Will the next driver to "save" NASCAR come on down ...

   Here we go again.

   Another “popular” driver successful in some other form of motorsports decides to make a foray into NASCAR competition and suddenly that person is the answer to NASCAR’s attendance and TV ratings woes.

   This time, it’s Travis Pastrana, who has won numerous titles in supercross, motocross, freestyle motocross and rally racing. He plans to drive seven races in 2011 in the Nationwide Series with a team co-owned by himself and Michael Waltrip.

   Why is it when someone outside NASCAR decides to give it a try it necessarily most follow that we get a litany of reasons how that move will transform the sport?

   Haven’t we learned our lesson yet?

   IndyCar star Danica Patrick made her much-publicized debut in NASCAR this season with the same expectations (or more) and her performance on the track has been at best underwhelming.

   She likely got more people to tune in when she first arrived, and she likely sold a lot of T-shirts. That’s all well and good for Patrick, but what has it done for NASCAR?

   If people are tuning in to see Patrick and then tune out when her adventure is over, what has NASCAR gained?

   The same goes for Pastrana.

   He may be the “next big thing” to come to NASCAR, but unless he actually makes a mark in the sport competition-wise, I don’t know how that improves the NASCAR product.

   I have no doubt that if Patrick or Pastrana were to come into NASCAR and found the success – or even some of it – they have experienced in their other respective racing disciplines, NASCAR would benefit.

   But other sports’ stars coming over to “give NASCAR a try,” who aren’t in contention to win races or plan to run a schedule to contend for a championship, smacks as nothing more than a marketing ploy.

   That’s all well and good, too. Just please call it for what it is.

   I’m not going to make a judgment on what Pastrana can do for NASCAR until I actually see him compete in a Nationwide race.

   The honest truth is I don’t know what he will do. And neither does anyone else until he gets here.

Is Kevin Harvick being overlooked?

   Much has been written and said - even by Kevin Harvick himself - about whether he has been overlooked in this year's Sprint Cup championship race.

   Harvick's crew chief, Gil Martin was asked about this on Wednesday and here was his response:

   "I can't explain to you why he doesn't (get respect he deserves), but I can talk to you about why he should. I mean, you just go back and look. Again, I know it doesn't matter to nothing, but everybody talks about stats all week long. That's all you see all week long. When you go back and look where we would be in traditional points, where we are on top 10s, where we are on points gained, where we are on top 5s, I think if you go back and look, it's almost been one of the best seasons that RCR has ever had in its history.

   "Obviously if we don't win the championship, it's not going to be where we want to be, but it's a championship run that we've had all year long. And in order for that to have happened, he had to do a lot of things right this year, and I think a lot of those things have gone a little bit unnoticed because a lot of emphasis has been put on that we haven't qualified very well. But because we haven't qualified very well, the amount of cars that we've passed this year coming from I'll say not even mid-pack, three-quarter pack, through most of the season, I don't know the number of those cars, and I'm sure y'all have the stats on that, but the amount of cars that we've passed this season is probably astronomical compared to a lot of them.

   "And it's a shame that we had the little problem we did in the pits this weekend because I really think when we were running third and had to come back in, if we would have got to see some clean air, our car was going to be very fast out front or in the top two or three this weekend. But he's done a great job, and I think he deserves a lot more credit probably than he is getting."

   A couple things: First, I believe Harvick has as good a chance to win this title as either Jimmie Johnson or Denny Hamlin, given the circumstances with one race remaining.

   Second, given that, I don't think it's unreasonable to consider Harvick an upset winner should he do so.

   Harvick may have led the series points standings most of the first 26 weeks of the season but that feat in an off itself doesn't mean much - or anything - when it comes to the Chase. It's wins that matter, and that's how you get seeded to start the Chase. A driver can have a 1,000 point lead after 26 races but if he doesn't have a win, he'll start dead last in the Chase. That's the system.

   Given that, and the fact Johnson has won four straight championships and has a better than average shot at a fifth, Harvick is right where he should be: knocking on the door, with a chance to kick it in.

If my article ended now ...

   Sunday’s race proved once again why TV and other media’s use of the “points as they run now” statistic is completely and ridiculously meaningless.

   For virtually the entire race, Hamlin – since he was leading the race – was being praised for having dramatically increasing his points lead. Some in the media were already crowning him the champion.

   Then the final 15 laps played out, with Hamlin finishing 12th and Jimmie Johnson fifth. All of a sudden, Hamlin has a razor-thin 15-point advantage going into Homestead.

   That’s not quite the picture that had been portrayed for the whole race. The "as they run now" approach is touted as a way of keeping fans “informed,” but all it really does is continue to mislead.

    A championship bet?
   I don’t know if I have ever witnessed a more gutsy and daring pit call than the one made by Chad Knaus on Sunday. It was also very clever.
  
   Knaus waited until he was sure Hamlin and his team had decided they would have to pit for fuel. Then he immediately set about having his driver do exactly the opposite – stay on the track and slow down to save fuel.
  
   It was a season-defining moment for the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports team.

   Consistency and chemistry
   There he is again. Joey Logano, who had scored the fourth-most points during the Chase entering Sunday’s race, finished third. It was his fifth consecutive top-10 finish.
  
   It is clear that Logano’s team is developing the consistency and chemistry needed to make the Chase in 2011.

Why can't Tony Stewart focus?

   You don't often hear NASCAR drivers admit their focus might be wandering as the season draws to a close, but Tony Stewart certainly offered an insightful answer this weekend when asked if it was difficult to keep focused when you are not in title hunt.

   Stewart's answer: "All everybody wants to do is talk about the guys that are in it and all we want to do is worry about the stuff that we are doing that didn’t get us in it and trying to make our cars better. You know that is the stuff that we are trying to work on and concentrate on our program and not worry about what everybody else is doing. And it is hard. 

   "You want to be in the middle of it and you want to be those guys that are there but at the same time when it doesn’t work out you have to sit there are trying to figure out things at the end of the year to try to figure out why you didn’t get yourself in that situation and you really work really hard now while they are still trying to fight for this year we are already fighting for next year now.”

   Stewart is certainly known for his candor, but it was still surprising to hear a prominent driver explain how he feels a little left out as the focus in the series turns to just those who still have a shot at the championship.

   It's actually more reality than perception, despite what some in NASCAR want to believe. If you're not in the Chase, you are barely noticed. Now as the season winds to close, if you are in the Chase but aren't a title contender, you do little better.

NASCAR does early inspection of title contenders' Homestead cars

   AVONDALE, Ariz. - NASCAR officials on Thursday confirmed they required the three Sprint Cup teams still in the hunt for the series championship to submit the cars they plan to run in the season finale to pre-race inspection.

 

   Earlier this week, the teams of Denny Hamlin, Jimmie Johnson and Kevin Harvick were required to take the cars they plan to use next week at Homestead, Fla., to NASCAR's research and development center in Concord, N.C., for a precautionary inspection.

 

   Officials confirmed all three cars met template measurements.

 

   NASCAR received a lot of criticism when it levied harsh penalties on driver Clint Bowyer after his car failed inspection at the R&D center days after his win in the opening race of the Chase for the Cup at New Hampshire.

 

   With two races left in the Chase, Hamlin holds a 33-point lead over Johnson and a 59-point advantage over Harvick.

 

   Johnson has won the last four Cup titles.

Will the real owner of Richard Petty Motorsports please step forward?

Where is George Gillett Jr.?

While we watch the weekly drama unfold of whether Richard Petty Motorsports can piece together the necessary funds and forge the needed deals to make it to the race track, we hear nothing from the organization’s true majority owner.

As questions arise almost daily of whether the team is past-due on its bills, whether it can pay current employees, or whether it will make it to the next race let alone the next season, all we get from Gillett is silence.

He’s nowhere to be seen in the NASCAR garage.

Oh, he’ll toss a team public relations representative to the media wolves without a problem, but he stays silent.

He’ll leave NASCAR legend Richard Petty - only a four percent owner in the company - at the track to face all the questions, while he remains safely tucked away from the media frenzy.

The organization’s top driver - Kasey Kahne - bolts before the end of the season, but nary a word from Gillett. It’s not like he is busy with his Liverpool soccer team any more.

It’s far past time we end the charade that has clouded this team since last season.

There is nothing ‘Richard Petty’ about Richard Petty Motorsports.

Whether on purpose, by chance or by accident, Gillett has managed to tarnish one of the truly good names in all of sports, not just NASCAR. And it’s a shame.

Yes, Petty probably bears some responsibility for allowing his name to be attached to an organization over which he really had no control.

But that name was provided by Petty so the team could succeed and prosper in NASCAR and to make a connection to the sport‘s fans and potential sponsors.

It was not designed to act as a shield to insulate the true owner, Gillett, from criticism and responsibility.

I don’t know if RPM will make it to the final race of the season next weekend at Homestead, Fla. I don’t know if the organization - in whatever form - will return in 2011.

The only person who really knows, not only won’t say but won’t allow himself to be asked the questions.

What Jeff Gordon's crew chief thinks of his on-track tussle with Jeff Burton

   While at a news conference on Tuesday to address the pit crew swap between Jimmie Johnson's No. 48 team and Jeff Gordon's No. 24, Gordon's crew chief, Steve Letarte was also asked several questions about his driver's on-track scuffle with Jeff Burton during Sunday's AAA 500 at Texas Motor Speedway.

   What did you think of your driver's boxing skills?
   Letarte: I'm proud of him for this: There are a lot of people in the world or in the media who question his gumption and how hard he wants to be here. He didn't get wrecked running third; he got wrecked running in the back. We needed to get better. He was that disappointed getting wrecked running in the back because he wanted to race that race out. He has faith in this race team and I have faith in him. While it may not have been obvious on TV, we were starting to move in the right direction. I am proud of him. I think that's what this race team meant. We haven't laid down all year long, we're not going to lay down now.

   Was what transpired surprising to you?
   Letarte: After the year we've have had, nothing would surprise me.

   Were you glad to see him as he kind of went at it?
   Letarte: I'm just glad to see he's upset. Anytime I make a bad call, I'm sure he's glad to see I take it hard because he knows how much I really care. It's no different when something happens on the race track. I like to see his emotion. Our team likes to see his emotion. It's great because it's not the old days and the driver doesn't come to the shop seven days a week and hang out with the guys and you have very little interaction with each other because we all have huge responsibilities. I think anytime you see a guy like him who is so clean cut and such a good driver and he shows his emotions, it fires everybody up and everybody knows how much he really cares.