Team Penske Racing Car/Make No. 12/Dodge Sponsor Alltel Crew Chief Matt Borland
STATS	2003	CAREER
Rank	6	6*
Wins	8	9
Top 5	17	33
Top 10	22	46
DNFs	7	15
Top Finish	1	1
*Indicates best career points finish

2003 recap
The good: Newman dominated all drivers in Winston Cup with eight wins and 11 poles. His next closest rival, Kurt Busch, scored just four wins. Newman also had the most top-five finishes of any driver and was second to only champion Matt Kenseth with top-10 finishes (25-22).

The bad: If it hadn't been for seven DNFs, including a pair of frightening end over end barrel rolls at the season-opening Daytona 500 and Talladega, Newman arguably could have finished well up in the final top-five. In fact, it's not out of the realm of possibility that if he had a few more wins and fewer DNFs, Newman could have proven to be a strong challenge to Kenseth for the series championship. Newman disappointedly fell out of the top-five, dropping two spots in the standings from fourth to sixth, after a crash in the season finale at Homestead (Fla.).

Key stat: Eight wins, without question. It was the most wins by any driver in a season since Jeff Gordon accumulated 13 wins in 1998 and 10 wins each in 1997 and 1996.

2004 outlook
What needs to be done: Newman has all the pieces in place to make a true run for the first-ever Nextel Cup championship. He has one of the best crew chiefs in the business, plus a team and owner who give him the best of equipment and support. All the ingredients are there; it's up to Newman to bring them to a boil.

Key change: Newman's confidence grew with each subsequent win he earned in 2003. He was not afraid to battle or bang fenders with anyone on the racetrack, and rarely gave an inch to competitors. Plus, with the engineering degree he earned from Purdue University, he has been able to arguably become one of the best when it comes to sharing technical information with his crew chief about how the race car is operating on the track, and can make potential changes quicker than other drivers can.

Guarantee: With NASCAR's new 26/10 points system, there's no way Newman won't make it to the final top-10 for the last 10 races. And if he can get a few breaks in the final 10 races, he has a strong chance of becoming the first Nextel Cup champ.

Prediction: Newman will be in the thick of the championship chase and should finish in the top-three or five by season's end. And don't be surprised if teammate Rusty Wallace, who struggled in 2003, missing the top-10 for the first time in 16 years, shows a rebound because of greater cooperation and sharing of data and resources with Newman's team planned for the upcoming season.

Did you know: Even though he just turned 26 last month, Newman is already a member of the Quarter-Midget Racing Hall of Fame.

Your take
As he enters his third full season in Cup racing, is this Ryan Newman's year to go all the way to the championship? Share your thoughts on Newman's prospects for 2004.