Track Smack: Change good for Mears, not so for quals

1. Three weekends, three qualifying rainouts. Should NASCAR allow for more flexibility in its event schedule to ensure that cars qualify on speed?

David Caraviello: See, here's why you can't award championship points for qualifying -- because it's too susceptible to weather. And when track time is tight, these guys need practice, practice, practice, first and foremost.

Joe Menzer: On the surface, you want to say yes. But how do you do that without the risk of stretching the weekend out too long or taking away practice time that the drivers obviously feel is more valuable?

Raygan Swan: I believe more flexibility could be added. I mean, Chase drivers need to have a chance to gain some advantage in qualifying.

David Caraviello: Standalone qualifying is a product of racetrack promoters who want to stretch what should be a two-day weekend to three. Nine times out of 10 it's unnecessary anyway. Seriously, how many times has it been rained out this year, 10? And has that had any kind of effect on the title race or the top 35? Not really. Because all those guys are in the same respective boats anyway. And I'll be honest, setting the field on points sometimes promises a better show because all the top guns are up front.

Joe Menzer: Let's be honest. How many tracks are there where qualifying really makes that much of a difference anyway? Maybe a handful? Martinsville, for one, because there aren't many good pit stalls. You want to start up front there and have that great pit stall for the duration of the race. But there aren't many others, are there?

David Caraviello: OK, Joe, I will give you the pit stall argument. But that shows how ridiculous this all has become. So qualifying isn't about where you start, it's about where you pit? Let it rain, baby.

Joe Menzer: Well, we're proving today that honesty is the best policy. Anything you want to come clean on, Raygs?

Raygan Swan: At least qualifying lets the non-Chasers get some TV time, I guess. Other than that, I'm with David.

David Caraviello: Hey, I know people love it. When I used to work for a newspaper, we'd get 100 calls on Friday afternoon -- who won the pole? Of course, many of those folks wanted to know for betting or fantasy reasons.

Raygan Swan: I do hope it doesn't rain so I can see Joey Logano in the No. 02 this weekend at Texas, at least. That's a bright side of qualifying, seeing new drivers outside the Top 35 qualify on time.

"Trust me, we don't look that bad."

Rain, rain go away

Ten times this season rain has washed out qualifying and while most drivers agree something needs to be done -- none are real sure exactly what that is.

• Complete story, click here
• Rodman: Youngsters suffer

David Caraviello: Raygan, I will give you that. And sometimes the rain knocks out very deserving teams. I think of the Wood Brothers at first Bristol, or Scott Speed trying to make his first start at Charlotte. For those guys, it truly stinks.

Joe Menzer: The bottom line is that despite those who whine about wanting to change it, there realistically is not that much they can do. Tracks set their schedules, and they're jam-packed most weekends. The only way to run make-up qualifying then would be to sacrifice practice time, which is more important.

Raygan Swan: What about more sophisticated Doppler equipment? Get Larry Sprinkle in there to do the weather. Yeah, for real, the name of a weather forecaster in Charlotte is Larry Sprinkle.

Joe Menzer: With a name like Sprinkle, you know he was born to forecast weather. (Doesn't his station use that in a shameless promotional bit?)

David Caraviello: Is the sports guy Nicky Touchdown?

Raygan Swan: Ha! Let me check.

Joe Menzer: Honestly, I'm just trying to sprinkle a little truth on this conversation. Qualifying is flawed and overrated, but TV I guess likes it, so do some fans, and it's not going to change.

David Caraviello: I will say that the top 35 knockout format is rather fun to watch. But that's the only part of qualifying that's truly dramatic, unless someone comes out of nowhere to win the pole -- which rarely happens, unless we're at someplace crazy like Talladega.

Raygan Swan: At my old paper in Kokomo they called me Ride-Along Raygan, because I spent a day on a fire truck, then the animal control truck.

Joe Menzer: Ride-Along Raygan ... now there's a nickname that we should make stick!

David Caraviello: Beats Raygan Sprinkles.

Joe Menzer: If Raygan rode along with one of the drivers for two laps of qualifying at Talladega, she'd probably fall asleep.

Raygan Swan: I would, but once I did it with Kyle Petty at Lowe's Motor Speedway and thought I was going to barf, honestly.

David Caraviello: Watching one of the drivers make two laps at Talladega makes you fall asleep.

Joe Menzer: You've heard of the 24 hours of Le Mans? Watching that at Talladega is like watching the 24 Hours of Qualifying!

2. Mark Martin and Casey Mears, bound for Hendrick Motorsports and RCR respectively, could be in their 2009 rides before the end of this season. Is such an early switch a good thing?

Raygan Swan: Casey really seems to be hitting his stride right now in the No. 5 car, but what's the point? I think he should begin R&D with RCR ASAP. From this point on, only speak in acronyms, BTW.

David Caraviello: I say, let 'em go. Surely it eases the transition and gives them a leg up on the next season. I mean, why not? If both car owners are on board, nobody really loses here.

Joe Menzer: LEG. Let 'em go. Let 'em get a LEG up on next year. ASAP, BTW.

David Caraviello: Well, I should say, nobody loses except the Mark Martin fan who just bought his $200 U.S. Army leather jacket.

Raygan Swan: Casey has pretty much spent his last few seasons in transition, so he's accustomed to it. The sooner the better to get him gelling with his new crew chief.

Joe Menzer: Oh, come on, DC2 (not to be confused with DC, who is our boss). Anybody who just invested in a $200 Army jacket because he's a Mark Martin fan is clueless.

Early move?

Rick Hendrick and Richard Childress are discussing the possibility of moving Casey Mears to RCR and Mark Martin to HMS before the end of the season.

• Complete story, click here
• Mears moving to the 07 in '09
• Martin signs with Hendrick
• Martin looking forward to '09

David Caraviello: Hey, Joe, the discount rack at Wilson's Leather holds quite a spell on people.

Raygan Swan: You can smell it from outside the store Joe!

David Caraviello: It lures you in, like the scent of a fresh-baked pie. Except it smells like leather.

Joe Menzer: Well, let me talk about something that stinks. And that's Casey Mears' body of work at Hendrick Motorsports. I thought he might break through this year, but no. So why not let him get a jump on next year while allowing MM to do the same. GTP? (Get The Point?)

David Caraviello: Easy, big man -- both on the acronyms and on Mears. He has gotten much better toward the end of the year. Give the kid a break. He gets passed around more than a bag of M&Ms.

Raygan Swan: I wonder if fatherhood will have any kind of impact on Mears and life on the track?

David Caraviello: Shoot, nothing would have a bigger impact than having the same team and crew chief two years in a row. The kid has had no stability. No wonder it takes until the end of the year for him to get things going.

Joe Menzer: Look, I really like Casey Mears. Truly, I do. But the fact is he did the same thing last year toward the end of the year, and it looked like he was building toward something. Instead, this year has been pretty awful for CM. But I will say this, to be fair to him I would like to see what he can do if he gets with the same crew chief for more than five minutes.

Raygan Swan: I can't say a bad thing about the man or else my inbox floods with hate mail. People love that guy.

David Caraviello: It's the Bakersfield Mafia. Joe, Casey's been 15th or better in six of his last eight starts. They've really improved from where they were earlier in the year. Of course, he'll never get the chance to build on that.

Joe Menzer: Guys, again, I really like Casey Mears as a person and have stood up for him in the past as a driver. But this season took a wrong turn for him at the Daytona 500. Wasn't that when he was running up front and wrecked himself?

David Caraviello: No Joe, that was you in your rental car in Chicago.

Raygan Swan: Ouch baby, very ouch!

Joe Menzer: The other thing to remember is that because of the fact that he IS such a nice guy, people keep saying things like what DC2 just said: "Aw, give the kid a break." But this isn't a case of a kid having a kid here. Casey turned 30 years old in March!

David Caraviello: My words are being taken out of context! I don't mean that he should actually be given anything. I'm saying that he's run better toward the end of the year, and that he's never had the chance to build on anything. And certainly that's a reason he struggles so much.

Raygan Swan: It's his attitude that team owners love and why he stays outfitted with top teams. He'll always have a nice ride no matter if he wrecks himself in Daytona or in a rental car.

Joe Menzer: Are you talking about me or Mears? Maybe we'd better move onto the next question ASAP.

3. Richard Childress is splitting up driver Clint Bowyer and crew chief Gil Martin, who together have reached the Chase in each of the last two years. Is it the right move?

David Caraviello: You know, Childress has forgotten more about racing than I will ever know. He's made some brilliant personnel moves throughout his career as a car owner. But I keep thinking, why break up a good thing?

Joe Menzer: I can't say I fault him for it. In some ways, it feels like Clint underachieved a little this season. I know he made the Chase, has finished well in the Chase races, but I thought he would win more races.

Raygan Swan: When I first heard this I thought: bad idea, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. But then when I read what Clint had to say, it may make sense for the long term since he is changing teams.

David Caraviello: Joe, that's what I wonder -- have perhaps Martin and Bowyer gone as far together as Childress thinks they can? And maybe that's why Gil will work with Casey Mears on the fourth car next season.

Raygan Swan: And Richard wants to give Casey a strong shot out of the box with a strong crew chief, no excuses for Mears next season. And Clint has worked with Shane Wilson on the Nationwide side and they apparently work well together.

David Caraviello: But let's face it, it's hard to argue with the results. I mean, Clint came out of nowhere. And a lot of that was because of Martin, who might be the most underrated crew chief in the garage.

Joe Menzer: Well, here's another thing to consider: Before I go throwing Clint too far under the bus, his season sort of reflects the kind of season RCR has had as a whole. These guys -- meaning Clint, Kevin Harvick and Jeff Burton -- are good enough drivers to get the most out of their equipment. But most weeks, that means running top 10 but not really contending for the win.

Raygan Swan: Richard has a knack for hiring the right people and putting them in positions to succeed.

David Caraviello: Of course, everyone thought RC was crazy back in the 90s when he swapped Larry McReynolds and Kevin Hamlin, the respective crew chiefs for Dale Earnhardt and Mike Skinner. It was a stroke of genius. Nobody had done such a thing before, and now it's the first thing everybody tries. So far be it from me to second guess the guy on personnel.

Joe Menzer: I want to be Raygan's crew chief on her next ride-along!

Raygan Swan: I want to drive a trash truck through the Talladega infield!

Joe Menzer: As long as we don't have to do two laps of qualifying there, I'm in.

David Caraviello: But Joe, going back to your point, you're right -- to be more of a championship threat in 2009, those RCR cars are going to have to win a few more races. I think they know that. They're always in the running, and they're always in the Chase, and there's something to be said for that. But to finish the deal, to get to where Jimmie Johnson is now, they've got to take the next step.

Raygan Swan: Yeah well, maybe if Jimmie Johnson would retire, others could have some fun, too.

Joe Menzer: The RCR guys know it, too. They talked about it -- a lot -- last offseason. And Jeff Burton has made some noise, winning at least twice, including once in the Chase. But they still seem a tick behind Hendrick, Roush and even JGR on the Cup side.

David Caraviello: Give them credit for realizing it. And certainly these moves -- and the addition of another big-dollar sponsor in General Mills -- are steps toward potentially closing that gap.

Raygan Swan: But give Clint some more time, and I bet you'll see him pull some more wins next season on the Cup side. That is, if the new crew chief swap works.

Joe Menzer: Maybe NASCAR.com should try switching the days when we write our columns. Shake things up a bit. Maybe DC2 should write a One Menz Opinion.

David Caraviello: Sorry, Joe, but the last name doesn't exactly work for me.

Joe Menzer: Raygs could take the Inside Line and I could do a Splash-n-Go. Speaking of which, is it time to go yet?

Raygan Swan: Oh no, let's have David do Splash-n-Go. He can write about NASCAR-licensed pet toys.

David Caraviello: Pet toys? Are you serious? Now it's definitely time to go.

The opinions expressed are solely those of the writers