Johnson

	Newman

Jimmie Johnson and Ryan Newman are rookies in name only.

Past the halfway point in the Winston Cup season, Johnson has two victories and is second to Sterling Marlin in the points going into Sunday's race at Watkins Glen International. His 13 top-10 finishes are already a rookie record for NASCAR's modern era, breaking Tony Stewart's mark of 12 in 1999.

Newman also is on a streak, finishing fifth in three straight races before running fourth in last Sunday's Brickyard 400. He has yet to win but has finished in the top 10 in eight of the last 11 races, is up to 12th in the standings and has drawn within eight points of Johnson in the rookie of the year race.

The road course at Watkins Glen, in the Finger Lakes area of New York State, is a new challenge, though. Neither of the precocious rookies has raced there.

NASCAR's top stock car series runs on only two road circuits each season -- Watkins Glen and Sears Point International in Sonoma, Calif.

A damaged car shortened Johnson's day at Sears Point in June, leaving him 35th -- matching the worst finish of his sensational rookie season.

The 24-year-old Newman drove a steady race on the hilly road course and finished ninth.

''We've gotten so much great experience this season that going to Watkins Glen for our first race feels just like another weekend,'' he said.

Johnson, 26, is also looking forward to racing at the Glen.

''I like tracks like Watkins Glen. Road courses are much closer to the kind of tracks that I grew up racing on,'' he said. ''I don't have a lot of seat time in a Cup car there, so I imagine I'll struggle a bit getting passes done. But if I can hang in there and force a few people to make mistakes, it could be a good run for our team.''

Rebounding
Dale Jarrett and his No. 88 Robert Yates Racing team have a few things to prove this weekend at Watkins Glen.

Jarrett is coming off an embarrassing race at Indianapolis in which he lost his shot to win when he pulled away from his pits late in the Brickyard 400 with a gas catch-can stuck in his gas tank.

That's an automatic stop-and-go penalty and Jarrett went from first to 28th and had to mount a great charge just to finish 10th.

Moreover, a year ago at the Glen, Jarrett started from the pole and led the first 17 laps before spinning off into a sand trap. The 1999 series champion never recovered and finished 31st.

Jarrett was upset with the pit mistake after the Indy race, berating his crew, saying, ''I don't know what happened, go ask the crew. I'm just the driver. All I can do is get the car to the front. Anything else, talk to them.''

He cooled down quickly, though, and began to think about this week's race, hoping to run much better than when he finished 15th at Sears Point in June.

''This is the same car we raced in Watkins Glen one year ago,'' Jarrett said. ''The car was so good there last year we decided to use it exclusively at Watkins Glen and built another car for Sears Point.

''It was pure driver error that took us out of contention last year. I got into the corner a little hard and lost the car. Hopefully, with the same car we can get another great starting spot and we'll see what we can do this year.''

He had finished fifth, fourth and seventh from 1998 through 2000.

Other Gordon
While Jeff Gordon has won four of the last five Cup races at Watkins Glen, Robby Gordon -- no relation -- is still looking for his first victory there.

A year ago, it appeared he might add his name to the list of champions on the historic road course until a fire started in the telemetry box -- the electronic gizmo attached to the car to give TV its information on the car's performance. The fire ended his day and relegated him to 40th place.

''That was one of the most disappointing moments in my racing career,'' said Gordon, who finished fourth at the Glen in 1997 and 2000, his only other starts.

Gordon is still hobbling on a pair of sprained ankles, the result of a motocross bike accident two weeks ago at Pocono.

''I think my ankles will be OK at Watkins Glen,'' he said. ''The swelling is almost down. They didn't hurt me in the car at Pocono or Indianapolis. They just hurt to walk on.''

Stat of the week
Twelve of the 19 Cup races at Watkins Glen have been won from the top three starting positions. Four of the last six, however, have been won from outside the top 10.