Stewart-Haas puzzle nearly complete with Newman (cont'd)

Busch and others noted that neither of the cars Stewart-Haas will inherit for next season, currently the No. 66 driven by Scott Riggs and the No. 70 that has been driven by committee, resides in the top 35 in owner points. That's important because the teams whose cars finish this season in the top 35 automatically qualify for entry into the first five races in 2009.

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Those who don't -- and aren't former champions such as Stewart -- will have to race their way in. With the No. 70 (which will become the Newman's No. 4 next season) mired in 43rd heading into this Sunday's 3M Performance 400 at MIS, that no doubt will include Newman, who at least is considered one of the top qualifiers in the Sprint Cup Series.

But merely getting into the races won't be enough to satisfy Newman and Stewart, and Busch said he isn't so sure how they will react if life on the track after qualifying proves to be more than a little bumpy at the beginning of next season.

"I'd rather not see them struggle and see them be competitive right out of the gate -- but realistically, I think there are going to be some growing pains," Busch said. "I think they've got to build up their relationships with their crew chiefs, whoever those guys are going to be, and just get that organization to where it's running a little bit better. I don't foresee just putting a driver in that car and making it perform way better. I think they're a little bit behind, and we'll have to find out."

Old friends
Newman, 30, has known Stewart, 37, for a long time. Newman hails from South Bend, Ind., and Stewart from Columbus, Ind., and the state is not that big.

"From racing USAC midgets, Silver Crown cars, he was, I'd say, always two to three years ahead of me as far as where his curve was, and moving up," Newman said.

He added that Stewart always seemed to know "where I wanted to go, where he was and where he was going. He's always been a friend. He's looked out for me."

At one point, they even drove for the same USAC owner in Steve Chrisman.

"He drove all that stuff after I tore it all up and had gone to another team. He got to drive all the bent stuff," joked Stewart, laughing.

Now it's on Stewart to give Newman the good stuff, if he can. Newman won the season-opening Daytona 500 this season in the No. 12 Dodge he currently drives for Penske Racing, but has for the most part over the last four seasons become increasingly frustrated in his inability to win. After winning a series-high eight races in 2003 (yet finishing only sixth in points), Newman won twice in 2004, once in 2005, and then got shut out both in 2006 and '07 before breaking the victory drought in Daytona.

Before he signed on the bottom line to make Friday's announcement official, Newman told his new boss/teammate that he wants to get back to having fun at the track. That, of course, comes with winning races and contending for championships.

"I told Tony, 'The bottom line is, I'm here to have fun,'" Newman said. "I know he wants to have fun doing this, too. That's what racing hasn't been a whole lot of for me lately due to the fact that we had success in '02, '03 and part of '04, and since then it hasn't been successful. Therefore, some of the fun is gone with that. I look forward to having fun again."

The bottom line before Newman gets to his bottom line is that he very well may have to wait a while longer than he or his new boss realizes in the euphoria of the present.

The opinions expressed are solely those of the writer.