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TALLADEGA, Ala. — Ryan Newman does not want to be a daredevil, but when it comes to restrictor-plate racing, he's gone airborne about as often as a circus performer shot out of a cannon.

There, it's OK. The rocket man lands in a net, waves to the crowd and waits to perform the next night.

At Talladega, no one knows where a driver will go or how many times he'll roll.

As NASCAR delicately balances fan enjoyment with driver safety, the question becomes which is more important at restrictor-plate races and what to do about it.

Various rule changes meant to protect drivers — including Sunday's announcement two hours before the race that drivers could no longer bump draft in the corners — are not giving fans what they want to see, some drivers suggest.

"The more rules, the more NASCAR is telling us how to drive the race cars, the less we can race and the less we can put on a show for the fans," Newman said,

"It is a ridiculous situation. It is a shame not more is getting done. I guess maybe I expect NASCAR to call me. I'm the only (driver) out there with an engineering degree. I would like to have a little respect on my end."

Said Denny Hamlin: "I'm as bored as (the fans) are."

Boring was a word used throughout the garage although the race featured 58 lead changes, a last-lap wreck that damaged 13 cars and a first-time winner this season in Jamie McMurray.

Drivers aren't happy because they feel as if all the rules limit what they can do. They want to run without limits, and that can't be done at Talladega or Daytona. It's too dangerous. Still, they long to do more than ride around at times — although Johnson used that strategy for most of the day before finishing sixth and moving him closer to another title.

"I think NASCAR and all the drivers should sit in a private room, lock the doors and have a discussion and try to fix this together," Elliott Sadler said.

The solution some want could be risky. Change the track. Restrictor plates have been on cars for more than 20 years. If there was a way to race without them, they'd be off the engines by now. Numerous aerodynamic changes have come and gone. What hasn't been changed during that time is the track's shape.

"The race cars, the motors and everything have gotten beyond what this place was created for," Dale Earnhardt Jr. said of the 40-year old track. "Now, we're sitting here with a car that can go way faster but it's dangerous and gets up in the air, so we've got to slow it down."

Earnhardt's comments are among a growing chorus from drivers, suggesting that the 33-degree banking in the corners be cut down to slow the cars and remove the restrictor plates.

Carl Edwards, whose car went into the fencing in the spring here and injured seven fans, also made the suggestion this weekend. Johnson repeated those thoughts after Sunday's race.

"Get the tractors out and knock down the banking," he said.

While that might provide safer racing, there's no guarantee it will make for better racing. Fans like the three- and four-wide racing associated with this track. What if a revamped track delivers less?

Maybe it's worth the risk.

With a struggling economy as a backdrop, Sunday's estimated attendance of 127,500 was nearly 30,000 less than the crowd for this race two years ago.

Another change could be to shorten the race. For fans who don't like the single-file racing, which happens at times even at this track, cutting the distance would limit the time drivers spend logging laps.

"You want to make this a really exciting race for the whole race?" Jeff Gordon said. "Make it 200 miles. That's why the truck races and other races when they come here are so exciting.

"To me (Cup) is about strategy, it's about longevity, it's about pacing yourself. I thought it was a great race. Unfortunately, the rules that we have are going to play out. The cars suck up too much. And they need to change that for this race track or it's just going to happen every single time."

And then it becomes who will be the next to emerge from the infield care center after a terrifying wreck and call for changes. In the spring, it was Edwards proclaiming after his last-lap accident, "I guess we'll do this until someone gets killed and then we'll change it."

Sunday it was Newman's turn to plead for change.

"We're supposed to be racing all day long, and I think we lost a little bit of that luster."

This driver nicknamed Rocket Man, no longer wants to fly.

Contact Dustin Long at 373-7062 or dustin.long@news-record.com

NASCAR Sprint Cup-AMP Energy 500 Results
Sunday at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway
Lap length: 2.66 miles
(Start position in parentheses; Chase drivers in bold)

1. (22) Jamie McMurray, Ford, 191 laps, 195 points, $229,275.
2. (11) Kasey Kahne, Dodge, 191, 175, $212,098.
3. (20) Joey Logano, Toyota, 191, 170, $184,301.
4. (8) Greg Biffle, Ford, 191, 160, $142,500.
5. (18) Jeff Burton, Chevrolet, 191, 160, $156,706.
6. (1) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 191, 150, $151,876.
7. (33) Michael Waltrip, Toyota, 191, 151, $110,675.
8. (36) Brad Keselowski, Dodge, 191, 147, $94,150.
9. (26) Elliott Sadler, Ford, 191, 143, $97,875.
10. (37) Bobby Labonte, Chevrolet, 191, 134, $90,300.
11. (24) Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet, 191, 135, $106,325.
12. (15) Clint Bowyer, Chevrolet, 191, 127, $93,650.
13. (12) Brian Vickers, Toyota, 191, 124, $112,648.
14. (10) Carl Edwards, Ford, 191, 126, $139,431.
15. (13) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 191, 123, $127,073.
16. (29) Reed Sorenson, Dodge, 191, 115, $119,051.
17. (28) David Ragan, Ford, 191, 112, $89,600.
18. (41) Robert Richardson Jr., Toyota, 191, 109, $77,250.
19. (5) Juan Pablo Montoya, Chevrolet, 191, 111, $115,248.
20. (3) Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 191, 108, $119,351.
21. (21) Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 191, 105, $122,678.
22. (30) David Stremme, Dodge, 191, 102, $112,340.
23. (35) John Andretti, Chevrolet, 191, 99, $88,075.
24. (14) Matt Kenseth, Ford, 191, 91, $121,790.
25. (19) Casey Mears, Chevrolet, 191, 93, $93,750.
26. (16) David Reutimann, Toyota, 191, 90, $104,873.
27. (38) Scott Speed, Toyota, accident, 190, 82, $94,573.
28. (2) Mark Martin, Chevrolet, accident, 190, 84, $85,750.
29. (42) Max Papis, Toyota, 190, 76, $74,600.
30. (6) Kurt Busch, Dodge, accident, 189, 78, $93,425.
31. (23) Martin Truex Jr., Chevrolet, accident, 189, 75, $112,765.
32. (34) Robby Gordon, Toyota, accident, 189, 72, $95,335.
33. (25) AJ Allmendinger, Dodge, 189, 64, $74,875.
34. (17) Marcos Ambrose, Toyota, 188, 66, $88,323.
35. (4) Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, accident, 183, 63, $85,648.
36. (7) Ryan Newman, Chevrolet, accident, 183, 60, $101,054.
37. (31) Erik Darnell, Ford, 167, 52, $100,929.
38. (9) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, engine, 137, 54, $91,175.
39. (43) Regan Smith, Chevrolet, engine, 99, 46, $73,050.
40. (27) Sam Hornish Jr., Dodge, engine, 44, 43, $91,670.
41. (40) Dave Blaney, Toyota, vibration, 12, 40, $72,755.
42. (32) Paul Menard, Ford, accident, 4, 37, $103,031.
43. (39) Joe Nemechek, Toyota, accident, 4, 34, $73,006.

Average speed of race winner: 157.213 mph.
Time of race: 3 hours, 13 minutes, 54 seconds.
Margin of victory: Under Caution.
Caution flags: 6 for 23 laps.
Lead changes: 58 among 25 drivers.

Lap leaders: M.Martin 1; Ku.Busch 2-8; C.Edwards 9; D.Reutimann 10; C.Edwards 11; D.Reutimann 12-16; J.Gordon 17-21; C.Mears 22-41; D.Earnhardt Jr. 42; E.Sadler 43-46; J.Burton 47; R.Newman 48; T.Stewart 49; M.Waltrip 50-51; E.Sadler 52-57; D.Hamlin 58; E.Sadler 59; D.Earnhardt Jr. 60-61; D.Hamlin 62; K.Harvick 63-88; D.Earnhardt Jr. 89; J.Montoya 90; K.Harvick 91; M.Martin 92-97; M.Ambrose 98-99; D.Hamlin 100-105; J.Andretti 106; D.Hamlin 107-108; R.Gordon 109-110; J.Burton 111; J.Gordon 112-113; R.Gordon 114; J.Logano 115; D.Earnhardt Jr. 116-118; D.Hamlin 119; Ky.Busch 120-122; R.Newman 123-124; Ky.Busch 125; J.Burton 126; J.Gordon 127-130; D.Stremme 131-135; B.Keselowski 136-139; J.Andretti 140; B.Keselowski 141-143; J.Gordon 144; K.Harvick 145; M.Truex Jr. 146; K.Kahne 147; E.Sadler 148; J.Montoya 149-150; J.Burton 151; J.McMurray 152; M.Ambrose 153; J.McMurray 154-167; D.Earnhardt Jr. 168-169; J.McMurray 170-175; D.Stremme 176-180; J.McMurray 181-191.

Leaders summary (driver, times led, laps led): J.McMurray, 4 times for 32 laps; K.Harvick, 3 times for 28 laps; C.Mears, 1 time for 20 laps; E.Sadler, 4 times for 12 laps; J.Gordon, 4 times for 12 laps; D.Hamlin, 5 times for 11 laps; D.Stremme, 2 times for 10 laps; D.Earnhardt Jr., 5 times for 9 laps; B.Keselowski, 2 times for 7 laps; M.Martin, 2 times for 7 laps; Ku.Busch, 1 time for 7 laps; D.Reutimann, 2 times for 6 laps; J.Burton, 4 times for 4 laps; Ky.Busch, 2 times for 4 laps; J.Montoya, 2 times for 3 laps; R.Gordon, 2 times for 3 laps; M.Ambrose, 2 times for 3 laps; R.Newman, 2 times for 3 laps; M.Waltrip, 1 time for 2 laps; C.Edwards, 2 times for 2 laps; J.Andretti, 2 times for 2 laps; K.Kahne, 1 time for 1 lap; J.Logano, 1 time for 1 lap; M.Truex Jr., 1 time for 1 lap; T.Stewart, 1 time for 1 lap.

Top 12 in points: 1. J.Johnson, 6,248; 2. M.Martin, 6,064; 3. J.Gordon, 6,056; 4. J.Montoya, 6,009; 5. T.Stewart, 5,969; 6. Ku.Busch, 5,936; 7. G.Biffle, 5,908; 8. R.Newman, 5,846; 9. K.Kahne, 5,834; 10. C.Edwards, 5,811; 11. D.Hamlin, 5,800; 12. B.Vickers, 5,692.