Newman holds off Gordon to win at Dover; Elliott 22nd

DOVER, DELAWARE - Ryan Newman sat upright in his chair, his steely blue eyes offering nary a hint of celebration.

Those who hadn't watched him muscle an ailing 3,400-pound stock car around the track or heard his description of how he won Sunday at Dover International Speedway would have had every right to believe they were listening to an also-ran.

But Newman is much more than that. He's a budding star in NASCAR, where toughness can be as important as talent. On this damp and windy day, it proved decisive.

"I wouldn't say the toughest of my career, but it was definitely tough," he said when asked about the difficulty he overcame.

Newman lost the power steering in his Dodge, but not his determination, and held off Jeff Gordon to win the MBNA 400.

Dawsonville's Bill Elliott finished 22nd.


"I'm definitely tired," Newman said. "My arms hurt, my back hurts, my neck hurts, and I'll be really sore tomorrow and probably Tuesday.

"But we had a fast race car, and I wasn't about to pull into the garage and say, `That's it, guys.' "

Instead, he fought on, oblivious to the discomfort challenging his stamina and strength. At 5-foot-11 and 207 pounds, Newman bears a closer resemblance to a football player than a race driver.

So, he wasn't fazed by the loss of his power steering, something not to be taken lightly on a track they call The Monster Mile.

"I knew I could overcome that," he said.

He also overcame three Winston Cup champions - Gordon, Bobby Labonte and Tony Stewart - who wanted a piece of him in the final six laps of the race.

Second-year driver Newman knew exactly what to do. When Gordon dived his Chevrolet to the bottom of the high-banked concrete oval on the final restart, Newman cut him off. Earlier, he realized controlling Stewart could be the key to victory.

Stewart was dominating the early part of the race, but NASCAR put him a lap down by penalizing him for an infraction on pit road. Stewart charged through and came within a few feet of getting back on the lead lap.

But Newman didn't give him a break, and sensed the wrath of the temperamental series champion seconds after the caution flag slowed the field.

"He tried to bump me," Newman said. "I had to run clear up the race track. He was pretty upset.

"We did what we could to keep him a lap down knowing he had a fast race car. You can give it to him or they can take it. He wasn't in position to take it, and I wasn't in position to give it to him."

Newman didn't think he owed Stewart anything, noting that he violated the rules by pitting slightly out of his assigned stall.

"That's his own screwup," Newman said.

Stewart, easily the fastest in the field, recovered to finish fourth. He had no comment after the race.

But crew chief Greg Zipadelli thought the sanctioning body was nitpicking.

"We weren't over the line, we were on the line by an inch," he said. "What are you going to do? A rule's a rule."

The victory gave Newman what he hopes will be the momentum to move into contention in the points race. But he was cautious in his assessment of the future.

The victory was the first by a Dodge at Dover since Richard Petty in 1976. Dodge was out of the sport for 16 years before returning in 2001.

Here are results from the MBNA Armed Forces Family 400 at Dover International Speedway. Dover, Del.
Lap length: 1-mile oval
(Start position in parentheses)

1. (1) Ryan Newman, Dodge, 400 laps, 106.986 mph, $199,325.

2. (9) Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 400, $176,228.

3. (13) Bobby Labonte, Chevrolet, 400, $139,333.

4. (11) Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, 400, $145,253.

5. (30) Johnny Benson, Pontiac, 400, $110,975.

6. (2) Rusty Wallace, Dodge, 400, $110,097.

7. (4) Matt Kenseth, Ford, 400, $87,985.

8. (20) Ricky Craven, Pontiac, 400, $95,565.

9. (38) Robby Gordon, Chevrolet, 400, $99,747.

10. (8) Terry Labonte, Chevrolet, 400, $97,641.

11. (12) Dale Earnhardt Jr, Chevrolet, 400, $106,692.

12. (21) Todd Bodine, Ford, 400, $83,110.

13. (19) Jamie McMurray , Dodge, 400, $68,970.

14. (28) Jeff Burton, Ford, 399, $98,652.

15. (7) Kurt Busch, Ford, 399, $95,685.

16. (16) Michael Waltrip, Chevrolet, 399, $78,935.

17. (24) Ricky Rudd, Ford, 399, $82,950.

18. (32) Mark Martin, Ford, 399, $97,968.

19. (18) Mike Wallace, Dodge, 398, $72,199.

20. (26) Dave Blaney, Ford, 398, $73,335.

21. (3) Jeremy Mayfield, Dodge, 398, $71,885.

22. (14) Bill Elliott, Dodge, 398, $98,668.

23. (36) Kenny Wallace, Dodge, 398, $63,785.

24. (37) Joe Nemechek, Chevrolet, 397, $62,630.

25. (33) Jeff Green, Chevrolet, 396, $84,942.

26. (25) Ken Schrader, Dodge, 396, $62,205.

27. (23) Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 395, $97,833.

28. (43) Larry Foyt , Dodge, 394, $58,880.

29. (31) Jimmy Spencer, Dodge, 393, $61,230.

30. (15) Greg Biffle , Ford, 387, accident, $59,090.

31. (42) Tony Raines , Chevrolet, 382, $58,430.

32. (10) Steve Park, Chevrolet, 367, $66,270.

33. (17) Elliott Sadler, Ford, 331, $93,270.

34. (40) John Andretti, Dodge, 309, $93,688.

35. (6) Sterling Marlin, Dodge, 301, accident, $101,695.

36. (35) Mike Skinner, Pontiac, 298, $57,580.

37. (39) Ward Burton, Dodge, 279, engine failure, $93,526.

38. (5) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 277, accident, $76,760.

39. (29) Dale Jarrett, Ford, 255, engine failure, $103,028.

40. (22) Casey Mears , Dodge, 244, accident, $65,120.

41. (41) Jack Sprague , Pontiac, 215, accident, $56,995.

42. (34) Brett Bodine, Ford, 213, accident, $56,890.

43. (27) Kyle Petty, Dodge, 207, accident, $65,028.