Ryan Newman (racing driver)

Ryan Newman
Awards	1996 USAC Silver Crown Rookie of the Year 1999 USAC Weld Racing Silver Crown Series champion 2002 Rookie of the Year 2003 Driver of the Year 2008 Daytona 500 winner
NASCAR Cup Series career
Car no., team	12 - Penske Racing South
2006 position	18th
Best finish	6th - 2002, 2003 (Winston Cup), & 2005 (Nextel Cup)
First race	2000 Checker Auto Parts/Dura Lube 500 (Phoenix)
First win	2002 New Hampshire 300 (Loudon)
Last win	2008 Daytona 500 (Daytona)
Wins Top tens Poles 13 99 43

Ryan Joseph Newman (born December 8, 1977 in South Bend, Indiana) is a driver in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. He drives the #12 Alltel/Mobil 1/Kodak Dodge Charger for Penske Racing. Newman graduated from Purdue University in 2001 with a B.S. in vehicle structure engineering. In 2002, he was the Raybestos Rookie of the Year.

He enjoys fishing and working on vintage automobiles, particularly 1950s Chryslers. Newman's car was featured on the cover of the 2005 EA Sports computer game NASCAR SimRacing, and he was actively involved in its development.

Newman won the Daytona 500 on February 17, 2008, after passing Tony Stewart on the final lap. It was his first win since September 2005.

Racing career

Early days

Newman made his racing debut in 1993 in the All-American Midget Series, winning both Rookie of the Year and the championship. His 100 feature wins and two titles have him in the Quarter Midget Hall of Fame. Moving to USAC in 1995, he was ROTY again in both the Midget Series and the Silver Crown in 1996. In 1999, he was the first driver to win in all three divisions while being the Silver Bullet Series champion.

Beginnings with Penske

Newman began working for legendary racing icon Roger Penske in 2000, winning 3 of the five ARCA RE/MAX Series races he entered, and making his Winston Cup debut at Phoenix International Raceway. In 2001, Newman continued in both ARCA and NASCAR, while attending Purdue. Around this time he would meet racing legend Buddy Baker, who would eventually become his mentor on superspeedways.

"Rocket Man"

In 2002, Newman won a season-high six poles, breaking the record set by Davey Allison, and won his first career Busch Series race. In September, he won his first career Winston Cup race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway after starting from the pole. Newman also became the second rookie since Dale Earnhardt Jr. to win the The Winston. He beat out Jimmie Johnson for the Rookie of the Year award.

Newman's 2008 Daytona 500 car, on display at the Daytona 500 Experience

Newman's sophomore season began with a flip at the 2003 Daytona 500 after contact with Ken Schrader. He and his team recovered and reeled off eight wins and eleven poles, both series highs, but he also finished with seven DNF's, which left him sixth in points. His number of poles during the season led to him being nicknamed "Rocket Man."

In 2004, Newman would make the inaugural Chase for the Cup, finishing seventh in points with two wins. The next year, Ryan made the Chase again, beginning with his second New Hampshire victory. He returned to the Busch Series after a four-year absence, winning six out of the nine races he entered, including a series-record five straight. Newman endured his first winless season in 2006, finishing a career-worst 18th in points, while his longtime crew chief left for Michael Waltrip Racing.

His pole ratio between his rookie year and 2006 was one in every three races, tying him for 15th on the all-time poles list. In 2007, he again went winless, including a near win at Lowe's Motor Speedway before a blown tire ended his hopes. The streak ended after he won the 2008 Daytona 500 on February 17, 2008. It was also the first Daytona 500 win for Penske.

Grandfather clause

Newman's sponsor Alltel is officially banned from NASCAR's Sprint Cup Series sponsorship; however, because of a grandfather clause (when Nextel Communications, the predecessor to Sprint Nextel, agreed to the NASCAR sponsorship) which Alltel agreed in 2003 and has never challenged, the sponsorship has remained legal. Should NASCAR reimpose a ban on Alltel's sponsorship in Sprint Cup following its agreement with AT&T and the sale of Alltel, however, the sponsorship would move down to the NASCAR Nationwide Series, where there is no restriction.

Charity

Newman and his wife, Krissie, operate the Ryan Newman Foundation, which primarily focuses on assuring that adequate care is provided for unwanted dogs and cats in shelters and pounds. He helped fund the construction of the Catawba County, North Carolina Humane Society shelter, in the county where he once lived.

Career NASCAR Statistics

Year	Races	Wins	Poles	Top 5	Top 10	DNF	Finish	Start	Winnings	Season Rank
2000	1	0	0	0	0	0	41.0	10.0	$37,825	70th
2001	7	0	1	2	2	2	24.7	14.1	$465,276	49th
2002	36	1	6	14	22	5	14.5	9.8	$5,346,651	6th
2003	36	8	11	17	22	7	13.9	6.7	$6,100,877	6th
2004	36	2	9	11	14	9	16.5	7.5	$6,354,256	7th
2005	36	1	8	8	16	3	15.3	6.3	$7,259,518	6th
2006	36	0	2	2	7	3	20.6	11.6	$5,960,473	18th
2007	36	0	5	7	15	9	18.6	13.8	$5,815,466	13th
2008	7	1	1	2	3	0	13.6	11.0	$2,151,870	11th
Totals	231	13	43	63	101	38	19.9	10.1	$39,492,212

Data as of Apr 13, 2008

External links

• Alltel Racing Website
• Official Fansite
• Kodak Motorsports Website
• NASCAR Driver Website
• Penske Racing