Ryan Newman did not win a race in 2009, did not snap a now 71-race victory drought that dates back to his triumph in the Daytona 500 almost two years ago. He landed on his roof at Talladega Superspeedway in what was the most frightening crash of the season. He was barely a factor in the championship picture, unable to challenge Jimmie Johnson despite a good start to the Chase.

Newman was competitive almost every week. For a driver who languished in 17th place last season, that's improvement. And success.

Talladega ruins

And yet, Newman ended the 2009 season with a smile on his face, unquestionably pleased with the campaign behind him. It's easy to see why -- despite some shortcomings, he returned to the status of championship contender for the first time in four years. No, he didn't win. He didn't have the kind of year enjoyed by teammate Tony Stewart, who won four times and led the points for 13 weeks. But by making the Chase and placing ninth for the fledgling Stewart-Haas Racing organization, Newman enjoyed his best season since finishing sixth for Roger Penske in 2006. In his eyes, that easily qualifies as a success.

The finish is even more impressive given Newman's brutal start. Daytona was a train wreck -- an engine failure in practice, a crash in the 150-mile qualifier, and a multitude of mechanical woes in the 500 combined to net a 36th-place finish. He didn't crack the top 20 in any of his first four starts; a plate fell off his rear wing at Fontana, a loose wheel ruined his run at Las Vegas, and an engine problem plagued him at Atlanta. When it all ended he was 32nd in points, and Stewart-Haas looked like a one-man show.

But look at what happened. He finished inside the top 10 in eight of his next 10 events to crack the top five, and from then on his place in the Chase was rarely in doubt. While he never really had a chance to win -- his runner-up finish in the Coca-Cola 600 came via rain and pit strategy -- he was competitive almost every week. For a driver who languished in 17th place last season, that's improvement. And success.

"Am I disappointed if we don't win? Yeah. Am I disappointed if we don't win the championship? Yes, absolutely," Newman said prior to the season finale. "But is [the season] successful in some form? Yes, and then you have to build on those successes and those positive notes to bring more success. I think our team has done a very good job with that."

Didn't get much better than this

Given all that Stewart-Haas accomplished in its inaugural year, it seems like such a small step. Yet given where Newman came from, it was a sizeable step forward. His strong 2009 season has made people forget just how mediocre Newman had become in his latter days at Penske, finishing 18th, 13th, and 17th in his final three seasons there. No, he's not quite back to his "Rocketman" form of the early 2000s. But he's not that far away anymore, either.

The disappointment still lingers

And yet, the defining image of Newman's 2009 season is of his car upside down after a harrowing accident Nov. 1 at Talladega. With five laps remaining and running 190 mph with the lead pack, his car was turned and went airborne. It came down on Kevin Harvick's hood and skidded on its roof. Rescue crews had to flip the car over with a wrecker, and then cut Newman out of the vehicle. The next week, he met with NASCAR officials over how to potentially make racing safer at the 2.66-mile venue.