ESPN Sprint Cup

Note to self: Strike distinct black line through "See Blackhawk helicopter up close" on life list.

Marty,

I'm a lifelong NASCAR fan in my late 40s, and I'm becoming more and more tired of where the sport is going. The racing is terrible. The COT is ugly. If you fight you get a penalty. If you speak out against them you get in trouble. How stupid is that?

We went to Wilkesboro and Rockingham, and they forgot about us. They don't care about the people who got them there. I only read a few stories every now and then, but this is one of them because the fans have a say. I wanted my say -- NASCAR racing isn't as good as it used to be.

-- Tom Woodrum, out in the country

Wow. Tom. Don't hold back, man. Let it out. Go on and tell me how you really feel. Truth be told, I get these types of e-mails every day. I hear criticisms of NASCAR around every corner -- grocery store, gas station, gym, pit road. Some are rational. Most are completely irrational. To listen to it, you'd swear the sport was doomed.

I just don't get it.

To be fair, I have my criticisms of NASCAR, too. It makes some head-scratcher decisions at times -- some in the marketing arena driven largely by the want to sustain itself in big media markets or to draw the optimum dollar, some in the competitive arena that have a tendency to back them in a corner by way of precedence.

I do wish they'd relent a bit on the Cup car rules package, let the crew chiefs tinker a little more. And let the boys be boys. If one guy wants to slap another one around a little bit, great, it makes people pay attention. The drug policy needs an upgrade. And it would require a complex activation strategy and thus is a pipe dream, but I'd like to see some shorter races.

But to say the racing is terrible and the sport isn't as good as it used to be, to me, is ridiculous. People tell me they yearn for the good ol' days. What? When Ned Jarrett won by eight laps in a 60-car field?

Maybe I'm naïve or blind to the imminent debacle. But to me, the sport overall is doing rather well right now. Personalities and on-track competition continue to drive it. New sponsors, though damned hard to come by, are buying in. TV ratings -- long considered the prime example of the sports' downslide -- are steady, and often higher this year than last. Other than the All-Star race and a handful of others, the racing this season has been quite exciting.

Proof:

• Daytona -- Kurt Busch pushes Ryan Newman to victory after Tony Stewart makes an ill-fated move late.

• Bristol -- Stewart leads 267 laps before Kevin Harvick wrecks him late, gunning for the win. Denny Hamlin has a fuel pickup issue on the final restart, enabling Jeff Burton to steal a win.

• Richmond -- Hamlin leads every lap at his home track in front of his family and friends, waxes the field, but has trouble late. Then Kyle Busch wrecks Junior for the lead, only to see Clint Bowyer come from nowhere to win.

• Darlington -- Greg Biffle is dominant, has wheel trouble and calls out his team; Kyle Busch experiences trouble on pit road but moves from 31st to Victory Lane on a track that makes passing difficult.

• Coca-Cola 600 -- Dale Jr. leads, hits the fence, drives back through the field to a top-5 finish. Jimmie Johnson leads, blows up. Stewart leads but loses a tire with two to go. Kasey Kahne speeds by to win for the second straight week, after a season in which he wasn't a factor all year.

Is NASCAR perfect? Not even remotely. But it ain't so bad, either. Some folks feel alienated. I respect that. Those things happen with rapid growth everywhere, not just in NASCAR.

Marty,

I live in Kentucky, and we deserve a Sprint Cup race. We follow the sport as good as any other state and probably better. We sell out the Nationwide Series, for heaven's sake. I watched "NASCAR Now" this weekend and saw where you said we ain't getting Cup. That is bull. How can NASCAR keep it from us?

-- Bobby Simmons, Corbin, Ky.

NASCAR can do whatever it pleases as it pertains to the industry, Bobby. It's their sand box, and you can play all day so long as your bucket fits the template. It's a privately owned company. If you want to hang out, cool. But you'll do so on their terms.

Kentucky is a fine racetrack in an area that has loyal, active fans. It's quite impressive -- 70,000 people at a Nationwide race is awesome. But Kentucky doesn't fit NASCAR's agenda. At all. Pick it up and put it in Seattle? It's the best thing since Daytona. As is? It's just another track that wants a date.

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And the fact that they "don't see any scenario" under which Kentucky would get a Cup date in 2009 regardless of ownership is intriguing. If Bruton Smith does ultimately opt to close the deal and buy the place (he has a grace period to walk away from the deal scot-free if he so desires), he will have the prerogative to move a date from another Speedway Motorsports track, be it an existing facility or one he purchases down the line, say, a Dover or Pocono.

NASCAR has long empowered track owners to move dates within their existing family of arenas. That's why the "regardless of ownership" part of the equation is so interesting to me. NASCAR cites timing. I'm told they're well on their way to laying out the '09 schedule already, with hopes of releasing it earlier than normal so tracks can begin marketing campaigns.

Jerry Carroll, the track founder, remains confident that Smith can pull it off.

"It's up to Bruton to do this," Carroll said. "But I've got to tell you, I've been around him for a while. Whenever he says he can do something, he normally gets it done. I was very encouraged by some of the things he said today, and I would look forward and keep hopes up for 2009.

"I'd keep our hopes up. I really would, because he wants to have the race here. He loves Kentucky. I think he has a desire to have a race in 2009 in Kentucky. Most of the things I've seen him desire, he gets."

Like a date swap between Atlanta and California …

Marty,

I read where Brian France and the boys at NASCAR are looking at the 2009 Cup schedule and are exploring the possibility of tweaking dates for tracks. As has been well documented, the weather for both Fontana dates sucks (to keep it G-rated), and is certainly one of the factors that has resulted in empty seats.

Have you heard anything regarding the moving of race dates? I have attended both dates there since '04 and have either frozen my [pants] off or have had to deal with 100-plus temps.

-- Ted Lorz, Sacramento, Calif.

The Atlanta/Fontana/Talladega hopscotch is highly likely, Ted. Sources close to NASCAR and to each of the tracks tell me so. Every one of those tracks would benefit from it -- Atlanta and Fontana, especially -- and for myriad reasons in each instance. Weather, as you so eloquently state, is a major one.

Marty,

Can my man Smoke catch a break? Do you think his good run of bad luck will have any weight on his decision to do his own thing at the end of the season (which I hear could basically be a done deal) and jump back into a Chevy? Bristol and Charlotte had nothing to do with driving a Yota, but it has got to be frustrating.

-- Red, Bristow, Va.

None whatsoever, Red. Stewart's desire is to leave Gibbs and drive a Chevrolet.

And yes, it is obviously frustrating to see the birthday cake fall off the fork again.

Marty,

It's unfair for you to treat Joey Logano like this. You've put so much pressure on him the way you cover him. He's never even raced yet and you talk about him like he's the next Dale Earnhardt. It makes me sick, really.

-- Dennis Milledge, Coral Gables, Fla.

I will presume "you" means "we" in the media, Dennis. I've barely mentioned the boy's name. But make no mistake, I'm a charter member of the Sliced Bread fan club. (Some folks in the industry have taken to referring to Logano as Sliced Bread, as in "The best thing since …")

The list of folks who perceive him as the sport's next star is long and established. When Mark Martin sees you at 12 years old and tells the world you're ready for Cup right then, you're pretty damn good.

Many folks rebut the praise by saying Logano has the best equipment known to man under his butt. That is true. But give the boy credit -- his talent is worthy of it. He wins every time he sits in it. He beat Kevin Harvick at Iowa. He beat about 408 cars at Rockingham last month.

It does seem like a lot of hullabaloo for the kid, but so far he's lived up to every word.

Marty,

Do you think Carl Edwards is the best Ford driver?

-- Bobby Conklin, hometown unknown

Nearly impossible question, Bobby. Edwards is very good. Matt Kenseth, too. But for me, regardless of car make, Greg Biffle is way up high on the talent chart, so I'd give him the edge.

Marty,

I really like the retro paint jobs. Travis Kvapil in Fred Lorenzen-inspired 28 colors looked phenomenal. (He still doesn't have a sponsor?) Little E has worn a Waltrip Dew paint job, and I believe there was a a Buddy Baker black/silver with pink trim.

What do you think is the possibility NASCAR would ever take it a step further, say run the race at Darlington where every car was made to salute a paint scheme from a different era?

-- Rob, Jacksonville, Fla.

Not very good, Rob. The sponsors and teams make the decisions to run retro schemes. NASCAR has to approve them -- for example, Junior couldn't use the reflective numbers on the Gray Ghost scheme like Baker did -- but it's not something NASCAR would mandate.

And I agree, the retro schemes are amazing. The Gray Ghost car was the baddest-looking car in years.

That's my time. The Six is growing …

Marty Smith is a contributor to ESPN's NASCAR coverage. He can be reached at ESPNsider@aol.com.