Newman's worst finish in three Cup starts at Kansas is second. Credit: Autostock

Newman not taking Kansas for granted

KANSAS CITY, Kan. -- Being the good engineer he is, Ryan Newman can crunch numbers with the best of them.

When he adds up the numbers of his history at Kansas Speedway, he needs a micrometer.

The first time he was here, he finished second. The second time ... another second. And last year? Newman went to Victory Lane.

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That's two, two, one. Not bad, eh? He must be the man to beat in Sunday's Banquet 400.

"Statistically and numbers-wise, yeah," Newman said. "But anything can happen. We're not going to go into Sunday thinking we're the odds-on favorite. We're going to go into Sunday thinking we can do the best job we possibly can."

Newman also knows another guy has a pretty good record at Kansas. Jeff Gordon has two victories at the 1.5-mile track, with one fifth-place finish.

The average finishing position for those two drivers is second.

But being the practical engineer, Newman knows those numbers are only trends and don't guarantee future success.

"That could change," Newman said. "We could be 43rd and 42nd on Sunday."

Chances are good that won't happen. Gordon and Newman have a firm grip on Kansas.

Credit: Autostock

"When you get it right, you can usually keep it right," Newman said. "The cars the last the three years didn't go through much transition. But this year, the cars have gone through a big transition with cutting the spoilers off. Hopefully, we can keep up."

Keeping up usually isn't a problem for Newman, often acknowledged as one of the most talented drivers in the garage. But after three races in the Chase for the Nextel Cup, Newman is in seventh place, 146 behind leader Kurt Busch.

He got behind mostly because of a blown engine at New Hampshire. Meanwhile, Busch, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jeff Gordon have avoided trouble that has struck most of the other Chase drivers.

But after a quick check of the math, Newman doesn't agree that Busch will have to have problems for Newman to catch him. Gaining 20 points a race is a noble goal.

"Somebody's going to have some problems," Newman said. "There are seven races to go. All it takes is a little (bad luck). Like at Michigan, we had a valve cap stuck in our tire on pit road at the start of the race. Things you never expect, sometimes they just pop up."

Besides, Newman's target isn't Busch ... or anyone else, for that matter.

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"I'm not racing them," Newman said. "I'm racing myself."

Newman has been a vocal opponent of NASCAR's Chase for the Nextel Cup, and even after three races in, his stance hasn't varied. He still dislikes his locked-in position in the top 10, saying it's unfair to the other drivers.

"From a marketing standpoint, if it works out great, that's fine," Newman said. "But I think there's more to our sport than marketing. The competitors should have some influence on that."

But if Newman has anything to do with it, his influence will be felt on the track. Despite his position in the points, the strategy hasn't changed.

"We go all out no matter what," Newman said. "A lot of people think that just because the points system is different this year, people race different. We still race for the win, we still race every lap to be the best we can, whether it's third place or fifth place."

At Kansas, though, it's usually for first place.