Ryan Newman shatters track record.. sweet!

[Heyo]

CONCORD, N.C. (AP) -- Ryan Newman knows he'll have to be flawless over the final six races to win the Nextel Cup title.

Newman was just that Thursday night, shattering the track record at Lowe's Motor Speedway while winning the pole for the UAW-GM Quality 500.

Newman turned a lap at 188.877 mph in his Dodge to win the top starting spot. It beat the track record of 187.052 that Jimmie Johnson set here in May -- a lap that erased the record Newman had held.

"I told my wife I wanted it back," he said.

-end snip-

That's m'dawg!

:headbang:

Heyo

[R3dD0g]

1. Mark Martin will blow his doors off!!! n/t

[frylock]

2. nice job..

can't wait for the green flag tonite. The night races are my favorite, especially at Charlotte.

YIKES! I see my man Dale Jarrett had to pull a provisional. Starting 39th in the grid.

[Heyo]

4. That's okay though..

.. it's a long race, he'll work his way through traffic. DJ is the comeback kid. Sometimes you never see him through the whole race, then in the last 20 laps next thing you know he is in the top 5, and the announcers are like "where did he come from"?

What happened? he crash in practice or something?

I like him. :toast:

Heyo

[frylock]

6. looks like just poor qualifying..

181.433 | 29.763 | -1.173

300th of a sec behind the fastest DNQ, Kenny Wallace. Hopefully they tweaked the car, and he does move up through the grid.

[Heyo]

8. I've seen it happen...

...a provisional ending up dominating a race. It does happen. A few tweaks, as well as the draft, can make all the difference.

Heyo

[livinbella]

3. My money is on 'Big Hawg' Neuman!

[No2W2004]

5. Don't forget, this is Charlotte,

and Mini-Me (J.Johnson) has been kicking ass at Charlotte for a couple of years now.

Flyin' Ryan has got to start pulling top 5's the rest of the way and the best way to do that is to be racing at the end.

As for me....Go DEI! Go Gibbs! Go Mark Martin!

[Heyo]

7. Right on..

"and Mini-Me (J.Johnson) has been kicking ass at Charlotte for a couple of years now."

Yep.. he has.. he needs a top 5 tonight at least.. badly.. I am starting to think he is out of contention unless 2 things happen, he gets really lucky and some of the top guys (like Busch and E) get really unlucky.

"Flyin' Ryan has got to start pulling top 5's the rest of the way and the best way to do that is to be racing at the end."

This is also true. Man, after that performance last week, and then the crash out of, what was it, 5th position? I was totally bummed. Stuff like that just keeps happening to him, even though his overall performance on-track as a driver is absolutely stellar. That hurt him bad. He may be out of contention as well. You may get one mulligan in this Chase for the Championship thing, but probably not two.

Heyo

[Heyo]

9. Caution..

.. for a wreck in the first about 1/6th of a lap of the race.. some driver's hadn't even crossed the S/F line yet before the yellow came out.

Might be a long night. (It is already for Greg Biffle)

Heyo

[frylock]

10. crimney - - charlotte usually produces a lot of cautions..

but c'mon!! Gotta say that monochrome flame job on Jeffy's car is just sick!!

Another caution! Jeez!

[No2W2004]

11. daaaaymn!

Bet Vickers is gonna have a headache after that one

[Heyo]

12. No kidding, man...

...that was quite a lick. Looks like it damaged the barrier, too. Glad he is ok.

What have they run? Maybe 10 or 15 green flag laps in the last hour?

:hurts:

Heyo

edit: From what it was looking like before Vickers wrecked, looks like when they go green Kasey Khane may pass Newman within a few laps. :shrug:

[NightTrain]

13. Now maybe folks will remember him for more than just "Short People!"

:evilgrin:

[No2W2004]

14. I think it's cool RCR is running their old paint schemes tonight

seeing the 29 brings back some memories...

[frylock]

23. love that old wrangler scheme..

lots of good paints tonite.

[No2W2004]

15. There goes Jeffy

and takes Rusty out with him.

Should have come in to the pits before the car completely went away like that

[Heyo]

16. I *totally* agree...

...that thing was going south long before this happened.

Well, he payed for that mistake apparently.

I feel bad for Rusty though. That sucks.

Heyo

[WilmywoodNCparalegal]

18. *Sigh* 24 is out of the chase...

Damn!

Anybody but Busch (Kurt, that is) :D

[Heyo]

19. Yeah that sucks...

...I'm down with Jeff and Jimmy. :thumbsup:

looks like the 12 might be out, too. :(

Typical, broke the track record yesterday in qualifying by himself, but has no downforce in traffic and is sliding back.

He still has a mathematical chance of winning, as does Jeff, but it is not looking good. He is showing 10th in "as they run" right now.

I agree, anyone but Kurt Busch, but more so.. (don't hate me for this) anyone but Junior. I am just sick of him, no disrespect to his fans or his dad.

I would be happy to see Kasey Khane get his first win tonight, so I am hoping it's either the 12 or the 9.

:hurts:

Heyo

[frylock]

17. deej running 12th..

picks up 17 positions!

[Heyo]

20. See...?

toldja.. the comeback kid. :toast:

Heyo

on edit: dig it, fry, Big brown Truck up to 8th!

[No2W2004]

21. Yeah, NASCAR has really pushed Jr. a bit much

and the fangirls get a bit annoying at times
Wow...Harvick loses an engine, spins out the 17 and 99....wrecks the 19.

And with Harvick bitching last week about RCR's engine program

[Heyo]

24. Yeah...

.. I can't really put my finger on what it is between me and Jr. I don't terribly dislike him, I am just sick of him as the NASCAR cliche. Everytime he takes the lead near the end of a race or something, the announcers on TV always say something like "the fans here tonight are loving this!" blah blah blah.

I'm thinking.."um.. not all of them"

Yeah, I saw Harvick eat it on replay,.. bummer for those guys. Looked like the 17 hit the oil and wiped out too...

Go Ryan Go!!

Heyo

[frylock]

22. holy krap! jeffy's running tenth?!

I thought he was done for the night. Nice comeback.

[Heyo]

25. Definitely..

...he's still hanging in there...

Khane in the wall!! Just now.

So much for his first win.

Heyo

[frylock]

26. KHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANNNNN!!!!

I mean, Khane. Sucks for him.

http://www.khaaan.com/

[No2W2004]

27. ok, I'm convinced now

Kane is officially the driver with the WORST luck ever!

[Heyo]

28. What a heartbreaker that must be..

..for that team.. the kid leads 300 miles of the race and spins out in first place. After his AMAZING performance this, his rookie season, and getting all those second place finishes and top 5's and no win yet. I really honestly thought he had it tonight. I feel bad for them.

But even if he doesn't get a win this year (which I hope he does.. that tame have made their point clearly. "We are major contenders here"

What the heck happened exactly anyways? It happened while I was in the bathroom.

Heyo

[frylock]

29. blowout, right front

[No2W2004]

30. And heeeeere comes Mini-Me....

Told ya! :P

[Heyo]

31. HOLY CRAP!!

Did you see that?!?!

[No2W2004]

32. holy crap!

damn it!

damn damn damn

but even though I may not care for Kurt......NICE save!

[frylock]

34. i like busch

[frylock]

33. mm gets screwed hard..

nice piece of driving by Busch across the lawn.

[Heyo]

37. So does Newman..

.. his car is all messed up now.. running 5th for now..

bummer!

Wild ride for Kurt though! Great save...

Heyo

[frylock]

35. mikey hits the wall..

loosey-goosey.

[No2W2004]

36. doggone it....

Now Mikey tags the wall

[Heyo]

38. Opps-a-daisy...

...I like Mikey, too.

Newman sliding back :mad:

Heyo

[frylock]

39. gonna be hard to catch jj..

just turned his fastest lap of the night.

[No2W2004]

40. Wow......

Jeffy's gonna finish second.

who'd a thunk it a couple hours ago?

[frylock]

41. i thought that car was garage bound fer sure..

way to hang in there. DJ picks up 33 spots, finishes 6th!!

[Heyo]

44. Go DJ....

.. Big Brown Truck is in the HOUSE tonight.

:headbang:

Heyo

[frylock]

47. sure is nice to see him rebound from that dismal season last year..

finishing up this year on the upside!

[Heyo]

42. Wow!

Rick Hendrick 1-2's it!

Exciting race...

even though I was left out in the cold as usual. :(

Still. I'm a good sport. (silently seething..LOL... j/k)

Go Jeff and Mini-Jeff! :toast:

Heyo

[No2W2004]

43. well, not a great points night for the chase guys

either all at the top, or down at the bottom I think.

[No2W2004]

45. damn, Mark is pissed!

Feel for ya Mark!

[frylock]

46. boy.. poor mark martin

that interview sure was hard to watch. Feel badly for the guy. =(

[frylock]

48. this has got to be the longest nascar thread in the history of du..

well.. longest thread that wasn't driven by hatred and animosity toward the race fans. Nice hangin' with y'all!! :hi:

[WilmywoodNCparalegal]

49. Saw Mark Martin's interview...

boy he looked pissed....

HOw in the hell did Jeff make it to 2nd place?!?!?

[Heyo]

51. Well...

"HOw in the hell did Jeff make it to 2nd place?!?!?"

Slow and steady.. picking off one position at a time and staying out of all the mishaps.

Heyo

[Heyo]

50. Likewise!

I was having the exact same sentiment you did. The naysayers let us be tonight, that was cool.

It's been fun sharing the race with ya'll. Maybe we can do it again next week.

Much respect, everyone..

:yourock: Heyo