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height=90 align=right alt="Ryan Newman"> | | | Newman |
DOVER, Del. -- Ryan Newman held his position when asked if
victory softened his dislike for NASCAR's ban on racing back to the
flag stand under caution. After he lost two laps Sunday, Newman was the beneficiary of the
new rule that gives a lap to the highest-scored car not on the lead
lap. The rule helped him win Sunday at Dover International
Speedway. "I still believe what I said," Newman explained. "We dealt
with what rules we had to play with today, and that won us the
game." After overcoming the deficit created by a flat tire, he fought
his way back, got his one-lap gift and then gambled on fuel. The
result was a sweep of this year's races at The Monster Mile. Newman went the final 106 laps without stopping and earned his
seventh win this season. He also benefited from two late caution
flags that slowed the field for 12 laps, allowing him to save gas. Crew chief Matt Borland knew the yellow flags would be necessary
for Newman to go the distance, and he got them. "We really didn't have anything to lose at that point,"
Borland said of the fuel strategy. Still, it bothered Newman that the gift was a contributing
factor. "I just don't want to see guys get their lap back and not earn
it," he said. "Once we got our lap back it was just sort of a
fuel mileage race." This was the first Winston Cup event in history in which racing
back to the flag stand under caution was prohibited. NASCAR
outlawed the practice after Dale Jarrett's wrecked car sat precariously in the middle of the track as others attempted to
unlap themselves or improve their positions a week earlier in New
Hampshire. Newman regained the second lap by staying on the track on lap
328. Then, on old tires, he held off hard-charging Jeremy Mayfield,
who harassed him for 10 laps until Newman opened a five-car-length
lead with 15 laps to go. "It looked like he was running higher tire pressures than us,"
Newman said. "For the first couple of laps he was just flat fast
and got right up on me. That made him faster for the first little
bit, and obviously that cost him later in the run." "He raced very clean," Newman said of Mayfield. "I felt I
used up everything in my car." Mayfield reached the rear deck of Newman's car and got inside
twice, but was unable to hold the low line and eventually faded. "I was not blocking him, but taking up everything in my line,"
Newman said. "The car was awesome until we got that flat tire." It came on the 46th lap, giving Newman 354 to recover. "We just kept trying to get the balance back and finally did
there at the end," he said. Mayfield was satisfied to match his best finish this season. "The motor ran good all day," said Mayfield, winless since
2000. "It's the best car I ever had here." Car owner Ray Evernham has spent much of this season denying
that Mayfield will be fired, and the driver addressed that. "You hear a lot of rumors, but whoever tears this race team
apart is crazy," he said. Newman's victory in the $4.6 million MBNA America 400 came 3½
months after his first career win at Dover. Newman, the only
Winston Cup driver with more than four wins this year, now has
eight in his career. Series leader Matt Kenseth finished ninth after starting from
the pole, and increased his points advantage to a season-high lead
of 436 over Kevin Harvick after 28 of 36 races. Kenseth was awarded
the pole on the basis of car-owner points when NASCAR canceled
qualifying last week because of Hurricane Isabel. It was the second straight sweep on the high-banked concrete
oval, where Jimmie Johnson won twice last year. It was the ninth
sweep since the track went to two races in 1971. Todd Bodine was the first beneficiary of the rule change,
getting a free pass after Joe Nemechek brought out a caution by
blowing a tire and hitting the wall on the 79th lap. The race
continued under caution for 28 minutes while the wall was repaired. The winner led 106 of 400 laps, his Dodge beating that of
Mayfield by 1.152 seconds. Newman averaged 108.802 mph in a race
slowed for 63 laps by seven cautions. There were 13 lead changes
among seven drivers. Tony Stewart was third in a Chevrolet, followed by those of
Harvick and Jeff Gordon. Jamie McMurray, Greg Biffle and Johnson were next. After Kenseth
came Rusty Wallace. Dale Earnhardt Jr. spun out and hit the wall in turn two on lap
364. He was taken to Bayhealth Medical Center for evaluation,
examined and released. A NASCAR spokesman said Earnhardt had a
bruised right foot and a slight concussion. Earnhardt was air-lifted to the hospital, but that was due mostly because of the traffic around the speedway rather than an indication of the extent of his injuries.
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