NASCAR roundup

News:

• Sources: Sadler set to return to No. 19
• Petty, Gillett Evernham to merge
• Chevy to remain Daytona sponsor
• Owner reaches deal on fraud charges
• Logano to defend All-Star title
• Baldwin to debut Cup team at Daytona

Analysis:

• DW: Teams spend too much
• Owens: Where were the fireworks?
• DW: Petty cash, not enough
• McReynolds: It all starts here
• Mondaca: Nine stories for '09

Looking back at 2008:

• Sprint Cup
• Nationwide
• Trucks

Blog:

• Check out the NASCAR community

If you look at the success of Hendrick Motorsports before this year's Chase started, well there wasn't a lot to write home about. You had four cars all season and only Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr. had wins. Both those wins were also on gas mileage. Who knows, gas mileage might pay off somewhere in the Chase.

We are going back to the 1.5-mile tracks and they have many of the same characteristics. I know people like to call them "cookie cutter" tracks but any driver, crew chief or those inside racing know that no two race tracks are alike. Each track has its own characteristics that make it unique from the others.

If I was racing today for teams the caliber of Hendrick Motorsports, Joe Gibbs Racing, Roush-Fenway or Richard Childress Racing and was comfortably in the Top 12 in points, well my focus would be how can what I do today pay dividends when we get into the Chase. That's when it really counts. That's when it is time to win the championship.

Basically once you get into the Top 12 and aren't worried about getting bumped out, well then it is time for R & D. Do anything and everything you want to do. Chassis, engine, pit crews, communications, strategy, whatever it is, do it then so you know when you get into the Chase what works and what doesn't work. You want to go into the Chase with your most proven product. You don't go into the Chase trying a new ignition system, different sway bar arm or engine component for the first time. Don't do it.

In my opinion, that's what Jimmie and Chad are doing. They know that they have two grueling car-killer races coming up, Atlanta this weekend and then Texas. Those races are brutal on engines for 500 miles. Jimmie survived Talladega with a Top 10 finish. Sure they were disappointed at Charlotte but sometimes things go the way you planned. So the team went into survival mode. He hung onto that very loose race car and got a top six finish and got out of there with a good finish.

He went to Martinsville with an outstanding record there. I think he has won something like the last four out of the five Chase races there. Mother Nature and the Racing Gods smiled on him and rained out qualifying, so being the point leader he got the No. 1 pit stall. Trust me folks, that is huge. Folks, you can give me a mediocre car but give me that No. 1 pit stall and I will lead laps and probably have a shot to win. That's a huge advantage at Martinsville.

So we head to Atlanta this weekend. Jimmie runs well there and can win there. He just has to keep his engine together and keep his nose clean and he will probably come out of there with a great top five finish. Now it's going to be hard to beat the Toyotas and the Roush cars there. Then we head to Texas. Again, he just has to stay out of trouble -- don't blow up, don't get into any big wrecks, finish as best you can, win if you can and then you will be sitting at the head table in New York.

Championships are won at the race shop and championships are won up on that pit box. Championships are won by the product you put on the race track. I was going to three championships in a row in 1983. We lost that championship because we blew up in the last race. You can't blow up. You have to keep that car on the race track. You have to stay out of trouble and get maximum points. That's the driver's job.

At this point in the season there is a whole lot more people involved like the spotter, owner, engine tuner, crew chief, pit crew and particularly the guys back in the shop preparing the car to go to the track. You have to cross every "T" and dot every "I". If you do that, you will be sitting at the head table in New York and picking up a check for somewhere around $7.5 million.

Ask DW
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OH BY THE WAY: There were some tire issues at Martinsville. Unfortunately it seems we have had tire issues all year long. I have a concern about the tires this week at Atlanta. If you remember, the racing was bad because of the tires there and the drivers complained loud and long about them. I just hope Goodyear doesn't go overboard and bring back a fast tire that might cause problems. We don't need any blown tires at Atlanta at 200 mph. Even with SAFER barriers there, it still hurts, trust me.

OH BY THE WAY II: A tip of the hat to Carl Edwards who had a great finish at Martinsville. Ol' Carl would be right in the thick of this Chase battle if it weren't for his problems at Talladega and Charlotte. Greg Biffle surprised me because the Roush cars always seem to struggle at Martinsville. He came out of there in pretty good shape. Jeff Burton has to be sick to have lost as many points as he did to Jimmie on Sunday.

OH BY THE WAY III: It did my heart good to see the smile on Rick Hendrick's face this past weekend. What he has gone through the last 3-4 years with his father passing away and obviously the Martinsville plane crash that took the lives of his son, his brother, his nieces, plus friends and co-workers, is something no one should be forced to endure. So seeing him smile at Martinsville again really was special. I wish I could have been there to give him a big hug. He is a special man who has done so much for our sport. I love the man. I am proud to say I worked for him and I am especially proud to say he is my friend.

OH BY THE WAY IV: If GM and Chrysler should in fact merge, it really has nothing to do with dealerships and how cars are marketed. It has everything to do with how cars are financed.