Track Smack: Talkin' it over with a Daytona 500 winner (cont'd)

3. The No. 17 team won the Daytona 500. The No. 48 team was an also-ran. Heading to California, who looks strong enough to stay up front all season?

David Caraviello: Well, Daytona has tricked us before now, hasn't it? Remember all those Dodge boys last year? We never saw them again. I don't know if we can really judge anything, though it looks like Matt has hit it off with the new crew chief, and the Richard Petty Motorsports cars might be better than advertised.

Dave Rodman: I think Matt would agree that after shuffling the deck last year, they were off by just a little -- but that's all it takes in this league. They've still got all the good stuff, he's the same solid shoe, and now he has maybe one of the best young crew chiefs in the business. I don't see any reason he won't hang there for a while -- uh, like 38 weeks or so.

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Matt Kenseth: There are some people who have impressed me. A.J. Allmendinger has been impressing everybody. For whatever reason, he didn't run as good in a Red Bull car as Brian and some other guys did. But since he got over there with the Petty team he's run really good. That was pretty impressive how he ran all week really. I don't think their cars were the fastest, but he did a good job all week the way the track position and pit stops worked out.

Dave Rodman: I'd say Mr. Johnson will be back in spades this weekend. Hey -- his finger has had another week to heal. Don't dare count him out. And at several junctures in the last 10 months I've written about how generally impressive A.J. has been. The guy's ability to win in Indy cars is unquestioned, which he did with two different teams his last season there; so he's versatile and adaptive, as well. And I think his commitment to a goal and a program seems unquestionable -- so how about an early vote for "most improved driver?"

David Caraviello: No question. A.J.'s work ethic is lauded by everyone he's ever worked with. But the rules and characteristics at Daytona are so specialized, it's hard to have a feel right now.

Matt Kenseth: To be honest, it's really hard to tell until we get through the first handful of races with some downforce tracks. You can't look at Daytona and figure out who's going to be strong all year. I think when we go to Fontana, Las Vegas and Atlanta, when we get done with those races and get to that first break, I think you'll have a better idea of who's going to be strong.

Dave Rodman: Allmendinger's not a surprise because you've been seeing this coming for a while. The big question to me is, when he gets to the end of that eight-race tenure, what kind of decision might have to be made at RPM? If he keeps putting up numbers, and some of the runs he had at the end of last year -- beginning with a top-10 at Kansas in his last race with Red Bull -- indicate he can, he might put some heat on his teammates if they're not doing the same. Like, a ride swap from full-time to part-time to let A.J. keep rolling.

David Caraviello: That's a huge question, Dave, though you have to think the sponsorship will come if he continues to run as well as he did on Sunday night. For his sake, you hope so. Nobody's worked harder, or -- when you look at where he was in open-wheel -- given up more for it. As for others, Jeff Gordon certainly looked strong all Speedweeks, until getting shuffled out of the lead late in a pit sequence in the 500. They've made some changes over there on the No. 24 team that they think will transcend Daytona. Kyle Busch is still potent. And Tony Stewart and that No. 14 car are going to be stout, if they can keep the Goodyears in one piece.

Dave Rodman: Without question, that RCR bunch is going to be tough to handle this year. As Matt said, you've got to get through a couple downforce venues, since they comprise the bulk of the schedule. But as I said even last week, the big surprise of the season so far has been Stewart-Haas -- but even they have to go to the intermediates to see if that early strength stretches across those boundaries.

David Caraviello: Matt, though, has to like his chances of building on some Daytona momentum. It's not difficult to foresee him still in the points lead when the series comes back East. Those Roush cars are no stranger to Victory Lane at Las Vegas, and Matt has enjoyed some strong runs at California.

Matt Kenseth: I always look forward to going there. We've run really well there in the past. It seems like for some reason we've in the past been able to come out of the box really strong and do well there and at Vegas.

David Caraviello: No one would be surprised to see that. We'd like to thank Matt for finding a few minutes to join us in the midst of his post-Daytona 500 media tour. Hopefully, he won't suffer from the dreaded "Track Smack Curse." Matt, we did tell you about that one, didn't we? Matt?

The opinions expressed are solely those of the writers.