Race results

Ryan Newman started on the pole for today's Lenox Industrial Tools 301 with team owner Tony Stewart beside him qualifying second.

And that's how they finished, with Newman getting his first win of the year and Tony in second. It's the first time a team owner has started two cars on the front row and then had them finish that way since Rick Hendrick did it at Daytona over 20 years ago.

Big congrats to both guys as I've always been a huge Tony Stewart fan. He's a throwback racer, and I love his passion for the sport. Back when I was a kid, AJ Foyt used to run sprint cars the night before Indy to tune himself up for the race. And Tony's the same way. He ran at El Doro the night before this race and only got three hours sleep before turning in this strong performance.

And Ryan Newman . . . besides the obvious Seinfeld jokes, has always impressed me due to his background in avionic engineering. As a wannabe engineer, I'm always pulling for the geeky in him. Plus he's kind of a hot head out there and has the driving chops to back it up.

All in all, a great win for Tony's team and the guys. Plus it's kind of fun to see them beat the Hendrick juggernaut with their own equipment.

heh