Notebook: Biffle hits 218 mph in test at Texas World (cont'd)

"It just sucks because I'm such a historian of the sport and I just like all the history and I like all the cool things about the history, and I like looking back on the guys who were in this race in the '80s and '90s and why they were in it and how they got in it and who missed it the next year and made it the next year.

"I haven't asked NASCAR why they changed it, so I don't feel like I can rightfully say much without giving them the opportunity to defend themselves for their reasons. But apparently there were some reasons they changed it, and it's obviously better for the manufacturers with this new format for the Shootout. But it's less about why the race was started in the first place."

Why Martin fits at HMS

Leave it to the heart and soul of Hendrick Motorsports, four-time Cup champion Jeff Gordon, to sum up why Mark Martin, at age 50, had a lot to offer his younger teammates, including three-time defending Cup champion Jimmie Johnson and Earnhardt Jr., the sport's most popular driver.

"Because he's the most talented race car driver that there is," Gordon said. "I mean, the guy is just a natural and he works hard at it, and he keeps himself in great shape. He's just very disciplined and dedicated and driven -- a very competitive guy -- and you put him in top notch equipment there's just no telling what he's capable of doing.

"I've always been a big fan of his, since the first time I ever sat in a stock car, or even before when I watched it on TV and watched him dominate in a [Busch] race at Dover one time.

"He's just incredible. The guy can hang the car out there, he can run a really loose car, and I think his experience, his attitude and what he's capable of doing as a driver are all things that -- that's why he's gotten pretty much to call the shots on how he has been able to sort of come out of retirement and go do limited schedules or different things, because everybody knows that he brings a lot of experience and talent to their team that can help them get sponsors, can help the organization grow -- can help everybody."

Stewart doesn't do ride-alongs

Asked about fellow Sprint Cup team owner Robby Gordon's achievement of finishing third in the Dakar Rally and whether the mercurial Gordon gets all the credit he deserves as a competitor, Tony Stewart made no bones about the way he feels.

"I've said for a long time that he's one of the most naturally talented drivers that I've ever raced with -- he just has that ability to get in a car and know how to get 100 percent out of it," Stewart said. "It hasn't always worked out for him, but to watch -- especially on the off-road stuff -- you watch him in a truck or any kind of an off-road vehicle, and it's just unbelievable what he can do with it."

Despite his equally noted diversity Stewart, who finished ninth in the 1999 Indy 500 in which Gordon finished fourth and led coming to the white flag before his car ran out of gas, said he was in no hurry to go off-road with Robby.

"I'm not sure that I'm ready to try something like [the Dakar]," Stewart said with a chuckle. "He's invited me to go pre-run the Baja with him, and that's something that I really want to do one day -- but I'm almost scared to pre-run it with him because then I think I'm responsible for reading the map, and I can't read a newspaper in a car without getting sick."

Young Kenseth making a mark

Loving '09

A third in the Dakar Rally, a switch to Toyota and a wild card berth in the Bud Shootout has Robby Gordon all smiles as the season approaches.

• Complete story
• Career-best third at Dakar
• Rodman: Gordon a winner

Matt Kenseth's son Ross has made such an impression in the opening months of his Late Model stock car racing career that casual observers lose track of his age. Asked what his son's racing schedule would consist of in 2009 and when he might graduate to a NASCAR national tour, Matt set the record straight.

"I don't really have a timetable -- first of all he's got to get old enough to drive," Kenseth said. "He's 15, and he's going to run probably the same Late Model stuff he run last year, probably travel around a little bit more. I'm building a new ASA North car for him to run, which is like a crate motor Late Model.

"So he'll probably run 30 or 40 races up in that area this year, depending on how he does and how things are going. We might expand on that some but right now I have no expectations, no timeline, don't push him into anything. I'll help him as much as I can to a point as long as he's holding up his end of the bargain with behavior and school and all that stuff, which he has been. He's on honor roll and doing really well. He really likes it and I'll try to help him as much as I can, but who knows where it'll turn out."

The low-key dad said Ross has stepped out of his father's shadow in one critical respect.

"The thing that impresses me the most about Ross' racing isn't how he really runs on the track, it's how he conducts himself," Kenseth said. "It impresses me when I leave and I see him talking to somebody like [multi-time champion] Steve Carlson after the race. I'm pretty shy and kind of hang out in my own trailer and work on my own car, and he's always talking to all the guys. He has a lot of respect from the older guys he races against even being 15, so that's probably the part that impresses me the most."

Garcia allies with Garvey

Venezuelan road racer Alex Garcia has been trying to make inroads into NASCAR stock car racing for several seasons and thought he had his big break for 2009 via a verbal commitment from a sponsor. With the uncertain economy, Garcia said at Daytona's Fan Fest that his plan was momentarily on hold.

But his No. 98 Transnet Racing team is sharing shop space near Atlanta with veteran stock car racer Mike Garvey, and Garcia said Michigan native Garvey would also serve as his crew chief when they attempted any Nationwide Series races.