Opponents question Newman's fuel mileage

Elwood · October 7, 2003

By Lee Montgomery, Turner Sports Interactive

Monday, October 06, 2003

KANSAS CITY, Kan. -- No one would come out and say Ryan Newman has been cheating on fuel mileage, but it wasn't hard to read between the lines.

Newman went the final 117 miles of the Banquet 400 at Kansas Speedway on one tank of fuel. He held off Bill Elliott to win his eighth race of the season, and it wasn't the first time Newman won on fuel mileage.

Ever since the first guy to win a race on fuel mileage, folks have questioned the legality -- or lack thereof -- of the winner's fuel system. There's gotta be hidden lines, cynics suggested. Or the fuel tank is bigger than it should be, they whispered.

And now, the whispers are about Ryan Newman. On Saturday at Kansas, no one less than Jeff Gordon hinted that Newman was doing something, well, doing SOMETHING wrong.

After Sunday's race, Gordon wasn't alone.

"I'm going to start buying fuel at their house," Tony Stewart said.

Kevin Harvick was a little more direct.

"I'm just pissed off that the 15th-place car wins the race and can go 15 laps farther on fuel than the rest of us," Harvick said. "If he can do that with his foot, then he's a magician, and I'll kiss his ass if he's doing it with his foot."

Ouch.

But there's more. Jeremy Mayfield, who also stretched his fuel mileage to finish third, said Newman's team was suspicious.

"When you make the horsepower that they're making and burning the fuel that everybody's burning, then you've either got more fuel or you're really good at saving fuel," Mayfield said.

"I don't know how they're doing it. We just barely made it through. At the end of the race, we were saving all of the fuel that we could just to make it to the end. He was sitting there doing burnouts on the frontstretch. I don't know if we could do that or not."

Mayfield was later asked if a smaller fuel cell would help eliminate fuel-mileage races. Instead of simply answering the question, he dragged Newman into it.

"If you run 30 laps on 10 gallons, he'd probably run 45 or 50," Mayfield said. "I don't think the solution is going to a smaller cell. It's probably figuring out how they're doing it. You've got to have so much fuel in there to make so much horsepower. They're certainly not giving up horsepower. I think you can see that."

Perhaps.

But Newman and crew chief Matt Borland said it's simply a matter of their Penske Racing engine builders being able to construct engines with good horsepower and good fuel mileage. And they repeatedly said they don't cheat.

"No, we just beat 'em," Newman said. "I can tell you first-hand we're not cheating. We don't cheat. They can take what they want, they can say what they want."

Newman was asked if he found it interesting that Gordon was one of the ones hinting that Newman cheats, and he responded with a terse, "No."

Borland said Gordon was accused of cheating when he was winning all those races and championships a few years ago.

"It didn't stop people then from saying that, and it doesn't stop them now," Borland said.

"We don't cheat, we've never cheated," Borland said. "We've probably had our car torn down more than anyone else. With the way Ryan qualifies and the top-fives we've had, we're torn down every week. We've never done anything and we never plan to."

Sunday, Newman said luck had as much to do with is victory than anything because he was able to run several caution laps, which helped save fuel.

And Borland cited some other times when Newman did run out of gas, like at Indianapolis.

Still, the criticism came anyway. Sour grapes, Newman said.

"It's hard when you're criticized for doing good," Newman said. "It's hard to have a smart answer for a dumb question. When you get told comments by other drivers, it's hard to put some of that stuff behind you. It's hard to be unwitty, I guess, about it."

General Lee 01 · October 7, 2003

You've gotta admit, he has been able to stretch fuel an awful lot.

antig24 · October 7, 2003

If I was NASCAR, I'd inspect his fuel tank the next time he wins a race on fuel mileage.

SinisterSS · October 7, 2003

Ryan Newman is a mechanical engineer who graduated from Purdue. Matt Borland, his crew chief, is also a mechanical engineer. Anyone care to wager how many other engineers Penske has put on this team?

Seems to me like NASCAR's good-ol-boys are getting whooped by physics, math, calculators, computers, strategy, good cars and engines and they're not liking it.

The kid is fast and smart. Competitors are going to have to step up their game. Losers always like to blame someone else as the reason they suck instead of looking in the mirror.

Ryan = 8 wins in 2003

Rusty = 0 wins in 91 races (what's his excuse?)

Speaking of cheating, DEI's domination of restrictor plate races?

And.......there's a difference between cheating and interpeting the rules to your advantage......

Discuss.....

Elwood · October 7, 2003

Seems to me like NASCAR's good-ol-boys are getting whooped by physics, math, calculators, computers, strategy, good cars and engines and they're not liking it.

Losers always like to blame someone else as the reason they suck instead of looking in the mirror.

Borland said Gordon was accused of cheating when he was winning all those races and championships a few years ago.

This is pretty typical stuff in NASCAR.

Borland said. "We've probably had our car torn down more than anyone else. With the way Ryan qualifies and the top-fives we've had, we're torn down every week. We've never done anything and we never plan to."

If NASCAR hasn't found anything wrong yet, then you gotta figure chances are they aren't cheating. (Or they REALLY good at it)

LarryE · October 7, 2003

Sounds like alot of jealousy to me, alot of them are just afraid that he's gonna become one of the best racers ever..

I don't think I would mind that either

General Lee 01 · October 8, 2003

Wouldn't mind it either.. Rather see him as the "Face of NASCAR than Jeff Gordon. (Sorry, I HAD to say it).

But I think "Fuel stretching" business is getting old. 90% of the races this year have been settled by fuel mileage.

LarryE · October 8, 2003

I find it funny fuel mileage or not, that Elliot and Mayfield was right there at the end to but couldn't catch up with him, then they bitch about fuel stretching...

THey are gonna have to learn they can't mess with Newman or Jr (if his pit crew would straighten their mess out that is)

tmf6902 · October 8, 2003

But I think "Fuel stretching" business is getting old. 90% of the races this year have been settled by fuel mileage.

I completely agree.....this crap that the guy who doesn't run out, or the guy who get's that extra 2 laps per tank wins is boring.....Make the tanks bigger, and let them race to the end. I mean who cares if they have to make one less pit stop....the networks have sh*tty coverage of them anyway.....half the time they show Gordon, little E, and some one else pitting......then they show that stupid cam at the end of pit road with who got out first.

which brings up another point....when is someone gonna have PPV NASCAR....I would love to havesomething like NHL center ice or nfl sunday ticket. No commercials.....multiple channels, in car cams, and pit radios....shoot I'd pay 300 a season if it was commercial free.

Just my opinion though.

TMF

Hecktorx · October 11, 2003

I read a book called "Cheating" and it was all about how teams "cheat". It tells you about what teams do to get an advantage over anybody else. Every driver who was ever dominate at one time has had his team doing this.

According to the book, teams are always working in the gray areas. And sometimes it takes Nascar a while to figure out what there doing. When they do find it, they make a rule about it. They say Ray Everham is personally responsible for increasing the thickness to the rulebook 33%.

I think Ryan and his team have something giving them an advantage right now but he's not cheating. There just doing something nobody else thought of yet. The other teams will either catch up or Nascar will.

My own theory is he is running a smaller motor. What they lose in displacement, they're making up in RPM. A smaller motor will use less fuel if your conserving. Does anybody remember him turning 9600RPM at Poncono a year ago.

My theory on DEI at the restrictor plates is they have figured how to widen their torque and HP band, kinda like the new ls1 based truck motors are. This allows them to run a higher gear giving them a slightly higher top speed. Thats why nobody can pass them once there out front. The wider power band helps make up for the higher gear when there not up front.

I guess I'l never know if I'm right or not. I have way too much free time.

SilveradoWV · October 12, 2003

Ryan Newman is a mechanical engineer who graduated from Purdue. Matt Borland, his crew chief, is also a mechanical engineer. Anyone care to wager how many other engineers Penske has put on this team?

Seems to me like NASCAR's good-ol-boys are getting whooped by physics, math, calculators, computers, strategy, good cars and engines and they're not liking it.

The kid is fast and smart. Competitors are going to have to step up their game. Losers always like to blame someone else as the reason they suck instead of looking in the mirror.

Ryan = 8 wins in 2003

Rusty = 0 wins in 91 races (what's his excuse?)

Speaking of cheating, DEI's domination of restrictor plate races?

And.......there's a difference between cheating and interpeting the rules to your advantage......

Discuss.....