Ryan Newman started two races in Loudon, New Hampshire this weekend. He ran the Wheleen Modified race Saturday afternoon in addition to his Sprint Cup driving duties for Stewart-Haas Racing on Sunday's. He started first in the modified race and managed to finish first as well. He also won the pole for the cup race, with teammate and owner Tony Stewart completing a SHR sweep of the front row. Not only would Newman sweep the weekend by winning the cup race, he and Stewart would also finish the way they started, getting SHR it's first one-two finish.
New Hampshire Motor Speedway is a flat, one mile track where the way a drivers car handles is key to how they will run. Since the corners have very little banking, braking early and letting the car roll through the corner before picking up the throttle again is key to keeping up your momentum. If your car is too loose (when the back end won't grip) or tight (when the car won't turn), it's going to be a very long race. The flat banking also makes track position key throughout a race. It is very hard to pass a car because the only groove is around the bottom.
The race was fairly tame. The big moment of the day came when point leader Kyle Busch blew a tire and hit the turn three wall. This allowed Carl Edwards to grab the top spot in the standings when the race ended. Brad Keselowski had the same issue late in the race. Very uncharacteristically, Jimmie Johnson and Denny Hamlin spun out. But both drivers avoided contact and were able to continue on and finish fifth and third respectively.
But it was the Stewart-Haas tandem of Newman and Stewart that were the strongest all day. It looked as if Smoke's No. 14 car would catch Newman's No. 39 and make a race of it, but that was probably the first time the owner/driver was happy about finishing second. After the race, Newman met a crewman by pit road who handed him an American flag, which he paraded around the track on his victory lap. (Although, somebody should have knocked Newman on his butt in victory lane for laying the flag across the roof of the car and allowing a shower of beer to spray all over it. Excited about a victory or not, there is absolutely no excuse for treating Old Glory like that. The team that is sponsored by the US Army should know better).
This weekend the Sprint Cup Series is on hiatus while the Nationwide Series and Camping World Truck Series race at the Nashville Superspeedway. But in two weeks, the cup boys are back in action at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. While it has never really produced the best side-by-side racing, Indy is definitely one of the most prestigious events on the schedule. Will Ryan Newman be able to repeat? Or will the parity we have seen in victory lane all season long continue with another new face kissing the bricks at Indy?
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