Dale Earnhardt Jr and Ryan Newman
Lost Season for Dale Earnhardt Jr, Ryan Newman
Just about anything and everything that could possibly go wrong has for drivers Dale Earnhardt Jr and Ryan Newman.
While little has gone wrong for Nextel Cup championship contenders Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson, just about anything and everything that could possibly go wrong has for drivers Dale Earnhardt Jr and Ryan Newman.
Both Earnhardt Jr and Newman have contended for several wins this season, and are frequently among the top ten on the leaderboard throughout the race. However, their finishes have not reflected the hard work and effort put in by both drivers and their teams.
Earnhardt Jr (8) and Newman (9) have a staggering 17 DNF’s combined.
Both Earnhardt Jr and Newman are aware of what it feels like to be on top of the NASCAR world. Earnhardt Jr owns two Busch Series championships, as well as a Daytona 500 victory. In 2004, Earnhardt Jr won a career-high six races. Additionally, NASCAR’s most beloved driver has qualified for the Chase for the Championship twice. Unfortunately, the 2007 season has been far more adverse than Earnhardt Jr and his fans could ever have imagined.
Failed engines have been the cause of six of Earnhardt Jr’s eight DNF’s. In each of those six races in which Earnhardt Jr was forced to the garage early, he spent the majority of the race in the top five. At Atlanta last weekend, Earnhardt Jr was running third when his wheel peculiarly fell off following the final restart. Even when he finishes, Earnhardt Jr has dealt with mechanical issues. At Chicagoland in July, Earnhardt Jr consistently ran in the top five before he lost his power-steering. The disadvantage of an ill-handling car relegated him to a 19th place finish.
A blown engine with less than five laps to go at Richmond sealed the deal for Earnhardt Jr as he was officially eliminated from Chase for the Championship contention.
And of course, everyone is well aware of the unsettling feud between Earnhardt Jr and his stepmother Teresa Earnhardt.
Earnhardt Jr spent Monday and Tuesday testing with his new Hendrick Motorsports team. He will join the organization in 2008 after eight seasons with Dale Earnhardt Inc.
"I'm not sure how much more bizarre this season can get," he said. "We've done so many good things this year as a team, and I've been given the most consistently fast cars of my career, and the only thing lacking is a victory."
Ryan Newman lacks the publicity and popularity that is bestowed to Dale Earnhardt Jr, and truth be told, he could care less. However, he appeared to be well on his way to becoming one of the most dominating drivers in NASCAR in 2003. He won eight races and eleven poles in only his second full season in NASCAR Nextel Cup. He was competitive in 2004 and 2005, but a steep decline in performance occurred in 2006, and even though there has been a significant improvement in 2007, the dark cloud just will not go away.
Newman has suffered five engine malfunctions, and has been involved in several crashes that were caused by someone else. Newman has consistently been a top ten driver in 2007, and like Earnhardt Jr, he has performed better than some drivers that squeezed into the Chase for the Championship. But when you finish in the low-thirties, the points awarded are significantly less.
Adding to Newman’s engine woes, he has seen possible victories blocked by various circumstances. At Pocono in June, Newman was in the process of passing Jeff Gordon for the lead when the caution came out due to rain. Minutes later, the race was called due to inclement weather.
Just a few weeks ago at Lowe’s Motor Speedway, Newman passed Jeff Gordon late in the race, and was pulling away when he suddenly spun out with less than four laps to go. The spin was caused by a possible blown tire, or broken trailing arm.
And of course, you have the incident at Phoenix when Newman was running in the fop five with less than 30 laps remaining. He pitted under green flag conditions just before a caution flag waved, and as the 12 team attempted to exit the pits before losing a lap, the left front wheel came off. A possible top five turned into a 38th place finish.
Despite the season full of misfortune, Newman remains upbeat.
“The performance has been a lot better,” Newman said. “It’s all attributed to teamwork and just pure car performance – that’s the biggest thing. Everybody at the shop has done a great job to step up and be better.”
With only three races remaining in the 2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup season, no two drivers are hungrier than Dale Earnhardt Jr and Ryan Newman. Barring additional misfortune, it is likely that one of the two, if not both, could win a race before the season ends.
