Newman No. 1 in preseason vote

Third-year driving standout Ryan Newman has been selected by motorsports writers as the preseason favorite to win the 2004 Nextel Cup championship.

Second, with 1,806 points and 27 first-place votes, was four-time Cup champion Jeff Gordon. Gordon, last year’s preseason favorite, won three races and finished fourth.

Jimmie Johnson was third with 1,801 points, including a pole-high 41 first-place votes. Johnson, who was second to champion Matt Kenseth last year, has been among the top 10 in the points for 69 consecutive races.

Rounding out the top five in the voting were Dale Earnhardt Jr., with 1,525 points and 22 first-place votes, and 2002 series champion Tony Stewart.

The rest of the top 10 were Kevin Harvick, Kenseth, Kurt Busch, 2000 champion Bobby Labonte and Jamie McMurray.

FX to air features on top NASCAR drivers

The FX television network has ordered up eight episodes of an unscripted series featuring some of NASCAR’s top drivers.

The weekly, one-hour show tentatively called “NASCAR: Drivers Unscripted” is scheduled to premiere in May.

The drivers scheduled to take part are Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kevin Harvick, Jeremy Mayfield, Jamie McMurray, Casey Mears, Tony Raines, Brian Vickers and brothers Kenny and Rusty Wallace.