Non-Chaser of Note: Ryan Newman

Someone should tell Ryan Newman that he can't win the championship.

Because he sure is racing like it's his to lose.

Since the Chase for the Sprint Cup kicked off at Loudon, non-chaser Newman has notched a top 10 every race - giving him an average finish of 7.5. 

Those are better numbers than points leader Jimmie Johnson - who has an average Chase finish of 7.75.  And it's the same average as Chase contender Kevin Harvick, who tangled with the hard-charging Newman at the tail end of Sunday's Pepsi Max 400.

"We had a little beating and banging there with the No. 29 car near the end of the race that caused a little bit of damage that we had to fix," Newman said.  "We got behind but our car was strong enough to get back in the top five."

In other words, Newman doesn't plan to give an inch - championship contender or no.

Too bad Newman and the No. 39 team didn't run this consistently earlier in the season.

If they had, Newman would be right up there with boss, teammate and Fontana winner Tony Stewart - who's now fifth in the points.