Newman races to victory

Deseret News (Salt Lake City), Sep 27, 2004 by Associated Press

Ryan Newman has a plan to win the NASCAR Nextel Cup title even though the mathematics make that seem very unlikely.

"If we can finish in the top five in the last nine races, I can pretty much guarantee us a championship," he said after winning Sunday at Dover International Speedway in Dover, Del. "But we can't finish 33rd, first and then 33rd."

He certainly can't, given the 107 points by which he trails leader Jeff Gordon with eight races remaining. Newman is playing catch-up because engine failure relegated him to a 33rd-place finish a week earlier in New Hampshire.

"But this is a big step in the right direction," Newman said of his victory Sunday in the MBNA America 400. "We'll just do the best that we possibly can, and if we don't deserve it then we won't get it."

Four-time series champion Gordon agrees with Newman's assessment that consistency will win the title. He isn't that concerned with wins.

"What more can you ask for than top-fives every weekend," Gordon said. "That would do it."

He also believes Newman remains a threat, saying that one bad race should not knock a team out of championship contention.

"If Ryan Newman does what he did today anymore, he'll be right back in the thick of things," Gordon said.

Newman's optimism stems from the belief that practically every team will have one very bad race in the final 10.

"We've got to forget about today right now," he said. "If you're spending time celebrating, you're not spending time working."

Gordon finished third behind Mark Martin in the race and is one point ahead of Kurt Busch, who wound up fifth and lost the points lead when he was passed by Dale Jarrett with six laps to go.

"I thought we might have a shot at Mark," Gordon said. "But we had nothing for Newman."

Gordon said his car was good at times and far off at others. He also believes he can run better next week.

"I just hope that doesn't mean we have a bull's-eye on us at Talladega," said Gordon, a winner there in April.

New Hampshire winner Busch came to The Monster Mile tied for the series lead with Dale Earnhardt Jr., who fell to third in the title chase by finishing ninth. He's 18 points behind Gordon.

Although he was unable to make a large gain, Newman demonstrated the power of his Dodge by leading 325 of 400 laps. Newman, who started second, was ahead by a half-lap for much of the final quarter of the race with the margin reduced only because a caution flag bunched the field on the 327th lap.

CHINESE GRAND PRIX: Rubens Barichello won the inaugural Chinese Grand Prix on Sunday to clinch second place in Formula One while Ferrari teammate Michael Schumacher had a rare rough race -- spinning out and finishing 12th, more than a lap behind.

Barrichello completed the 56 laps on the new 3.388-mile Shanghai International Circuit one second ahead of Jenson Button of BAR- Honda. Kimi Raikkonen of McLaren-Mercedes was third, almost catching Button at the end.

LAS VEGAS: Sebastien Bourdais and Bruno Junquiera spent much of the weekend together, eating and hanging out in the garage areas their Newman-Haas teams share.

On Saturday night, the two got really close, dueling wheel-to- wheel for 20 laps at more than 200 mph before Bourdais edged Junquiera by a car length at Las Vegas Motor Speedway for his sixth victory of the season.

In the end, Bourdais prevailed by 0.066 seconds in the sixth- closest Champ Car finish since 1979.

Pole-sitter Patrick Carpentier held on for third, 4.091 seconds behind Bourdais. Rodolfo Lavin finished fourth, and Jimmy Vasser rounded out the top five.

Bourdais, the series points leader, moved in front Saturday by passing Alex Tagliani 58 laps into the 167-lap event. By the 83rd lap, Junquiera was moving in to set the stage for the final showdown in the inaugural Champ Car event at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.