Posted on Mon, Nov. 22, 2004
FORD 400 AFTERMATH
Stewart, Newman left fuming
Drivers Tony Stewart and Ryan Newman were furious, with Stewart frothing at NASCAR and his crew and Newman solely mad at NASCAR.
BY KEVIN BAXTER
[email protected]
Sunday's NASCAR Nextel Cup finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway ended with winner Greg Biffle burning celebratory doughnuts into the asphalt along the front straightaway and season points champion Kurt Busch spraying champagne all over Victory Lane.
But the joy in front of the grandstands was no match for the anger along pit road and in the garages after the race. Tony Stewart and Ryan Newman both were running hotter than their radiators after each lost a lead in the final seven laps of the Ford 400, with Stewart fading to fourth and Newman dropping to 30th.
Stewart, who rarely needs a reason to get upset, had plenty Sunday after a questionable penalty for ''disobeying a NASCAR directive'' dropped him from first to 25th on Lap 170, then a miscalculation by his pit crew left him short on fuel four miles from the finish.
After climbing out of his car, Stewart had an angry exchange with members of his team, who immediately surrounded the driver to shield him from fans and photographers.
As Stewart unclipped his protective harness and pulled off his gloves and other parts of his fire suit, he threw them angrily against the car.
''I'm just upset,'' said Stewart, who needed several minutes to regain his composure.
TWO LEADS LOST
Stewart, who led three times Sunday, lost two of those advantages coming out of cautions, the first when NASCAR officials said he failed to maintain ''a smooth and consistent speed'' before a restart on Lap 170, and the second when his car, desperate for gas, nearly stopped in front of eventual winner Greg Biffle just after the green flag dropped for the final dash to the finish.
''I was lucky I didn't get run over,'' said Stewart, who finished sixth in the Chase for the Nextel Cup. ``I don't know [what happened]. I don't do fuel mileage. I just drive. I can't launch the space shuttle or anything else. I just drive, all right?''
As for the black-flag penalty, which forced the No. 20 car into the pits, Stewart had even less explanation.
''I'm kind of curious myself right now as to what that penalty was all about,'' said Stewart, who repeatedly has run afoul of NASCAR officials in his short six-year career. ``I'm going to talk to [NASCAR president] Mike Helton. I'm going to find that out myself.''
Stewart wouldn't have even had the lead the second time if Newman hadn't gone hurtling into the wall after running over debris on Lap 265, bringing out the last of a record 14 yellow flags.
''You're not going to hear what I have to say,'' said Newman, who stormed from the track to his team's hauler as the race was ending. ``It's pretty embarrassing that NASCAR didn't clean up the track when it was in that condition. The track had a lot of debris on it all day.
``It's very disappointing but it's pretty convenient, and on par for NASCAR.''
NOT THE ONLY ONE
Like Stewart, an angry Dale Earnhardt Jr. also needed a protective escort to avoid fans and the media on his way back to his trailer after the race. After a long cooling-off period, Earnhardt, who never led Sunday, emerged to admit that he, too, was frustrated.
''The car was good but then it went wrong late,'' said Earnhardt, who finished 23rd, dropping a spot to fifth in the points standings. ``From there on out, it was the worst car I ever drove. It's real frustrating how it gets that way and we can't seem to fix it.
``We've got to figure that out. I don't know what to do.''
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Herald sports writer Andre C. Fernandez contributed to this story.
FORD 400 AFTERMATH
Stewart, Newman left fuming
Drivers Tony Stewart and Ryan Newman were furious, with Stewart frothing at NASCAR and his crew and Newman solely mad at NASCAR.
BY KEVIN BAXTER
[email protected]
Sunday's NASCAR Nextel Cup finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway ended with winner Greg Biffle burning celebratory doughnuts into the asphalt along the front straightaway and season points champion Kurt Busch spraying champagne all over Victory Lane.
But the joy in front of the grandstands was no match for the anger along pit road and in the garages after the race. Tony Stewart and Ryan Newman both were running hotter than their radiators after each lost a lead in the final seven laps of the Ford 400, with Stewart fading to fourth and Newman dropping to 30th.
Stewart, who rarely needs a reason to get upset, had plenty Sunday after a questionable penalty for ''disobeying a NASCAR directive'' dropped him from first to 25th on Lap 170, then a miscalculation by his pit crew left him short on fuel four miles from the finish.
After climbing out of his car, Stewart had an angry exchange with members of his team, who immediately surrounded the driver to shield him from fans and photographers.
As Stewart unclipped his protective harness and pulled off his gloves and other parts of his fire suit, he threw them angrily against the car.
''I'm just upset,'' said Stewart, who needed several minutes to regain his composure.
TWO LEADS LOST
Stewart, who led three times Sunday, lost two of those advantages coming out of cautions, the first when NASCAR officials said he failed to maintain ''a smooth and consistent speed'' before a restart on Lap 170, and the second when his car, desperate for gas, nearly stopped in front of eventual winner Greg Biffle just after the green flag dropped for the final dash to the finish.
''I was lucky I didn't get run over,'' said Stewart, who finished sixth in the Chase for the Nextel Cup. ``I don't know [what happened]. I don't do fuel mileage. I just drive. I can't launch the space shuttle or anything else. I just drive, all right?''
As for the black-flag penalty, which forced the No. 20 car into the pits, Stewart had even less explanation.
''I'm kind of curious myself right now as to what that penalty was all about,'' said Stewart, who repeatedly has run afoul of NASCAR officials in his short six-year career. ``I'm going to talk to [NASCAR president] Mike Helton. I'm going to find that out myself.''
Stewart wouldn't have even had the lead the second time if Newman hadn't gone hurtling into the wall after running over debris on Lap 265, bringing out the last of a record 14 yellow flags.
''You're not going to hear what I have to say,'' said Newman, who stormed from the track to his team's hauler as the race was ending. ``It's pretty embarrassing that NASCAR didn't clean up the track when it was in that condition. The track had a lot of debris on it all day.
``It's very disappointing but it's pretty convenient, and on par for NASCAR.''
NOT THE ONLY ONE
Like Stewart, an angry Dale Earnhardt Jr. also needed a protective escort to avoid fans and the media on his way back to his trailer after the race. After a long cooling-off period, Earnhardt, who never led Sunday, emerged to admit that he, too, was frustrated.
''The car was good but then it went wrong late,'' said Earnhardt, who finished 23rd, dropping a spot to fifth in the points standings. ``From there on out, it was the worst car I ever drove. It's real frustrating how it gets that way and we can't seem to fix it.
``We've got to figure that out. I don't know what to do.''
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Herald sports writer Andre C. Fernandez contributed to this story.
