Sports

DAYTONA CHAMP’S RIDIN’ HIGH

Between the expected dominance of Hendrick Motorsports’ star-studded team and the curiosity surrounding how much Toyota would improve in its second year in NASCAR, there wasn’t a lot of thought given to the rest of the field in Sunday’s Daytona 500.

But Ryan Newman and his No. 12 Alltel Dodge Charger won the race and stole the show – proving there were, in fact, another 30 drivers or so participating in the race.

“The Toyotas were definitely strong, going all the way back to testing, the Hendrick cars are obviously living on a lot of momentum from last year,” Newman said yesterday during a press conference at the Waldorf.

“But again, there’s 43 competitors, and four of them are Hendrick’s and there might have been five or six Toyotas that had a huge shot . . . so there’s a lot of field left, and they could make a big impact.”

Thanks to a strong push from Penske Racing teammate Kurt Busch on the final lap, both drivers were able to pass Tony Stewart and finish 1-2. The win was owner Roger Penske’s first at a restrictor-plate track, and was the first 1-2 finish in team history in any Sprint Cup race.

“I felt that what we did was truly a team effort, an organizational effort with Penske Racing,” Newman said. “The way Kurt Busch treated me as a teammate was the most honorable thing I’ve ever had happen to me on a racetrack.

“All the way through, it was a dream come true.”

Sunday’s race also marked the Car of Tomorrow’s first appearance in NASCAR’s biggest race. After being used in 16 races last season (but not at either Daytona race), the car is now going to be used in all 36 races in 2008.

Not only was the win the first in NASCAR’s biggest race for Newman, but it also ended an 81-race winless streak for him, stretching back to the Sept. 18, 2005 race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

“It never affected me, it never played on me . . . I wouldn’t say it changed me or the way I drove,” Newman said. “I said to myself, and I said to a lot of people, I just hope when we do it, we do it big and we do it right.

“Fortunately, we were able to pull that one off.”

tim.bontemps@nypost.com