Smack: Undecided voters in Junior, Busch debate (cont'd)

3. It's the last fall Chase race for Atlanta, which moves into the Labor Day spot next season. Is it a good move for a track with attendance issues?

Joe Menzer: I think so. They had to do something, and this might help. But if it doesn't, look out. If it fails, they could be looking at losing one of their races in another two to three years.

David Caraviello: It surely can't hurt. Atlanta has been besieged by cold and rainy weather during its long tenure near the back end of the schedule. Any move to warmer months will certainly help.

Changing lanes

Atlanta Motor Speedway and NASCAR are hoping rain and attendance aren't an issue when the track's fall race moves to Labor Day beginning in 2009.

• Complete story, click here
• Caraviello: Tough one to sell
• Complete 2009 Cup schedule

Joe Menzer: The other side of the equation is California. Having a race out there on Labor Day was a bad idea from the start, and maybe this will help them as well. At least you won't be able to fry an egg on Roadman's forehead.

Dave Rodman: It's potentially gonna be cold and possibly rainy on at least one day in Atlanta. Incomprehensibly, that track seems to have issues drawing a near-to-full house, so it's got to be good to try something.

Joe Menzer: I don't know how incomprehensible it is. Atlanta, to me, traditionally has never been the strongest of sports towns for the professional market.

Dave Rodman: Well, good point. But it's great racing and great racing draws 'em in from miles around.

Joe Menzer: And we might also mention here that calling it "Atlanta Motor Speedway" sort of would be the same as calling Martinsville "Greensboro Motor Speedway." They're about the same distance from those respective cities.

David Caraviello: Well Mr. NFL man, as for your geographic stickiness, don't the Detroit Lions play in Pontiac? The Washington Redskins in Landover? The Dallas Cowboys in Irving? Night qualifying at Atlanta has always been pretty neat, so a full Cup race under the lights there should be spectacular. There's won't be much of a conflict with football, and the weather will be warmer. So it's as good a shot, on the surface, as the place has had.

Dave Rodman: This brings up an old, sore point with me. The schedule should not be set in stone. Tracks should have a black-and-white set of parameters to meet: Attendance, ingress/egress, facilities, purse. If they can't make it this year, they lose a race in the near future. Give someone else a shot who can meet the same parameters. Atlanta would already be facing a hiatus, and so would California. Kentucky and Nashville would have had a shot, by now. And even though I'm told Iowa might not be the best track for a Cup race, they might even have had an opportunity.

Joe Menzer: As hard as it is for me -- and Smack observers -- to believe, I think Roadman has hit on a very good point here and I agree with him. The problem is the track operators like it being set in stone, arguing that it helps 'em sell tickets.

Dave Rodman: Well, stone will be more like lava next season. I think their ticket-selling dramas are only beginning.

Joe Menzer: I would argue, on the other hand, that you could keep certain dates that are proven successful over the long haul set in stone, if you like. But move the others around.

David Caraviello: I think F1 has a set of track criteria that facilities must meet. And then that sanctioning body ignores it in the case of creaky old Monaco. These race organizations run the show, and can do what they want.

Fast facts

What	Pep Boys Auto 500
When	2:20 p.m. ET Sunday
TV	ABC, 1 p.m. ET
Radio	PRN (Sirius Ch. 128), 1:15 ET

• Track Page | Tickets | Travel

Joe Menzer: Hate to keep comparing this sport to others, but why not? It's not like you see the NFL schedule completely set in stone each year. They play division rivals, then rotate other dates and teams in and out.

Dave Rodman: Oh yeah, Joe. Daytona, Lowe's, Bristol, Richmond -- and even New Hampshire because even with a short legacy, they've filled the place up and improved it, consistently. They would all be locks, as is. But these others...

David Caraviello: Right, guys, but the schedule does come out only about six months ahead of time. All this is on a year-to-year basis. They're not saying Atlanta will have the Labor Day date for 20 years.

Joe Menzer: Carl Edwards said it best the other day, but it won't ever happen. He said he thought it would be neat if they could race on 36 different tracks throughout the season. Go to Kentucky, Montreal, some places Cup has never been.

Dave Rodman: Which is why I said "they'd lose a date in the near future..." Screw up fall 2008, you're back to one date in 2010, which gives you plenty of time to work on fixes.

David Caraviello: A buddy and I sat in a bar one night and came up with a 25-race schedule. Two races for many of the places Dave mentioned, everybody else gets one. You're out before football season heats up and everything else gets lost.

Dave Rodman: Along with meeting parameters, certain tracks should rotate having two dates in a season. That, too, would give other facilities a chance. Any track that wants a date and can meet the criteria should have a chance. The fans, and I bet, the teams would love it.

David Caraviello: Boy, guys, all that would make selling tickets very hard.

Joe Menzer: Of course you would always need to have two races at certain places, like Daytona and Talladega ... and Vegas, baby! We need two at Vegas!

David Caraviello: Joe, the people in Vegas would be glad to see you again, too. Nobody can part ways with $100 faster.

Joe Menzer: Or $150.

The opinions expressed are solely those of the writers