| |  | | CIA Stock Photo | Ryan Newman does his post-race celebration on-track after taking the checkered flag at the 50th running of the Daytona 500. | | | | JUST WHAT THE DOCTOR ORDERED | Newman offers incredible stunner of a Daytona finish | |
| | By Mark Kriegel / FOXSports.com DAYTONA BEACH, FL -- As it began, not long after he arrived at the garage Sunday morning, old friends and fans were telling Ryan Newman he would win the 50th Daytona 500.
"Today's your day."
"I can feel it, Ryan."
"I know it."
It's the same in every sport. People go with their hearts. They tell you what they want you to hear, implore you to believe in happy endings. But more often than not, the driver knows better, especially one like Ryan Newman, the only NASCAR driver with a college degree.
"College taught me two things," said Newman. "It was time management and problem solving."
Having graduated from Purdue in 2001 with a degree in vehicle structure engineering, he is a rationalist. What's more, he understood that the prognostications were rooted in reason, not wishful thinking.
For weeks now, the Daytona speculation centered on Joe Gibbs Racing with Tony Stewart, and Hendrick Motorsports with its dream team of drivers, including Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr. The smart money was on Toyota and Chevrolet. No one was talking about Dodge or Roger Penske, the owner who'd spent the better part of three decades trying to get a victory in the Great American Race.
As for Ryan Newman, being winless in his last 81 races didn't exactly qualify him as a favorite.
So he was characteristically low key in response to the well-wishers. He didn't want to seem immodest or cocky. But inside, Ryan Newman couldn't help but agree with them. The notion wasn't one he could quantify or calibrate. Engineers don't often put much stock in mere feelings. But it was there, an unmistakable belief in himself and his chances. He wanted to tell them, Yeah, I feel it too.
"I felt that we had a car that was capable of winning," Newman said.
And there he was in his #12 Alltel Dodge, driving on the outside with a lap to go. Newman was between leader Tony Stewart and Penske teammate, Kurt Busch. Then the younger Busch, Kyle, came up on the inside in a furious final charge.
Kyle, who had led 86 of the previous 199 laps, had to be respected. Stewart, now less than a lap from winning his first Daytona 500 in 10 tries, decided to drop down in front of his own teammate, Kyle Busch. He figured they could draft in tandem to the finish, with Stewart going on to Victory Lane.
"I was hoping to pull him along," said Stewart. "I did what I thought was the right thing for me."
But as soon as he made the move, drifting down, the track positions seemed to shift. Newman, so patient all day, charged into the lead and got a push from his teammate, Kyle's big brother, who had started the day in 43rd position.
It was all Newman needed.
As he appeared on the interview podium, the usually smug Stewart was crestfallen and confused.
"I made the wrong decision, obviously. I don't know. I don't know if it was the wrong decision or not ..."
Suddenly, the 1-2 finish for Joe Gibbs Racing became a 1-2 victory for Penske.
It was an unreal feeling for Ryan Newman and crew chief Roy McCauley. (Terry Renna / Associated Press)
"I was emotional pushing him across the line," said Kurt Busch. "I feel like I've got a small bit of that victory within me."
As is the case for so many of these drivers, racing is a family obsession.
"My family was my crew growing up, racing in quarter midgets and midgets, even in the Silver Crown series — up until '97 when I got a full-time ride," said Newman, recalling how his father pulled him out of middle school in Indiana to attend this race.
They sat above the finish line in the Seagraves Tower, his dad, his aunt and his uncle.
On Sunday, as the race began, Newman looked up there again.
"It was just awesome to be able to look at the Seagraves section after the checkered flags fell and realize where you've been and where you are."
Two hundred laps later, it was his father's voice that Ryan heard as he crossed the finish line.
"I could hear the tears dripping going down the back straightaway over the radio," he said.
It was an emotional victory for the Newmans and Roger Penske, but perhaps most of all for Roy McCauley, the crew chief.
"Exactly a year ago today ... my wife was diagnosed with cancer," McCauley said.
The crew chief, who worked for Kurt Busch last year, would say only that his wife is "on the road to recovery," and that they decided during the off-season to return to the racing life working for Newman.
"We're not going to let cancer dictate the rest of our lives," said McCauley. "We decided that we needed to go for it, take over the job and run the 12 and try and put Ryan in Victory Lane."
McCauley had been Newman's crew chief years ago, back in the Busch Series. He's another rationalist with an engineering degree. But this time the crew chief just went with a feeling.
"All the moons aligned," said Newman. "It happened. It happened right."
| | Posted February 18, 2008 , 3:17 am EST
Last Updated February 18, 2008 , 3:18 am EST | | | | | | |
