Teammates tied for 3rd place in standings

NASCAR stats this week following the Bristol race is a thing of beauty, at least in my mind.

Ryan Newman is tied for third place with teammate/bossman Tony Stewart. 

Beautiful is probably not the descriptor for Tony Stewart or his fans, however. Stewart came into the Tennessee race leading in points, but an ill-handling race car and a tangling in front of him that caused him to slam into the back of Newman's car, combined to give Stewart a less than stellar run at Bristol. He finished 19th despite leading the field in an early practice.

Newman's race car wasn't quite right either, though a good pit strategy allowed him to lead a couple dozen laps. That was in stark contrast to a little bounce off the wall, but saving it. Ultimately, Newman finished 10th. Despite poor handling, both Stewart-Haas teammates had fast race cars.  

Newman and Stewart have both commented about their affection for racing at Bristol. Both have a good short-track history.

Despite their 10- and 19-place finishes, Stewart-Haas Racing is off to a good start in the 2011 season.

Congratulations to Kyle Bush for his win at Bristol. Now it is off to California.

Meet Tony Gibson, Ryan Newman's Crew Chief

"Crew chief Gibson coming full circle" is a good read.

This well-done story and video by Ryan McGee for ESPN The Magazine, is about NASCAR's Tony Gibson, crew chief for the #39 car, driven by Ryan Newman. He speaks to the similarities of working with Newman, an engineer with a college degree. Gibson made the comparison between Newman and another driver Gibson worked with --Alan Kulwicki. Kulwicki's racing career was cut short when he was killed in a plane crash in 1993.

Read the story by clicking here. 

It's Bristol Baby!

It is always exciting to get back to racing after an off-week, but never so much as when getting back to racing means It's Bristol Baby!

Racing at Bristol Motor Speedway, dubbed the World's Fastest Half-Mile, is always exciting to watch. For drivers like Ryan Newman, racing at Bristol is like getting back to basics where he can draw on his extensive short-track racing experience.

Newman set the record at the high-banked, half mile oval in 2003 where he clocked a qualifying speed of 128.709 miles per hour. He made it around the track in a mere 14.908 seconds. 

Not only does Newman hold the track record, but he has a good 'track record' at Bristol Motor Speedway. With 18 career starts there, he has finished in the top 10 ten times; once in the top five, and has sat on the pole twice. While at Stewart-Haas Racing, he has started four times, and finished better than seventh at three of them. 

Newman goes to Bristol Motor Speedway with momentum on his side. He is currently ranked 5th in points, just 10 points back from his owner/teammate Tony Stewart who tops the points standings. Newman has finished the last two races in the top five. While a crash, not of his doing, took him out in the last laps at Daytona's season opener, Newman led the most laps in that race.
 

This year, which marks the 50th Anniversary of racing at Bristol Motor Speedway, promises to be as action-packed as ever.
 

Wouldn't it be nice to see Ryan Newman be the first to cross the checkers this Sunday at Bristol Motor Speedway?

Arkansas women doubly proud of NASCAR race results

Danica Patrick at the premiere of Baby Mama in New York City at the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)Mark Martin may be the man but Danica Patrick is the woman!

Not only did we women of Arkansas get to watch our native son, Mark Martin from Batesville, AR win the Sam's Town 300 at Las Vegas, but we watched Danica Patrick make NASCAR history.

Mark Martin brings it home

It was great to watch Mark Martin back in victory lane, a place he has been 95 times before.

His #32 Dollar General Chevy owned by Turner Motor Sports finished first at Las Vegas, ending a long winless streak. Martin hasn't won since 2009 at Phoenix. He went without a win during his entire 2010 season.

Martin was in the right place at the right time Saturday, as led only one lap during the race--the only one that really counts. Taking every advantage, he was nearly out of gas when he passed Brad Kezelowski, the race leader, who cut a tire, allowing Martin to cruise to victory.

It was a first win for Turner Motor Sports who enjoyed a good finish last week as well when Ryan Newman brought the #30 car home in fourth place.

And for the ladies, the big news of the day

Saturday's race has made history, as Danica Patrick, driver of the #7 GoDaddy Chevy, finished the race in fourth place. It is a career-best finish for her, and makes her the first woman driver in NASCAR ever to achieve such a finish.

Patrick broke a record that has stood since 1949 when Sara Christian came in fifth.

Patrick said she was secretly hoping for a finish in the top 10, but instead it was in the top five. In reality, what she really accomplished was a history-making fourth.

All Ryan Newman weekend at Phoenix

With the first two races of the 2011 season, it was a positive weekend for Ryan Newman.

During Sunday's race at Phoenix, Newman clawed his way into the top 10 in points with his #39 Tornados Chevy. He is listed in 8th place, but so is 7th-place Bobby Labonte and 9th-place Juan Pablo Montoya. 

When Newman started the race, he was in 24th place, reflective of his involvement in two last-laps crashes that put him out of contention for the win. While he finished that race in 22nd place, Newman had a much better potential, evidenced by his leading the most laps. He finished the race, even though he had to practically limp across the finish line. See previous story.

Newman started the Phoenix race in 14th, but ended it in fifth. He also led laps during Sunday's race as he fought twice to get ahead of the pack.

Fifth place at Phoenix was certainly respectable, though not quite what Newman was after. His last performance at the spring race there resulted in a win--Newman's last win. But he can certainly be proud of the run and the finish at Phoenix. Who knows how the outcome would have been had there not been a few hiccups on pit road. There were a few less than stellar pit stops that lost him track position.

Newman showed his grit at Daytona and his resilience at Phoenix.

Newman also ran in the Nationwide race at Phoenix the day before. He motored the #30 Dollar General car owned by Turner Motorsports. He started in sixth place, but finished fourth.

Friday night after the truck series, Newman appeared on Trackside on Speed TV. The conversation covered many aspects of his life of late, from his being a new father, to his win at Daytona in 2008, and general racing questions. 

Of course there was footage of his infamous crash at Talladega, to which Newman simply said, "I don't want to look." Who can forget that horrific accident that caused everyone watching to hold their breaths until they heard his voice on the radio?

The following day, Darrell Waltrip who co-hosted the show said Newman is normally quiet, but commented, "He was on a roll Friday."

Newman also appeared on Race Hub during the week.