Phoenix Race-So So!

Newman did not qualify all that well for this race.

Several slow pit stops had him "backing up" on track position. This has been an ongoing problem. I hope it gets fixed! Why? Because his team usually has to "pull a rabbit out of their hat" at the end of a race like 2 tires!

Newman almost got sucked in a wreck but his "good luck" prevailed.

His car looked to be about a top 10 on the long runs.

Once they repave this track, Newman will be even stronger.

Good to see old Gordon win one. Better than Kyle!

Newman finishes with a top 5 finish! Good job Team #39!

I was so glad to see Ryan avoid today's wrecks. Nothing wrong with a top 5 finish.

Didn't know a Top 5 is classified "so-so" MmmH. Good job Ryan!

TB14

Didn't know a Top 5 is classified "so-so" MmmH. Good job Ryan!

TB14

That was just my over all feeling about the race teddybear1439. Top 5's are always good.

I think consistency is all team 39 needs for the next 24 races. It seems if you have consistency, then the wins will come. It would be nice to make the chase and peak on wins while in the chase! It was awsome to see Ryan up front most of the race. He was on the list of drivers for voters to choose the fastest pit crew at one point, so the pit crew must have been doing OK for most of the race!

It was awsome how he avoided the "big one" . I was glad to see him make it through there with minimal damage. And to think some question his driving skills. I like how he allowed Tony to get in front of him for extra points as well. You will have some that say "he had too, Tony is the boss", but no, he didn't have too. it's called being a teammate and I think Tony would have done the same for Ryan.

Jeff was the car to beat. He was fast and not sure anybody had anything for him. Great race! On to Vegas!

Ok hun ~ just checkin'
TB14

Didn't know a Top 5 is classified "so-so" MmmH. Good job Ryan!

TB14

That was just my over all feeling about the race teddybear1439. Top 5's are always good.

Ok hun ~ just checkin'
TB14

I appreciate your commentary teddybear1439. You are always welcome!

I think consistency is all team 39 needs for the next 24 races. It seems if you have consistency, then the wins will come. It would be nice to make the chase and peak on wins while in the chase! It was awesome to see Ryan up front most of the race. He was on the list of drivers for voters to choose the fastest pit crew at one point, so the pit crew must have been doing OK for most of the race!

It was awesome how he avoided the "big one" . I was glad to see him make it through there with minimal damage. And to think some question his driving skills. I like how he allowed Tony to get in front of him for extra points as well. You will have some that say "he had too, Tony is the boss", but no, he didn't have too. it's called being a teammate and I think Tony would have done the same for Ryan.

Jeff was the car to beat. He was fast and not sure anybody had anything for him. Great race! On to Vegas!

I agree Chris as far as being consistent!

I saw that fastest pit stop deal. Newman's never in his career has had a consistent fast pit crew! As you and I know, his pit crew in most cases costs him precious track position. Then his CC has to wave the magic wand with some sort of trickery generally the two tire syndrome. And, the result is watching Newman get his doors blown off on the very last restart. You know it's true!

Ryan's lack of success as I have said a trillion times has NEVER been caused by his driving abilities. "It's his racing luck" that has been historically very bad! Especially at plate tracks that open up the Nascar racing season!

With this NEW points system, Newman will need to be even more sharp folks. Those DNFS are brutally painful now!

I'm very curious to see what Las Vegas holds. Ryan is a great RP driver, if you don't count the bad luck he has on those tracks, and we know Phoenix is a great track for him. What will Vegas and some of these other tracks that Ryan and crew struggled at last year hold for them? I do not want to see Ryan and crew have to go back to relying on strategy in order to get a respectable finish in each race. I hope that is over with and done.

I guess we will find out this week as to how much improvement this team has made over the off season on these other tracks.

I like what I've seen out of these guys so far this year. Let's hope it continues.

Newman Notches Third Straight Top-Five Finish at Phoenix

Posted: 27 Feb 2011 07:46 PM PST

There’s no doubt that Ryan Newman was hoping for a little magic as he returned to Phoenix International Raceway as the defending champion of the Subway Fresh Fit 500k NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race. After all, Newman started in the same spot, pitted in the same pit stall and drove the same No. 39 Tornados Chevrolet as he had last April when he got his first win with Stewart-Haas Racing.

And while the outcome wasn’t the exact same, Newman and his No. 39 Tornados Chevrolet had another impressive run at the 1-mile oval, as they finished fifth. Newman led twice for seven laps during the 312-lap race, and he fought his way to his third consecutive top-five finish at Phoenix, and his first top-five of the season.

“It was a good run today for the Tornados Chevrolet, and a good day for Stewart-Haas Racing as a whole – we had two cars in the top seven,” Newman said following the race. “We didn’t have the greatest stops today on pit road, but we fought back and we fought hard and in the end it paid off. We got better during the day, and I’m proud of everyone on this Tornados/U.S. Army crew.

“This is the best start to the season that we’ve had in a long time, and it was a good points day, and that’s important. If we can keep running strong and getting consistent finishes, it’s going to make a big difference in our season.”

Newman started Sunday afternoon’s race 14th in the 43-car field. He quickly reported to crew chief Tony Gibson that his car was a little loose getting into the turns, a little too sung in the center and a little too loose getting off the turns. Newman’s first pit stop came under caution at lap 22 as he pitted for right side tires and a track bar adjustment. Newman restarted the race in 13th at lap 25.

Within five laps, Newman had moved into the top 10 for the first time of the afternoon. However, the No. 39 Tornados Chevrolet was still too free for Newman’s liking. When the caution waved at lap 33 for a spin, Newman and Gibson opted to come back down pit road for an air pressure adjustment, four fresh tires, a wedge adjustment and fuel. Unfortunately, a miscue in the pits cost Newman and his No. 39 team as they lost multiple spots and returned to the track in 24th place for the restart at lap 38.

Newman described the early stages of the Phoenix race as “intense” and “crazy” as there were several multi-car crashes in a quick series of events. Luckily for Newman and his team, the No. 39 narrowly escaped getting collected in either of the big wrecks despite being right in the middle of the pack.

During the course of the multiple yellow flags for the multi-car pileups, Newman stayed on the racetrack and was able to gain spots on the field. By lap 72, Newman was in second. Two laps later, he took the race lead for the first time. Newman stayed in the top two and held the lead on two different occasions, before giving up the lead for the final time at lap 92. Newman remained in the top four.

When the caution waved at lap 126, Newman told his crew that his car’s biggest problem was a tight-handling condition in the center of turns one and two. He was also battling his car being loose coming off of turn four. Under the caution, Gibson brought Newman down pit road for four tires, fuel, an air pressure adjustment and a wedge adjustment. Newman returned to the track in sixth-place and remained in the top 10 for the rest of the day.

Newman continued to fight an ill-handling racecar throughout the course of the race. For the most part, the Tornados Chevrolet was a little too loose for Newman’s liking. The crew made a series of pit stops throughout the afternoon to try and improve the handling of the car with a variety of wedge, track bar and air pressure adjustments, but never quite got the right balance.

Despite the handling woes, Newman had a super-quick No. 39 Tornados Chevrolet and clocked times as fast as the leaders as he ran in the top 10. At lap 284, Newman came down pit road for the final pit stop of the day, taking on four fresh tires, fuel and making one more track bar adjustment to help the car’s loose-handling condition. Newman returned to the track in fifth place and remained there for the race’s duration.

Stewart, driver of the No. 14 Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevrolet Impala for SHR, led four times for 59 laps before finishing seventh.

Jeff Gordon won the Subway Fresh Fit 500k to score his 83rd career Sprint Cup victory, his first of the season and his second at Phoenix. The victory ended a 66-race winless streak for the four-time Sprint Cup champion, as his last victory came on April 5, 2009 at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth. Gordon is now tied with Cale Yarborough for fifth on the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series all-time win list.

Kyle Busch finished 1.137 seconds behind Gordon in the runner-up spot, while Jimmie Johnson, Kevin Harvick and Newman rounded out the top-five. Kasey Kahne, Stewart, Kurt Busch, A.J. Allmendinger and Dale Earnhardt Jr., comprised the remainder of the top-10.

There were eight caution periods for 43 laps, with 10 drivers failing to finish the 312-lap race.

With round two of 36 complete, Stewart jumped from 12th in the Sprint Cup championship standings into a tie for third with Allmendinger. Stewart and Allmendinger each have 69 points and are 11 markers behind series leader Kyle Busch. Newman gained 12 spots to climb to seventh in the standings where he is tied with Bobby Labonte and Juan Pablo Montoya. Each has 64 points, 16 back of Kyle Busch.

Kyle Busch leads his older brother, Kurt, by three points, marking the first time since February 1988 that family members occupy the top two spots in the standings. Following the 1988 Daytona 500, Bobby Allison had the top spot while his son, the late Davey Allison, was second.

The next event on the Sprint Cup schedule is the March 6 Kobalt Tools 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The race starts at 3 p.m. EST with live coverage provided by FOX beginning with its pre-race show at 2:30 p.m.

Thanks for posting this Peanut!

Great article, peanut... thanks for posting. Good summary of the race.