1. You're Mark Martin. On the final lap Saturday night at Bristol, do you use the front bumper to move Kyle Busch out of the way?

Dave Rodman: You just answered that one -- you're Mark Martin. Have you ever seen him do anyone dirty, under just about any circumstance? Prevailing opinion made you think he might, but that's because the heat of the moment overwhelms just about everyone. Everyone except Mark Martin, that is.

Raygan Swan: After listening to both drivers, it sounds to me like they have a peaceful history on the track together, so why mess with that? Mark said he sleeps better at night when he can win a race without pulling something "dirty." Not wrecking Kyle was the right thing to do.

David Caraviello: As much as the anti-Busch brigade would have liked to have seen it, there was really no reason to. As Martin was the first to admit, Kyle gave him room. Martin still couldn't get past. Kyle clearly had the faster car, so wrecking him would have been something of a jerk move. And Martin isn't a jerk.

Raygan Swan: Right, David, and it surprised me when Kyle said that Mark is a veteran driver he goes to for advice on certain things, him and Jeff Burton. I thought Kyle knew everything! Kidding, but both drivers put on a great show.

David Caraviello: Now, that said, I'm not opposed to the bump-and-run if the situation calls for it. Had Mark clearly been faster, for instance, or Kyle been weaving up and down on the race track trying to block, the chrome horn might have been called for. But that wasn't the case Saturday night.

Raygan Swan: I'm cracking up right now. I've never heard the term "chrome horn!" I need to get out more! Some days I need to use my chrome horn in the grocery parking lot!

Dave Rodman: I'll guarantee your local P.D. wouldn't wait for that one to come back around, Raygs. Saturday night's finish was a wonderful clip of guts-out racing -- not blocking and daring someone to do something about it. As they said, both of those guys were on the ragged edge, and if you can't appreciate that ... well, Bristol's TV ratings were up, so I guess that's a good thing.

“

It takes real drivers to race the way that Mark and Kyle did, and you have to appreciate that.

”

DAVE RODMAN

Final Laps

• Video: Busch holds off Martin

David Caraviello: It does seem we're in this era of gentlemanliness all of the sudden, with the guys up front going out of their way to be courteous to one another. Maybe that's a function of the Chase, and everybody getting conservative and nobody wanting to risk retaliation. And again, moving someone out of the way every once in a while is part of the ballgame. Just not Saturday night.

Dave Rodman: Speaking of doing 'em dirty -- did anyone else think that Sam Hornish kind of dumped Casey Mears? He was running into him at the start/finish line and kind of pushed him right around. Now that appeared to be classic Bristol. All things considered, I'm glad that was about all we saw of it.

David Caraviello: I will say, Dave, you're right about that being an entertaining race Saturday night. The races do seem to be getting better as the season goes on. Watching on television, I was holding my breath over those final laps wondering how it would turn out. But I never really considered the idea of Mark moving Kyle out of the way until the announcers mentioned it. Surely, they should know Martin a little better than that by now.

Raygan Swan: I would have to agree, the race was great.

David Caraviello: Maybe that's the kind of race we needed to convince people that you can have great racing on the "new" Bristol without a bunch of crumpled-up race cars. But I wonder how many people wanted to see some cage-rattling at the end, just for old time's sake, because that's one of the things that made the place famous.

Dave Rodman: That's what chaps me about the "fans" with that attitude. Any Neanderthal rhinoceros could bam someone out of the way. It takes real drivers to race the way that Mark and Kyle did Saturday, and you have to appreciate that. The way it played out was almost exactly how it did with Jeff Burton in Kyle's first win in the current car. Two great pros with a lot of respect for each other going at it. I don't remember the announcers beating up the bump too much -- but I was pretty enthralled watching it, and I don't much need them to entertain or instruct me.

David Caraviello: That, Dave, is why I turn down the television sound and put in Wagner's Ride of the Valkyries for the final laps of every race! Really gives it an epic quality no matter what happens.

• Bristol: Busch, Martin make statements

2. You're Dale Earnhardt Jr. You have back-to-back top-10 finishes for the first time this year. Is there light at the end of the tunnel?

Dave Rodman: Sadly enough, as it is for everyone in this sport, he's got to keep getting on it at Atlanta. But for sure it does show progress -- and yes, there is a glimmer of hope showing. But again, it's got to be consistent.

Raygan Swan: Maybe, but I think he is certainly understanding his role better as a driver and working with his team. After Michigan, he said he is trying to be the same driver at the start of the race as he is the finish, mentally speaking. Also, he said he is doing a better job of controlling himself so the team doesn't have to.

Reason to smile?

Dale Earnhardt's results have been about the same since Lance McGrew replaced Tony Eury Jr. as crew chief, but he has finished third and ninth in the past two races.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Crew Chief Results

	Eury	McGrew
Starts	12	12
Wins	0	0
Top-5s	1	1
Top-10s	3	2
26th or worse	6	6
Lead-Lap Fin.	6	9
Avg. Start	23.1	21.3
Avg. Finish	21.3	21.8

David Caraviello: OK, one race at a place like Michigan, where guys are running out of gas, is one thing. But bringing it at Bristol, where nobody gets a good finish by accident, is something else. That was old Junior there Saturday night, shades of the same guy who used to be really good on the concrete short track. For No. 88 fans, it had to be a hopeful sign.

Raygan Swan: Good point, David. I think we will see the fruit of this team's labor next season.

David Caraviello: But Dave, I agree, let's see what he does at Atlanta. That used to be one of his best tracks, maybe his best non-restrictor-plate track. He used to really be strong there. If he is again next weekend, and can string together three good finishes in a row -- well, they really might be onto something.

Raygan Swan: Is it impossible to think that maybe he can be a Chase spoiler, guys?

Dave Rodman: It's interesting when you put it that way, in that it's relatively the same thing Kyle Busch realized going into Bristol. He has to be constructive and cogent in his remarks -- not emotional and incendiary. In the end, the outcome will be much more positive and again, it comes down to consistency. If Shrub can do it for two more races, he could make the Chase; and if Junior can put a string of those together, he could easily win a race before October.

David Caraviello: Not impossible, but at this point maybe still unlikely. There were a lot of people who thought, well, replace Tony Eury Jr. and the light switch will go on. I think now they're realizing just how behind that program was, for some reasons that had to do with the driver. Junior's communication, his fitness level, those aren't things you can change overnight.

Raygan Swan: I'm glad you made the fitness comment, David, because too many fans think it is not necessary. But really, it improves mental strength and focus. I mean, geez, even Tony Stewart has shed some pounds recently.

Dave Rodman: It's all part of the package that equals success. Even Jeff Gordon recently has altered his workout regimen and the results have been pretty noticeable.

David Caraviello: Unless you're a freak of nature like Tony Stewart, and can eat Dairy Queen and win in anything with four wheels, it's absolutely a factor. When your physical fitness suffers, your mental fitness suffers. I still contend this is one reason why Jimmie Johnson is at the top of the sport right now. And Dave, while I like Junior and I think they may be on the verge of getting things figured out, I'm not ready to say they're a threat to win. They've been off the radar to that effect for so long, they'll need to show me more than they have for me to think they can steal that many points from somebody come Chase time.

Dave Rodman: Hmmm. All I'm saying is, Junior certainly knows how to win. Lance McGrew has proven he has the tools to get it done. And they're in Hendrick equipment. So you make a good point, but with who they are and what they have to work with, they are not very far off.

Raygan Swan: Question for both of you: Do you feel like Lance is the man to turn things around for this team?

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David Caraviello: What are they going to do, lure over Chad Knaus? Lance has been in the Hendrick system for a while. It sounds like he's really running the show over at the No. 88, where even Junior admitted that before, the driver made too many of the decisions. And Dale indicated at a media function at Atlanta a few weeks ago that Lance would be back.

Raygan Swan: Well, if Lance is coming back, then great. Because I think what that team needs is a consistent leader.

Dave Rodman: They might have to give it to the end of the year to really see. They appear to have turned a corner, but as we just agreed, consistency from now will tell. Depending on what happens, and with the apparent upheaval that's going on in the Nationwide camp, what do you think the likelihood of hooking back up with Pops [Tony Eury Sr.] would be? If you look at who Junior's won the most with, that's your answer. Either that, or clone the guy.

David Caraviello: I would think that would be unrealistic, wouldn't you, Dave? Hendrick likes dealing with their own people, guys already in their system. For all Tony Sr. has done, he's kind of on the outside to that effect. And given what happened with Tony Jr. .... well, that might be a move folks would be reluctant to make.

• Caraviello: With Chase looming, Junior anonymous

3. You're Ron Fellows. Of the 12 international drivers competing in Saturday's Nationwide race at Montreal, do you have the best chance to win?

David Caraviello: I feel fairly confident that a non-American driver will win on Saturday, which would be kind of fitting given the international flavor of this event. But barring rain, I'll take Marcos Ambrose. With no Cup event to worry about this week, and as well as he's been running on the senior circuit, he's your man in Montreal.

Victory Lane

Ron Fellows celebrates his win last year at Montreal.

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Dave Rodman: Familiarity with the venue, with the equipment and with the crew counts for a lot -- beyond just pure driving ability, which most of these foreigners have. My money is on the defending champion Fellows amongst that group, though Ambrose has a lot going for him.

Raygan Swan: Fellows knows it is going to be a strong field, especially with the Cup regulars there all weekend. He is looking for Ambrose to be a huge threat with the roll he has been on. But I agree with David, look for a non-American driver to win.

David Caraviello: It's strange -- the era of ringers seems to have passed on the Sprint Cup tour, given how much better the regular guys are at road racing. But on the Nationwide circuit, they still dominate. I think that's cool. It's neat to have a race where you actually might see someone out of the ordinary win. I mean, Fellows, Ambrose, Patrick Carpentier in the No. 55 -- have to think all those guys have a chance. And how crazy would the locals go for Jean-Francois Dumoulin? OK, maybe that's a reach.

Raygan Swan: Fellows' Victory Lane moment last year was amazing to watch. So much emotion.

Dave Rodman: This race has a pretty impressive cast of road-racing talent. The Canadian Tire Series runs on a number of road courses, like Trois-Rivieres and Mosport, so as Fellows himself pointed out, don't leave out someone like Alex Tagliani, even though it's his first time in a Nationwide car.

Raygan Swan: Or what about some of the younger talent that will be there this weekend? Colin Braun, or Andrew Ranger from the Canadian Tire Series. But when it's all said and done, I look for either Ambrose or Fellows to be in Victory Lane.

Dave Rodman: Now people jawed about "the classic Bristol," but in a lot of ways, le Circuit could be the road course equivalent and if it came down to it, Marcos for sure would have no qualms about ramming anyone out of his way to win.

David Caraviello: Yeah Dave, Marcos has done that before, hasn't he? Both the Montreal races have been kind of wild. Who knows what we may see this weekend -- four cars doing celebratory burnouts at the same time? In a hailstorm? OK, for the sake of the fans -- who have been terrific in the way they've embraced this event -- you hope the latter is not the case.

Dave Rodman: God no, you don't. Ol' Ron and Marcos, I believe, are head-and-shoulders above the rest in these cars, on this circuit. Fellows has five wins at Watkins Glen alone, plus the one at Montreal last year. It'll be interesting to see if the economic malaise that's affected most of our American venues also hits Montreal, which has had pretty stout crowds for two years.

• Circuit Gilles Villeneuve tickets

David Caraviello: But there is a 40 percent chance of rain in Montreal on Saturday -- good thing Goodyear has those new rain tires ready to go!

Raygan Swan: David, don't forget the Swiffers! Maybe this year Carl Edwards will bring a ShamWow!

David Caraviello: Are we on the ShamWow again? What is this, the third time it's been mentioned this year in Track Smack? Raygan, do you have a personal endorsement deal with them?

Raygan Swan: I wish, then I could get some free ones! I go to Bed Bath and Beyond a lot, and they are at the checkout counter! I see them often, and I laugh every time!

Dave Rodman: As strange as it seems, I bet teams have done a minimal amount of work on any rain systems. Last year's event was unusual, to say the least, and that track drains water so poorly that if it rained to any degree again, it's game over.

David Caraviello: But you know what? I love this race. It's fun, it's different, and hopefully they serve that great Canadian bacon for breakfast in the media lounge. I'm glad it's found a place on the schedule by itself, and not opposite a Cup event. Outside of Daytona, this is about as big as it gets for the Nationwide boys, so let them have their moment.

Raygan Swan: Ah, Canadian bacon -- low in fat, high in protein, and way better than American bacon, but from the same animal, no less.

David Caraviello: Yeah. For all our American ingenuity, Raygan, it's amazing we haven't figured that one out by now.

The opinions expressed are those solely of the participants.