Ryan Newman is the new Mark Martin.
No, I don't mean that Newman will be racing for Hendrick at 52 and chasing a still elusive Sprint Cup title, but when it comes to being jinxed at Talladega, Newman has replaced Martin as the driver you don't want to be anywhere near at the monstrous tri-oval.
Newman almost flipped in the 2003 race, and was the collateral damage in the Carl Edwards-Brad Keselowski finish to last year's spring race. (You've seen that wreck 100 times already, so what's the point of embedding it?)
And then in the fall race, Newman flipped and landed on his roof:
And sadly for Newman, his terrible luck at Talladega continued as soon as he drove onto the track for Friday's first practice session.
Then again in the race where he got hit from behind again, this time by Joey Logano.
Newman sure must have made those Native American spirits mad, eh? And those same spirits must have accepted Mark Martin's repentance because he finished sixth. Maybe he bribed them with Danica Patrick GoDaddy commercials?
