ROCKINGHAM, N.C. -- To add a new twist to a well-worn cliché, to the victors go the spoils -- unless you're talking Winston Cup racing.

On the eve of Matt Kenseth's likely ascension to stock car racing's elite as the latest -- and last -- Winston Cup champion, there's a certain kind of irony that will forever color the 2003 season.

For while Kenseth will most probably be the guy who takes home the championship trophy after Sunday's Pop Secret 400 at North Carolina Speedway -- he currently has a 228-point lead and needs to finish Sunday's race 186 points ahead of his closest challenger to clinch -- he'll have done so in a most unusual fashion.

Where other drivers have dominated past championships by leading all their competitors in overall wins -- or at least claiming multiple victories during their championship campaigns -- Kenseth has ventured into Victory Lane just once this season, in the third race of the year, at Las Vegas. And while he has held on to the No. 1 spot from the following week on up to today, he still has been left out in the cold for the most part when it comes to the heat of victory.

The Wisconsin native hasn't had the thrill of performing more than just one smoky post-victory burnout for appreciative fans, the gleeful dousing of team members with champagne in Victory Lane, the celebratory kisses from Miss Winston and being the top guy in the middle of the dais in post-race press conferences.

That distinction has gone -- eight times and counting, no less -- to super sophomore Ryan Newman.

While Kenseth has unquestionably proven true the old axiom that consistency wins championships, one can't just ignore the irony that comes with the gaping hole of so few wins on his road to this year's crown. Even more ironic is the contrast in Kenseth's fortunes from 2002 to 2003.

Last season, he led all Winston Cup drivers with five wins, yet watched helplessly as Tony Stewart built a head of steam in the second half of the season that pushed him all the way to the championship.

	Newman has done plenty of celebrating during the 2003 season.

This year, Kenseth has just one win, yet he's well ahead of Stewart and pretty much every other driver, and will likely go home with the championship trophy.

In fact, all he needs to do is finish 30th or better in each of the final two races, and the Cup is his.

"If we can't finish 30th in the last two races, we probably don't deserve it," Kenseth said.

One must wonder if the normally poker face Kenseth, who rarely shows an emotional side, isn't just a little bit envious of how Newman has won nearly one-fourth of this season's races -- and still has two more chances to add to that total.

At the same time, Newman can't help but be equally as envious of Kenseth for being on the verge of winning the coveted championship. If this were a perfect world -- with a much more equitable points system in NASCAR -- Newman would likely be this season's champ. Without question, he has come the furthest of all drivers in the standings, free-falling to 27th-place in the standings nearly one-third of the way into the season, only to mount an incredible rally up to as high as fourth-place (he's currently in fifth-place heading into Rockingham) during the second half of the season.

That's all quite shocking, even to Newman.

"I'll be the first to say that I would never have imagined the ALLTEL team would have the ups and downs we had this year," Newman said. "Our year started pretty bad and didn't seem to get any better for us until the second half of the season. It seemed like nothing could stop us, until getting in that wreck at Atlanta a few weeks ago. That was our seventh DNF of the season and isn't something I'm proud of. We lost ground in the points, but we're looking ahead to these next two races to dig ourselves out.

"Just because there's only two races left this year, doesn't mean anyone on the ALLTEL team is ready to stop winning," he said. "We've done a lot of testing this year in order to prepare for races and we'll keep testing right on through the winter."

If and when Kenseth is handed the final Winston Cup trophy by NASCAR President Mike Helton, Newman will certainly be on the sidelines, applauding with the best of them. If it hadn't of been for one of the worst starts by any Cup driver in recent memory -- including frightening end-over-end crashes at both Daytona and Talladega -- the shoe could very well be on the other foot. It could very easily be Kenseth applauding Newman for winning the title.

Kenseth's drive for the championship hasn't been overly tainted by a lack of checkered flags this season, but one must wonder what 2004 will bring. Will his be a one-year, in-and-out reign as Winston Cup champ, just like Stewart was this season? Will Newman be able to even come close to equaling this year's win total, let alone win even more? Will Kenseth take a dramatic step back and trade his penchant for consistency in exchange for more trips to Victory Lane? Will someone else -- perhaps Kurt Busch (who has the next highest win total -- four -- behind Newman) or Jimmie Johnson or Dale Earnhardt Jr. -- go out on a tear and need more than one hand to count all the wins they will amass?

Or, will new NASCAR chairman Brian France decide enough is enough and implement a radically new points system in 2004 that will give proper weight to victories, even if it comes at the cost of consistency? France couldn't pick a better time to do so, particularly with a brand new series sponsor in Nextel coming in. If change needs to be made, now is the time to do it.

Kenseth has earned the championship, but with a few twists of fate in his favor, Newman could also just as easily be in the same place right now. It reminds me of an old wedding analogy, where the groom gets all the congratulations, but it's the best man who oftentimes proves to be a better catch.

Jerry Bonkowski covers NASCAR for ESPN.com. He can be reached at Motorsportwriter@MSN.com