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Green Flags Observations, opinions and other thoughts on the NASCAR season Chris McGrath/Getty Images Flashpoint The rivalry between Kurt Busch and Tony Stewart finally bubbled over earlier this week, when the two got into it on Monday at Dover. It may be a sign that the competitive portion of the Nextel-Cup season is about to begin. Up to now, the points standings have been dominated by Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson, while past champions like Busch and Stewart have been kept out of Victory Lane. If the aftermath of the Donnybrook at Dover shows anything, it's that everybody might finally be getting tired of it. First, let's recap: There was a lot of paint tradin' in the early going, before a wreck on lap 271, when Stewart's left front fender made contact with Busch's right rear as his No. 2 Miller Light Dodge attempted an inside pass. Things got ugly when Busch confronted Stewart on pit road by sideswiping the parked No. 20 Home Depot Chevrolet, forcing a jack man to jump to safety on the hood of Stewart's car. The entire incident was the culmination of a duel that began at the Daytona 500, when Stewart and Busch, who were racing well out in front of the field, got tangled up and crashed out of the race with 55 laps to go. At the time, the occasionally prickly Stewart took the long view, saying, "It didn't do any good to be upset." Busch even made an appearance afterwards on Stewart's Sirius satellite radio show to make nice. I was at Daytona that day -- the first Nextel Cup race of my sportswriting career -- and I remember being surprised by what I saw and heard, which seemed to contradict everything that I had learned about NASCAR in the months before. These guys aren't mad at all! I think that's because both drivers assumed there would be plenty of victories to come in 2007. Busch, who led a race-high 95 laps at Daytona, was brimming with optimism about the improvements made to his Penske team in the offseason, improvements that have him sitting in 11th place in the standings at the moment. Stewart, who many had thought would win at Daytona, knew that his car and his team were so good that there was no way they wouldn't contend for a championship this season. Nevertheless, here we are on June 7, and neither man has a win. Is it any wonder that Busch has accused Stewart of wrecking him on purpose, or that Stewart has called Busch a bad apple? Or that two of the feistier personalities in the Cup garage finally tangled? These guys are frustrated. I've spoken with both men this season, and each believes that with a break here or there, they would have reached Victory Lane at least once by now. Don't think for a second that they don't care. Pro wrestling, indeed! It's past time that somebody got ticked off. Now that Busch and Stewart have gotten their little fight out of the way, it's time for both to set about the all-important task of winning. Their seasons depend on it. A leader passes on This being my first season on the NASCAR beat, I have to admit that I feel shaky even trying to put the career of Bill France Jr. into some sort of perspective. So I'll just say this: he seems to be, without a doubt, one of the most influential figures in American sports in the last 50 years. No, he didn't start NASCAR, but he ushered the circuit into the modern era, and made it what it is today. I can't think of a league executive, outside of former NFL boss Pete Rozelle, about whom you could say the same. Perhaps David Sterncuts as important a figure in the NBA, but the popularity of professional basketball has certainly waned since the days of Bird, Magic and Jordan. NASCAR just seems to keep growing. Is it all the result of France's work? I have no idea, but even if it wasn't, it takes a hell of a smart man to keep from meddling with a good thing. If all he did was get out of the way of the NASCAR juggernaut, Bill France deserves every tribute that's been given to him in the last four days. Pit Stops Go Figure • 234: Laps led (out of 400) at Pocono by rookie Denny Hamlin, who swept both races last year. • 40: Career starts at Pocono by Mark Martin. • 0: Career victories at Pocono by Mark Martin • 2: Races that 1988 Cup champion Bill Elliott has qualified for since he took over behind the wheel of the No. 21 Little Debbie Ford. Elliott has yet to use any of his six past-champion provisional entries. Pro rasslin' meter Please refer to the essay above. Pocono Memories June 6, 1982 For the first time since it became a regular stop on the Cup circuit, Pocono Raceway hosts two events. In the season's first race, Bobby Allison pilots his No. 88 Gatorade Buick to victory in the Mountain Dew 500. In July, he would return to win the Van Scoy Diamond Mine 500, becoming the first driver to sweep both races at Pocono, a feat that has been accomplished five subsequent times, most recently by rookie Denny Hamlin in 2006.