#12-Ryan Newman had enough gas to last today and powered to his 3rd win of the season in the Tropicana 400. It was the 4th career win for Newman (moving him into a tie for 63rd on the all- time win list) and the 45th for Roger Penske as a car owner. Still not enough side-by-side racing at this place….but it’s getting better. NBC had an interesting look at the racing groove before the race, and I don’t know that I’ve ever seen that type of view before. As anybody who’s ever lost a file on a computer knows….”it pays to save”. #42-Jamie McMurray (8th) had his best finish since he was 5th at California Speedway in April.[he used the same car] #1-Jeff Green (16th) had his best finish since he was 7th at Texas in March [when he was in the #30 car]. #30-Steve Park (26th) had his best finish since he was 24th at Martinsville in April [when he was in the #1 car]. #43-Christian Fittipaldi (29th) had his career-best finish today. His previous best was 35th, accomplished twice…..at Michigan last month and at Daytona in February. STREAKIN….Jeremy Mayfield has 3 Top-10’s in a row. This Week’s Elevator…UP: Operator of the Week is Robby Gordon (+28), followed by Ricky Rudd (+24), and Jeff Burton (+21). DOWN: The Big Dropper was Casey Mears (-30), followed by Joe Nemechek (-25), Dave Blaney (-22), and Dale Earnhardt Jr (-22). Gordon’s Operator award makes him part of a 6-way tie at the top with two Op’s this year. Matt Kenseth still has a healty points lead (165), but Jeff Gordon moves back ahead of Dale Earnhardt Jr to take the runner-up spot. Tony Stewart advanced the most spots (11th to 8th), while Kurt Busch, Rusty Wallace, and Joe Nemechek each dropped two spots each.( StockCarFans.Com Winston Cup Newsletter )(7-13-2003)
