Newman Announcing Move Tomorrow
Is an announcement any more exciting once it becomes official? I think it was pretty much a given that he was moving to Stewart-Haas Racing, but it’s still pretty cool that they are going to make it official tomorrow.
Ryan Newman’s long-anticipated move to Tony Stewart’s new race team will become reality at Michigan International Speedway, NASCAR.com has learned. The announcement is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. ET Friday.
Newman has been seen for some time as the leading candidate to fill the second seat at Stewart-Haas Racing, formed when the two-time NASCAR champion received half of the Haas CNC operation currently competing on the Sprint Cup tour. Stewart, in addition to becoming co-owner, will drive a No. 14 car backed by Office Depot and Old Spice. Newman will drive a No. 4, although the sponsorship is unclear.
Now I have to decide on a new hat for next season. That, my friends, will be tougher than figuring out where Newman was going to land.
No Surprise: Ryan Newman Is Landing At Stewart-Haas
I think we all pretty much figured Ryan Newman was going to land at Stewart-Haas, didn’t we? Given the fact that the motorsport press has written an article about Newman almost every day for three weeks I figured it was already a done deal.
Ryan Newman has reached a verbal agreement to drive for the newly-formed Stewart-Haas Racing next season, according to a report posted Wednesday by ESPN.com.
The deal reportedly could take up to a month to finalize and announce as negotiations continue for car sponsors. The addition of Newman would give Stewart-Haas a pair of Indiana-born drivers with a combined 45 victories and 53 poles in NASCAR’s premier series.
So far, with the exception of Tony Stewart leaving JGR, silly season hasn’t been all that silly.
Rusty Wallace Speaks Out
Two weeks ago, Penske Racing and Ryan Newman announced he was leaving the organization. Penske Racing issued a press release that stated it was a mutual decision.
Now, Rusty Wallace has decided he needs more limelight, and our lives are not exciting enough, so he is speaking up.
“He didn’t leave,” Wallace said Friday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where will be help call the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard for ESPN. “I’ve read many, many stories that said that. Roger Penske called Ryan Newman into to his office and said, ‘I don’t need your services next year.’ Ryan Newman didn’t come to him and say, ‘I’m leaving,’ OK? Y’all need to write about that. That’s exactly how it went down. I’ve never seen Roger Penske let anybody in his life go. Obviously there was some bad blood there. I don’t know what went on, I don’t work there anymore, but that’s what happened. I love Roger Penske, so I’m going to clear the story up right now.”
What story is there to clear up? Roger Penske said it was a mutual decision, who is Rusty Wallace to question that? Don’t get me wrong, Rusty Wallace was an excellent race car driver, but I could care less about his opinion in this matter. He is not employed by Penske, he is not driving anymore, and he certainly is no friend of Ryan Newman, so he should just shut the hell up.
He goes on to say that Roger Penske doesn’t like the fact that Newman was talking about the poor performance of the team. Well, boo fucking hoo. They haven’t been performing as well as they should be. The crew, the driver, everyone should be looking at the truth and finding ways to improve their position. If he can’t handle that truth, he’s in the wrong sport. Yes, I know I am talking about Roger Penske. I have been a fan of Penske drivers a long time. I know how it’s gone down in the past, and i still think that Rusty Wallace needs to shut his big fat pie-hole.
Penkse Choses Not To Re-Sign Newman
Rumors have been swirling that Ryan Newman was contemplating the move to join Tony Stewart at the newly formed Stewart/Haas Racing. Today, Penske Racing made it a little bit easier for him to decide.
Penske Racing and Ryan Newman have mutually agreed to move in new directions at the conclusion of the 2008 season.
“We want to thank Ryan for his hard work and contributions to Penske Racing over the past nine years,” team owner Roger Penske said. “We wish Ryan all the best for the future and we’ll continue to focus our efforts on making the Chase with Ryan and the Alltel Dodge team this season.”
Wow. Okay people. This is where I get upset. Did I think Ryan was going to stay with Penske his entire career? No. Did I think Alltel would remain his sponsor? No. Did I anticipate having to purchase a new hat and re-work all my headshots wearing a new hat? No.
The search for a new hat begins. Now.
Ryan Newman Was Hit More Than A Boxer
Kyle Busch won the race last night, but if anyone should get an award, it’s Ryan Newman. The fact that he was able to stay on the track after the first two times he was smashed up speaks volumes, but the fact he went to the garage on the third, but still emerged to finish the race was astounding.
The number of times Ryan Newman was hit on the track during Saturday night’s Sprint Cup race was ridiculous by anyone’s standards.
“We were at the mercy of a lot of untalented drivers,” said Newman of getting hit three different times in the Coke Zero 400 by three different drivers. “Three times I was either hit or got hit by somebody that ran out of talent. That was disappointing but the guys did a good job fighting back.”
I hope he can overcome the point loss from this weekend to make it into a spot in the Chase. He has done some amazing things in his career, but that would be the best, especially this year when I don’t really care about most of the races because they end up boring me out of my mind.
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Ryan Newman Takes His 43rd Pole
Earlier this week Ryan Newman and Penske said they were “moving on” after the penalty for the car being 1/8th of an inch too high following the race… I guess they meant what they said.
Daytona 500 winner Ryan Newman streaked around 1-mile Phoenix International Raceway in 26.975 seconds (133.457 mph) Thursday to win the pole for Saturday’s Subway Fresh Fit 500 (watch video), edging Elliott Sadler for the top spot by .009 seconds.
It was Newman’s first pole of the season — the eighth consecutive year he has won at least one pole — and the 43rd of his career, tying him with Buck Baker for 10th on the all-time list. The pole was Newman’s fourth at Phoenix but the first since he won three in a row from 2002 through 2004.
Congratulations Ryan! Phoenix looks to be a very good race. It’s going to be a good Saturday night this week.
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Newman Slapped With Penalty At Texas
This is just another one of those “huh?” penalties from NASCAR. I can understand having rules and making sure the drivers and their teams follow them. But…
Daytona 500 winner Ryan Newman became the latest driver penalized by NASCAR, losing 25 points Tuesday because his car failed inspection at Texas Motor Speedway.
Newman’s No. 12 Dodge was too high when NASCAR inspected it following its fourth-place run, an adjustment that could provide additional downforce to his car.
“What happened last week was a mistake and we’re moving on from it and looking forward to this week,” Newman said. “We hate to lose points, but we have a good team and we will be able to make them up.”
The penalty dropped Newman from eighth to 10th in the Sprint Cup standings.
Also penalized were car owner Roger Penske, who was docked 25 points, and crew chief Roy McCauley, fined $25,000 and placed on probation until the end of the year.
Pretty soon they’ll be penalizing cars that are going to fast on the track and not giving the other drivers a fair opportunity to pass them. Just watch.
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Ryan Newman Wins The Daytona 500
Wow. All I can say is wow.
I have been a fan of Ryan Newman’s for so long, and I always want him to do good, but I never thought he was going to win the Daytona 500 today.
With all the talk about Hendrick Motorsports, and then Joe Gibbs Racing, I thought for sure one of the seven drivers from one of those teams would have pulled it off. Tony Stewart almost did. Kyle Busch almost did too.
But the story of the day is that my two favorite drivers, Ryan Newman and Kurt Busch, ended up first and second. What an amazing day!
For the second straight year, The Great American Race came down to the last lap. This time the drama rewarded Ryan Newman, who hadn’t won in 81 races over more than two years, and team owner Roger Penske, long the king at Indianapolis but never a winner at Daytona.
Newman waited while the big stars fell back one by one. Then, with only Tony Stewart ahead of him, Newman got a ”push from heaven” from teammate Kurt Busch to take the lead on the final lap.
”Kurt was the push from heaven that made it all happen,” Newman said. ”Without a doubt, he could have easily gone three-wide and split us through the center and made one heck of a mess there. But he chose to be a teammate, and that was the most honorable thing that he could do.”
It was great to see Kurt Busch working for the team too!
I wonder how the guys at Sprint felt seeing that Alltel logo for the last part of the face and parading around victory lane? Ha!
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The Left Tire Blows With 3 Laps To Go
As I mentioned yesterday, my man Ryan just lost it…
As the green flag was set to wave for the restart with five laps left in the Bank of America 500, all of the attention was on leader Jeff Gordon and second-place Kyle Busch.
But as the cars came to full speed, Gordon’s car sputtered and there was Ryan Newman, seemingly coming out of nowhere to pass Gordon for the lead on the high side.
“I couldn’t believe it,” driver Clint Bowyer said. “It looked like he was going to win his first race of the year and then, whammy.”
Indeed. As Newman started to pull away, his left rear tire blew out and he hit the wall. He couldn’t make it back to the track and ended up 28th.
Hang in there, Ryan. I have faith in you.
Ryan Newman Captures Pole At LMS
Once again the Rocketman shows everyone how to capture a pole. Now I just wish he could remember how to win a race. It’s been far too long.
Ryan Newman dominates qualifying at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. Jimmie Johnson dominates the races.
The pair will start on the front row in the Bank of America 500.
Newman captured his seventh career pole at the track when he knocked Johnson off the top spot with a speed of 189.394 mph in qualifying Thursday night.
Johnson, who has won five of the past 12 races at LMS, will start second after a lap of 188.990 for Saturday night’s race, which marks the halfway point in the Chase for the Nextel Cup championship.
Bobby Labonte qualified third, followed by points leader Jeff Gordon, Kasey Kahne and Jamie McMurray.
Newman, who also won the pole for the May race at LMS, went out three drivers after Johnson’s lap. With Johnson watching from pit road, Newman beat his speed on the first of two laps.
I know it sounds rude, but I hope someone other than Jimmie Johnson (or Jeff Gordon) wins the race this weekend. I know those Hendrick teams are strong, but I get tired of watching the same old cars going around in circles. I want more lead changes, more action on the track. Is that too much to ask?