If you are a collector of NASCAR trading cards, then you know that as part of Press Pass's Wheels High Gear collection, there are 'Man' cards and 'Machine' cards. The 'Man' cards feature pictures of selected drivers, and the 'Machine' cars are of their matching racecars; which begs the question of how long it will be before 'Woman' cards are paired with their 'Machine' counterparts, but I digress.

Whatever these particular collectible items say about how far female racing warriors need to go in NASCAR aside, they help to illustrate how a driver and his car go together like peanut butter and jelly, or cautions and a Bristol race.

Sometimes a particularly talented driver comes along and becomes so popular with his fan base and does so well in a certain car that the image becomes indelibly fused. What racing fan of any amount of time could see a blue No. 43 STP Pontiac and not think of Richard Petty, or see a black No. 3 GM Goodwrench Chevy and not immediately remember Dale Earnhardt? Currently, no one could think any name but 'Jeff Gordon' if a No. 24 Dupont Chevy came into view.

Where a certain debate begins among many NASCAR fans, though, is how much of the racing magic is the man, or the machine. Is it mostly the racing skills of a driver such as Gordon that has propelled him to multiple victories and championships; or would he have never had the amazing successes if he had not been blessed by employment with a powerhouse racing organization such as Hendrick Motorsports, and had the opportunity to pilot their precision racecars? Did the 'man' make it easy to put a great racecar under him and take his team along for a ride off into racing history; or did the 'machine' help fashion a very skilled driver into an expert, that might not have seen legend-status otherwise?

Further, some fans wonder what would happen if a struggling driver was magically provided a premier ride. How many times has it been said by an ardent fan, 'If only my driver could get some decent equipment'? How many 'superstar-could-be's' are there out there that will never be thrown into a supreme ride by luck, or by fate, as in the case of Kevin Harvick and the No. 29 Chevy, and achieve the sort of successes that Harvick has? Despite the talent, remain mostly mid-pack in a mid-successful ride?

A case-in-point is driver Jeff Burton, currently the pilot of the No. 31 Cingular Chevy. During his black-and-pink No. 99 Exide Ford days, he was a considered a championship contender. Then came word of an overhaul of the Fords, and shortly thereafter a slip in the competitiveness of Burton and his team. Years of struggling has followed, with even the value of those Jeff Burton NASCAR trading cards going down. Recently, however, with the change of owner, team, and car make, we are seeing an upward swing in Burton's career, and the media is paying attention. It seems the 'Man' has been re-matched with a sound 'Machine', and success seems sure to follow.

However, there are examples of seemingly extraordinary drivers being given sure-bet opportunities, with the results being mediocre-to-disappointing. What spoiled the 'racing soup' in those circumstances? Why weren't the brass rings easy to grab, and Victory Lane often visited? So many variables need to be taken into account that it can make any racing mind dizzy, and extend a racing dialogue about it far into the night.

Some would say it just matters whom the racing gods are smiling down upon at the moment that will ensure the outcome of any race; that it is just a matter of being the right man in the right machine at the right moment.