by Jeff Hammond

Jeff Hammond: Most definitely. He's not rolling over, throwing his hands up in the air and kissing his season goodbye. All it takes is one or two good races, and all of the sudden, you can get back on a level playing ground because all of those guys in the front will eventually have a problem.

Jeff Gordon was leading the points coming out of Daytona. He had an engine problem on Sunday so he dropped to 10th. But it's how you rebound and recover. Kenseth had been competitive, and he was where he needed to be. He easily could have finished just like Bobby Labonte did. Now, all of the sudden, Labonte has a middle of the road average finish. He didn't have a great finish on Sunday, but I'll take 13th a lot quicker than I'll take 43rd. You've just got to stay focused and keep digging.

On Sunday morning, I asked Kenseth's crew chief Robbie Reiser, "If you have another bad race at California, what are you going to do? " He said, "I'm not going to do anything different than I'm doing today. I'm going to get ready and try to win Las Vegas." If you can get a couple of wins, all of the sudden, you start amassing points. You've got to be positive and realize that even though it's really a 26-race season, you can still get it done.

Disappointing Sadler fans

Merri from Las Vegas, Nevada: Jeff, Jeff, Jeff! You have caused quite a stir at Elliott Sadler's message board by declaring that the 38 team was the biggest disappointment so far this year. After ONE race? Tsk, Tsk, Tsk! Well, we are pleased to let you know that we will be in the crowd at Trackside in Las Vegas! And since Elliott drove his way back into the top 10, you will recognize us by the signs that say: "Neener, Neener, Neener!" Looking forward to visiting with you! (Don't worry, we intend to have fun... not harrass you!)

Speed Mail Jeff Hammond
SpeedMail Subject: Comment/Question: Name:  Email:  Hometown:

Jeff Hammond: I was thinking about somebody who I thought would do well early on like Elliott Sadler. Then, Chris Myers asked about the biggest disappointment at that moment before the race. I was disappointed that the 38 team didn't have a good qualifying run and hadn't been more competitive. It took them over half the race to get going. You've got a little bit of an unfair advantage on me by answering the question after the race. I'm judging these things based on my early season expectations. With their issues, I thought that they would be a little bit better than they were.

If I had to go back and answer that question today, I would say Jason Leffler's group has been a big disappointment. They've been good at times, but they've also struggled. Now, they are having engine problems, and they find themselves sitting 37th in the point standings. They really need to be moving up instead of backing up.

Picking disappointing teams is an ever-changing deal so I will take Elliott off of the hot seat even though I still may be on it with his fans.

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FOX race analyst Jeff Hammond led Darrell Waltrip to two of DW's three Winston Cup championships as his crew chief. They also teamed to win the 1989 Daytona 500.

For autographed copies of Jeff Hammond's new book "Real Men Work in the Pits" plus magnets, hats and more, check out www.dwstore.com.

For photos and appearances, visit Jeff's web site www.jeffhammond.com.