Do You Know What a "Newman Bar" is, and How to Use One? 

      Here's a subject I haven't talked about yet on here, other than in passing reference.  I am a NASCAR fan.  Yes, I like watching rednecks turning left.  My blog is called the Journal of SUNDRY Wonderments, after all, and this is just one of many sundry subject matters.  I don't watch it for the crashes, as people would accuse NASCAR fans of doing.  I do however like watching how a good driver can thread his way through a crash when they do happen.
      One driver that seems to be good at threading though a crash unscathed is Ryan Newman.  He is one of the good drivers.  He doesn't start crashes.  Sometimes though, being caught up in a crash is unavoidable.  Being one of the better drivers he is often right up in the thick of the action.  This also means that sometimes he is right there within only a few car lengths of where a crash happens.  In the past he has had a car in front of him flip over and land right on top of his car.

         One of Newman's earlier crashes that caused the invention of the "Newman Bar"

      For the safety of all NASCAR drivers, NASCAR officials have required extra reinforcement on the roof of their cars, particularly around the windshield, because of this.  This is appropriately called the "Newman Bar."
      At today's race at Talledega Ryan Newman unfortunately got to see just how good his "Newman Bar" worked.  It started during the last few laps of the race when a rookie got anxious and tried to go out and pass at four wide.  With all the wind these cars create, going three wide isn't always a good idea, and going four wide is just plain reckless (and wreck-ful).  The drivers need that cushion around them for air flow.  As fellow racer, Denny Hamlin pointed out in the booth (he was covering for Michael Waltrip, who was on the track today), "these drivers aren't turning into each other, but are being pushed into each other by the air flow."  And at 190-210 mph when that happens all heck breaks loose.
      After the rookie bumped another driver, that driver spun out of control, and into another, who in turn caused another to go sideways and flip through the air, landing right on top of Ryan Newman.  And poor Ryan, who is ranked 12th for the season, was doing so good at weaving through today's crashes and avoiding trouble.  He was right up in the top ten for a good finish, along with his team mate Danica Patrick who was also due for a good finish, maybe also in the top ten.  As a  result of the crash, he didn't even get to finish, and Danica, who was also involved in the crash, ended up at 33rd place.  At least she got to get another finish on her points record.  By the way, she is doing real good this year, and proving that she is a good driver, and not just a pretty face (but she does have that pretty down pretty good).  I didn't see how their benevolent overlord, leader, and owner of their team, Tony Stewart did through all this.  Oh, and Michael Waltrip - he was far enough back in all this, that he was able to thread himself through the carnage like the pro he is.

In this video of the crash, Ryan Newman is being interviewed, and he is NOT happy.  You can see the rookie on the left of the screen causing the whole domino effect.  He crosses the track infront of everybody, hitting Kurt Bush, who flips on top of Ryan Newman.  In the resulting chain reaction, you can see Danica Patrick's (green Go-Daddy #10) car being pushed sideways through the mess.  I'm sure that by the time many of you read this post, there will be other videos uploaded and available to watch.  

      Because the crash turned the whole race upside down a couple people not normally considered front runners took first and second.  It was David Ragan followed by David Gilliland
      Now you know what a "Newman Bar" is, and you don't want to use one.