But according to U.S. Army driver Ryan Newman, the Talladega odds are overdue to play in his favor during Sunday’s Amp Energy 500 Cup race.

“We haven’t finished a restrictor-plate race this season, so odds are that we are going to finish one,” said Newman about his three performances in 2010 at NASCAR’s two superspeedway tracks –Daytona and Talladega.

Actually, Newman has not been running at the finish in the last four superspeedway races, dating back to last fall’s event at Talladega. In each of the four races — two at Daytona and two at Talladega — he was involved in multicar accidents.

Not only is Newman looking to reverse his superspeedway misfortunes, he is also looking to overturn a current two-race streak of bad luck that has resulted in finishes of 36th and 30th in Charlotte, N.C. and Martinsville, Va. respectively.

In the seven races prior to the Oct. 16th race at Charlotte, Newman had an average finish of 7.8 and scored six top 10s. His only finish outside the top-10 during the seven-race span was 11th in Richmond, Va.

“We definitely need to get back on the cycle before Charlotte,” said Newman. “It’s a shame that we didn’t capitalize on the great cars we had at the last two races. But I spun out and hit the wall early in the Charlotte race and then we had a gear problem after running really strong in Martinsville. This is a time when we look to our Army Strong Soldiers, who give us that never-quit inspiration when things temporarily fall off pace.”

Newman knows that his No. 39 U.S. Army Chevrolet, with a Hendrick Motorsports engine, has the potential of winning Sunday’s race at the 2.66-mile oval. But before he can put himself in position to win, he needs to avoid the wrecks.

“Talladega has always been a hit and miss race,” said Newman, the 2008 Daytona 500 winner. “I think it’s time that we miss those big wrecks. We have a superspeedway car that can win, but history will tell you that to be successful at Talladega you have to avoid being in the wrong place at the wrong time. You can easily be an innocent victim there. And no one knows better about that than our No. 39 U.S. Army team.”

Newman has had spectacular crashes at Talladega, but none more than last fall when his Army Chevrolet went airborne after being hit during a multicar melee. Once his car hit the ground it barrel rolled a number of times before landing upside down on the infield grass. He managed to escape serious injuries in the harrowing incident.

Sunday’s race will mark Newman’s 18th career Cup start at Talladega, where he has claimed four top fives and seven top 10s.

Tony Stewart, driver of the No. 14 Office Depot/Old Spice Chevrolet Impala SS for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR), was one of the many drivers whose shot at a good finish went up in a cloud of smoke when he was caught up in the first of two multi-car accidents.

The Big One was triggered on lap 184 when the freight train of cars running the outside line, parallel to a line of cars running along the track’s bottom, hiccupped as it raced down Talladega’s backstretch. Ryan Newman, Stewart’s SHR teammate and race-long drafting partner, ran into the back of Stewart as Marcos Ambrose barreled into the back of Newman. The chain reaction crash sent Stewart’s right-front into the wall, while Newman was sent on a much more harrowing plight.

Newman’s No. 39 U.S. Army/Haas Automation Chevy shot left and into the path of Ambrose. That contact turned Newman backward, whereupon his car’s aerodynamics became reversed. It lifted off the ground and somersaulted onto its roof – first landing on the nose of Kevin Harvick’s Chevrolet before hitting the pavement and skidding across the track and into the SAFER Barrier lining the outside retaining wall in turn three. It finally came to rest in the soggy infield grass a few yards off the track’s apron after rolling once more.

Safety crews quickly arrived and worked to extricate Newman from the car. The process was tedious, but Newman was able to give updates to his crew via the team radio that he was okay. With his car finally righted and the roof cut off, Newman climbed from his battered machine and walked on his own to a waiting ambulance. Following a thorough evaluation in the infield care center, Newman was released.

“Just a byproduct of Talladega racing, unfortunately,” said Newman, who endured a spectacular crash in his last visit to Talladega in April. “We got hit from behind and that turned me sideways. Then I got up in the air and just kept flipping and flopping. Unfortunately, the cage came down on top of my head and I couldn’t get out. It was a boring race and it was a ridiculous race. I just got to thank ButlerBuilt (seats), Simpson Race Products and all the guys at the shop and Hendrick Chassis with what they do to make the cars safer.”

“I’m just glad he’s alright,” Stewart said. “He’ll be sore, for sure, but he’s ok.”

Both Stewart and Newman suffered DNFs (Did Not Finish). Their 35th- and 36th-place finishes, respectively, were their worst of the season. For Stewart, the result snapped a remarkable streak of 55 races without a DNF, which entering Talladega, was the series’ longest. (David Reutimann, who has now gone 38 straight races without a DNF, is the new leader in this category.)

And with Newman and Stewart unable to complete the final eight laps of the 191-lap race, which was extended three laps beyond its originally scheduled distance due to a green-white-checkered finish, they also lost their standing as having completed the most laps of any other drivers this season, for coming into Talladega, both had completed all but 14 of the 9,388 laps available. (Currently, Juan Pablo Montoya has completed the most laps: 9,558 – one lap more that Stewart and Newman, who are tied with each having completed 9,557 laps of the 9,579 laps available.)

In a case of the rich getting richer, championship point leader Jimmie Johnson finished the race in sixth while the majority of his championship pursuers crashed out. Johnson widened his lead to a seemingly insurmountable 184 points over second-place Mark Martin with only three races remaining. Each driver second through seventh in the point standings – which included Stewart and Newman – was caught up in one of the two big accidents and finished 19th or worse.

In other news, Jamie McMurray beat Kasey Kahne to win the AMP Energy 500. It was the third victory of his Sprint Cup career, but his first since winning at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway in July 2007, a span of 86 races.

Finishing third was rookie Joey Logano, while Greg Biffle and Jeff Burton rounded out the top-five. Michael Waltrip finished seventh behind Johnson with Brad Keselowski, Elliott Sadler and Bobby Labonte comprising the remainder of the top-10.

There were six caution periods for 23 laps, with 13 drivers failing to finish the race.

Both SHR drivers are represented in this year’s Chase for the Championship. Stewart dropped one spot to fifth in the standings and is now 279 points behind Chase leader Johnson. Newman fell one spot to eighth where he is 402 markers out of first.

The top-12 drivers competing for the title rank as follows:

1. Jimmie Johnson (6,248 points) +/-0
2. Mark Martin (6,064 points, -184) +/-0
3. Jeff Gordon (6,056 points, -192) +/-0
4. Juan Pablo Montoya (6,009 points, -239) +1
5. Tony Stewart (5,969 points, -279) -1
6. Kurt Busch (5,936 points, -312) +/-0
7. Greg Biffle (5,908 points, -340) +1
8. Ryan Newman (5,846 points, -402) -1
9. Kasey Kahne (5,834 points, -414) +2
10. Carl Edwards (5,811 points, -437) +/-0
11. Denny Hamlin (5,800 points, -448) -2
12. Brian Vickers (5,692 points, -556) +/-0

The next event on the Sprint Cup schedule is the Nov. 8 Dickies 500 at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth. The race begins at 3:15 p.m. EST with live coverage provided by ABC beginning with its pre-race show at 2:30 p.m.

Newman, who was running with the lead pack of cars and challenging for the win, was involved in a multicar wreck with five laps remaining in regulation. His No. 39 U.S. Army/Haas Automation Chevrolet Impala SS was sent airborne after getting hit from behind while traveling in excess of 190 miles per hour on the ultra-fast 2.66-mile oval.

As Newman’s flying stock car was descending to earth, the back-half smashed into the hood of Kevin Harvick’s car and then proceeded to twirl and barrel roll a number of times before coming to a stop upside down on the infield grass. Though it took a brief time before it was known that Newman was okay, it did take a while for him to be extricated.

After the NASCAR safety crew flipped the car right-side up, Newman was unable to exit the car. The roll cage blocked his exit, which forced the safety team to cut the roof. When Newman emerged from the car he walked to the waiting ambulance, which transported him to the infield medical center.

“Pretty sore — just really disappointed,” said Newman, who conducted an informal news conference outside of the infield care center. “We had this race back here in the spring and complained about cars getting airborne and now ironically I’m the guy that gets upside down.”

Newman added, “Just a by-product of Talladega racing. Unfortunately, we got hit from behind that turned me sideways then I got up in the air and just kept flipping and flopping. Unfortunately, the (roll) cage came down on top of my head and I couldn’t get out. Tough situation with the U.S. Army Chevrolet.”

When asked why it took a while to respond to his crew after the accident Newman said, “It knocked the antennae off the car. When they rolled the car back over, the antennae wire connected. I just got to thank ButlerBuilt (professional seat systems), Simpson Race Products and all the guys at the shop and Hendrick Chassis for what they do to make the cars safer. When I hit the roll cage and landed on my head I was a little worried. I was happy to be able to walk out of that in a roundabout way.”

Newman’s teammate, Tony Stewart, was also involved in the same wreck along with Elliott Sadler, Harvick, and Marcos Ambrose. Stewart finished 35th.

In the Chase point standings, Newman dropped one position to eighth. He is 402 points behind leader Jimmie Johnson with three races remaining. Stewart is fifth, 279 points behind Johnson.

The Talladega race winner was Jamie McMurray. Rounding out the top five in order were Kasey Kahne, Joey Logano, Greg Biffle and Jeff Burton.

The next Cup race is Sunday (Nov. 8) at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth.