NASCAR Sprint-Cup Series
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CUP: Engineering A Reunion
Ryan Newman, Matt Borland reach for the sky again…
Mike Hembree  |  Posted November 01, 2012   Charlotte, NC
Pit crews play a big role in Sprint Cup teams. (Photo: LAT Photographic)
With the sands shifting at Stewart-Haas Racing as the team continues foundational work for the 2013 season, Ryan Newman and Matt Borland find themselves side by side again.

It’s a pairing – driver and crew chief – that produced 12 Sprint Cup victories and 37 poles during a five-year run from 2002 to 2006 as Newman broke into the Cup series with a bang at Penske Racing.

Newman and Borland now are reassembled at SHR. With Newman not playing in the Chase, the team is working toward strong showings in the final three races of this season as a springboard for next year. The pair worked together at Martinsville Speedway last weekend and rallied for an 11th-place run.

“I was really proud of Borland and the entire team,” Newman said. “It was kind of a learning weekend for everyone. There was a new group of guys working on the cars in the race shop and at the race track, so we all had to get to know each other and understand each other and communicate. And to be honest, I was really happy with everyone’s effort.

“We got behind in first practice with our Quicken Loans Chevrolet because we made a change that didn’t work, and we kind of stayed behind through qualifying. We didn’t qualify as well as we wanted (17th), but we felt like we had a good race car for the race. During the race, we just couldn’t get our car right. We got two laps down, but we got those laps back, and we were inches away from a top-10 finish. So, for a new crew chief and a new crew, I think it was a great weekend. I was proud of everyone. I was proud of the rebound we had. I think we learned lot, and I’m really excited about Texas because this is a track that I really like.”

Borland said the team’s goal is to recreate the success of the first part of Newman’s career. It’s Borland’s return to the war wagon after spending several years mainly in research and development and management roles.

“We are getting there,” said Borland, who, like Newman, has an engineering background. “It’s going to take a little while. He’s obviously been doing this every weekend for the last 15 years, and I’ve been not doing it for the last six or so. It’s getting me back on the same page, but things are going pretty good.”

The first major goal is putting more speed in the No. 39 cars, Borland said.

“I think the biggest thing [is] we have just been lacking a little bit of speed,” he said. “Obviously, other teams have caught up. They have done some things to get faster. We are just that little step off each week that I think we are just still searching for.”

Newman said Borland will catch up quickly and the team can return to the success level it enjoyed the first time around.

“I don’t think it’s going to happen overnight, but I do think it’s something we can do,” he said. “Matt and I understand each other, and I think we speak a similar language. Although Matt hasn’t been a crew chief for a while now, he is still very in touch with every part and every aspect of the race car. He understands a lot about the race car.

“Obviously, he’s not been here each and every week to see the changes in the tracks. He’s missed some things, but he’s still very involved. I think we had a good first outing last weekend at Martinsville, and I’m looking forward to seeing what we can do this weekend in the Quicken Loans Chevy.”

Mike Hembree is NASCAR Editor for SPEED.com and has been covering motorsports for 30 years. He is a six-time winner of the National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year Award.
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