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NASCAR Sprint-Cup Series
CUP: Newman Goes For Wild Ride
Ryan Newman had to be cut out of his Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet after a terrifying flip at Talladega...
Tom Jensen  |  Posted November 01, 2009   Talladega, AL
Safety workers look over the #39 U.S Army Chevrolet, driven by Ryan Newman, during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series AMP Energy 500 at Talladega Superspeedway. (Photo: Getty Images)

Educated as an engineer, Ryan Newman has a keen understanding of the laws of physics. That doesn’t mean he has to like being subjected to them.

Newman was the unwitting victim of a terrifying flight of his No. 39 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet, which ended up airborne and then on its roof in Sunday’s AMP Energy 500 at Talladega Superspeedway.

On Lap 184 of the race, Newman was on the backstretch when his Stewart-Haas Racing teammate Tony Stewart checked up in front of him. Newman lifted and got hit by Marcos Ambrose, which sent him turning left. He was then struck by Kevin Harvick, which flipped his car into the air, and it landed on top of Harvick’s roof, before sliding off and rolling in the infield at the entrance of Turn 3.

Newman’s car came to rest upside down, and rescue crews had to turn it over and cut the rollcage off before getting the driver out. While the car did its job and protected Newman, it was horrifying to witness.

It was particularly ironic given that in the April Talladega race, it was Newman’s car that was on the ground when Carl Edwards got up in the air and landed on the No. 39 before flying into the catchfence.

“We had this race back here in the spring and complained about cars getting airborne and now ironically I'm the guy that gets upside down,” said Newman. “I had the roll bars down on top of my helmet and stuck upside down inside my U.S. Army Chevrolet. It's just disappointing. I wish NASCAR would do something. It was a boring race for the fans. That's not something anybody wants to see at least I hope not. If they do, go home because you don't belong here.”

And Newman was just getting started airing his considerable — and under the circumstances, understandable — frustrations.

“It's just a product of this racing and what NASCAR has put us into with this box and these restrictor plates with these types of cars,” said Newman. “You know with the yellow line, no bump-drafting, no passing. Drivers used to be able to respect each other and race around each other. Richard Petty, David Pearson and Bobby Allison and all those guys have always done that. I guess they (NASCAR) don't think much of us anymore.”

Newman also had harsh words for NASCAR’s crackdown on bump drafting, which resulted in large portions of the race being run in a single-file procession.

“There's no good part of it. It's not even a good race for the fans and that's who we're trying to service is the fans,” said Newman. “They can stand up and cheer when there is three (laps) to go with the green-white-checker. We're supposed to be racing all day long and I think we lost a little bit of that luster. … It was a boring race and it was a ridiculous race. To see 43 cars run single file is not (what they) showed up here today for.”

The opinions reflected herein are solely those of the above commentator and are not necessarily those of SPEEDtv.com, FOX, NewsCorp, or Speed Channel

Tom Jensen is the Editor in Chief for SPEEDtv.com, the former Executive Editor of NASCAR Scene and a contributing Editor for TruckSeries.com. He is the author of ?Cheating: The Bad Things Good NASCAR Nextel Cup Racers Do In Pursuit of SPEED,? and has appeared on television and radio shows to discuss NASCAR racing. Jensen is the past President of the National Motorsports Press Association. Jensen is the 1997 National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year and has won numerous national and state awards for news reporting, columns and feature writing. The Answer Man is back at SPEEDtv.com. Tom Jensen answers your questions during every race week and looks forward to hearing from you - please e-mail it to




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