In two full seasons on the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup circuit, Ryan Newman has
been a quick learner. He blends the steely nerve of a jet fighter pilot
with the calculating thought process of a physics professor into a
devastating combination that has racked up 17 poles and nine wins since
2002.
 |
|
Rookie Ryan Newman was the fastest of the night winning The Winston. Photo by Autostock.
|
 |
Newman's first taste of success at the sport's premiere level
was at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Charlotte, North Carolina. He won
the pole for the spring race in 2001 in his third career start and made
his first visit to Victory Lane at Lowe's two years ago in the
NEXTEL All-Star Challenge.
After finishing second to Matt Kenseth in the All-Star race last
Saturday, Newman is looking forward to going back to Charlotte to take
care of some unfinished business in the Coca-Cola 600 (Sunday at 7:00
p.m. Eastern on FOX).
"We're looking for one spot better in the 600," said
Newman, who led 49 laps in the all-star race but couldn't hold off
Kenseth, who had fresher tires and took the lead with four laps left in
the race. "We had track position, which was good as far as
aerodynamics, but when the tires aren't as sticky or as good both
from the air pressure standpoint and from grip standpoint, it makes it a
little harder."
The Coca-Cola 600 is the longest event of the season. The 400-lap
marathon around the 1.5 mile tri-oval is mentally and physically taxing
on the driver, crew chief and the over-the-wall team. A mistake in the
set-up or on the track can make for a long night of playing catch-up.
"You'll have one or two long green-flag runs and you've
got to have a car that handles well for the entire run or you can go a
lap down pretty quick," said Matt Borland, crew chief for the #12
ALLTEL Dodge. "The other big piece of it is just the durability of
pieces - engine, transmission - has to be able to handle a 600-mile race
plus all the practice you put on it that week."
 |
|
Rusty Wallace and Ryan Newman. Photo by Michael C. Johnson.
|
|
Reliability has been a key component of the success of Penske Racing. The
#12 team hasn't suffered an engine failure in more than a year and
teammate Rusty Wallace and the #2 team have also boasted dependable
equipment, losing just one engine during the 2003 season.
Newman swept the poles in the two points events at Lowe's last
year, finishing fifth in the spring race and second behind Tony Stewart
in October.
After short-pitting near the end of the 500-mile race because of a
vibration, Newman inherited the lead when the rest of the leaders made
their final stops. Stewart took advantage of his fresher tires to close
an eight-second gap in the final 36 laps for the win.
"Typically the more heat cycles that get on them, the harder they
get and the less they stick," Newman explained about the tire
drop-off at Lowe's. "You lose a tenth of a second a lap.
You've got a guy behind you that's basically getting faster
for a few laps because he's got fresher tires. It gets on top of
the race track and starts sliding around and it does that because
you're trying to go too fast."
Newman has developed an almost instinctive relationship with Borland on
and off the track. They have several things in common, including
university engineering degrees, and have worked together at Penske Racing
since 2000. Borland says that communication between the driver and crew
chief about how the car is reacting to the changing track conditions is
critical to success in the Coca-Cola 600.
|
 |
|
Ryan Newman. Photo by Eric Gilbert.
|
"The driver has to have a real good feel with what's going on
with the car as the track's changing and being able to distinguish
between the track changing and other things changing so you make sure you
go in the right direction," Borland explains. "If you
don't keep up with the track it's bad enough, but if you go
in the wrong direction it takes quite a well to get back in shape."
Sunday is a highlight on the calendar for Roger Penske's racing
team. In addition to three NEXTEL Cup cars entered in the Coca-Cola 600,
Penske will also field the Indy Racing League cars of Helio Castroneves
and Sam Hornish Jr. in the Indianapolis 500 earlier in the day. Penske
has won 14 International racing championships, including nine in CART,
but he is looking for his first as a NASCAR owner.
Newman was tabbed as a pre-season favorite to win the NEXTEL Cup
Championship after winning a series-high eight races in 2003. He has four
top-5 finishes this season and is sixth in the championship points chase.
The team was 27th in the standings heading to Charlotte one year ago.
"Right now I wouldn't say it's better or worse because
nothing really has changed until you get into that final 10,"
admitted Borland. "We only had one win at this point (last year).
The wins come in streaks, but to be finishing as many races as we are now
and running a lot more consistently than we did last year, it feels a lot
better."
