Burning Questions: New Hampshire

November 20, 2001
5:18 PM EST (2218 GMT)

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

1. Is Jeff Gordon the best ever?

Jeff Gordon

He'll never win the 200 races Richard Petty did and he may not even equal Petty and Dale Earnhardt's seven Winston Cup titles.

Still, at this stage of the game, it's awfully hard to argue against Gordon: 58 wins in 292 career starts, 148 top-five and 190 top-10 finishes and four Winston Cup titles in nine full seasons.

Just for argument's sake, take a look at Earnhardt's numbers: 76 wins in 676 career starts, 281 top-five and 428 top-10 finishes.

Talk amongst yourselves.

2. What's up with Steve Park?

Steve Park

Only Park knows, but if you're a fan, you have to be slightly unnerved by last week's announcement that Kenny Wallace has been signed to replace Park for the foreseeable future. However, Dale Earnhardt Inc. chooses to characterize its decision as a "contingency plan."

Nonetheless, Park hasn't been seen at the track and has been virtually unheard from since his September accident at Darlington, where he suffered a severe concussion.

It is reassuring to hear that Park intends to take all the time necessary to ensure he's fit enough to race again. However, it would be wise to remember that Ricky Craven took the better part of two years to fully recover from the effects of his concussion.

3. Is NASCAR crazy?

Frank Stoddard and Jeff Burton

Yeah, like a fox. For all the gnashing of teeth and second-guessing of its decision to postpone the New Hampshire 300 until Nov. 23, if meteorologists are to be believed, Friday's race will go off without a hitch.

Early weather reports indicate that the high temperature in New Hampshire will be in the upper 40s -- not all that balmy, necessarily, but certainly warm enough to race.

Of course, Frank Stoddard, a New Hampshire native and Jeff Burton's crew chief, will then lose his bet that it would be colder in Atlanta on Sunday (it was in the 70s) than it will be in New England the day after Thanksgiving.