Nextel Cup pursuit heats up

DOVER, Del. — Now, Ryan Newman will return to his real job, trying to win the NASCAR Nextel Cup.

He has the pole Sunday at Dover International Speedway, where he tied a record Saturday by winning his fourth consecutive Busch series start. Before he set a track record by leading 193 of 200 laps in that race, Newman talked about his ultimate dream for the MBNA 400.

"I think every driver wants to lead 400 laps," said Newman, who moved within 40 points of leader Tony Stewart with a victory last Sunday at New Hampshire International Speedway. "We'd love to lead the first one to get those bonus points, and lead 399 more after that."

That might be a bit of a reach, but Newman's pursuit of Jeff Gordon's four-year-old mark of 381 might not be so unbelievable considering his record of three victories in the last four races on The Monster Mile.

As confident as he is, however, Newman knows the treacherous high-banked concrete oval has ruined the dreams of many.

"You have to be careful," he said. "You never know what the balance is going to be like. Hopefully, we can keep this car in one piece."

He managed to do enough of that to slip into the elite field of 10 drivers in the Chase for the championship, earning the final spot in the last race of eligibility two weeks ago in Richmond, Va. Then he won for the first time all season in New Hampshire to move into a tie for third.

But Newman won't be overly excited should he win Sunday's $5 million race.

"You can't just count them two or three," he said. "It's going to take 10 races to win a championship."

There is no magic formula to Newman's recent success, even though he calls it a turnaround of sorts.

"We just try to keep the car going faster and faster each run," he said.

That means qualifying as well as racing. Newman has the pole Sunday on the strength of a qualifying session Friday.

He took his Dodge around the track at 158.102 mph to easily claim his series-leading sixth pole. He'll start first Sunday for the 33rd time in just his fifth year in Cup racing and do it on a track he loves.

"It's not necessarily the concrete," he said "It's just the shape of it and the speed and the banking."

Stewart also likes Dover, where he swept the races in 2000. He has been a picture of consistency just about everywhere in the second half of the season with 13 straight top-10 finishes.