Newman Continues to Struggle -- 26th at Watkins Glen

It was just really frustrating for me to watch Ryan and his team struggle throughout the day at the road course of Watkins Glen. Ryan had always had the stats on his side, averaging better than 10th place at the Glen, but for some reason, Ryan didn't have a great car to begin with.

Brake problems troubled him early and affected him most of the day. He simply didn't have them -- without them, he couldn't speed up effectively and make the "slow-downs" effective enough to make the turns. And, you know he's had a bad day when old-timer and field filler Morgan Shephard blows in his passenger side of the car. Ryan eventually got lapped by winner Tony Stewart, finishing 26th with 1 lap down.

With that 26th place finish, he drops out of the Top 10 and loses his chance for run for the Championship. Lucky for Ryan, he's running at Michigan next Sunday and he's won that race two times in a row. He's got to get-r-done, finishing at least Top 10 at Michigan, Bristol, and California and hope that some of the guys at the bottom of the Top 10, like Jeremy Mayfield and Kevin Harvick to mess up a little bit.