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© St. Petersburg Times, published September 10, 2002
Another race, another runner-up finish for Ryan Newman.
The rookie's second-place finish Saturday night at Richmond was his fourth of the season. He leads the series with 12 top fives, two more than anyone else. But he wants to win.
"It's frustrating, a little bit, but it's good in the points, and it's one of our goals to get those top fives," said Newman, who drives the No. 12 Ford for Penske Racing.
"It's not aggravating, and it's not disappointing, but you always set your goals a little higher. We definitely come here to win the race. We keep coming up one spot short, but we have to be happy at the same time."
Newman is on a tear the past two months, with seven top fives in the past nine races. He has been the highest-finishing rookie in 14 of 26 races and leads Jimmie Johnson in the rookie of the year competition.
Johnson, a two-time winner, ranks higher in the series standings, fourth to Newman's 10th. But Newman has climbed steadily since four consecutive finishes of 37th or worse relegated him to 21st in April. PARTING SHOTS: Ricky Rudd and Robert Yates Racing cannot part ways soon enough.
Rudd and an unidentified crew member had an altercation after his seventh-place run at Richmond because of comments Rudd made earlier in the week suggesting his lame-duck team was not getting the organization's best engines. The crew member threw a punch at Rudd, who retaliated by throwing a water bottle, spokesman Steve Post said.
Rudd, whose relationship with owner Robert Yates soured when Yates pursued Elliott Sadler for next season, will drive for the Wood Brothers in 2003 as he and Sadler swap rides.
DE FERRAN OUT: Gil de Ferran will not compete in Sunday's season finale at Texas because of a concussion and hairline fracture of his left wrist sustained in a crash during the Delphi Indy 300 at Chicagoland. Kept overnight for observation, he was released Monday from St. James Hospital in Olympia Field, Ill.
MILLION-DOLLAR DALE: Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished in the top five at Richmond, which means he will be eligible for a $1-million bonus Oct. 6 at Talladega. Earnhardt collected the bonus at Talladega in 2001 and has won the past two races there.
Saturday's fourth-place run was his fifth top 10 in seven Richmond races. He came back from two laps down because of a flat tire and moved up 19 places in the final 100 laps.
"I knew I had to get up on the wheel and try to get those laps back and then we just picked them off one by one," Earnhardt said. "The guys were telling me when the cars ahead of me would run out of fuel, and I know a couple of guys blew tires. We always do well here, but this one is hard to believe."
Others eligible for the $1-million include winner Matt Kenseth, Newman, Jeff Green and Todd Bodine.
SEEING STARS: A Looney Tunes promotion Friday at Richmond could have had dire consequences for Jeff Gordon, who took a corner a bit too hard during a golf cart race and, stealing the scene from passenger Bugs Bunny, slid out the right side.
Johnson, whose car is co-owned by Gordon, ran over the four-time champion's hand. Unhurt, Gordon got up laughing as Johnson stopped to drive him back to the garage.
"I ran over the hand he writes my checks with, so I figured I'd better go pick him up and bring him back," Johnson said.
LOW BLOW: Al Unser Jr. was on the losing end of the closest margin in Indy Racing League history, crossing .0024 seconds behind winner Sam Hornish Jr. at Chicagoland. The two raced side-by-side for the final 25 laps.
"That was the closest wheel-to-wheel racing that I think you'll ever see in the country today," Unser said. "There's fenders on those cars down south for a reason, and that's to rub on each other. What we do here is close wheel-to-wheel racing, a non-contact sport so that we can find out who the best man is and not run into each other and have a demolition derby."