IN SIGHT France's Jean-louis Schlesser and Belgian co-driver Jean-Marie Lurquin play in the sand between Tan-Tan and Atar in the Dakar Rally. FOCUS: BRUCE ALLEN Quick, name the second-longest tenured full-time racer in the NHRA today? OK, we provided you a photo and headline. Indeed, it is Bruce Allen, who is preparing for his 20th season as an NHRA Pro Stock driver and trails only Warren Johnson (29 years) among active drivers. How does he do it, year in and year out? "Part of it has been getting the necessary funding to be able to race this long," Allen said. "But it also takes a considerable amount of drive to want to stay competitive. I've been fortunate that we've had great sponsors like Pontiac, that I've been healthy enough to keep racing, and I'm also thankful that we've been good enough to want to continue." Last season, Allen enjoyed a late surge to finish in the top 10 for the 13th time in his career. His best season came in 1989, when he finished second, and on four occasions he's finished third, most recently in 2001. He will head into the season-opening Winternationals at Pomona with 296 round wins, among active drivers trailing only Warren Johnson (772), Jim Yates (358) and Kurt Johnson (347). "The most important thing in Pro Stock is the consistency of your level of performance," Allen said. "If you're good enough to win a couple of rounds a race for the entire season, that's usually good enough to win the championship. Last year was the exception and you would have had to have done better than that. "The key is to be realistic and do the best that you can. When you've been racing as long as I have you understand the importance of finding a little good in what otherwise would be a bad situation. When things are going good, enjoy it because it won't last forever. And when you're running bad, stay positive because getting back on track can be just around the corner." And Allen, who says the rule change to 16-inch beadlock tires won't be a big deal, expects good things around the corner in '04. Despite going winless in '03, Allen and his Reher-Morrison team got stronger as the year went on and the team believes it will be ready from the first green light this season. "This year I think we can be as good as we were at the end of '01," said Allen, who won twice that year and had four No. 1 qualifiers. "Our goal is to start out strong, get through that tough spot in the middle and try to build toward that top-five finish." Anyone who thinks this racing offseason has been dull must have their heads planted deeper in the sand than those Dakar Rally maniacs -- whom we admire greatly, for the record. And no, we are not talking about the armed bandits who forced said rally to cancel a couple stages over the weekend. (Imagine hearing your navigator tell you, 'Flat over crest, acute left, wide open throttle, avoid the armed bandits ... ') Since that topic's not lighting up our user e-mail, we'll instead talk about matters of intrigue and secrecy, the possible highest-bidder auction of a series, and the possible rising up of an entire angry NASCAR Nation. First off, everyone wants to know if Champ Cars will be racing in '04. Answer? Definitely, maybe, uh, who are we kidding -- if we knew that, we'd have a successful late-night infomercial designed to improve your life while draining your bank account. Speaking of drained bank accounts, we all know CART did plenty of that last year but what we don't know is if Paul Gentilozzi, Kevin Kalkhoven and Gerald Forsythe will convince the bankruptcy court that their Open Wheel Racing Series plan is best for CART's creditors. There's a track in Fontana, Calif., that's desperate to get some or all of its $2.5 million back from the canceled-by-wildfire race, there's the OWRS group themselves speaking of uniting with Tony George's Indy Racing League, and now there's the IRL saying it indeed is evaluating whether to bid on some of CART's assets for itself. If the IRL does decide it's interested, how high will it or the OWRS group go in a bidding war, assuming the two sides didn't just merge? The subject is one that elicits deep reaction from open-wheel enthusiasts everywhere. Logic says the market can't sustain two open-wheel series -- just look what's happened to both sides of this battle in the last eight years. Now look away. Yes, it's that hideous. So while we don't know how this saga will end -- making it a top contender for best soap opera of the year -- we do know that resolution is coming soon. A court will see to that. And really, it's about time something gets resolved. There are fans, sponsors, team owners, drivers, families and -- oh yes, media -- who simply need to know where and when and how many green flags will be dropping this season. And now, it's time to shift gears to our fendered friends who are sending us e-mails in droves regarding NASCAR's plan to implement a 10-team, 10-race 'playoff' of sorts for the Nextel Cup title. While we've written several opinions both for and against the title shootout plan at ESPN.com, one thing we haven't addressed is what will be the tangible reaction from fans. We have heard from many users who say they are die-hard NASCAR fans but won't be under this new championship plan. We have two things to say about this: First, wait and see the exact details of the plan before jumping ship. And second, while many will be angered to the point of wishing they could abandon the sport, it's likely the majority of fans will be unable to look away. The idea may defy logic, but then again, so did the Pet Rock and Rubik's Cube. MAILBAG

The best thing about NASCAR's proposed 10 race playoff is I don't have to worry about making time on Sundays to watch any of the first 26 races. Now, I only have to worry about the last 10. Shouldn't the races at Daytona, Darlington, Bristol, Indianapolis, Michigan, and the road courses mean anything? If NASCAR wants to change things, they should modify the F1 system to fit a 43-car lineup. George Hyden Lafayette, Ind. George, many agree with you that the first 26 races will be devalued by the proposed plan. While this may be true to a degree, remember, the first 26 races will decide who has a chance to win that final 10-race shootout, so those races would indeed matter a lot. But drivers have brought up the issue of not having the right mix of tracks in that final 10-race shootout to determine who is best under all conditions. Your F1 idea isn't a bad one, and other users have suggested the same thing. If the 10-race shootout is definitely on, we have one suggestion: While only the 10 drivers would have a shot at the title, why not let the standings continue, so that let's say a driver in that 10-race shootout slips and is really in 17th in the standings, and somebody not in the shootout for the title moves up to seventh. We say, let it stand as that. We all know that nobody has actually won the Cup title if they weren't in the top 10 after 26 races, so that embarrassing scenario would not likely happen. But let the rest of the chips fall where they may. 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 Tony Stewart On the Indy 500: "I'm not going to run the Indy 500 until I'm done with Nextel Cup. It's not fair to the team." Kimi Raikkonen On the new McLaren: "It is still early days as I have only completed one day's running, but the car felt good." Ryan Newman On wedding ring: "I'm not a guy who wears a lot of jewelry. I don't wear sunglasses or anything, so I'm paying respect to the marriage part of it."

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