Martin, Hornaday proof age just number even as racers

1. Mark Martin is leading the Sprint Cup championship race. Ron Hornaday is the class of the Camping World Truck circuit. Is 50 the new 30?

David Caraviello: Well, I wouldn't go that far, but what those two guys have done this year clearly speaks for itself. Martin winning the title at 50 would be a feat akin to Jack Nicklaus winning the 1986 Masters at 46. It's the kind of thing that just isn't supposed to happen in this day and age, and yet, it could happen.

Dave Rodman: Nothing is any different than it's ever been. Combinations are king -- and Martin/Alan Gustafson and Hornaday/Rick Ren are formidable. But for all we know -- and we know Greg Zipadelli's talents -- Joey Logano could win five races and threaten to win a title next season. Then, everyone would be looking for the next 13-year-old phenom again!

Joe Menzer: Man, I sure hope so. I'm pushing it. Now Roadman, he's hoping 60 is the new 30 -- but that would be a little much. I do think, however, that these two gentlemen -- Martin and Hornaday, not me and Roadman  are exceptions to the general rule.

David Caraviello: Dave, yes, it is combinations. But really, older drivers have been given short shrift in recent years. The Trucks are something of an exception, given that's a series where older guys have been dominant for a while. But in Cup? Isn't this a series for 20-somethings? Isn't everybody looking for the next Kasey Kahne? Maybe Martin, with what he's done this year, changes that. This isn't to say we're going to have team owners suddenly beating the bushes looking for 50-year-olds to fill seats. But this sport is follow-the-leader in more ways than one. There are a lot of talented older drivers out there who never got a shot because everyone was looking for a young guy. Who knows, maybe Martin's success will open a door for somebody.

Mark Martin (age 50)

2009 Cup Stats

	No.	Rank
Wins	5	1
Top-5s	10	T-3
Top-10s	15	T-4
Poles	6	T-1
Led	775	4

Ron Hornaday (age 51)

2009 Truck Stats

	No.	Rank
Wins	6	1
Top-5s	12	1
Top-10s	15	T-1
Poles	4	1
Led	967	1

Joe Menzer: It really is interesting how perceptions change dramatically through the years. I remember once talking with Ned Jarrett about how drivers of that era truly believed their reflexes would not allow them to be competitive much past their early to mid-30s. Which is about when he retired. He later regretted retiring so early.

Dave Rodman: The problem with most people when they get to be "of an age" -- and Joe, you and I are definitely excluded from this castigation -- is that they can't adjust, they can't adapt. So they end up retired -- or out to lunch.

Joe Menzer: As much as anything, that's probably the true impact of what Martin is doing in the Cup Series. He's still helping change those earlier perceptions, moving the bar for how long a guy can remain competitive ever higher. But now the question on the other side of the coin has changed, too. Let's take a guy like Jeff Gordon, who is 38 and has indicated he's not so sure he'll race much past 40. He's had the back issues, but more than that it's just the grind of doing this week after week. Even Martin, who loves racing, had to take essentially a two-year break from the every-race grind before he got this ride and put together this magical season.

David Caraviello: That's true, Joe. Not every driver gets to hit "refresh" on his career like Martin did. Not every driver is in Hendrick equipment, either. I mean, look at a guy like Bobby Labonte, who is younger than Martin, and what he did with the No. 71 last week. Not to take anything away from Mark, but I think there are a few other guys out there who could succeed as Martin has given the same combination of factors.

Dave Rodman: But I'll tell you this -- as in a lot of other things and ways, age and experience are in no way a magic bullet. In relative terms, Alan Gustafson is a young crew chief, with a 21st-century engineering background seasoned with plenty of hands-on, grass-roots racing experience. Again, a phenomenal, but rare combination. It's like that classic stew. You can have a recipe, but who hasn't cooked something delectable, thrown in the recipe's amount and then wrinkled their nose and sprinkled, dashed -- or flat poured in -- some more of that key ingredient. Kind of like whipping up a race team, in a way. At least a delectably successful one.

Joe Menzer: What in the heck are you talking about? And who are you? Emeril? What have you done with Dave Rodman?

Dave Rodman: He's out there Smacking -- his lips!

Joe Menzer: Now that's something that isn't debatable.

David Caraviello: Given Dave's constant proximity to food, I wouldn't doubt that a bit.

Dave Rodman: But seriously, as we pointed out, the equipment has a lot to do with it. The team that's assembled is critical. But these guys, in their own unique ways, have tuned themselves to achieve what they're getting right now. And it's awesome to see them rewarded.

2. Jack Daniel's is pulling out of NASCAR. Should Richard Childress Racing try to find another sponsor for its fourth car, or contract back to three?

Joe Menzer: Go back to three and don't even think about a fourth again -- if ever -- until those three are more competitive again. And by competitive, I mean winning, or at least truly contending in, more races.

Dave Rodman: As Tony Stewart appears to have done, I believe a deadline -- a strict one -- needs to be put in place, and if appropriate backing can't be found, the deck needs to be reorganized. As Joe said, three competitive cars are better than one competitive one and three mediocre -- or at best, inconsistent -- ones.

Hitting the road

Jack Daniel's will not extend its sponsorship with Richard Childress Racing's No. 07 team.

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David Caraviello: Well, given what RCR did last year with three and this year with four, the answer seems obvious. But Richard Childress hasn't weighed in publicly on this yet, and we're not sure what his business model is. If he needs the money from four sponsors to make it a go, then he kind of has no choice, regardless of the disparate results of the past two seasons.

Joe Menzer: I'm sure the RCR business model includes, even revolves around, better results on the track. Shutting down the fourth car and pouring whatever resources it has into the other three, to me, is the only thing that makes sense. If that happens, though, I can't help but feel for Casey Mears. While you could argue he has had his chances in choice rides and has failed to produce, which he has, he also has never had continuity in his deal no matter where he's been.

David Caraviello: Well, we don't know what's going to happen yet. I will grant that it does seem too coincidental that this backslide occurs just as the organization expanded. I mean, look how good Jeff Burton was three years ago, how good Clint Bowyer was two years ago, all those cars the team put in the Chase. It's just too convenient that it fell off the map just as it expanded. Although I will say the RCR cars have run better as of late.

Dave Rodman: The available finances might mean a partial schedule for one of the three teams. One of them might become a partial schedule race team and a full-time R&D team -- but that takes money, too, and a special individual behind the wheel.

Joe Menzer: Are you serious? A partial schedule for one of RCR's remaining three teams? I don't see that happening. What special driver does it have that would be willing to do that? Geez, in 10 minutes, we've pared RCR down from a four-car operation to two-and-a-partial. We should have been hired by NASCAR to get Roush's operation under the limit. We could have done it in 10 minutes, too.

Dave Rodman: This past weekend someone indicated they had gotten the least bit, I won't say complacent, but comfortable with where they were. Not a fatal mistake, but in this sport it's enough, if everyone else is incessantly busting it, to get you behind. And RCR appears to be harvesting what it's sown right now, though it is showing good signs of breaking out of it. Its people are too good, and they've all had too much success not to think something good is waiting at the end of this tunnel, however many bumps they've got to get over to reach it.

David Caraviello: Well, it has been hurt more than anyone else by this testing ban, it seems. So the idea of using one car strictly for information-gathering isn't that far-fetched. The problem is, who's going to pay for it? No sponsor is going to put its money on a guinea pig.

Joe Menzer: And none of its three remaining drivers -- assuming Mears and the fourth car are ultimately out -- are going to stand for driving a guinea pig. Meanwhile, I think the bigger picture we might be missing here is the fact that two big-time sponsors bailed out this week -- Jack Daniel's and Jim Beam. It's enough to make some folks at RCR and Robby Gordon's places start drinking some of that stuff.

David Caraviello: Childress still has three full-time sponsors locked up through next year, I believe, so it won't field fewer than three cars. He's also been the master at luring sponsors from other organizations, although who knows if he can do that now with the economy the way it is. And Joe, I think we're all very aware of the sponsor departures. NASCAR let hard liquor into the sport earlier this decade specifically because it needed new sponsorship blood in a down time. That tactic seems to have run its course.

Dave Rodman: Winning a race or two in this Chase wouldn't hurt the RCR guys. But the Chasers, once again, proved why they are where they are at New Hampshire. It's going to be damned hard for more than a couple of non-Chase cars to break into the top 10 anywhere the series goes in the last nine weeks.

David Caraviello: Anyway, it seems appropriate that we all do a shot of their product to wish the Jack Daniel's folks goodbye. Who's pouring?

Joe Menzer: I think I'll stick to my Coors Light.

3. Back to Martin. Does his victory at New Hampshire make him the championship favorite as the Chase heads to Dover?

Joe Menzer: I still believe that the odds-on favorite is three-time defending champion Jimmie Johnson. Until it is proven otherwise, the 48 team is the best and the most consistent in the Chase setting. And they're sitting right there on Martin's tail. But Martin and a couple of others have made it mighty interesting.

Dave Rodman: Mark has a lot sportier history at Dover than he did at New Hampshire, that's for sure. Whether he wants to talk about it or not, he's racing neck-and-neck with Johnson for it right now. First man to blink drops. That's the way they're apt to run from here on out.

David Caraviello: Yes. Absolutely, unequivocally yes. Loudon was perhaps Martin's worst track in the Chase. Now we go to Dover, where he's very good. Oh, and the points leader leaving New Hampshire has won the Chase in four of the past five years. History is on Martin's side.

Joe Menzer: I say you can't rule out Denny Hamlin or even Juan Montoya. They have positive momentum going, too, and believe they can do it. That's half the battle right now. And it's so early, someone else might yet jump up there to contend, too.

Dave Rodman: This could be one of the most fascinating Chases -- and as much as the lead up to this was the best ever, I think -- the most competitive, as well. Johnson's still in a position to have to get the title ripped out of his hands, and he won't release it easily. But considering what Montoya said that Martin did to him to win at New Hampshire, the guy is crafty enough, benignly ruthless enough, and has certainly lost enough to know exactly what he has to do to win this championship.

Joe Menzer: Let's be honest, though. As much as I respect the No. 48 team and Jimmie's driving ability -- as much as I like Johnson personally, and I do -- I believe it would be better for the sport to at least have someone give him a run for the money right to the end, and maybe even beat him this year.

David Caraviello: Goodness, the natives would be hanging from street lights in celebration if Martin were to win the title. That would go over like free money. People would eat it up, especially those more traditional fans who have felt alienated by the sport in recent years. They'd go crazy over an "old school" driver besting the kids. But we're still nine races away from that happening.

Joe Menzer: Then again, Johnson becoming the first driver to win four championships in a row is a pretty good story, too. As would be Montoya or even Hamlin. To me, it's good stuff and will stack up better against the NFL than the old format would have. So bring it on. Can Dave "Emeril" Rodman cook up some Chase tailgate food for us?

Dave Rodman: Sure thing, Joe. It's impossible right now to tell what a rock 'em, sock 'em Chase will do for anything. No. 1, it's stacked against the NFL, and that's a no-win situation. The race at New Hampshire was great, but after a stretch of ratings improvement, I guess ratings were down. So it's impossible to figure this stuff out. But Martin, at least, looks to be in 'til the bitter end.

David Caraviello: I think that's two consecutive weeks of down ratings, no surprise given that the sport is now head-to-head with football every week. But you can't argue with the product on the race track right now. New Hampshire was riveting stuff. And the longer he stays in it, the more Martin will attract national attention. We get to Homestead and he's still leading, it will be a very big story everywhere. Now, all that said ... I'm sticking with Johnson to win the title. He's the only guy who wasn't leading after Loudon and came back to win. He still has favorable tracks coming up. I'll believe he gets beat when I see it.

Dave Rodman: In a relative sense the Chase will play better, but it still loses to football, even on the college level. When you're in a media center on a Saturday, the Truck race is live and 10 TVs are on football and one of the dinky ones is playing the Truck race, you know you have a problem. When the Chase opener is running and media people at the track have their fantasy football teams up on their tubes non-stop, you know racing will never overcome the margin. Now mind you -- I'm not saying it's a bad thing -- but to quote our pal Robby Gordon, "it is what it is."

David Caraviello: Dave, thanks for reminding me. I need to set my fantasy lineup for this week! Anyone spare a quarterback?

The opinions expressed are those solely of the participants.