When is a win a win? Kyle and Gordon

From week to week throughout the NASCAR season, AP Sports Writer Chris Jenkins asks _ and answers _ the big questions circling the garages and race tracks:

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Q: When a driver wins on fuel mileage, does it really count?

A: Points-wise, sure. The large novelty check has the same number of zeros. And the sports-beverage shower in victory lane? Just as sweet, and a little bit sticky.

But still, when a driver wins a race by using pit strategy instead of all-out speed and fender-banging passes, there always seems to be a lingering "yeah, but" sense that it didn't really count.

That was the case on Sunday, when Casey Mears, J.J. Yeley and Kyle Petty provided a surprising top three after several top contenders had to stop for a splash of gas in the closing laps to make it to the finish.

After driver Denny Hamlin finished ninth, crew chief Mike Ford said, "You hate fuel-mileage races. There is no glory in winning a fuel-mileage race, other than saying you didn't run hard and were saving fuel. You know that's not our race."

OK, I'll grant that none of the drivers who ended up in the top three are running for the championship, so they could afford to gamble that they weren't going to run out of gas before the finish. Other drivers who need the points couldn't afford to do that.

Still, if NASCAR really is a team sport _ and we're totally sold on the "team" aspect, though we occasionally scratch our heads about the "sport" part of the equation (Google "Tony Stewart Sirius wrestling") _ shouldn't these teams be praised for their solid strategy?

This is another one of those areas where NASCAR defies comparisons to other sports. If a football team uses a trick play to win a game, nobody really sits around and wonders whether they deserved to win. They just outsmarted their opponent.

Besides, with gas at three bucks-plus a gallon, shouldn't we be praising guys who worry about what kind of mileage they're getting? If Brian Vickers brings a Prius to the track next week and takes home the checkers, you'll hear no complaints here.

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Q: What does Petty's third-place finish mean to his team?

A: It's more of a morale-booster than a sign that Petty Enterprises is back to where it wants to be. Petty was obviously pleased with his finish after the race, but he also kept it in perspective, saying, "I guess if I was 21 or 22 and that's the best finish I'd ever had, then maybe I'd be making a wet spot on the seat right now." That said, the team does seem to be arranging more of the building blocks it needs _ driver Bobby Labonte, front-office executive Robbie Loomis, Evernham Motorsports engines _ to turn around. The biggest piece they're still missing is a talented young driver they can develop into a star.

That's a tough spot to fill. It was supposed to belong to Kyle's son, Adam, who died in a racing accident in 2000. But it needs to be filled yesterday, with Petty already getting fitted for gaudy sports-TV-guy blazers for his inevitable future in the booth.

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Q: Can Jeff Gordon afford to miss a race to witness the birth of his daughter?

A: Honestly, with a 132-point lead in the standings _ and a playoff-style championship format that already made the regular season standings less important, and now will include 12 drivers instead of 10 _ Gordon could probably take a couple of races off and change a few diapers while he's at it.

But in a case of questionably timed conception, Gordon might miss what is hands-down the best event on the NASCAR schedule: The road course race in Sonoma, Calif. Ahh ... wine country, San Francisco 45 minutes away, and right turns.

What, he couldn't have missed a Pocono?

Mark Martin will be standing by to take Gordon's place just in case at Sonoma, so the No. 24 team still will stand a pretty good shot at winning.

Now, on to baby names. My colleagues and I tried to come up with a few suggestions back at Daytona _ "DuPontia" was my personal favorite _ but then Fox Sports analyst Darrell Waltrip trumped us all a few weeks back with "Victoria Lane."