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Newman named Rookie of the Year

Although Ryan Newman finished below Jimmie Johnson in NASCAR's Winston Cup standings, the 24-year-old actually beat his rival for the coveted Rookie of the Year award

Newman's greater consistency - 22 top 10 finishes - earned him the title, and after scoring a fine debut race win, he's hoping for a tilt at the full championship in 2003.

"I thought about it for this year," Newman said, "and there's no reason why we shouldn't think about it next year, either."

Until he hit a bad run in the final quarter of the season, Johnson was in with a shout of becoming the first ever rookie to lift the Winston Cup, and mentor Jeff Gordon was disappointed that he protégé missed out on both fronts.

"Ryan sure did come on strong the second half of the season, but as far as I am concerned throughout the whole year, Jimmie has been the man," he said. "I'm proud to have him on board at Hendrick Motorsports and to have him as a team-mate."

NASCAR rookies are awarded points based on how they finish relative to each other, with the top 10 finishers scoring. The best 17 results go towards the overall title, with a series of bonus points and discretionary points awarded by an expert panel counting towards the final score.

In terms of prize money Newman was comfortably better off than Johnson (who won three races outright), ending the year with $4,373,830, compared to Johnson's £2,847,700.

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