Daily NASCAR

Juan Pablo Montoya, driver of the No. 42 Target Chevrolet, stands in the garage during practice at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Montoya starts today’s race in third place. (Photo: Getty Images)

HAMPTON, Ga. - The tension between Earnhardt Ganassi teammates Juan Montoya and Jamie McMurray has abated but not entirely been brushed off the table, or at least that’s the impression one could draw from Montoya’s remarks.

Montoya and McMurray crashed early in the Feb. 28 race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and Montoya excoriated McMurray afterwards.

According to Montoya, it’s time to move on, but he didn’t seem all that forgiving.

"He sent me a text saying ‘la-la-la-la-la,’ and he was sorry about the whole thing," said Montoya of McMurray, "and I said ‘don’t worry about it.’ He asked if I wanted him to call me, and I said ‘don’t worry about it.’ It happens. It’s racing. Move on.

"Really, I was really (ticked off) at the time because we had a DNF (’did not finish’) the week before with an engine problem. And (the next) week, being taken out by your teammate is something that you don’t really expect, but it happens. It’s part of racing and move on."

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FOR NAUGHT- Greg Biffle, who had been impressive in the day’s first Cup practice session, crashed in the latter and will have to forfeit the 13th starting position by going to his backup car.

"I just got a little bit loose running the top," said Biffle. "The back end touched the wall and sucked the nose over right where they stopped the SAFER barrier. I hit right in the worst spot, where the wall was kinked out. I touched and it turned the car into where I hit the part of the wall that was jutting out. and it just killed the car."

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HE’S QUIRKY– Ryan Newman has a fine sense of humor, but it’s a beat apart from the norm.

That’s why a NASCAR teleconference ended the way it did last Tuesday. After Newman answered the final question, according to the transcript, the final questioner said, "Thanks a million."

Newman’s reply? "You’re welcome, times a billion."

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STRAIGHT-LINE REASONING– Kurt Busch, a longtime drag-racing fan, is taking his 1970 Dodge Challenger to the Gatornationals next week. With the Sprint Cup Series taking a week off, Busch has entered his Challenger, which he purchased in 2008 and has been restoring since, in the Super Gas class, one of seven being contested at Gainesville (Fla.) Raceway.

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Jimmie Johnson currently has the fifth-best career winning percentage, but remember, those stats fade in the less-successful years toward the end of driver’s career. (Photo: Getty Images)

HAMPTON, Ga. - Predictably, incomplete statistics were trotted out this week to extol the virtues of Jimmie Johnson, who gets enough credit already without having to concoct misleading statistics.

Yes, Johnson’s victories in the past two races leave him with a career winning percentage of .167, which, right now, is fifth best in NASCAR history. For the record, the winning percentages are: (1.) Herb Thomas .211, (2.) Tim Flock .209, (3.) David Pearson .183, (4.) Richard Petty .169, (5.) Johnson .167, and (5.) Fred Lorenzen .165.

The trouble with that list is that all the other drivers have completed their careers and Johnson hasn’t. Winning percentage isn’t relevant until a driver’s career is over, simply because almost every driver’s percentage falls off as he gets older.

For instance, NASCAR’s all-time leader in victories, Richard Petty, failed to win any of the final 241 races of his career. The runner-up, David Pearson, ended his career with 55 fruitless starts.

At the end of Jeff Gordon’s greatest streak - three championships and 47 victories in the 1995-99 - his career winning percentage was .220. In fact, at the point where Gordon won his 49th race - Johnson’s current total is 49 - his winning percentage was significantly higher than Johnson’s.

Gordon’s present winning percentage is .140, which is 11th best all-time.

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THE TRICK–Jeff Burton has twice won Nationwide Series races at Atlanta Motor Speedway but never finished better than fourth in a Sprint Cup event. He hasn’t finished better than 10th since 2007.

"The biggest challenge is the way the speed falls off so much," said Burton. "It’s like the track has two personalities. You have to be aggressive and drive hard for qualifying and then, when the race starts, you race it like you used to race Darlington. The place gets really slick and real slimy. It’s amazing the amount of grip you don’t have here.

"You have to have a car that makes more grip than your competitors, and making the most out of that is what will put you in the winner’s circle. Even the best handling car here in the last few years has handled awful, so finding a way to do it better than your competition in a low, low grip arena will be the biggest challenge."

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YOU SURE?– An Atlanta radio reporter asked Clint Bowyer about the future of the track’s two annual dates … but not exactly the way wanted.

Strictly speaking, it wasn’t a question.

"There’s a lot of talk about Atlanta losing one of its race dates," he said. "And those of us down here sure hope so."

Bowyer answered as if the reporter had said what he meant.

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NO NEED TO WORRY … YET — Only five of the 12 Chase drivers of 2009 are presently in the top 12. The missing include Jeff Gordon (13th), Brian Vickers (18th), Kurt Busch (19th), Denny Hamlin (22nd), Kasey Kahne (23rd), Juan Pablo Montoya (26th) and Ryan Newman (32nd).

Newman was 35th after the first three races last year but went on to make the Chase anyway, and Hamlin it’s early for anyone to be overly concerned.

"We’re just missing by a little," said Hamlin, "but we’re working hard, and we’re focused. The results will start coming."

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Relax, Ryan. You don’t have to push that red button just yet. (Photo: Getty Images)

HAMPTON, Ga. - Remain calm. All is well.

That’s the gospel being preached by those for whom the first three Sprint Cup races have not gone so well. Their words are strung together by lots of "ifs," "ands" and "buts."

They’re right, of course. The Kobalt Tools 500, at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Sunday, is only the season’s four Sprint Cup race. A year ago at this point, Bobby Labonte was 10th in points.

Here’s what gets lost by those who prematurely panic. From now through the season’s 26th race, the point system governing the strategy in Cup isn’t one designed to be in first place. First place doesn’t matter until the Chase. The regular season is about being 12th because the top 12 make the Chase.

So, in other words, the standings list Ryan Newman as being in 32nd place, 281 points behind leader Kevin Harvick. That’s a lot, even now. Kyle Busch is in 12th place. Newman’s only 150 points behind him.

"I think it’s real early to be talking about a comeback," said Newman.

Jeff Gordon is two points out of 12th. Jamie McMurray trails Busch by 13. Dale Earnhardt Jr. is 18 shy of the top 12.

Oh, my gosh. That means that, over the next 23 races, Jeff Gordon won’t make the Chase unless he can keep up a pace of gaining .087 of a point in each and every race. OK, that’s a joke, but for 32nd place Ryan Newman, the math says he can make the Chase if he gains an average of 6.6 points on 12th place, whomever happens to occupy it at any given time.

They hand out five points for leading one lap under caution.

Drivers don’t like to get off to a slow start. Their fans don’t like to see it.

However … a year ago at this point, Newman, who is now 32nd, was 33rd. He made the Chase.

"We rebounded pretty quickly last year," he recalled. "I don’t know when we were first in the top 12 after being 33rd three races in. (He reached the top 12 after the 10th race). I know there’s plenty of potential, and there’s a lot of the season left.

"The law of averages works out for everybody except Jimmie Johnson."

The winner of four straight championships is apparently above the law.

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Juan Pablo Montoya, driver of the #42 Target Chevrolet, and Jamie McMurray, driver of the #1 McDonald’s Chevrolet, spin out of control after an incident on track that eliminated each other during the Shelby American at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on February 28. (Photo: Getty Images for NASCAR)

Juan Pablo Montoya vs. Jamie McMurray: The Earnhardt Ganassi Racing teammates eliminated each other in a Vegas crash, and Montoya took direct aim at the Daytona 500 winner afterwards. "He’s not doing himself any favors," said Montoya of McMurray. "I’m sure (McMurray) is going to say, ‘Oh, I didn’t mean that.’ … He is just trying to prove to people he can drive a race car, and I guess he isn’t doing too many favors on this team." McMurray, taken aback, suggested that Montoya’s remarks were made in part because, in the heat of the moment, he was frustrated.

My take: To paraphrase the country song, who picks up the pieces every time two teammates collide?

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Mark Martin won the first NASCAR race in Las Vegas in 1997. That seems like a long time ago now. (Photo: Getty Images)

It’s hard not to get caught up in the perpetual notion that tracks in places like Fontana, Calif., and Las Vegas, Nev., are still brand-new.

Now Auto Club Speedway, it was California Speedway in 1997 when it opened. Vegas hosted its first (then Winston) Cup race the following season. Both have changed ownership, and Vegas has undergone major changes.

More than a decade … just evaporated.

What do I remember about those first races? I remember how clean California was. I remember how all the personnel had gone through training at Disneyland. Everyone was so cheerful, wholesome … and clueless in actually helping the patrons.

Mark Martin, probably the driver least likely to gamble away his earnings, won the first race in Las Vegas. I remember thinking that the new track seemed fairly mundane when compared to the garishness of the Strip. Ah, but that was before Bruton Smith got his hands on it.

The California track is surrounded by shut-down factories, and everything seemed dank as I drove to it for the first time. I likened driving through the tunnel to entering Toontown (from the movie "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?"). In 1997, people knew what Toontown was.

The first time I went to Las Vegas - and my first trip to the track was also my first visit to the city - I hustled out to the track to watch a West Coast race. I remember that Jerry Glanville, the football coach, had perhaps the best performance (third) of an undistinguished racing career in that event, which was won by a young man, Kevin Harvick, I would get to know better.

Jeff Gordon had won the first race in Fontana the previous year. Those were magical years for Gordon, who did stuff like that all the time.

Other than that, the seasons blur, and I have to do a fair amount of research to sort out what happened when.

In Las Vegas, I remember an awful night when I attended a birthday party in which everything went wrong. Of course, I’m kind of glad I was there since it gave me many raucous stories to tell. Oh, yeah, and while we were waiting for a table, Jerry Lewis showed up in the lobby.

I said to a friend, "Psst. That’s Jerry Lewis."

"You mean, like, ‘Great Balls of Fire’?"

"No, that’s Jerry Lee Lewis," I said. "I mean, like, ‘Hey, laaaaadyyy!"

Of course, I made an awful attempt at an impersonation. I turned around. Jerry Lewis made a goofy expression and waved.

I have no idea what year that was and who won the race the next day.

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