| | DRIVER SPOTLIGHT | Newman looks to break drought in Michigan | |
| | By Tony Bolick / Sporting News Wire Service When it comes to winning, Ryan Newman knows he can do it. He has done it 12 times in 210 Cup Series races. He just hasn’t done it in a long time.
In fact, no driver in the top 19 in the NASCAR Nextel Cup points standings has gone longer than Newman’s 67 races without a victory.
Sunday, in the 3M Performance 400 at Michigan International Speedway, Newman is hoping he can work a little magic and scratch up his first victory since Sept. 18, 2005, at New Hampshire.
“Well, I think we’ve got a good opportunity,” said Newman, who has won twice at MIS. “It’s a fun track to race at as far as the driver goes.”
Some of Newman’s woes this season can be attributed to manufacturer issues. Dodge teams across the board have been inconsistent. Juan Pablo Montoya scored the first win in the new Avenger in the road course race at Sonoma at the end of June, and two weeks ago, Newman’s Penske Racing teammate, Kurt Busch, got his first win since March 2006.
In addition, Newman has suffered four DNFs – two for engine failures and two for crashes. He is 13th in the points standings, 96 behind Busch in 12th for the final qualifying spot for the Chase for the NASCAR Nextel Cup. He leads Dale Earnhardt Jr. by four points. Four races remain before the Chase field is set.
Much was expected from Newman after he won eight races in 2003, including his first win at MIS, and he followed his career year with consecutive trips to the first two Chases in 2004-2005.
But in the past two years, success has been much harder to come by, and he missed the 2006 Chase. Even though he continues to qualify well – two poles in 2006 and three this year – he went 14 consecutive races without a top 10 until Las Vegas in the third race of 2007.
But in the spring, he raced like the Newman of old. In a six-race stretch, he won three consecutive poles and posted five top 10s, including consecutive runner-up finishes at Dover and Pocono.
“Our team’s performance, I think, has been good. It’s been way better than last year,” Newman said. “Just our finishes, our consistency, hasn’t been the greatest. We’ve proven we can be competitive every given week. It’s just a matter of getting those finishes for us it seems.”
Michigan would appear to be just the right track for Newman to be competitive. Chevrolet, the dominant manufacturer, has not won a race at Michigan since Jeff Gordon in 2001. Dodge has five wins and Ford seven in the past 12 races. Carl Edwards drove a Ford to victory in June at MIS, and Roush Fenway Racing teammate Matt Kenseth won the previous race in 2006.
“Like any track it’s about having good cars,” Kenseth said. “Michigan is not a super difficult track to drive if you have a car handling the way it needs to handle. You kind of need it all there. It’s just a big ol’
sweeping track and if you can get your car to handle the right way it’s a lot of fun.”
For Newman, fun would be a trip to victory lane. Finally. | | Posted August 17, 2007 , 10:59 pm EST
Last Updated August 19, 2007 , 4:46 pm EST | | | | | | |
