Burning Questions: Atlanta

By Stephen Thomas, CNNSI.com
November 13, 2001
3:50 PM EST (2050 GMT)

CNNSI.com's Stephen Thomas tackles three questions that matter to fans:

1. Does Dodge have an unfair advantage?

Bill Elliott

Not to hear Dodge tell it, but the statistics say otherwise.

In the last three races at 1 1/2-mile ovals since a rule change gave the Dodges another two inches on the nose (and, thus, improved downforce), Dodge drivers won twice, including last weekend at Homestead. Furthermore, Dodge has led an improbable 36 percent of all laps run (311 of 868).

Contrast those numbers with the zero wins and just 11 percent of laps led (105 of 926) in the first three races of the season at 1 1/2-mile ovals. If those numbers don't make you wonder, nothing will.

2. Is Casey Atwood in or out?

Casey Atwood

In the last few weeks, word of a personnel shuffle at Evernham Motorsports has Jeremy Mayfield set to replace Atwood in the No. 19. Atwood would move to the Jimmy Smith-owned No. 7-owned car, in which Evernham would take an interest. As is typical in these situations, no one with direct knowledge will give a definitive answer -- but the mere fact that the question is even out there is revealing in and of itself.

Atwood seems both calm and confident that he will be back with Evernham in some form or fashion in 2002. The fact that Evernham acknowledged in Florida that he has had some talks with Smith confuses the issue even more. However, Evernham is nothing if not smart, meaning it's unlikely he would rid himself of a promising talent like Atwood. But Evernham has also been known to enjoy the occasional head game and could just be trying to light a fire under Atwood to see how he responds.

3. Is Winston Cup racing a sport or entertainment?

Mike Helton

Winston Cup racing: Sport or entertainment?

The answer, of course, depends on who you ask. But it's hard to ignore what stopping a race does to the competition.

In Sunday's race at Homestead, the first four (of the day's six) caution flags were waived at NASCAR's discretion to clear the track of oil or debris -- debris that was invisible, to some drivers' naked eyes. That three of those four cautions came at times when a driver had opened a huge gap on the field gave rise to a few suspicions that NASCAR was doing what it could to ensure that Sunday's race was closely contested.