Trading Paint: Making nice?

An unconventional race at Talladega; Jeff Gordon's questionable – yet ultimately, successful – race strategy; and will Gordon and teammate Jimmie Johnson be forced to quit playing nice if this year's championship comes down to a battle between the two?

Those are some of the biggest things on readers' minds in this week's edition of Trading Paint. As always, my answers where warranted are in italics.

Let's end the pace laps and take the green flag:

Sit and win ("Patience, grasshopper" Oct. 7, 2007)

Jerry, if all of the drivers felt the same as Jeff Gordon, Sunday's race at Talladega could have been reduced to 10 laps. Who would sit and watch a 500-mile race if all the cars just rode around for 498 miles? Not me! If he doesn't want to race he should quit.

Bob Miller Saratoga, N.Y.

Sorry, Bob, but with all the uncertainty of how the Car of Tomorrow would perform at Talladega, drivers like Gordon and Jimmie Johnson were the smartest of all on race day. They may have looked like they were just riding around, but they were actually strategizing and waiting to pick the right spot to make a move. And they did it perfectly. The next e-mail further explains why drivers did what they did at 'Dega.

There's a lot of talk about how it doesn't seem right for the Hendrick teams to stay in the back of the pack for most of the race, only to dart forward in the end. There are two common sense questions folks: One) If you don't know what your car is going to do, should you go for broke while being in the Chase? Two) If you know there's going to be a big one that will take out a bunch of people, would you want to get involved in that if you were part of the Chase? I would understand all the complaints if they didn't help to provide such a spectacular finish. But, after all, their strategy made for an incredible finish! Other teams talked about staying out of harm's way before the race. But the Hendrick boys did it the best (surprise, surprise!). Since Dale Jr. had to bow out early (again), I was at least glad to see some good action towards the end!

Pete Chen Atlanta, Ga.

I couldn't have said it any better, Pete. Thanks for the astute letter.

Jerry, why isn't there more hype about the coming race for the Chase between Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon? Let's face it, they've both had great years and at this point are going to duel it out with the lead for at least the next two or three races. And they have both had some good luck, too. Sooner or later, however, their friendship has to be strained pretty heavy, as well as tension between their teams. Will Rick Hendrick keep things under control if it comes down to the end and they both are very close in points?

Chuck Bower Goshen, Ind.

Hendrick is going to let his two drivers do what they do best on the race track. If it involves some pushing and shoving, so be it. If it comes down to the final race, and Gordon knocks Johnson out of the way or vice-versa, sure, there's going to be some pretty hot tempers afterward. But as we've seen over the last five years, in the few instances where they've had run-ins, that madness typically dissipates pretty quickly afterward.

Hey Jerry, excellent article! I have been a Jeff Gordon/No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet fan for years. It was great to see him find yet another way to win. Although I am a sports nut, my three greatest sports passions are: the Oklahoma Sooners, the New York Yankees and the No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet/Jeff Gordon. I'm hoping the Sooners can get back to the top after the Blunder in Boulder (Colo.). I'd also like to see (Yankees manager Joe) Torre keep his job or leave on his terms. Do you think Gordon will win No. 5 this year? How many more years do you think he will race?

Larry G. Brandon Adair, Okla.

Even though I picked Tony Stewart at the beginning of the year to win the championship this season, Gordon seems like he's the front-runner right now. I think Johnson is going to stumble in at least one of the next few races, but Gordon will continue riding his train of consistency. Title No. 5? It's his for the taking. As for how many more years for Gordon in Cup? I'd say 2009 or 2010 will be his swan song seasons. Of course, that all depends on whether he wins another championship. If he can get to six Cup titles, that's an awful strong incentive to go for No. 7 and tie Richard Petty and the late Dale Earnhardt.

About time you wrote a decent article (Gordon's win at Talladega). Good job. Damn, it hurt to say that.

William Small

Yeah, but don't you feel better that you got that off your chest, Bill?

Open the floodgates ("Tres bien, Jacques" Oct. 8, 2007)

Jerry, with drivers like Jacques Villeneuve joining the NASCAR ranks, it will become too crowded. Something will have to give. Charlotte is offering ticket packages on local TV stations. Martinsville is not sold out and is advertising as far south as South Carolina. TV ratings are also down. The time is ripe for another series to be formed and put NASCAR in its place. The other thing I see is more powerful and wealthier men getting into NASCAR that will make Hendricks, Childress and Bruton Smith look like small change and run their (butts) out of the sport. It will not be long before Honda, BMW and other imports invade the sport. Soon there will not even be an America left. Laugh all you want. We will do it to ourselves.

Larry Brock Blacksburg, S.C.

I'll skip the political rhetoric, Larry. As for the formation of another series, you'd have to find someone with extremely deep pockets who would be willing to spend billions – not millions – over at least five years to build a formidable rival to NASCAR. Frankly, there are very few people out there with that kind of loose change – or that would be willing to risk that large amount, either. I once thought Smith might do it, but at 78 years old I don't think he needs the headaches that would come with starting a rival series. As appealing as the idea is, reality tells me we're stuck with NASCAR, like a marriage, for better or worse.

Once again, Jerry, you're way off base about the debut of Jacques Villeneuve. What kind of a game plan is to just hang out in the back of the field all day and not get into a wreck? To just "log laps and learn something"? That's as much of a crime to racing as Jeffy Gordon hanging in the back to avoid trouble the whole race before deciding to race the last 50. If this guy wants to learn, he should cut his teeth for a year in the Busch Series like Montoya did. That's where you learn. That's where you can race competitively. To me, his "classy" move to drop from his sixth starting spot to the tail end at the start of the race was chicken dung. Wake me up when this clown actually wants to be competitive.

Daniel P. Lakeland, Fla.

Sorry, Daniel, but you're outvoted on this one. You're the only person who wrote in this week that criticized Villeneuve. Everyone else applauded him for his integrity and having enough smarts to stay out of everyone's way, particularly the Chase drivers. And, by the way, Montoya was in a grand total of just four Busch races last season, not the entire campaign. I'd like to see you climb into a Cup car for your first race, stay out of trouble and finish 21st.

Do you think that the inclusion of the "foreign drivers" (Jacques Villeneuve and Juan Pablo Montoya) in NASCAR will take away from fan support, as NASCAR has always been the reward for the talented short track oval racer?

Gary Eddington Sherman, Ill.

While that may have been the case in the past, Gary, it's no longer in today's global economy world. I admit I am worried that too many foreign drivers coming into the sport may alienate fans, but if the response to Montoya is any indication, maybe all my fears are for naught. Of course, if we have 20 foreign drivers in the Cup Series, say, three years from now, that could be a concern for possible fan backlash. I guess we'll just have to see how things play out. With guys like Villeneuve, I see it only as a positive because it'll bring a huge Canadian fan base into the sport.

I think it's great with all of these open wheel stars coming to Cup. It will inevitably lead to the growth of the sport and new fans, plus I think that most of these drivers will end up showing very exceptional skill. Do you think this puts more pressure on Champ Car and the IRL to reunify? With both racing leagues losing marquee drivers to NASCAR and F1, can they really afford to continue to lose what few names they have left?

Lawrence Behmer Portland, Ore.

I think it's inevitable that Champ Car and the IRL will have to merge, perhaps as early as next season, or neither will ultimately survive. After all, it doesn't say much that the reigning IRL champ (Dario Franchitti) won't be back to defend his title next season, having jumped to NASCAR. Then again, what happens if NASCAR goes out and buys the IRL or Champ Car or both? Can you say racing monopoly?

This and that Michael Waltrip wins the pole at Talladega. It is really great to see Michael finally have a bright spot in a rather bleak year. It was almost like he was shot off an aircraft carrier. … I know, that was so mean.

Kevin Dallas, Texas

I guess they found a better way to hide the jet fuel this time. … I know, that was so mean, as well.

The biggest joke of the race at Talladega: the DEI/RCR engines. Don't they test them before they put them in the cars?

Steven Randall Pontiac, Ill.

Gee, I heard they worked just fine at the go-kart track the week before.

Talk about lame: I used to fuss about NBC and Fox's coverage of NASCAR, but there's no excuse for this crap. A great race just finished and there's absolutely no post-race coverage? They said tune in to SportsCenter, but when, five hours later? I really was excited about what ABC/ESPN would bring to the coverage (I was always impressed with their coverage of other racing leagues), but this has been worse than NBC or Fox ever thought of being.

Chris Tupelo, Miss.

See, that's what you get for dissing NBC. Now I bet you're missing them like an old love, right Chris? But seriously, I agree there was no excuse for ABC's abrupt departure after Sunday's race at Talladega. But then, what do you expect for something you're getting for free, right?

Which remaining race is Bobby Labonte going to win this year?

Brian Britt Dayton, Ohio

Call me crazy, but I think Labonte has a good shot to win at three of the final six tracks: Charlotte, Martinsville and Atlanta. While his results haven't exactly shown it, he's had some strong runs this season, including in several of the last eight races. Unfortunately, they haven't finished as strong as they should have due to either wrecks or mechanical failures. If his team can put everything together, I think Labonte can definitely win a race before season's end. It would sure be nice: his last Cup win was in the 2003 season finale at Homestead (138 races ago). Sorry, Labonte fans, I had to throw that stat in.