Ryan Newman: “I Get Out of The Car With A Smile, But I Get A Smile Driving The Car, Too”
Dover, Del.
Jun 05, 2007
Penske Racing Race Report
NASCAR NEXTEL CUP SERIES
Ryan Newman produced his best finish of the season as well as Dodge’s top performance this year on a day that left the NASCAR community in mourning, as former NASCAR head Bill France Jr. passed away during Monday’s rain-delayed Autism Speaks 400 presented by VISA at Dover International Speedway.
“Our thoughts go out to the France family today, “ Newman said after driving his Alltel Dodge Avenger to a second-place finish. “Obviously, it’s a tough day in respect to that. I didn’t know Bill France Jr. real well, but obviously, he helped build the sport. Without him and his dad, the sport wouldn’t be what it is and it’s going to change with him gone. They’ve got a big, strong family and they’ll stand by his memory and help NASCAR keep growing as well. My condolences go out to the France Family. “
Kurt Busch, who finished 42nd in his Miller Lite Dodge Avenger, also expressed his condolence s.
“Regardless of what went on here today at Dover, the fact that the sport lost Bill France Jr. makes everything—everything—secondary, “ said Busch, who, along with crew chief Troy Raker, had to report to the NASCAR trailer after the event for an incident with Tony Stewart. “We extend our sympathy to Mrs. France, Brian, Lesa and the entire France family. “
Before Newman learned of France’s death, the Indiana native and his Alltel crew exhibited their best performance this season. Newman led seven times for 135 laps, while his crew conducted only one pit stop that exceeded 13 seconds throughout the 400-lap event on the high-banked, concrete 1-mile track.
“Michael Nelson (crew chief) and the guys did an awesome job in the pits today, “ Newman said after finishing second to first-time winner Martin Truex Jr. “I don’t think they could have done any better, and that’s all I can ask for. “
Newman’s fifth top-10 finish this season gained him two positions in the point standings, advancing him to 16th and leaving him only 46 points behind the 12th-place Mark Martin.
“We’ve got a good start (four top 10s in the last five starts), but we’ve got to be better than that with what [Jeff] Gordon and Jimmie Johnson are doing as far as putting their numbers up. It’s a good comeback for us, but hopefully, we’re working uphill and haven’t reached our peak yet. This was definitely a lot better than last year (at Dover). The car is riding good and driving good. When you finish second after driving 400 miles here and lead as many laps as we did, I can’t really complain too much. “
Newman, who started from the pole, led the first 27 laps. He relinquished the lead during the first competition yellow when he pitted for four tires and fuel, and Kasey Kahne and Scott Riggs received only two tires. Newman restarted the race on lap 31 in third. By lap 56, he was again in the lead and held the top spot for a dozen laps. He lost the No. 1 position for two laps, than returned to the point for another 40.
By the halfway mark, it was clear the race for the victory was between Newman and Truex. Newman was good on the restarts, but Truex’s car performed better on the long runs. In the final 127 laps, the race belonged to those two drivers with Newman leading 39 laps and Truex possessing the No. 1 position for 89 circuits, including the final 54.
“Just to be up front all day and lead a lot of laps is a great feeling, even on Monday, “ Newman said. “Believe it or not, I get out of the car with a smile, but I get a smile driving the car, too. It’s nice. These guys are doing a good job. We’ve just got to keep working on it. We’re not in the best points’ position. We’ve got to stay focused on that. We don’t have anything to give. We have to keep taking. “
While Newman gained two positions in the standings, Busch lost two, dropping to 11th, a mere four points ahead of Martin.
Busch’s day appeared promising in the race’s first half. He started 12th and had made his first top-10 appearance by lap 120. Busch’s position then fluctuated between ninth and 11th until lap 271. That’s when Stewart tagged the right rear of Busch’s Miller Lite Dodge when Busch pulled in front of him on the frontstretch and sent Busch into the outside wall. When Stewart pulled onto pit road for service, Busch followed and pulled alongside Stewart and stopped.
“I wanted to make a point, but when you make a point like that it always ends up making it worse, “ Busch said. “It was my fault for doing that. The issue was out on the race track. It was not on pit road. “
It was then that NASCAR ordered Busch to the garage for the remainder of the event and told him and Raker to report to the NASCAR hauler after the race.
However, the lap 271 incident wasn’t the first run-in between Busch and Stewart in the event. On two restarts early in the race, Stewart had bumped Busch; actions that Busch didn’t understand.
“I really don’t know what he was a ll about today, “ Busch said about Stewart. “I raced the guy all day long and for some reason he just didn’t give an inch. We raced about 15 laps there side-by-side and I had about 90 percent of my car past him and he wrecked me flat out.
“I was maybe not clear by a few inches.... I have no idea what Tony Stewart had for us today. He finally wrecked me. He got accomplished what he wanted to do. I’m still very confused by it. “
