Smack: Kyle's quest for 200 victories his own way (cont'd)

2. Which is more likely to happen: Chrysler pulling Dodge out of NASCAR as part of its bankruptcy restructuring, or Kentucky Speedway getting a Cup race by 2010?

Dave Rodman: You're absolutely killing me, because I don't realistically see either one happening.

David Caraviello: I don't think either is going to happen immediately, but given that the appeal of the lawsuit against NASCAR is still lingering in Kentucky, you've got to go with Chrysler. All the Dodge boys were very positive last weekend that they were going to come out of this OK. But until that happens, we don't really know.

One busy dude

At a news conference to show off the new trophy for the Coca-Cola 600 winner, SMI chairman Bruton Smith laid out details surrounding Kentucky Speedway, New Hampshire Motor Speedway and his Sonic Automotive company.

• Complete story
• Audio: Willing to move his own
• Audio: One obstacle remains

Dave Rodman: You're right, David. Once you get the government involved, all bets are off. I felt like Dodge was committed to NASCAR racing and definitely saw, and could quantify its benefit to their car sales and vehicle development. The neatest thing is the way Dodge has performed on the race track this season, leading the championship and winning races. Now that's proving the punch in the program, and you'd hate to see the plug pulled on that.

David Caraviello: Yes Dave, how ironic all this happens just as Dodge's NASCAR operation is finally finding its way out of the woods. You'd think Chrysler would want to keep it intact. But we're also hearing of looming plant closings and layoffs. If those happen, I don't know how secure that racing program is.

Joe Menzer: Kentucky will get a race in 2010. I am biased -- and maybe more than a little blurred -- by Bruton Smith's latest barrage of words. But he seems very optimistic, confident even, that he will land a race at Kentucky for the 2010 season. Then again, he seemed the same way about getting Kentucky on the '09 Cup schedule the day he announced he was buying the place -- and the good folks from NASCAR just stood around scratching their heads over that one.

David Caraviello: Well, Joe, he has to get that lawsuit appeal dropped first. Until that happens, Kentucky has no hope of getting a Cup date. You'd think since Bruton owns the place now, he could pull some strings there.

Joe Menzer: Bruton, who surely has his reasons for thinking so, seems to believe that it will get dropped. He says that now there are only two people standing in the way of that happening. One of our own in the media jokingly asked the other day if he intended to "break their legs." I believe he smiled back and -- jokingly, of course -- said something to the effect of, "We'd only do the kneecaps." In his own not-so-subtle ways, I'm sure he is applying pressure wherever it can be legally applied.

Dave Rodman: But despite the fact that the future of his race track hinges on it, I think you can say Bruton has no dog in that lawsuit fight. Those Kentucky guys are like petulant, stubborn two-year-olds who got their butts slapped and now they'll show us. If you ask me, the up-front way to prove a point would be to drop your damned frivolous lawsuit, let Bruton switch a race date, and then do everything you can to make it a success and thereby say, "we told you we could..." And move on from there.

David Caraviello: OK Joe, so let's say Bruton does whack some kneecaps and get that appeal dropped. That prompts the age-old question: Where does the race date come from? Is Smith seriously more open to moving one of his own dates?

Joe Menzer: It's easy, folks. It comes from Atlanta. Surely you realize that, don't you?

David Caraviello: Joe, Ed Clark is calling on the white courtesy phone.

Joe Menzer: I think Ed Clark probably knows this is coming. And coming it is, in my humble opinion. And yes, Bruton is open to moving one of his dates. He admitted it Monday when we talked to him. He said he has "more or less" already talked with NASCAR about it. And I found it very interesting that when we were last down in Atlanta, it seemed almost as if they were blowing off promotion of the spring race in favor of their inaugural Labor Day shindig that is coming up.

Dave Rodman: After that debacle two months ago, I'd agree. Again, I've insisted the solution is to continually swap dates around, and you have to test-bed it somewhere. Atlanta has continued to stumble, and if Kentucky got a date and soared with it, that would indicate a possible ongoing SMI in-house date-swap-fest.

David Caraviello: OK, so let's say the lawsuit is dropped. Let's say Bruton is willing to move an Atlanta date. Doesn't Kentucky still have limitations from a seating capacity standpoint? Isn't it still too small?

Dave Rodman: Help me out, my South Carolina buddy -- aren't Darlington and Kentucky at least equivalent, if Kentucky doesn't have an edge in capacity?

Joe Menzer: Well, they supposedly are doing some things up there to improve the place -- as SMI usually does. Plus, haven't we had this argument before that too many of the tracks today are overbuilt. A place like Kentucky, which I believe seats 66,000, may be more in line with what the sport needs for the future. So at 66,000 even if they stood still they're not last in line, so I think that's end of story.

David Caraviello: Actually, Kentucky announced a 50,000-seat expansion project in February. And you are correct, it's already bigger than Darlington. So it would have something in the neighborhood of 118,000 seats after the expansion project.

Joe Menzer: Geez, that's ridiculous! I could see maybe adding 15,000 or 20,000 and seeing how it goes. But 50,000 right off the bat is absolutely stupid.

Dave Rodman: And with what they've been able to do with getting people into their other events, I don't think there's any question the place would be overflowing. Now, getting everyone in and out would be a huge issue, no doubt, but down on the list, at least for the first time.

Joe Menzer: Then again, I point-blank asked Bruton the other day if he thought any of his tracks were overbuilt -- even as they take out seats both at Lowe's Motor Speedway and in Texas -- and he said absolutely not.

Dave Rodman: Joe, you know that's a question a car salesman could always talk his way around.

David Caraviello: Well, Bruton does live in a world separate from the rest of us And evidently, it's recession-proof! (Continued)