Debating double-duty, disagreements and Dale Jr.

1. More than 2,100 miles separate Sonoma, Calif. from Elkhart Lake, Wis. -- the sites of this week's respective Sprint Cup and Nationwide events. Given the distance, should any driver attempt to do both?

David Caraviello: Probably not, but a few -- three, I believe -- are going to try. Honestly, I don't think this says as much about drivers as it does about teams, and where their focus is. Those Nationwide race wins don't grab as much of the spotlight, but those Nationwide sponsorships sure help pay the bills, and they way you keep those coming is by keeping Cup guys inside the car.

Joe Menzer: Well, you can't tell the guys who long ago committed to running full Nationwide and Cup schedules -- Brad Keselowski, Carl Edwards, Paul Menard -- not to go to both now! Maybe they should share a plane ride, although I can't imagine that Brad K and Carl will!

Raygan Swan: I think if you're Paul Menard, a native of the Wisconsin area, you have to go because he won a race there in 2001. And the other guys, well, they're racing for a championship in the Nationwide Series, and other drivers can practice their Sprint Cup cars, I suppose. They signed up for this double-duty stuff long ago, and these teams aren't underfunded. They have all the nice travel accommodations to make it comfortable.

Joe Menzer: It's a long haul between the two venues, no doubt. But it's not that different than some of the jaunts these two-timers and others have successfully navigated previously. I'm wondering if the question comes in the wake of President Obama's plea to conserve fuel and lessen our dependency on oil.

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Sprint Cup Series

Standings

Pos.	+/-	Driver	Points	Behind
1.	--	K. Harvick	2,169	Leader
2.	--	Ky. Busch	2,147	-22
3.	--	D. Hamlin	2,122	-47
4.	+1	K. Busch	2,051	-118
5.	-1	M. Kenseth	2,019	-150

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Nationwide Series

Standings

Pos.	+/-	Driver	Pts.	Behind
1.	--	B.Keselowski	2,306	--
2.	--	C.Edwards	2,034	-272
3.	--	J. Allgaier	1,993	-313
4.	--	Ky. Busch	1,945	-361
5.	--	K. Harvick	1,852	-454

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David Caraviello: Here's my issue, though. You run two road courses a year in Cup. Most of these guys come from non-road-course racing backgrounds, so any amount of practice and seat time on these tracks help. And yet you're giving it up on the Cup end to meet the logistical demands of the Nationwide side. Really, can you be well-prepared for either race giving the testing ban? Just seems like a no-win situation.

Raygan Swan: Yeah, and the Thursday practice at Road America will help somehow.

Joe Menzer: When you look at Brad Keselowski specifically, he's trying hard to put a Nationwide championship on his resume. In truth, with the way Fords have been running this year in Sprint Cup, Edwards has a better shot at winning a second Nationwide title than winning the Cup title. And Menard at least is in the picture in Nationwide. So you do what you've gotta do. Right now, in some ways, the Nationwide Series is more important to these guys than Cup -- as inconceivable as that may sound or seem.

David Caraviello: Perhaps. I guess that goes back to where the teams' emphasis really is. But I want to think we used to see a few more guys -- Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch, and the like -- try this double. And when the race was at the Milwaukee Mile, you could almost understand why -- it's not difficult to get seat time on a 1-mile oval, and many of these guys are from late model backgrounds anyway. But clearly adding Road America has increased the difficulty of doing this.

Joe Menzer: I think adding Road America also has increased the interest in this race. I know I'm more interested in seeing what that's going to be like. Then again, I'm in the minority, I guess, in that I really enjoy watching road-course races on television. I always have.

Raygan Swan: I think Kyle has clearly narrowed his focus a bit regarding double and even triple duty. He scaled way back this season at Pocono and landed his best finish. I think some guys handle the juggling act better than others. Joey Logano seems to be doing it pretty well. Kentucky-Michigan worked out well for him, but that's not a huge distance either. As for racing at Road America, I'm all for it, but not for the lack of preparation the drivers are afforded -- regardless of the extra practice time on Thursday.

David Caraviello: Road America certainly increases the interest factor, Joe. But Sonoma is fabulous on television, much better than people give it credit for, because of the dramatic elevation changes and the hairpin at the far end. But then again, too many NASCAR fans are likely to dismiss both races automatically, because we're talking about road courses. Give me a road course over a 1.5-mile tri-oval any day. And should Edwards or Keselowski sweep the weekend -- wow, what a feat that would be. Talk about a true road-course king. That certainly isn't happening, though, given the number of drivers in both fields with superior road racing backgrounds.

Joe Menzer: Sweep the weekend? You gotta be kidding me. Brad K has never run at either place, has he? And considering he's 24th in Cup points vs. trying to hang onto his 272-point lead over Cousin Carl in Nationwide, he's better off focusing on Road America anyway.

David Caraviello: Hey, we said it was a long shot, didn't we?

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