Growing up in South Bend, Ind., Ryan Newman was bitten early by the racing bug, but he had to wait awhile to scratch the itch.

"My parents agreed to support my decision to race professionally, but only after I completed college," Newman says. "So I enrolled at Purdue and spent four years working on my degree (in engineering). It wasn't easy-I was doing some lower-division racing at the time, and a lot of weekends I'd leave campus on Friday to go racing and get back late Sunday night just in time to get ready for Monday morning classes."

Having kept his promise to his parents, Newman stuck his diploma in his hip pocket and went into racing full-time. His success in some lower divisions caught the eye of prominent team owner Roger Penske who signed Newman as a teammate to veteran Rusty Wallace.

He was off to a fast start, and he hasn't slowed down since.

"It's all been pretty incredible; I never imagined things would fall into place this quickly," says Newman. "To be honest, it's all been kind of a blur."

Fast Off the Line

Newman competed in his first full NASCAR Winston Cup (now Nextel Cup) season in 2002, winning one race and earning Rookie of the Year. Last season he thundered to eight wins-twice as many as any other driver-and led the series with 11 pole positions.

How can he follow an act like that? By winning this season's Nextel Cup championship, that's how. Newman was voted the pre-season favorite to claim the $5 million title.

"It's flattering, but pre-season predictions are pretty meaningless," he says. "It's sort of like being named Most Popular in high school." Penske says not to be fooled by the modesty of his 26-year-old superstar.

"Ryan is a rare talent," Penske explains. "I recognized that as soon as I started watching him race, and the more I see of him the more impressed I am. It is incredible how far he has come in just two full seasons on this level. How far can he go? There's no limit." Wallace, a former NASCAR champion, echoes Penske's praise.

"Ryan Newman is a super-talented race driver," Wallace says. "He has a natural driving ability, combined with great intelligence. He's a very fast learner. Also, he is a very focused, highly competitive kid. You combine all that-talent, smarts, fire-and you've got one heck of a racer. Ryan is the total package."

Humble talent

"I've been very fortunate," Newman says. "I got with a great race team right off that has given me everything I need to win. I'm also lucky to have a veteran teammate like Rusty who has taught me a great deal. Anytime I have a question about something I can take it to Rusty. There are not many young drivers who come into the sport with advantages like that."

Although Newman led all drivers last season with eight victories, he finished sixth in the final championship standings, far behind Matt Kenseth who captured the title despite winning just one race. Under the points system at the time, consistency was worth more than winning, and Newman was plagued by early-season inconsistency that a sizzling second half couldn't overcome.

New Year, New Points System

During the off-season NASCAR radically changed the way it selects its champion, going to a "Chase for the Championship" format that will match the top 10 drivers in a season-stretch 10-race shootout. Some feel the change was made in response to the Newman-Kenseth situation that developed last year. Newman refuses to be drawn into the debate.

"Whatever NASCAR wants to do is fine with me," he says. "They make the rules and I drive the car. I didn't have any problem with the old system, other than maybe awarding the winner a few more points, and I don't want to take anything away from Matt's championship. He did what he needed to do to win it."

This season all eyes are on Newman. Last year's winningest driver and this year's pre-season favorite is an impressive combination-and impressive has been Newman's trademark.