IN SIGHT Part of the CART Purina Dolphin Chow Games. FOCUS: KENNY BERNSTEIN Didn't he retire? Kenny Bernstein had his grand farewell tour last season, handing over the Bud Top Fuel machine to son Brandon. And the younger Bernstein got off to a quick start while driving for his father's team, winning three races and setting up a possible season-long points battle with eventual category champion Larry Dixon, who bested Kenny Bernstein in Top Fuel last year. But Brandon Bernstein suffered a crushed vertebra in his upper back in a crash at Englishtown, N.J., in May. The 30-year-old will be ready to return to his seat next year, but his legendary dad stepped back into the ride for the remainder of the 2003 NHRA season. After a slow start, Bernstein has looked as good as ever lately. In fact, he's been great. Bernstein has three wins this year, all coming in the last four events -- including a win this past weekend in Las Vegas. "It was a downer for the team when Brandon got hurt," said Kenny Bernstein, who now has 68 career wins. "It took us out of the championship, so that incentive was gone and it's hard to keep morale high when you don't have a chance to win a championship. These wins, now, have pumped the team back up and they're a stepping stone to next year when Brandon returns to the cockpit." But until Brandon's return next season, the six-time NHRA champion (four in Funny Car, two in Top Fuel) is just having fun. But he's not taking all the credit. "I love to race and there's hardly anything better in the world than winning," said Bernstein, 59. "I'm very comfortable in the car and have been for many years, but a great team makes that happen. The better the car runs, the better the driver performs. You grow, and with more experience you become better." Despite not beginning the season in the car, Bernstein is seventh in Top Fuel points. The NHRA season wraps up on Nov. 9 in Pomona, Calif. PIT PASS Waltrip Michael Waltrip's struggles continue. Waltrip sat fifth in points after the Cup race at Michigan in August. Since then, Waltrip has finished 26th or worse in eight of ten races. A Talladega win helped to slow the slide, but Waltrip slipped to 14th in points after his DNF at Atlanta on Monday. I thought I was on the straightaway and all of a sudden it just went sideways. I hate it," said Waltrip, whose No. 15 Chevy encountered engine problems while running sixth just past the halfway point of the race. "My guys just rebounded from that earlier crash (with Todd Bodine) and the repairs they made were just perfect. The adjustments they made throughout the day that got us as competitive as we were at the end of the day were admirable." A career season seemed to be in the works for Waltrip until his recent slide. Besting his career-best overall finish of 12th in points (1994 and '95) seemed inevitable, but Waltrip is now on the outside of the top-10 looking in ... and the clock is ticking. "I just look forward to the next three races," said Waltrip, who has 10 top-10 finishes this season. "We can still accomplish a lot of our goals and we look forward to trying." Waltrip sits just 13 points behind 12th-place Jeff Burton (and six points behind Rusty Wallace) with Phoenix, Rockingham and Miami remaining on the schedule. But 152 points separate Waltrip from Terry Labonte, who is 10th in points. "We are still in striking distance of the top-10 and we look forward to trying," said Waltrip. It's not stretching the truth to say auto racing has been Paul Tracy's life. His father, Tony, made sure Paul had the funds to bull his way onto the scene at a young age. And Paul, for his part, has always made sure he left a lasting impression -- be it good or bad -- at whatever track he raced. "You could never ever say that anything that I have to do with has been boring," is how Tracy puts it. He's always been fast, brash, bullheaded and, like him or not, a driver with unquestioned passion when it comes to driving fast. Oddly enough, in 13 seasons on the CART series, Tracy had finished third three times but never managed to win the driver's title -- until he clinched last Sunday in a chaotic race at Surfers Paradise. It capped a season in which Tracy called himself "boss" on the track, infuriated competitors with what they called blocking tactics during qualifying on numerous occasions, and, finally, shed tears when he had his long-sought after trophy. "I have won so many races and led so many laps, but I have never been able to get to this point," Tracy said in his post-race news conference. "It's never all fallen together for me. It's just a big release of joy and it just feels like a weight has been lifted off." People used to like to say that Tracy, 34, was fast and reckless as a young driver because, well, he was young. He didn't know any better. He also used to like to wear his hair green. All youthful stuff. But Tracy showed at Surfers Paradise, as he has all season, that he's still driving with his usual win-at-all-costs mentality. It's gotten him into trouble. It's also landed him more laps led in the CART series than anyone except Michael Andretti and now, his first championship. And he made CART fans happy by promising to return to the series, despite uncertainty with his current sponsor, Player's, having to bow out for tobacco-ban reasons. "I don't think you have seen the best of me," Tracy said. "I think I am driving better and better. If I can continue to stay with this team, I still feel like I am in the prime of my career. I am only 34 years old. I know that I have five solid years still in me. "We're going to be racing here and we're going to be continuing to be racing. I am not going anywhere. A lot of the champions have left to go to Formula 1 and I want to continue to try to win some more championships here." For a series facing as many obstacles as CART currently is, Tracy's loyalty must be music to its ears. EXHAUST FUMES There's no more excitement in NASCAR. No, we are not talking Mr. Excitement -- Jimmy Spencer actually had himself a heck of a day(s) at Atlanta. Rather, it's Pontiac that will no longer be building excitement in Winston Cup. Without any context other than the current standings, this wouldn't come as much of a surprise to anyone. After all, Pontiac has just one win this season (Ricky Craven at Darlington) and the two drivers who have spent the entire season in a Pontiac aren't exactly piling up the points (Craven is 24th in the standings while Johnny Benson is 27th). But it wasn't so long ago that the Joe Gibbs stable of Tony Stewart and Bobby Labonte was winning two championships in three years driving Pontiacs. Moving further back, Rusty Wallace drove a Pontiac to his lone Cup title in 1989 and Joe Weatherly's No. 8 Pontiac bested the rest in 1962. Pontiac also won the manufacturers' title in 1993. Pontiac might not have a storied NASCAR history in terms of titles one, but it has played a significant and successful role. Many might point to aero rules and disadvantages the Pontiacs might have had when chronicling the manufacturer's demise, but it also had plenty to do with Gibbs leaving for Chevy and the exodus of several teams to Dodge when that manufacturer returned to NASCAR. At that point, Pontiac was gutted. Joe Gibbs and Cal Wells kept the train moving -- and Wells' plan for a second car to team with Craven would have helped -- but there's just not enough left. Further, GM should easily be able to absorb the Pontiac teams into more Chevy rides if it so chooses -- and it appears that it will. It's not the end of the world by any stretch. But it is the end of an era. Of course, eras can be reborn. Just ask Dodge. MAILBAG

Why does NASCAR use the point system they currently use? When a driver like Matt Kenseth wins only one race all year and is dominating the points I see a flaw in the system. It needs to be revamped so that we have a true champion. Mike Walker Greenville, Mich. Well, that's a timely question. Unlike the points system Formula One used prior to this season (and to a lesser extent the IRL's current point system), NASCAR rewards consistency rather than wins. As we and some of our users have written before, there is no way the second-place finisher of a Cup race should walk away with the same number of points as the winner (this can and does happen). A race winner needs to be justly rewarded with more points. To illustrate the other side's argument, however, one need only to take a look at the Tour de France. In theory, Lance Armstrong could have won his five consecutive Tours without ever winning an individual stage. In fact, this year's victory wasn't far off from that possibility, as Armstrong won just one of 20 stages. There is nary a word about Armstrong not deserving his fifth Tour win because he only won one stage. Rather, he was the best overall from start to finish. A similar case could be made for Kenseth's effort this year. Got your own questions about what's happening in the pits? Ask away, and we'll answer a question or two in the next Gas&Go. Name: E-mail address: City, state: Your comment: OVERHEARD (AND THENSOME) Paul Tracy After winning the Champ Car title. "I just don't know what to say. I've worked so long to get to this point. It's fantastic." Eddie Cheever Jr. On Tony Renna. "He always had a smile on his face and a deep passion for his racing. ... His energy and fighting spirit on track will be greatly missed." Miss Indy Canada Lynne Kushnirenko BONUS pic of the week. This paradise should in no way, shape or form be exclusive to Surfers (click pic).

RPM.ESPN.com's Gas and Go appears each and every Tuesday on ESPN.com.