Ryan Newman #1 in practice

I couldn't have said it better myself.

"Ryan Newman waited until the last minute to become the fastest driver Friday in an abbreviated first Sprint Cup practice session of the weekend at Martinsville Speedway," said Jerry Bonkowski at NBC Sports.

He added that Newman covered the .526-mile bull ring in southern Virginia with a top speed of 97.835 mph.

Rain delayed the start of practice. If qualifying, which is scheduled later in the day, is rained out, Newman would start on the pole for Sunday's race.

Newman fans have been waiting on the edges of their seats--anticipating Newman's first win of the season. Could it come at Martinsville this weekend?

So far this season, with the exception of Daytona where a wreck ruined his day, Newman finished 10th in Atlanta, had two back-to-back 3rd place finishes at Las Vegas and Phoenix, and pulled out a 5th place finish last week at California. He now stands solidly in 6th place in points.

The #31 Richard Childress Racing team has been on fire with quick pit stops, good pit calls, and some pretty awesome driving. This is definitely a continuance of last year's chase performance that saw Newman right on Champion Kevin Harvick's heels, as Newman finished a painfully close second.