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NASCAR Sprint-Cup Series
CUP: Newman Returning To Site Of First Win
Ryan Newman won his first NASCAR Sprint Cup points race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in 2002...
Tom Jensen  |  Posted June 25, 2009   Loudon, NH
Ryan Newman claimed his first points race victory at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in a rain-shortened affair nearly seven years ago. (Photo: LAT Photographic)
Ryan Newman didn’t exactly steal his first NASCAR Sprint Cup points race victory back in 2002, but you might say he’s returning to the scene of the crime this weekend.

Newman claimed his first points race victory at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in a rain-shortened affair nearly seven years ago, when he was a rookie driving for Roger Penske. The race ran just 207 laps, but Newman made no apologies.

“That’s one part of racing. They never put it (rain-shortened) on the trophy,” said Newman of his first triumph at NHMS. “They do put it in the record books, but the trophy is what we take home. You won the race. It doesn’t say how many laps it was. It doesn’t say who finished second. It just says that you were the best on that day. There are different ways to win a race, but there are a few things that help you get that first win. You’ve got to be in the right place at the right time. You’ve got to use strategy. You’ve got to have a fast racecar. You’ve got to do all those things right, or close to right.”

Newman won again at New Hampshire in 2005, and has five top five and nine top-10 finishes at the 1.058-mile oval.

This time around, though, he’ll race here for the first time since joining Stewart-Haas Racing. Given how well he’s run at other flat tracks this season, though, Newman reckons he ought to do just fine with his new team.

“The Haas Automation team has really excelled on the short tracks this season, and New Hampshire is another one where I think we should have success,” said Newman. “We got top 10s at Bristol, Martinsville and Richmond, and I feel like we would have had a better finish at Phoenix had we not had the radio complications that we did.”

Newman is ready to bounce back after a couple of uncharacteristic sub-par finishes, a 23rd at Michigan International Speedway and a 17th on the Infineon Raceway road course in Northern California last Sunday.

“These last two races haven’t been the finishes we wanted, but I think we will be able to get back on track and get another solid top-10 finish at New Hampshire this weekend,” said Newman. “I’ve had a lot of success at New Hampshire in both qualifying and the race, and I’m hoping to continue that trend with my Stewart-Haas team. I’m really confident this is going to be a good weekend for the No. 39 team.”

And no matter how he does on the track, Newman will have plenty of pleasant diversions this weekend, including fishing and running a winged midget car on Friday night at the Lee, N.H., short track, and the NASCAR Whelen Modified race at NHMS on Saturday.

“For me, personally, I like the area just as much as I do the racetrack,” said Newman. “It’s just a fun place to hang out. We’ve always enjoyed Lake Winnipesaukee and there is some great fishing in the area, too. So, I have a good time whenever I go to New Hampshire.”

Yes, he does.

“To me, this weekend is something I have really been looking forward to,” said Newman. “People always say that racers will race anything, anytime. And I guess that’s true. I have never driven a winged midget, and it’s been a while since I have been in a midget, so I’m looking forward to the race at Lee (N.H.) Speedway. The car is very similar to what I drove back in my USAC days, and the owner, Tim Bertrand, called me the other day and told me the car was a rocket ship. So, I guess that means the pressure is on. It will be fun to get back to my roots and some short-track, Friday-night racing, and I’m sure it will be a challenge because I’m competing with some really good drivers.”

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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