Ryan Newman got robbed in All-Star race

From a fan's perspective, it appeared to me that Ryan Newman was trying to emulate the name of his sponsor--the tornado with its furious winds, speed, and potential devastation in the last laps of Saturday night's All-Star race at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Newman was acting out the slogan from tornados--Bold is how we roll! Unfortunately, that was until NASCAR and its not-so-precise rules stopped him dead in his tracks.

Newman could smell victory. His foot had to be mashing the pedal with untold pressure as he tried to eke out every bit of horsepower from the car that seemed to have a mind of its own and had given him fits during the entire race. But in those last laps, Newman was charging toward the front. He went from seventh to fourth when Jimmy Johnson spun in front of him. There was no caution at first, so he kept charging. Then the yellow flag flew. When the field was reset, NASCAR positioned Newman in seventh position, behind Bobby Labonte, the #71.

That doesn't seem right to me, because if my memory serves me correctly, when Newman started the lap, he was behind Matt Kenseth, the #17.

Understanding the green-white checker rule, like so many of NASCAR's rules, has eluded me since it was instituted. Don't get me wrong; normally I like it. It brings excitement. But it has to be fair.

First, why did Labonte advance to his position but Newman didn't? It doesn't seem right that as the field advances, and there is a yellow flag, the entire field would revert to previous positions without restarting the entire 10-lap shootout. But that isn't what happened.

Furthermore, if the field was going to revert, why not just put Johnson back in third where he was running before he spun? Ah, because he pitted. Can we have it both ways? Johnson's current position was noted, but Newman's wasn't, even though Newman passed four spots on the last lap? Something is terribly wrong here and if anyone out there can help me understand it, I'd be real grateful.

My heartfelt congratulations to Kurt Busch on his win.

But, I will always wonder, if we could have seen another Newman/Busch finish like the one in Daytona, '08 that Newman fans will never forget.

Thanks,
Carol Henrichs,
http://www.ozarkattitude.com

Read about Ryan Newman

Read about Ryan Newman's racing history. To access this page, just click on "About Ryan Newman" above this post.

Tornados snacks, a great sponsor for Ryan Newman

A publicity tour, with a stop at the North Central Arkansas Speedway between Yellville and Flippin, AR on April 24, was to feature Ryan's #39 Chevy, along with samples of Ruiz Foods products. I was excited because this was pretty close to home.

Not only have I tried and liked Tornados snacks, but I was excited at the prospect of seeing Ryan's show car. I know this is a poor second to the real thing, but it is likely as close to his race car as I am going to get in the foreseeable future.

My husband and I got to the dirt track around 5 p.m. The event was supposed to be from 3 to 7. It was dead empty. We were very disappointed, but not surprised, since the weather had been pretty rainy in previous days. Storms threatened that morning as well, though never materialized. Disappointed, I wondered if rain really was the cause, so I emailed the track owners. Nice folks. They responded promptly that the show was canceled because of the weather.

I also emailed Ruiz Foods to ask the same question. They responded promptly also, apologizing for our trouble. Then yesterday, I received an envelope containing two 8 x 10 Ryan Newman cards, some coupons and collectible cards.

It is so refreshing when a company is responsive to its customers. It is also becoming rare, so I just thought I'd share.

Like just about everything associated with Ryan Newman, from his team, his family, his owner, and the passions of his life to name a few, his sponsor is quality as well.

Commentary: Kyle Petty over Jimmy Spencer

I was shocked to learn that a good number of people actually miss Jimmy Spencer on Speed TV's Race Day. Many have been critical of Kyle Petty as his replacement.

I am not among them.

I like Kyle Petty in that role. He is knowledgeable about racing. After all, he is the son of The King, which makes him, in my view, the Prince of NASCAR. It is a part of who he is. Also, Kyle is a good and caring individual, exhibited by his hugely philanthropic nature. I like to listen to someone I admire.

Kyle has a good sense of humor. And he can be serious too. He is not afraid to take a stand and to stand by what he believes. Most recently Kyle was very vocal about the incident involving Carl Edwards and Brad Kezelowski at Bristol. Kyle wanted to see Edwards parked and penalized.

I respect where Kyle was coming from. My God, he lost his son to a crash on the racetrack. He knows better than anyone what can happen. He knows how dangerous it can be. It isn't odd at all that he would take the position he did. Admittedly he has his biases, just like all the other commentators, but he will never be as opinionated or offensive as Spencer and some of the others.

And there seems to be no contest in the IQ category. Kyle has it all over Spencer, with his ass-kissing demeanor. Yes, Spencer did come up with some good criticisms of NASCAR itself. But he was never consistent. It was like he made such comments for his own ego's effect rather than to better the sport.

Kyle is the kind of man I would like to sit down and talk to about racing because of his knowledge, including the sports' history. While I don't always agree with him, I do enjoy hearing what he has to say. He has a much less myopic view than other former-race-car-drivers-turned-commentator types. Some names that come to mind along with Spencer are Rusty Wallace, and of course, the kings of myopia, Jeff Hammond and Darrell Waltrip.

How tired are we of hearing about Junebug? There are 42 other drivers on the racetrack, boys. Still, I like DW. He too is knowledgeable about racing. And he is funny, but I'm really sick of his and others promoting their favorite drivers, teams, and sponsors. I even enjoy hearing about how he talks about his own experiences. He does after all have a plethora of them. Perhaps that is because I am relatively new to NASCAR. I didn't know about DW's day. I can see where veterans of the sport could get a bit tired of hearing about it, but I don't.

I've often wondered, wouldn't it be nice to have a professional journalist, knowledgeable about the sport, do commentary? Wouldn't it be nice to get a play-by-play without the bias toward a particular driver, manufacturer, owner or sponsor? I can only dream.

Johnson Gordon feud could have consequences

I don't know about anyone else, but I'm really enjoying the Jimmie Johnson/Jeff Gordon story. I know that isn't nice, but that's racin'. It doesn't have to be nice.

I'm starting to think that one of my favorite parts of racing is the relationships among the drivers. Throughout the history of the sport the relationships and subsequent rivalries have been a large part of the fascination of the sport. The matches from hell have long served to spice up the action, adding one more element to our affection for NASCAR.

The actions between these two Hendrick teammates seemed to escalate at Talladega. My mouth fell open when I saw the contact between them as they both fought for position. That initial reaction was followed with a wry smile.

I guess the only question has to do with the motive behind the battle. Is it is real, or is it hyped for effect.

My take is, that it is most definitely real. Take a look at where it comes from. Here we have a four-time champion -- Jeff Gordon -- who introduces a new rookie -- Jimmie Johnson -- to the sport. Before long, Johnson starts making Gordon look bad. This is a classic example of the student outpacing the teacher. Sometimes the teacher is cool, just proud of what he has accomplished as he does the job he set out to do. But Jeff Gordon isn't a teacher. He is a race car driver. And I fear his ego is pretty black and blue at this point.

Let's face it, as much as I don't personally want to admit it, Jimmie Johnson has had a long winning streak. He's been a champion four consecutive times for cripes sake. Like manyNASCAR fans, I admit I'm sick of seeing him in Victory Lane too. But I can only imagine how sick of it Jeff Gordon is. Jimmie has tied Jeff's excellent championship record and it looks as though might surpass it. That would be pretty hard to take.

But consider that it is just as hard for Johnson. This can't be easy for him either. And that is why I think Jimmie's feud with his mentor might just be the one that does him in.

Johnson couldn't stay on top forever. Something has to give. At the very least, if this battle between he and Gordon continues, it will become a distraction. That isn't to say he won't win a fifth championship, but if he does, it will be the hardest one he will ever win.

In fact, I'm going to take that a step farther. With Johnson and Gordon feuding, and 41 other drivers as hungry as a bears in the springtime, this one is Johnson's to lose. And, he just might.