Just Sayin’: Newman Was Out of Line For Ripping Stewart

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By Jared Turner

Ryan Newman Was Over The Line

Tony Stewart admitted to deliberately trying to wreck Ryan Newman in Saturday night’s regular-season finale at Richmond, after making contact with Newman more than once earlier in the race. But Newman’s decision to verbally blast Stewart – his former boss and teammate – was wrong on many levels. Said Newman moments after being taken out by Stewart: “I guess he thought he was in a sprint car again; did not know how to control his anger.” Newman’s “sprint car” comment was a none-too-subtle reference to Stewart’s role in the tragic incident that resulted in the death of sprint car driver Kevin Ward Jr. in 2014. As if invoking the Ward incident wasn’t incendiary enough, Newman continued his rant which came on the heels of seeing his already fleeting Chase hopes go down the drain with Stewart’s bump. “I don’t think there was any reason other than him just being bipolar and having anger issues,” Newman said. “Google ‘Tony Stewart’ — you’ll see all kinds of things he’s done.” OK, so maybe anger management isn’t Stewart’s strong suit. But it’s abundantly clear that neither tact nor decency is Newman’s strong suit. While I’m all for drivers letting their emotions show in the heat of battle, there’s a certain line that should never be crossed. Newman crossed it. Now let’s hope NASCAR reacts accordingly.

Don’t Overlook ‘6-Time’

Entering the Chase, virtually everyone is rightfully handicapping the four Gibbs cars, the Toyota of Martin Truex Jr., the Chevrolet of Kevin Harvick, and the Fords of Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano as the title favorites. But what about Jimmie Johnson? Isn’t he a six-time champion for a reason? And doesn’t he have by far the most experienced and battle-tested crew chief in the Chase? Go ahead and overlook Jimmie and crew chief Chad Knaus – but you’ll probably regret it.