Curt Cavin

Don't blame Ryan Newman but the South Bend native can set a NASCAR futility record this weekend if he claims the championship.

One of four remaining contenders for the Sprint Cup Series title, Newman can emerge from Homestead-Miami Speedway with the championship despite not having won even once this season. That not only would be a first for NASCAR, but he could set yet another record low for season struggles by a champion.

If Newman beats Kevin Harvick, Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin without finishing in the top five, he will have the fewest top-five finishes by any champion since Red Byron in the inaugural 1949 season, and it's not a fair comparison. Byron had six races, Newman 36. And Newman has led only 41 laps, an average of 1.17 per race.

Again, it's not Newman's fault because he's played the system afforded him by delivering results that have been just consistent enough. Matt Kenseth (2003) is one of five champions with only one win.

Newman has certainly benefitted from the first-year Chase format. He'd have been fifth using last year's system – Logano would have a 29-point lead over Harvick in that scenario – and he's seventh in points scored this season, 124 out of the lead. Logano and Harvick would be the only two still in contention.

Jeff Gordon has scored the most points this season, 29 more than Logano. If that scoring system had been in place throughout Gordon's career, he'd be on the verge of tying Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt with seven championships.

But, the format in place is the one that counts, and handicapping the contenders isn't easy. Harvick has the lowest average finish at the 1.5-mile oval track (8.1), but he's never won there. Hamlin has two wins, including last year, but his average finish is 11.2. Newman (17.0) and Logano (20.8) also haven't won there. Newman has only had one top-five finish in 12 starts, and his team didn't test there a couple of weeks ago as the other three title-contending teams did.

Tony Stewart also has something to race for. He is trying to avoid being winless for the first time in his Sprint Cup career. His string of 15 consecutive seasons with a victory is tied for fifth-longest. Petty holds the record with 18 (1960-77).

Kenseth will try to avoid being the ninth driver to have at least five wins one season and none the next. If that happens, he'll be in good company. Gordon (six in '07), Earnhardt (five in '80) and Petty (five in '77) have experienced that, too.

SIMONA COMING BACK TO INDYCAR?

IndyCar fans will like this: Simona De Silvestro is interested in returning to the Verizon IndyCar Series.

De Silvestro, who raced in the series from 2010-13, saw seen her Formula One pursuit with Sauber suspended last month, and the 26-year-old Swiss driver told friends at last week's U.S. Grand Prix in Austin, Texas, that she made a mistake in leaving.

"She's keen to return," IndyCar president Derrick Walker said. "I'm trying to help her spread the word."

Walker said De Silvestro is "the most talented female driver in open-wheel racing, period."

DRAG RACING HISTORY ON LINE

Erica Enders-Stevens is on the verge of history as she tries to become the first woman to win an NHRA Pro Stock championship. Only two other women have won drag racing titles: Shirley Muldowney (Top Fuel) and Angelle Sampey (Pro Stock Motorcycle).

Enders-Stevens takes a 17-point lead over two-time champion Jason Line (2006, '11) into Sunday's finals at Auto Club Raceway in Pomona, Calif.

"You can't get too ahead of yourself and dwell on what's at stake, but at the same time, I mean, I've never been in this position in Pro Stock and neither have any of the guys on my team," she said. "It's definitely an interesting and awesome position to be in. But I try to just stay calm about it and focus on just one round, one at a time, and just going after it."

Tony Schumacher (Top Fuel) and Andrew Hines (Pro Stock Motorcycles) have all but wrapped up titles with leads of 109 and 92 points, respectively. Matt Hagan will try to hold off John Force in Funny Car; Hagan leads by 21 points.

ETC.

Barring a victory at Homestead, Australian driver Marcos Ambrose will end his nine-year NASCAR run with seven wins (two in Sprint Cup, five in Nationwide, none on ovals) and combined car earnings of $33.3 million. He is joining Team Penske's new V8 Supercar series. … Ryan Hunter-Reay's likeness on the Borg-Warner Trophy will be unveiled Dec. 3 at the IMS Hall of Fame Museum at 5 p.m. The event is open to the public. Tickets for next year's races, including the Indianapolis 500, went on sale last week. … IMS has a new event for next year. Bloomington Gold Corvettes USA, considered the granddaddy of Corvette shows, will be held June 25-27. A Corvette has paced the Indianapolis 500 field a record 12 times.