Montoya turning it on in Chase, but still needs a win (cont'd)

3. NASCAR has at last announced standard starting times for Sprint Cup events -- after 1 p.m. for Eastern races, after 3 p.m. for West Coast races, 7:30 p.m. for night events. A good move?

Dave Rodman: Remains to be seen, like so many things -- but you can't help but think it's a great step in the right direction.

Comfort zone

More standardized TV times comes with the green flag dropping within 20 minutes of the posted broadcast time.

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David Caraviello: Oh, praise the Almighty. You mean no more 2:38 start times for an Eastern race? Thank goodness. Fans hate it -- and I mean HATE it -- when they don't know when the race is on. The past few years, figuring out start times has been tougher than cracking the DaVinci Code. Finally, some common sense has prevailed.

Joe Menzer: Praise the Lord and pass the buttered biscuits! This is a great thing, at least for us journalists. More importantly, I think it's a great move for the fans, too, who will not have to scramble to find out when the races are starting from week to week.

Dave Rodman: This is a hard one for me to relate to, because this is what we get paid to do, so that makes it pretty simple -- you're paid to know what times the races are. But for the fans, who just might have better things to do, or more options to distract them, this is a potential boon.

David Caraviello: Still, Dave, how many times are we told "2 p.m." only for the green flag to actually wave at something like 2:46? It's ridiculous. We don't need pre-race shows that stretch into the late afternoon. Show us the damn race. And finally they will.

Joe Menzer: Um, Roadman, I'm not saying we as journalists don't know what the start times are. But are you saying you wouldn't like to get done a little earlier on Sunday nights, when sometimes we don't leave the track until four hours or more after an event?

Dave Rodman: Joe, I can't believe I'm making this argument, when I'm compromising our stool time at the diner in Greensboro -- but whatever it is, it is because I'm still getting paid; and we're blessed to have flexible enough travel parameters that you don't have to fly at 7 a.m. after getting in at midnight, or 2 a.m.

Joe Menzer: Bottom line anyway is that the people out there don't care how late we work. So I'm not going to debate it any longer. But I'm on record as being happy about it.

David Caraviello: And Dave, those NASCAR fans surely like a little more daylight in which to drive home on Sunday night. It's a courtesy for everyone.

Writer's Block

Whether on a stool somewhere in Greensboro or any stop along NASCAR's way, Dave Rodman knows were to find good eats.

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Dave Rodman: But again -- we're getting distracted by insider humor. This is about the fans, the working men and women who make this sport go, along with their kids who just as surely have to be in school on Monday as mom and dad might have to be at work. All the way around, I think it's a great thing, and now I hope the populace responds. Though we're going to have to see what it translates to in terms of attendance and ratings. It's not a one-stop fix, either.

Joe Menzer: No, but it could help. And people have been complaining about it. Like with the double-file restarts, it seems NASCAR is starting to listen a little more to complaints and trying to be more proactive about responding to them. Not a bad thing at all.

David Caraviello: No, it's not a panacea, but it certainly helps. Why is the NFL so popular? Because everybody loves the game, for sure. But also because everybody knows when the games are on: 1 p.m., 4 p.m., Sunday night and Monday night. Every week. Like clockwork. You want viewers? That's how you do it. Not by telling people the race will start at 1:30 and throwing the green at 2:17. And given how TV ratings have slipped, it's high time the networks realized it.

Dave Rodman: The NFL is so popular because you can bet on it. Or I'd say a combination of betting and fantasy games -- which with what I know about them, are just another form of wagering.

David Caraviello: Dave "the Claw" Rodman evidently took too many blows to the head. He's clearly lost his senses.

Joe Menzer: The Claw obviously never played linebacker in high school. Heck, they may not have played high-school football back then.

Dave Rodman: Sandlots, baby --- that was tons of fun. I used to love football. It's the equivalent of background noise now. But then again, you get a show like the Packers and Vikings -- now, that's football.

David Caraviello: How much money did you win on that one, Dave?

The opinions expressed are solely those of the participants.