy a lot of people -- like, who put the magnets inside the car, and assuming they were put in before the race, who positioned them after the race to impede the test?

Raygan Swan: Remember, everyone cheats. They got caught, now let them learn from their mistakes. Everyone gets a second chance, and their penalties are stiff, and they've suffered major embarrassment, and their drivers' talents are being questioned now.

Dave Rodman: I agree -- but we were talking about making a statement. What I'm hearing is, "I wish you hadn't done it." Well, no kidding.

David Caraviello: Well, I don't think it's necessarily that. But you do have a culture where this kind of stuff is endemic. And it's up to the Gibbs team as to whether they want to keep these people employed. And if they do so, I'm fine with it. For guys like Dave Rogers and Jason Ratcliff -- who may very well be paying the price for something people underneath them did -- being banned from the racetrack for the last third of the season is quite a penalty in and of itself.

Dave Rodman: Well, they're in good company, at least. I think Joe and J.D. are a cut above the crowd -- for better or worse, this aspect of their team is down among the great unwashed. The other thing is, are these guys really going to have to pay what amounts to a sizeable chunk of their salaries, when you talk about taking care of their families, and what do their "additional in-house penalties" add up to?

Raygan Swan: How about the inspectors this season, they are finding some real interesting techniques. It would be interesting to learn how they go about looking for broken rules inside the car. The magnets seem so obvious to me.

Dave Rodman: If they're what I'm imagining them to be, they really wouldn't be. The inspectors are like, who was it, Werner the Ferret from The Great Escape?

David Caraviello: I think the Gibbs team winds up saving face nicely here, which they have a history of doing in these kinds of situations (i.e., Tony Stewart and the photographer at Indy). My question is, does this raise more issues with Toyota horsepower in the Nationwide Series, given the lengths some appear to go to conceal it? I mean, what are they trying to hide here?

Dave Rodman: Someone needs to ask the questions in California and find out what the tests found -- unless that was found out at Bristol.

David Caraviello: Heard nothing about that at Bristol. Swan, you're on the case.

3. Reed Sorenson is moving to Gillett Evernahm Motorsports next season, and Casey Mears is moving to RCR. Will those changes jump-start their careers?

David Caraviello: Sorenson has to feel like a beggar who just won a million dollars. To leap from Ganassi to GEM, an organization with a pretty good track record for winning races and putting people in the Chase -- wow.

Raygan Swan: I certainly hope so, for their sakes. As for Reed, I'm not sure. His performance is so spotty, he only has one pole in a three-year Cup career, no wins and only 13 total top-10s.

Career Stats

Cup Series

	C. Mears	R. Sorenson
Starts	204	97
Wins	1	0
Top-5s	12	5
Top-10s	40	13
Poles	3	1
DNFs	25	14
Laps Led	354	132
Lead Lap Fin.	92	46
Avg. Start	21.3	25.4
Avg. Finish	22.2	24.9

• Community: Casey | Reed

Dave Rodman: The potential is certainly there. What it depends on now is how the chemical balance is, coming out of the gate.

David Caraviello: Yeah, Reed doesn't have much to show for the last three years. But neither does Ganassi. We're about to find out if it was him or the team.

Raygan Swan: I agree Dave, chemistry, attitudes will be important. Reed has shown some glimmers of brilliance, like at the Brickyard in 2007, but he's going to have to work a lot harder at GEM then he did at Ganassi. It seems to me he was content on blaming Ganassi for his poor performance instead of finding and working toward solutions.

David Caraviello: No question Reed comes out of Ganassi with some baggage, some of it self-inflicted. I don't think anyone expects it to be as easy as him jumping in a GEM car and the light bulb going off. But no question there's more potential in his new home, judging by past performance.

Dave Rodman: GEM has definitely been better in the stat categories, though its Chase record potential appears to have taken a dive when they eradicated a Jeremy Mayfield team that went to the Chase in two consecutive years.

Raygan Swan: But GEM sees potential in the 22-year-old as if to say he was cutting his teeth on Ganassi's dime, and now he's ready to drive for an operation that can win races, I suppose.

Dave Rodman: Both groups can get it done. Reed's still young, so he can turn a corner with GEM. Casey's won so he can trade off that for a while yet, but I think RCR will be a good place for him to find consistency.

David Caraviello: I fear for Patrick Carpentier here, though. I'll be the first to admit, I expected nothing from the guy. Didn't think he would last. But he's hung in there, and I think done a good job. Yet barring some miracle sponsorship strike, he'll probably be the odd man out.

Dave Rodman: If Patrick does go missing, that would be one of the greater recent tragedies in the sport. Well, maybe not a tragedy, but a definite loss to the fans and we who have to write about this deal. Never a dull moment with that one.

David Caraviello: Yeah, Dave, I'd agree. But he didn't help himself by missing the show at Bristol last week -- first time he's missed a race that he's actually been able to turn a qualifying lap for.

Raygan Swan: So what about Casey Mears, the driver whose attitude and hard work outweighs his lack of performance? I have no idea what to think about Casey, he seems to make costly mistakes (like at Bristol), but has shown he can run up front and stay out of trouble.

David Caraviello: Casey is in a different situation. He's older, he's won, and he's expected to win again. Reed can be viewed as something of a project, like the high schooler drafted by an NBA team who'll sit the bench for a year. Not Casey. He needs to start showing results, which is why RCR hired him. I'm sure he knows that better than anyone.

Dave Rodman: Almost makes you wonder if something else was in play -- who knows what? Casey has actually been stepping his program up by chunks as the years go by. If he's really ready to blossom, RCR could be the real beneficiary.

Raygan Swan: Reed is going to have to have some kind of awakening. I personally would love to see both guys find success because both have great fan followings.

David Caraviello: Yeah, and a lot has been expected from both of them. A change of scenery does help sometime. I'd like to see what Casey can do in a more stable situation than he's had.

Dave Rodman: Speaking of stability, once Hendrick Motorsports gets Mark Martin into that seat, he may have to drive until he's 60. He will straighten 'em out, but it's a tough environment for an unproven person to be in. As for Casey and Reed, it's too bad there's only so much success to go around. But you can't be in the top 10 one week and off the edge of a cliff the next, either.

David Caraviello: Yeah Dave, and these are two guys who have spent more than their fair share of time on the precipice.

The opinions expressed are solely of the participants.

Also
• Mears to drive the 07 car next year for RCR
• Sorenson set to join Gillett Evernham in '09