Ryan Newman may not have liked it, but he sure learned to live with it.

The one Winston Cup driver more than any other who had been most vocal last week in criticizing NASCAR’s new caution procedures became the first driver to test those rules and translate them into victory.

The only part of NASCAR’s new procedures Newman had questioned was the decision to allow the first car not on the lead lap to regain a lap when a caution is displayed, regardless of its position on the track.

As recently as Sunday morning, Newman reiterated his displeasure with that rule.

Sunday afternoon, Newman was celebrating in Victory Lane at Dover International Speedway, having been awarded a lap back via the rule. That lap helped him win the MBNA America 400.

“I still believe what I said. I guess the reward part of it, from my perspective, is still opinionated. It always will be opinionated if the rule stands the way it is,” Newman said.

Newman cut a right-rear tire early in the race and had to pit under green for new tires. He fell a lap down and then worked through several cautions to get into position to return to the lead lap.

His chance finally came when a caution was displayed on lap 287 of 400 for debris. Newman’s was the first car not on the lead lap, so under the new policy he returned to the lead lap. He then topped off for fuel three times before the race restarted.

He did not pit again and inherited the lead following another caution on Lap 325 when the rest of the leaders pit for fuel and tires. And following a wild side-by-side battle with Jeremy Mayfield, Newman held on to win by 1.152 seconds.

The win is Newman’s seventh of the season, matching the seven poles he has won. He has victories in two of the past three races and five in the past 11. He also completed a season sweep of both Dover races.

He still lags in the championship hunt, as Matt Kenseth continues to hold a dominating 436-point lead over second-place Kevin Harvick. Newman is fifth, 580 behind the leader.

One of those quick to remind Newman of his good fortune Sunday was Greg Zipadelli, crew chief for third-place finisher Tony Stewart.

In the spring, Newman, while the race leader, refused to allow Stewart to get a lap back when a caution came out. Stewart ended up earning the lap back later, but the move did not sit well with Stewart’s team.

“It’s funny how in the spring, he didn’t give us our lap back, and it cost us the win. I don’t think anybody could even argue that,” Zipadelli said. “Then today, he can’t even stay with us and gets his lap back because of the new rule and wins the race because of it.

“That’s just the luck of the draw, and it just didn’t roll our way.”