Tony Stewart heard it after his 1999 campaign. Kevin Harvick heard it one year ago, after a stunning 2001 campaign.

Now, it's Ryan Newman's turn.

For all of the hoopla made of the so-called young guns and their assault on NASCAR, several have been asked whether they could repeat a feat one of the old guards accomplished decades ago. So far, none has answered yes and been successful.

	Newman scored his only win of 2002 at New Hampshire International Speedway.

The task, now, falls to perhaps the oldest-acting young gun of them all -- the calculating Newman, who is noted as a gutsy but patient racer who's surrounded by a team that is capable of actually helping the 25-year-old Indiana boy pull off something the late Dale Earnhardt did about 20 years ago.

After winning Rookie of the Year in 1979, Earnhardt became the first -- and still only -- driver in the modern era to win a championship in his next season.

So does Newman actually think he can become the second? Upon being asked, his immediate answer is, "Yes." But he doesn't want you to get the wrong idea.

"Don't get me wrong, it was 20 years ago, but we're going to try," he said. "That's the goal of our season -- the Winston Cup championship. Our goal in 2003 is the same as it was in 2002. Every team here should have that goal."

Newman fell five spots behind his goal for last year -- still an impressive finish for a freshman. But what prevented him from contending harder for the title was, as odd as it sounds, all those top-five finishes.

Newman had too many top-fives, not enough victories. Five times during the season he finished runner-up.

At the time, Newman spoke of how proud he was of his rookie team and how great it was to finish so high. But, as short as the off-season was, it was enough time to change Newman's attitude just a tad.

"I think one of the things we struggled with last year -- and don't get me wrong, it wasn't necessarily a struggle -- but we ended up with 14 or 15 top fives," he said. "I guess the biggest thing for us is we're here to win and win the Winston Cup championship. Both of those kind of go hand in hand. To be able to maximize our performance, what it comes down to is getting the checkered flag first."

Newman doesn't mind top-fives. He'll deal with top-10s, too. But he's looking for those to replace every race he finished outside the top 20 last season. As for the rest -- the 14 top-fives and 22 top-10s -- Newman's looking to substitute those with victories.

"Our goal is to maximize the top 10s," he said. "We've got to make it better. We can't have the same season we had last year because that was only good for sixth. I know one thing's for sure, this team, the Alltel Dodge, learned a lot of things last year and we'll be able to carry them over. I think we might surprise ourselves a few times."

	“	That's the goal of our season -- the Winston Cup championship. Our goal in 2003 is the same as it was in 2002. Every team here should have that goal. ”
		— Newman

Of course, Newman learned those lessons in a Ford. Now, he intends to surprise himself in a Dodge. The sophomore doesn't believe there will be a big adjustment period, but he admits that if he wants to contend for the title he'll need to get over whatever adjustment period there is in a hurry.

And if that adjustment means a couple of disappointing finishes to start the season, he'll be prepared. And, for the record, if that adjustment leads to a couple of quick victories right out of the gate ... well, he'll be prepared for that, too.

"I guess the biggest thing is just to keep your head on your shoulders, whether you win a race or you're four DNFs in a row," he said. "We started off the season (last year) pretty good. We were second in points. Then we went through a slump and dropped to 17th. I guess almost the highlight and lowlight, the good and bad of what we had to deal with, but you keep your head on your shoulders and it's as much the team as it is the driver."

Rupen Fofaria is a beat writer for The Raleigh News & Observer and a regular contributor to ESPN.com.