IN SIGHT Da Mears. FOCUS: ALEX TAGLIANI Tagliani Apparently, an eighth-place overall finish and a couple of runner-ups (Motegi, Elkhart Lake) last year wasn't enough for the Forsythe/Player's crew. Though we can't blame them too much for dumping Alex Tagliani. After all, Paul Tracy was a free agent and Player's did what it could to help Tags find and fund a ride. Tagliani is with Paul Gentilozzi's Rocketsports Racing this year and sits a respectable ninth in points. The 30-year-old Canadian has two third-place finishes this year, including Sunday's G.I. Joe's 200 at Portland. The other came at Monterrey. "Our success today was a real team effort," Tagliani said Sunday. "The Rocketsports crew did a great job and gave me great pit stops. I raced like I normally do with support from Paul (Gentilozzi) and Phil (Howard). My engineers gave me a great car." Tagliani has been competitive yet inconsistent this season. He has finished eighth or better four times -- his best result outside of his third-place finishes is a fifth at Milwaukee, where he started on the pole -- but has finished out of the points in three of the other four races, including finishing 19th (last) in the season opener at St. Petersburg. "I am glad we have had the start to the season we have had, and realized how competitive we can be. If we didn't have the troubles we had in Laguna, we wouldn't have looked so hard for ways to correct it and new ways to be quicker in the Lola." Despite three seasons with the strong Player's/Forsythe team, Tagliani has yet to score a Champ Car win. And while his Rocketsports team has been fairly strong this year, it certainly doesn't have the resources of Player's -- resources that allows drivers such as Tracy to go all out more often. "We are limited to what we are supplied with, and I can't be aggressive on the throttle if the car won't stick to the track," Tagliani said of his 14th-place effort at Monterrey (Calif.). "I focused on making the most of strategic pit stops and passing where possible to try to move up the grid." Tags is optimistic that his team is heading in the right direction. "I believe we will become even more competitive," said Tagliani. "If we keep on knocking at the door like this, pretty soon we'll have our chance (at a win)." His next chance is in Cleveland on July 5. Tags was fifth in the race last year, won by former Player's teammate Patrick Carpentier. PIT PASS Changes: Winston's leaving. Toyota's coming. And not everyone's happy about it. "I'm a very traditional person. I'm upset that R.J. Reynolds is leaving the sport. I'm upset that they moved Darlington to California on Labor Day Weekend," said Jimmy Spencer. "There are a lot of things that upset you, but on the other side of it you've got to say, 'Wait a minute here.' This sport has grown. Winston Cup racing has grown in the last 10 years like no one could imagine. "Since the new TV package came on board, we're competing against some big major-league players. In turn that puts a lot of pressure on NASCAR to find markets for ticket sales and stuff. That's why they moved Darlington." Spencer, of course, has been one of the more outspoken critics of road course racing in NASCAR. It's safe to say he's old-school. "I never thought I'd see Toyota, a foreign manufacturer come in, but I've been a race car driver. I've always sort of been sentimental to Chevrolet and that's because I raced them in my short track days. Today, the way the NASCAR Series is structured, you can run anything you want and be competitive. In Winston Cup now it seems NASCAR's new rules everything is competitive. "To say one manufacturer has an advantage -- no. Will I be driving a Toyota some day? Who knows," said Spencer, who says he'd prefer to stay with Dodge. "It's up to the car owner. The car owners have to make the best decisions for their team. If they feel that Toyota is going to be better, then that's probably what our car owner will do." Spencer is currently 30th in points and has two top-10 finishes this season. He finished a season-high fourth at Charlotte in May but has finished no better than 29th in the four races since. They're so bad, they're good. OK, that's not exactly true. But despite being sloppy and out of control -- kind of like a St. Bernard when the kids come home with bacon bits -- Sunday's Winston Cup road race at Sonoma was fun to watch. Some drivers had more problems than others. (And really, isn't it odd that Christian Fittipaldi had so many problems with right turns?) But the battles at the front of the pack and in the middle were tremendous -- often more compelling than you'll see at any oval. Plus, "The Big One" on a road course might collect three cars, not 30. Nothing against racing ovals -- it's NASCAR's bread and butter and they usually put on a great show. But for all the CART and F1 fans who complain about NASCAR and IndyCars just racing around in circles -- well, there's something to that. After all, it's 36 weeks (counting 125s and Shootout at Daytona and The Winston) of variations on a single theme -- turning left. And that's what makes the road races so intriguing. So we hereby declare that NASCAR should run no fewer than 10 road races every year. We don't need to hit Talladega, Daytona and Bristol twice, do we? Hold on, put away your Nextel digital phones before you call us to say we're mad -- we're kidding about the 10 road-race thing. But adding another road course or two? Seems reasonable. If you ask teams and drivers -- aside from Jimmy Spencer -- many will tell you that they'd like to run a couple more road races per year, if only to justify the amount of money a team spends on their road-race programs. Extra cars just for Infineon Point and Watkins Glen? Doesn't seem worth it (Daytona and Tallageda, twice each -- four races for the superspeedway machines. A bit more reasonable). Put two road races on the schedule, rinse, repeat if desired. And we desire. Adding two races ... "I really like driving on a road course," said Jamie McMurray. "It's definitely different from what we usually do, but I like the challenge." Ah, there's that word -- challenge. Daytona and Talladega are great for spectators, but the drivers don't necessarily find a challenge in driving wide open for 500 miles. In fact, stories of Dale Earnhardt Jr. picking at his nails and the like while racing at a superspeedway aren't uncommon. But the roads provide more. "(Infineon) is one of those tracks that challenges you physically and mentally and makes you stay on top of your game all day," said Tony Stewart. We think four road races is the magic number. Infineon Raceway, Watkins Glen, Elkhart Lake and maybe Road Atlanta. Tony? "I think we need dirt races, but I don't think that's going to happen anytime soon," said Stewart. "I enjoy (road racing). To me, it's kind of a nice change of pace. It's nice to do something different twice a year." Twice a year ain't that much, though. "I enjoy going to the road courses. It's something different and it's a nice little break from our normal schedule," said Bill Elliott. A nice break for fans and media, too. EXHAUST FUMES Boys, boys, boys: Robby Gordon, Jeff Gordon and Kevin Harvick. They all had their say. Now it's our turn. Robby: It was a ridiculous move, mostly because Kevin says he put his hand up to signal that he was slowing for the caution. But you do what you need to to win. Kevin: Your reaction on Sunday was on the money. Monday rampage wasn't necessary. And Jeff Green got fired from this team for being critical of his teammates not playing fair? Jeff: Robby's right, didn't have anything to do with you. Stay out of it. On the other hand, once you become an all-time great in a sport (sorry, ladies and gents -- Gordon is one of the best ever), you can pretty much say what you want whenever you want. Just ask Richard Petty, the King of speaking his mind. Nextel's target: Old NASCAR: RJR is perfect sponsor. New NASCAR? Maybe not. One user, who will remain nameless to protect him/her and his/her family, posed this thought to RPM.ESPN.com: "I'm just wondering why Nextel thinks that cell phones are a priority for most NASCAR fans prior to indoor plumbing and electricity." (That's a real question someone asked us -- we're not making that up). But that thought -- however stereotypical -- speaks directly to the issue. Can Nextel speak to NASCAR's core audience? Well, the short answer is yes. After all, just about everyone -- save for those without electricity -- uses phones. Including teenagers, who were far out of RJR and Winston's legal reach. Nextel might be a good move for NASCAR. It certainly looks great financially. OVERHEARD Eddie Cheever Jr. On Chevy's IRL effort: "I'm angry and disappointed that Chevy is not competitive right now. They were definitely tepid in their approach to this season. But I'm betting on them turning this around." Sebastien Bourdais On his day in Portland: "I have no idea what happened. I just think that we cannot make a result. There are no words for how disappointed this is especially since it was the second race in a row that we lost a third-place finish." Michael Schumacher On the F1 title race: "I think it will be a tough fight for the title, which is likely to go down to the wire. The competition is close and there will be more changes in the order."

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