Smack: What's OK for Johnson isn't OK for others

1. Call it a nudge-and-run. Anyone have any problems with the way Jimmie Johnson got past Denny Hamlin to win Sunday's race at Martinsville?

David Caraviello: Absolutely not. It takes a great deal of skill to move someone out of the way like that without wrecking them, especially on a relatively narrow short track like Martinsville. Hamlin seemed to appreciate that much, too.

Raygan Swan: No, I certainly don't, because Denny said he would've done the same thing had the shoe been on the other foot. Johnson touched his right front to Denny's left rear and moved him. Johnson had the inside position.

Mark Aumann: Compared to some of the blatant chrome horns we've seen in the past, I thought it was a pretty professional bump-and-run. It's certainly harder to get the new chassis out of shape, unlike the old days. Remember Jeff Gordon working on Johnson last year? I was most impressed that both guys were able to save it and keep Tony Stewart at bay. I'm certain Stewart was thinking, "If they both wreck, I'm winning this race."

Raygan Swan: Hamlin said he was honored to be moved by the guy who has won there how many times? Six out of the last five now?

Mark Aumann: Six out of five? Is that some sort of Indiana math?

Raygan Swan: Make that five out of six. But Jimmie doesn't consider the move to be a bump-and-run.

David Caraviello: Well, we do know how some folks in the grandstand tend to overstate some things, so I wouldn't be surprised if the 48 haters were railing about this. But man, that was some kind of smooth move. Clinical, almost. They should teach it in Martinsville 101. Of course, we shouldn't expect anything different from the guy who's owned that track the past decade.

Mark Aumann: Once Johnson got to Hamlin's back bumper, it was only a matter of time. Hamlin gave him just barely enough room to squeeze the fender in there. But I'm impressed with Hamlin on short tracks. One of these days, he's going to win -- and then he may go off on a Johnson-like streak.

Raygan Swan: After the race some folks wanted to paint Jimmie as an aggressive driver, a jerk of sorts, but it was just a masterful move. Mark, hopefully Hamlin does break through, because he seems to be getting frustrated -- frustrated with disappointment, always being there at the end but never able to close the deal.

Stuck in second

• Menzer: Hamlin maturing
• Video: Martinsville Final Laps
• Video: Hamlin OK with second
• Video: Hamlin takes lead

David Caraviello: Yeah Mark, I thought Hamlin did about as good a job as possible trying to keep the car low and prevent Jimmie from getting a nose to the inside. Some guys will spin themselves out in that situation.

Mark Aumann: And staying off that inside curb is trickier than it looks. I thought it was a classic move. And Hamlin won't forget it.

David Caraviello: But I wonder -- if that were a certain Colombian driver pulling that move instead of Johnson, would people be as accepting of it? Or does it go back to reputation -- guys know Jimmie races people clean, so they understand when he nudges by them? Because really, Jimmie had about as much position there as Montoya did on Scott Pruett in that infamous Mexico race two years ago. Yet Jimmie makes a clean pass, and Montoya wrecks people. Or so the rank and file claims.

Mark Aumann: I think reputation does have a lot to do with it. But experience at knowing how to do it well -- without taking out both cars -- is most important.

Raygan Swan: That's what Denny seemed to think. He said he was "50 percent" OK with the move because it was from Jimmie Johnson, a guy who has always raced Hamlin clean. If it was Montoya then we would be having an entirely different conversation.

Mark Aumann: Yeah, it would be in Spanish.

David Caraviello: But Raygan, would the conversation be different even if the end result -- nobody gets wrecked -- was the same? Are you saying somebody like JPM wouldn't have been able to make that move quite as gracefully? Jamie McMurray might agree with you there.

Raygan Swan: Johnson moved Hamlin up the track, he didn't put him in the wall or spin him out. If someone got wrecked, the conversation would be different. Montoya is improving on short tracks, but he can't do what Gordon and Johnson do at Martinsville. And speaking of J-Mac, I was impressed with the attitude he gave Montoya. I didn't realize he was so feisty.

Mark Aumann: But it's the ones that results in a wreck that stick in your mind. Terry Labonte at Bristol. Rusty at Richmond.

David Caraviello: No question, Mark. Which is why even bumping someone out of the way has its place, if it's done correctly. Though that's one of the things everybody thinks they can do, yet few people actually can.

2. What was the deal with Kyle Busch, fleeing Martinsville on foot after the Truck race Monday?

Mark Aumann: You know, when you've got the Monday lunch specials at Rania's, El Parral, Walsh's Chicken and More, and Pigs R Us, it's hard to want to stick around for something like a post-race interview. Actually, there are a lot of decent places to eat in Martinsville.

Raygan Swan: Well I realize he was upset about the commitment line violation, but he's done this before and gotten in trouble for it, and he just doesn't seem to care.

David Caraviello: Mark, you know all the good eating places in Martinsville, don't you? I thought for a minute it was a bad Speed reality TV show about drivers trying to get in shape. Was a bizarre scene.

Mark Aumann: Kyle Busch, afraid of commitment? Maybe this is something for Dr. Phil.

Raygan Swan: I might agree with you Mark, but he's been dating Samantha now for almost two seasons. And I like her, she graduated from Purdue. You should know by now I love anything Indiana.

In a hurry?

Kyle Busch was frustrated after his 17th-place finish at Martinsville so he decided to leave -- quickly.

• Video: Kyle takes off
• Video: Martinsville final laps
• Caraviello: Kyle being Kyle

David Caraviello: Well, in Kyle's defense, he finished 17th, so it's not like he was duty-bound to appear in the press center. And I will say -- this kind of stuff goes on all the time in NASCAR. The garage after a night Cup race sometimes feels like the running of the bulls at Pamplona.

Raygan Swan: Well, the running across the track thing made me nervous. I didn't think he was going to be able to clear the wall. I thought he was going to trip, or something disastrous was going to happen.

Mark Aumann: I will attest to having almost been run over several times in the garage after races. It's a mad dash to the golf carts afterward.

Raygan Swan: Right, and it makes me feel like a paparazzo!

David Caraviello: They say in NASCAR, there are two races -- the one on the track, and the one to get out of the area and beat traffic. I've seen Cup guys sprinting to helicopter pads still in their firesuits. It's a Technicolor stampede.

Mark Aumann: But I can't imagine the traffic following a Monday Truck race was terribly bad. Of course, with all the rain, it may have been hard to find someone from AAA to pull your vehicle out of the mud.

Raygan Swan: Hey David, isn't that how Delana Harvick got ran over with a pit box once? After the race?

David Caraviello: Mark, and I imagine after an extra day there, Kyle was ready to scram. Raygan, I don't know the Harvick situation. But I'm amazed more people aren't trampled. It's a zoo after a race. We've all done those "run alongside" interviews, which are no fun.

Mark Aumann: Yeah, it's hard to train for those. I've gotten to the point where I automatically run after anybody who looks like they're in a hurry. Like a dog chasing cars.

Raygan Swan: Running after any man is not attractive for a girl, driver or no driver! I don't exactly blame Kyle for running, it was a bit entertaining. But if that was Dale Earnhardt Jr., out there, the fans would've mobbed him. But wait, it was Monday. Not many fans left, I imagine.

David Caraviello: Raygan, no question drivers are probably used to running in that situation, knowing that if they walk, they're going to get stuck signing autographs for an hour. But Kyle, my man, use the pedestrian tunnel next time. No need to narrowly evade the mobile stages being trucked to the frontstretch.

Mark Aumann: But what if Juan Montoya ... oh, wait. That was the last question.

David Caraviello: Ha! This reminds me of what Dale Jr. said during the Vegas race over the radio. He said something like, "This race is flying by. I could run another one. Anyone interested in a foot race?" Who knew he was onto something. Post-event driver foot races for five bonus points? Or better yet: Have drivers run toward their cars in LeMans style starts!

Raygan Swan: Seriously, I'd come out of the media center to watch that one!

Mark Aumann: And invert the field, based on stride length.

David Caraviello: That's enough, Humpy ....

3. Carl Edwards swept both events last year at Texas, where the tour competes this weekend. Odds of the Roush Fenway driver making it three in a row?

Mark Aumann: I don't know if Carl can do it, but there are a couple of other Roush drivers happy to get away from the short tracks. Matt Kenseth and Greg Biffle did not have fun the last two weeks.

Raygan Swan: I think his odds are pretty good, just because Roush is the most successful team owner at the track, and Carl is due for something good to happen after dismal finishes on the short tracks recently.

David Caraviello: The odds makers here at the Caraviello Hotel and Casino have Edwards at 10-1. Sure, he's good at Texas, but it doesn't quite seem like that team has clicked yet this year. They haven't been much of a threat to win races, although that should change soon.

Raygan Swan: Yeah, and it will change in Texas. That track fits Edwards' driving style.

Mark Aumann: Carl was in really good shape at Martinsville until he got tangled up in traffic and clipped by David Reutimann. That flat tire under green was a killer.

Texas two-step

Carl Edwards won both Cup races at Texas last year, but that doesn't mean he's a favorite on Sunday.

• Video: Fantasy Report
• Fantasy Preview: Texas
• By the Numbers: Texas
• No Margin for Error

David Caraviello: It's almost like Edwards is coming to the perfect place at the perfect time, just like Johnson did last week at Martinsville. Nobody has forgotten the way he won there last fall, limping home on that long fuel run. Obviously, he's good there. And he has to break through somewhere eventually.

Mark Aumann: I'm wondering if Jeff Gordon finally gets that Texas-sized gorilla off his aching back. A win would end the rumblings about his inability to win there -- or win anywhere. And perhaps put to rest the rumors about his back being the cause for his winless ways.

Raygan Swan: Yes and then he could finally wear the dang hat!

Mark Aumann: There seems to be a bit of a correlation between running well at Atlanta and following it up at Texas. If that's the case, you've got to like Gordon, Edwards and perhaps somebody like Mark Martin.

David Caraviello: I like the way Mark is thinking about Gordon. If driver No. 24 finally gets that long-awaited win at Texas, we might be in for another of those patented Gordon title runs. That would be quite a statement.

Mark Aumann: You know, they should give the hat and guns to Track Smack, the way we're always shooting off our mouths.

Raygan Swan: I guess Gordon has been running much better than the No. 99 team, but anything can happen. And don't forget about Jeff Burton, then.

David Caraviello: Carl did finish third at Atlanta, the last time the series visited a mile-and-a-half track, and was en route to a good finish at Las Vegas when his engine blew up.

Mark Aumann: Yeah, if there's an alignment of the planets, I think Edwards is the best bet. But I wouldn't be surprised to see one of the Hendrick cars right up there with him.

David Caraviello: I think a lot of guys could win this race -- Edwards, Kyle and Kurt Busch, Matt Kenseth, Greg Biffle. There are some guys who are very good at Texas, and others who struggle to figure the place out. And remember, this is the site of Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s first win, so seeing that No. 88 in Victory Lane wouldn't exactly be a surprise.

Mark Aumann: I'll throw this name out, because he's just so darned consistent: Clint Bowyer.

David Caraviello: Boy, talk about a guy who was undersold early in the season. Who knew he could carry a new team on his back like this. We're just now beginning to realize how good Clint really is.

Raygan Swan: Seemingly to win at Texas you have to have everything in your favor, strong engine, good aero package, good setups, and like Carl said, even good fuel mileage.

David Caraviello: Edwards proved that much last year. How about this: Edwards nudges Johnson out of the way to win, and then races Kyle Busch down pit road! Just think of how much track president Eddie Gossage would love that!

The opinions expressed are solely those of the writers.