Smack: Hendrick, M'ville and ... the Octomom?

1. Jimmie Johnson has won four of the last five races at Martinsville, but Hendrick Motorsports -- in fact, no Chevrolet team -- has yet to win this year. Odds of Johnson breaking through in southern Virginia on Sunday?

Joe Menzer: I certainly wouldn't bet against Jimmie Johnson at Martinsville. But Jeff Gordon has been pretty good there, too, and is knocking on the door of Victory Lane. I'll say the odds are pretty good one of the two will win.

Raygan Swan: I think the odds are very good for Johnson, but the odds are just as good for the points leader Jeff Gordon. This weekend will be a battle of who will wear the Mr. Martinsville crown.

David Caraviello: Even money. He's good there, and although Joe Menzer recently chronicled how they think they have everybody right where they want 'em, that group isn't quite at the top of the heap yet. I might be inclined to go with the crowd and pick Gordon as well. But I'm not. Those Gibbs guys are rolling right now. Denny Hamlin would be my choice.

Raygan Swan: If I had to pick one, I'd go with Gordon. Joe is right, he's close to a win. And hopefully, he won't have sleet and snow to contend with on Sunday, like last spring.

Joe Menzer: I think Gordon is close to ripping off several wins -- say something like three in an eight- to 10-race stretch. They can taste it, and they've got their act together. It's only a matter of time now. Of course, I think you could say the same about Jimmie as well.

Raygan Swan: One of the only things Gordon is doing differently this year that Jimmie was already doing is working out. What do you think of that?

Joe Menzer: To answer Raygan's query, what I think of that is that maybe they ought to start getting Junior to join the workout party. But that's another story...

David Caraviello: I don't think it's a coincidence that it came down to the two most fit guys, Johnson and Edwards, last year. I will say that Gordon and Kyle Busch appear to be the drivers to beat right now, but as we saw last year, a lot can change in a short period of time. Hard to believe that Johnson has back-to-back top-10s for the first time this season.

Johnson or Gordon?

Jeff has seven wins at Martinsville, Jimmie has five. Together they have nine of the last 12 wins at the track. Their numbers at Martinsville are mind-boggling.

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Joe Menzer: As for Jimmie just now posting back-to-back top 10s, as he said the other day, they are light years ahead of where they were a year ago. They've actually had a little bad luck and made a couple uncharacteristic mistakes to hold them back.

David Caraviello: Oh no question, they didn't dig nearly as deep a hole for themselves. Maybe they get to Martinsville, everything clicks, and they start leaving people in their dust the rest of the year. I don't think it happens, but it's not outside the realm of possibility.

Raygan Swan: I hope it doesn't happen. That will make for a really long season. Besides, I want to see Gordon win again, to see if he can stay on top.

Joe Menzer: Here's the thing: They're ready to get rolling, but Kyle Busch already is. We've pointed out how Gordon is better and more determined than ever to start winning again. Then there are the Roush Fenway guys and Kyle's JGR buddy, Hamlin. The competition is ramped up and ready. It won't be some kind of cakewalk for Johnson to go get his fourth championship. But I do think he's poised to give everyone a run for the big money.

David Caraviello: I have a nice, kind gentleman who e-mails me all the time claiming that Hendrick and Chevy haven't won yet because of the troubles at GM. I don't necessarily buy it, because Rick Hendrick has said that manufacturing money makes up only a small percentage of their budget. Seems to me that small teams might feel the pinch a little more. But the longer we go without Hendrick or Chevy winning, the longer those questions linger.

Joe Menzer: If Gordon and Jimmie were falling off the map, or if Mark Martin hadn't won two poles already, your "gentleman" might have a valid point. As it is, he doesn't have a leg to stand on with that conspiracy theory.

Raygan Swan: Yeah, and Dodge has won, and they are certainly in worse shape among the Big Three.

David Caraviello: Oh, I completely agree, Of course, try telling him that. The fact that Gordon has led the points all but one week this year is lost on him too.

Joe Menzer: I can't believe Bill Kimm is that clueless.

David Caraviello: Shhhh!

Joe Menzer: Whoops. I'm sorry. You wanted the e-mailer to remain anonymous?

2. Back-to-back races at Bristol and Martinsville beg the question -- of Bristol, Martinsville, and Richmond, which is the best short track on the Sprint Cup tour?

Joe Menzer: Wow. That's a great question. I like 'em all, and each is unique in its own way. But if push comes to shove -- and it usually does on these short tracks -- I think I have to go with Bristol.

David Caraviello: OK, no offense intended to anybody here, but we have to answer the question. I'll take Richmond. Just big enough for high speeds, just small enough for short-track action. The pre-Chase event there last year was the best of the year. The Earnhardt-Busch issue in the spring was riveting. Something always happens there.

Virginia goodness

It's no surprise Raygan hasn't actually eaten a Martinsville Hot Dog, when you have a conversation with one, I'm sure that bond is hard to break.

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Raygan Swan: I've been to Richmond and Martinsville, not Bristol. I'm partial to Martinsville -- the feel of the old-fashioned short track and being at the place where most of the Cup stars got their start is amazing. So much history.

David Caraviello: Menzer, you need to bring a little more to the table than that! When did you go all wishy-washy on us? Where's Bill Kimm? He'll pull no punches. And Raygan, you're just saying that because you love those radioactive red hot dogs.

Raygan Swan: David, to be honest I have yet to have one! Can you believe it? I just want a bite of one, then I'll pass it to Joe.

David Caraviello: Raygan, something tells me your Clean Eating magazine doesn't exactly endorse them.

Joe Menzer: Hey, Caraviello, I answered the question. I went with Bristol. And here's why: The night race there in August still remains one of the best (usually) of every season. The new car plus the new surface allows multiple groove racing now, but when it gets down to the end, there's usually going to be some entertaining bumping going on, too. I'll get to Martinsville hot dogs in a minute (they're delicious, just look a little different than your "normal" dog). But the other factor at Bristol is the crowd. You've got 160,000-plus folks just bearing down on the action. It's great!

David Caraviello: I will agree with Raygan to an extent on Martinsville. The racing action there, which people ultimately pay to see, is often tremendous. Guys are rubbing up against each other all day. I can't imagine how hard it is to drive 500 laps there. But I have trouble getting past the speeds. Average speed for last year's spring race was 73 mph. I can go faster than that on the highway!

Raygan Swan: But Martinsville is methodical, unique in that perseverance with a little patience wins out. And M'ville has the clock. Come on, what is cooler than that? There's no other trophy like it. And this track hasn't changed, unlike Bristol.

Joe Menzer: Listen, without being wishy-washy, I've got nothing against either Martinsville or Richmond. All three of these places are reminders that NASCAR needs more short tracks, not fewer races at them.

David Caraviello: Is Joe running for office? He sounds very politically correct this morning.

Raygan Swan: I know, I love it! Go Joe!

Joe Menzer: PC is not my thing. Just trying to be honest. As for speed, yeah, I got up above 73 going to Martinsville once and paid the price for it! I don't want the cops up there looking out for me again when I drive up there this weekend.

Raygan Swan: Ha! I remember that Joe! Slow your roll, homie.

Rain, rain go away

Joe and Raygan think we could be in for some rain at Martinsville. But they aren't meteorologists -- so what do the experts have to say about the weekend weather.

• HLN Weather Blast

David Caraviello: I like Bristol, too. The atmosphere there is unquestionably the best in the sport. It's worth the money just to sit in the grandstands and take it all in. I mean, you can see almost everything without turning your head. But I think the drivers are still figuring out that new surface, and the racing tends to get a little strung out at times. Had some long green flag runs last Sunday.

Joe Menzer: The racing at Martinsville has always been great, and even though Caraviello has had his problems with, um, the management there, Clay Campbell and Co. have done some really nice things to upgrade the facility with their ISC money. And good hot dogs, too. (Although Ridgewood Barbecue near the Bristol track is better than any dog you'll ever eat anywhere.)

Raygan Swan: Before it's all over, I'd like to go to Bristol. At the end of the day, all three tracks have the best fans, some of the most hardcore followers of the sport. That makes a difference in my mind.

David Caraviello: Who has problems with the Martinsville management? Those guys bleed for the place. Clay has much of his life invested in that facility. It's understandable that he'd get upset when Joe concocts some half-baked opinion piece.

Raygan Swan: Half-baked? Oh wait, we aren't talking about food anymore.

Joe Menzer: Ha-ha. I have made my peace with the good folks who run Martinsville. It wasn't my opinion piece that had them calling a press conference a couple years ago! A simple misunderstanding, I'm sure.

David Caraviello: I'm going to go wishy-washy for a second and have no comment on that.

Raygan Swan: Speaking of wishy-washy, did you see the forecast for the weekend Joe?

Joe Menzer: Bring your rain gear, Raygs. And maybe even a boat. But the weather geeks have been wrong before. Maybe they'll miss this one, too.

3. Last weekend Bristol held a "legends" race in which old-timers like Junior Johnson, Cale Yarborough, and others competed. Should more tracks pick up on this idea?

David Caraviello: Absolutely not. Hey, everybody enjoyed seeing those guys, and no question many of them got a kick out of competing. But after all we've learned in this sport, seeing octogenarians strap into race cars wearing open-faced helmets was a little startling.

"Somebody watch these kids so I can strap in and race these old-timers!"

Raygan Swan: Octogenarian? Is that like Octomom Nadya Suleman? I'm going to say a legends race is a good idea, because it's a nice gesture if tracks aren't willing to drop prices. If the prices won't drop, then give fans more bang for their buck, more show for the money. I think the legends race was a great idea, but next time I could do without the so-called celebrities.

Joe Menzer: I thought it was great, except for one thing. Wasn't the guy who won it, Sterling Marlin, also entered in the Cup event? That shouldn't happen. The one thing about these kinds of deals, though, is that if you start doing them at every track -- or even let's say six times a year -- then suddenly they aren't so special anymore.

David Caraviello: It was a very good idea that just didn't work in execution. It didn't help that the whole thing got hijacked by a certain four-letter television network that turned the deal into its own publicity event. You'd have thought it was the freaking Daytona 500, the way those guys treated it.

Raygan Swan: I'm not saying have it at every track. But Martinsville would be good since they only go 74 mph. Nice pace for the octowhatevers.

Joe Menzer: Just don't go 74 heading up that two-lane road, the only one that I know of that leads from Greensboro into Martinsville. I'm not an octowhatever yet despite my recent birthday, but I do know that.

Raygan Swan: Your gift is in the mail, Joe.

Joe Menzer: What is it? A raincoat for this weekend?

Raygan Swan: Yep!

Joe Menzer: I knew it.

David Caraviello: I mean, no question a lot those guys were really geeked up for it. You could tell. But open-faced helmets? Come on. Was everyone wearing HANS devices? No wonder the wives of Richard Petty and Bobby Allison didn't let their husbands compete.

Raygan Swan: I wasn't there, did Junior Johnson wear overalls? I love overalls on a man!

Joe Menzer: Yeah, David, that's the aspect that we have to bring up on a serious note. If you start having these things multiple times a year, you'd better start mandating strict safety rules. Can you imagine if one of those guys got badly hurt?

David Caraviello: Oh, it would be a PR nightmare, Joe. The insurance situation alone is boggling. Hey, you want to put some of these guys in tuned-down Legends cars on a quarter-mile track, go for it. But late models on the world's fastest half-mile? Forget it.

Raygan Swan: The injuries they suffered at the high points of their careers are far more harmful than what they could endure in today's safer-minded NASCAR, unless they have low bone density.

David Caraviello: Well, I don't know anything about L.D. Ottinger's bone density, but complacency is what gets people hurt. Unless he has a full-faced helmet, a head-and-neck restraining device, and a full screening to ensure his ticker isn't going to go out, he isn't getting near a race car at my track.

Back to the future

They might not have had the best safety equipment, but Junior Johnson and some other legends climbed in the car at Bristol and battled for 35 laps.

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• Video: Legends strap in
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Joe Menzer: There is a reason they canned the Legends All-Star Game in the NBA after a few years. And it wasn't only because a couple of in-shape guys (i.e., Calvin Murphy and Rick Barry) played it like is was the NBA Finals. The legends started getting hurt -- and folks were worried about guys like Oscar Robertson having a heart attack out there. And those guys weren't strapped in hunks of metal that were banging on each other! So I guess what we're saying is that this is a nice once-in-awhile thing. But if they're going to do it even once a year, they'd better tighten up the safety rules.

David Caraviello: Of course, you never heard any of this on a certain four-letter television network, which was too busy stacking the qualifying event with its "celebrities." But this is why a "senior tour" of sorts won't happen.

Raygan Swan: Hey, they're grown men. If they want to crack a few ribs during their stroll down memory lane, so be it.

David Caraviello: Raygan, these guys are race car drivers. These dudes could be in full-body casts and still try to climb through a car window. Somebody has to be there to put some limits on things.

Joe Menzer: Ah, ribs. That brings me back to Ridgewood Barbecue again. The essence of Bristol. The way some guys go at them, they probably should be wearing HANS devices at the table!

David Caraviello: That's it! Legends eating contest at Ridgewood! I even know a four-letter TV network that might cover it.

The opinions expressed are solely those of the writers.