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DOVER, Del. -- What happened off the track Friday proved more intriguing than what happened on it.

Consider: Would Jeff Gordon think about racing only part time? Brian Vickers' solution for the recent pit road incidents. Denny Hamlin's complaints against Goodyear. And Ryan Newman's solution to add spice to the Chase.

Gordon was asked if he would consider doing what teammate Mark Martin did --run a partial schedule at some point in his career.

"I would love to step away and be able to do a limited schedule knowing you could come back with one of the top teams and run a full schedule,'' Gordon said. "Because it just allows you to put all things in perspective -- your priorities, your goals and how much you appreciate the sport. (Martin) loves being here like many of us do. But, when you are in the grind constantly, all of the time, it eats at you, no doubt about it, year in and year out.''

As for Gordon actually doing it?

That's another thing.

"I don't see it every happening really for me,'' he said. "I love racing for the championship and it's one of those things where I kind of look at it and think, "Wow that would be cool and fun,' but at the same time I'm in a position where I'm fully committed to Hendrick. I'm also in an equity position there, so I see the business side of it as well. So I don't see how me doing a part-time schedule would really work for Hendrick from a business standpoint.''

Looking ahead to the more immediate future, Vickers has an idea for NASCAR in relation to recent pit road incidents in which crew members have been hit or run over. A pit crew member for Casey Mears' team is out for the rest of the season with a broken foot after his foot was run over last weekend.

Vickers said there's no need to increase penalties for such action because drivers are trying to avoid crew members. Plus, he notes, how would NASCAR impose such a penalty?

Instead, Vickers said the solution to avoiding problems on pit road by making the pit boxes larger.

"We rarely see incidents like this at the tracks that have really big, wide pit boxes,'' he said.

One challenge some tracks face is they are limited on how much space is available for pit road. Dover International Speedway, where the series races Sunday, showed changes can be made. Dover's pit road was widened 4 feet and its pit boxes lengthened 4 feet before the race there in June.

The most discussed topic Friday, though, was how much a Goodyear test session in early August might have helped Jimmie Johnson, who won the pole, and Juan Pablo Montoya, who qualified second.

A few drivers complained about how Johnson and Montoya might have received an unfair advantage. Hamlin, though, was not thrilled with the tire selected for this weekend. He said he didn't think there's any benefit to doing a tire test "because nine times out of 10, they bring back a tire that nobody even tested. They'll take a lot of data from this tire or they'll piece together this tire and that tire and make a tire that no one has run on and ends up being terrible.''

A Goodyear spokesman disputed Hamlin's assertion, noting Johnson and AJ Allmendinger tested the tire that will be used this weekend.

Newman was asked if he thought this season had been too calm, that the sport needed drivers getting more confrontational.

"Who do you want me to punch?'' Newman said to laughter. "Seriously, are you a violent person?''

Told whatever it takes, Newman responded: "Well, I take that mentality too, but I don't go out and punch somebody's eyeballs through the back of their head. I think the sport likes to see rivals and likes to see punches thrown every once in a while, but that's not the best thing for the kids that are out there.''

Contact Dustin Long at 373-7062 or dustin.long@news-record.com