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Tony Stewart
Tony Stewart's day was ruined by radiator damage when he tangled with Ryan Newman. Credit: CIA Stock Photo

Stewart: Newman needs to give more, take less

Early wreck drops defending champ out of top 10 in standings

By David Newton, NASCAR.COM
September 14, 2006
03:15 PM EDT (19:15 GMT)

LOUDON, N.H. -- Tony Stewart and Ryan Newman talked a lot about give and take after Sunday's Nextel Cup race at New Hampshire International Speedway.

Tony Stewart
Tony Stewart waited while his team repaired his car to return to the track. Credit: CIA Stock Photo
Lenox Industrial Tools 300
Official Results
Pos. Driver Make
1. Kyle Busch Chevy
2. Carl Edwards Ford
3. Greg Biffle Ford
4. Mark Martin Ford
5. Kevin Harvick Chevy
6. Denny Hamlin Chevy
7. Jeff Burton Chevy
8. Kasey Kahne Dodge
9. Jimmie Johnson Chevy
10. Scott Riggs Dodge
• Complete results, click here
• Official standings, click here
NEXTEL TrackPass

Neither gave an inch on Lap 91.

As a result, Stewart crashed and fell four spots to 11th in the point standings and Newman fell completely out of the Chase for the Nextel Cup picture with seven races left before the field is set.

"There's guys that are really good at give and take and there's guys that aren't," Stewart said. "Ryan's one of those guys that's not good at the giving part. He's really good at taking."

Stewart was leading when Newman, who was two laps down after making a green-flag pit stop, tried to pass on the inside. Instead of letting the polesitter pass with four fresh tires, Stewart got into an exchange of sheet metal that eventually sent him spinning into the wall.

By the time the defending Cup champion returned to the track following significant repairs to the front end of his No. 20 Chevrolet he was 23 laps down. He finished 37th to drop out of the top 10 in points for the first time since the fourth race.

"We're racing everybody the way they race us, and most of the guys get it," Stewart said. "There's a couple of them that don't."

Newman disagreed, saying Stewart should have given him room because he was faster.

"I guess he's not a giver, is he?" Newman said. "Bottom line is we were in a position to take and rightfully so. We had fresh tires and he was on old tires and he didn't give."

Stewart had been warned by his spotter a lap earlier that Newman was coming fast. He said under normal circumstances he would have let the faster car go by.

He didn't consider this normal, recalling how Newman held Kurt Busch up at the beginning of the race and how he had to bully past Newman to get to the lead.

"At some point you finally get tired of giving to everybody," Stewart said. "You're giving to certain individuals and all they do is take, take, take, and they don't give back.

"When you catch them 30 laps into it and you've got to race your guts out to get by them, it doesn't make you really want to pull over and let the same guy go later on in the race."

Stewart said the racing was like the Modified event he competed in on Saturday.

Greg Zipadelli
Crew chief Greg Zipadelli tried to repair Tony Stewart's car as much as possible. Credit: CIA Stock Photo
Inside the Numbers
Stewart in the last nine races
Race Start Finish Status
Darlington 13 12 running
Charlotte 32 42 crash
Dover 10 25 running
Pocono 18 3 running
Michigan 17 41 crash
Sonoma 12 28 running
Daytona 2 1 running
Chicago 34 32 running
Loudon 5 37 running
• For complete stats, click here

"They tell us every week about give and take in the drivers' meeting and there is a reason they tell you that," Stewart said. "Kyle Busch, [Brian Vickers], everybody else I passed I didn't have any problems.

"But Ryan, when you race him the way he races you, he just decides to dump you."

Stewart hopes Newman didn't dump his hopes to win a third title. He is 11 points behind Greg Biffle, who moved up a spot to the 10th and final spot guaranteed for a place in the Chase.

"We can't dictate who's going to wreck us," Stewart said. "It's clear [Newman's] not going to make the Chase, and he doesn't care about the guys that are worrying about it.

"I like Ryan. Ryan's a great guy and a good friend. I wish he would learn a little on the give and take side of things."

Newman's hope of making the Chase indeed took a blow, but not because of the run-in with Stewart. He escaped damage, but on the Lap 95 restart was spun out by Michael Waltrip and forced to the garage for repairs.

He finished 39th and fell from 18th to 19th in points.

"I was counting on a good run," said Newman, who made the Chase the past two seasons. "It just wasn't."

As for Stewart, Newman said he would race him differently in the future. Stewart will have to see it to believe it.

"He's been that way since he started [Cup]," Stewart said. "He's not the only one that's had problems with that. We've had problems with both Busch brothers. We've had problems with Greg Biffle.

"There's about four or five guys out there that there's only one person they care about, and that's themselves. They don't care about the other 42 guys they share the racetrack with each week."

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