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ROOKIES NEWMAN, JOHNSON IN THICK OF CUP CHAMPIONSHIP RACE
10/10/2002
Daytona Beach, Fla. — It should come as no surprise that NASCAR Winston Cup series cars owned by Rick Hendrick and Roger Penske would be in the midst of the NASCAR Winston Cup Series championship race.
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Fast facts
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What: UAW-GM Quality 500 (NASCAR Winston Cup Series, Race 31 of 36).
Where: Lowe’s Motor Speedway, Concord, N.C.
When: 12:30 p.m. ET, Sunday
Track layout: 1.5-mile banked paved oval.
Race length: 334 laps, 500 miles.
Posted awards: $4,064,495.
TV: NBC (beginning at noon ET).
Radio: PRN, XM Satellite.
2001 winner: Sterling Marlin.
2001 polesitter: Jimmy Spencer.
Top five in points: 1. Tony Stewart, 3958; 2. Mark Martin, 3886; 3. Jimmie Johnson, 3876; 4. Ryan Newman, 3821; 5. Rusty Wallace, 3786
Pre-race schedule (all times local): Thursday – Practice, 3:30-5:30 p.m.; qualifying, 7:05 p.m.; Saturday – Practice, 9:30-10:15 a.m.; 11:15 a.m.-noon.
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It may come as a surprise, however, that stalwarts Jeff Gordon and Rusty Wallace are not the ones creating the fervor. Raybestos Rookie-of-the-Year candidates Jimmie Johnson and Ryan Newman have become a part of those illustrious organizations and are constructing the most potent 1-2 rookie punch in NASCAR history.
Johnson (No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet) and Newman (No. 12 Alltel/Mobil 1 Ford) are third and fourth, respectively, in the NASCAR Winston Cup points race and seeking to become the first rookie duo in history to finish among the Top 5 under the current scoring system, which was established in 1975. Both also are eyeing the best championship finish by a rookie, set by James Hylton, who finished second to David Pearson in 1966.
“Jimmie has had a great year and I’ve had a great year so far,” Newman said. “If it ended right now, we could both say that we’ve done some amazing things. But overall, I don’t think either of us are over-shadowed by each other.”
Johnson, a 27-year-old from El Cajon, Calif. who drives for co-owners Hendrick and Gordon, has been on a memorable run since winning the pole position at the season-opening Daytona 500.
Heading into Sunday’s UAW-GM Quality 500 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway – site of his first NASCAR Winston Cup start last October – he has three wins, which ties the NASCAR modern-era rookie record established by Tony Stewart in 1999, and 18 Top-10 finishes overall. He also has been a championship contender from the outset and became the first rookie in history to lead the championship, following Kansas.
“We’re just as amazed and shocked as everyone else, but we have an opportunity of a lifetime and we’ll just see what happens,” said Johnson on being a rookie title contender. “I’ve gained a lot of confidence in my abilities as a driver and my abilities to communicate what to feel under a race car. But most importantly, I’ve learned how important that is in the level of competition in Winston Cup.”
Newman, a 24-year-old from South Bend, Ind., has been equally impressive, especially in terms of consistency. He captured his first career win at New Hampshire in September and leads the series in Top-5 (14) and Top-10 (19) finishes. He comes to LMS – where he won The Winston all-star event in May – with nine Top-5 finishes in his last 13 starts, including three runner-up efforts and the win in his last six. He is 137 points behind Stewart (No. 20 Home Depot Pontiac), the championship leader, and 65 behind second-place Mark Martin (No. 6 Pfizer/Viagra Ford).
"I've been a rookie in different series and every time I've challenged for rookie of the year, I've won it,” Newman said. “Sometimes we've won it when we didn't even try – we didn't even run the whole series. Winning it is great, but the big picture is the championship. The big picture is winning races in order to get the championship. Rookie of the year is something that's great; nobody can take that away from you. We've had a spirited battle all the way through this year and, up to this point, it would be great for either of us to win it."
Although Johnson is leading Newman by 55 points in the NASCAR Winston Cup standings, Newman has the edge in the Raybestos Rookie-of-the-Year race, 335-307, thanks to his consistency. The scoring for the award is based off performance, but does not mirror the NASCAR Winston Cup points structure. The scoring, which has several wrinkles that rewards the candidates throughout the season, is based off the rookie’s 17 best finishes with points awarded in the following categories:
Race entry – One point is awarded for entering a race (all 36 races count for this bonus).
Race finish – Top-finishing rookie earns 10 points, second nine, and so on down the line.
Top-10 finish – Bonus points are awarded with a high of 10 for a win to a low of one for a 10th-place finish.
Segment bonuses – The season is split into three segments (first 10 races, second 10, final 16) and the driver with the most points for the segment will receive a maximum 10 additional bonus points. The rookie that finishes second in the segment will receive nine bonus points, the one who is third receives eight, etc.
Championship finish – The highest-ranking rookie in the NASCAR Winston Cup points championship will receive a 10-point bonus. Second-highest nine and so on down the line.
Rookie panel – Awards bonus points (10 through 1 system) to each rookie for the following categories: conduct with officials, track conduct and awareness, personal appearance and relationship with the media.
“The rookie race is a very tough battle,” Johnson said. “Ryan has had a great season and been able to be consistent over the long stretch with some solid top-five finishes. It's weird that we can still be ahead of them in the points standings yet behind them in the rookie race, but we knew the rules heading into the season. Hopefully, the Lowe's team will be able to make up the ground over the last six weeks and maybe even make up enough ground in championship points standings to put us at the head table in New York."
Regardless of who wins the award and the $25,000 that accompanies it, Newman and Johnson already have earned something from each other that will prove invaluable.
"We have respect for each other,” Johnson said. “Earlier in the year, we rode to a test up in Martinsville together to hang out and get to know one another. I think it's important to have friends out there. I'd rather walk through the garage and be friends with everyone than walk through with your head down and being afraid to make eye contact with anyone. What's been neat is the respect that we have [for each other] and how hard we've been able to race each other without crossing the line and taking each other out."
“I think we gained a lot of respect for each other just through what he has with Hendrick and what I have with Penske,” Newman added. “The way we've treated each other all year, we've had some good races on the race track and we've had a lot of fun. I think we respect each other's teams a lot. I know my crew chief Matt [Borland] and Chad [Knaus, Johnson’s crew chief] have a good rapport and I just think everything carries over. The bottom line is I think we've got a lot of respect for each other on the race track and off."
NEWS OF NOTE
Six to go… With his runner-up finish last week at Talladega, Tony Stewart (No. 20 Home Depot Pontiac) moved from third to first in the championship race. He holds a 72-point lead over Mark Martin (No. 6 Pfizer/Viagra Ford) and marks the first time in his four-year career that he has led the title chase. The top-five drivers are separated by 172 points (which includes Rusty Wallace’s 25-point penalty), the closest margin among that group with six races remaining under the current points system, established in 1975.
Wallace and Jeff Burton (No. 99 Citgo Supergard Ford) are the only two drivers among the Top 15 in the NASCAR Winston Cup points race without a victory. Wallace has a streak of 16-consecutive seasons with at least one win on the line; Burton has a streak of five seasons. … The NASCAR Winston Cup Leader Bonus will be worth a record $260,000 to the driver who wins Sunday’s UAW-GM Quality 500 and emerges as the series points leader following the race. The bonus, which rolls over in $10,000 increments, has been won twice this season, both by Sterling Marlin (No. 40 Coors Light Dodge). He won $30,000 at Las Vegas and $20,000 at the first Darlington race. … Legendary NASCAR Winston Cup owner Junie Donlavey will receive the Smokey Yunick Award, which recognizes lifetime achievement in the sport, this week in Charlotte. Donlavey: "Ralph Moody, Banjo Matthews, and Bud Moore (former winners) are my type of guys and I am honored to be a part of that group." ... The October race at LMS has been the site of the first career pole for Brett Bodine (1990), Jeff Gordon (’93) and Ward Burton (’94).
ON THE RIGHT TRACK
Mark Martin (No. 6 Pfizer/Viagra Ford) has eight Top-5 performances in his last 10 starts in the UAW-GM Quality 500, dating to 1992. During that stretch, he has three wins (1992, ’95, ’98), two runner-up finishes (’93, ’96), two fourths (’97, ’99) and one fifth (2000). TIRE NOTES
Estimated Pit Window: Every 60-65 laps, based on fuel mileage.
This successful Goodyear Eagle tire combination was run for the first time at Charlotte this May . . . This left-side tire (D-6352) was run with a similar right-side tire (D-6356) last season at Charlotte . . . Other NASCAR tracks this specific tire combination is run on include California and Michigan . . . Both the Winston Cup and Busch Series cars will run the same tires this week . . . As on all NASCAR ovals larger than one mile, teams are required to run inner liners in all four tire positions at Charlotte . . . Air pressure in the inner liners must be 12-25 psi greater than that of the outer tire.
Mark Keto, Lead Engineer, Stock Car Tire Development:
"Tires are not much of an issue at Charlotte," said Mark Keto, lead engineer Stock Car Tire Development. "Really, the big trick for teams this weekend will be to get a car that handles well at both the
beginning and end of the race. Charlotte is one of the most temperature sensitive race tracks on the Winston Cup circuit, and while the track this weekend won't change as much as during the spring race when we literally go from day to night, it will change quite a bit as we go from early- to late-afternoon."
Contributed by NASCAR, Goodyear News Bureaus
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