Ryan Newman, nicknamed "Rocket Man," is a stock car racing driver. A graduate of Purdue University, he currently competes in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driving the No. 39 Chevrolet for Stewart-Haas Racing.
Newman began working for legendary racing icon Roger Penske in 2000, winning three 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. Newman ran 15 Busch Series races that season, winning poles in his 2nd and 3rd career starts and scoring his first career win at Michigan International Speedway in just his 9th career start. He also had a series-high 6 poles. Around this time he would meet racing legend Buddy Baker, who would eventually become his mentor on super speedways.
In 2002, Newman won a season-high six poles, breaking the record. Newman joined Dale Earnhardt, Jr. as the second rookie to win The Winston and beat out Jimmie Johnson for the Rookie of the Year award. His number of poles during his sophomore season led to him being nicknamed "Rocket Man."
In 2004 and 2005, Newman qualified for the inaugural Chase for the Cup by finishing seventh in points with two wins and nine poles. Newman endured his first winless season in 2006, finishing a career-worst 18th in points, while his longtime crew chief, Matt Borland, left for Michael Waltrip Racing. In 2007, despite a streak of three consecutive poles, Newman again failed to win a race, including a near win at Lowe's Motor Speedway that was spoiled by a blown tire. His winless drought ended after he won the 2008 Daytona 500.
Despite a slow start in 2009, Newman had his best season since 2003. On September 12 at Richmond, Newman finished 10th and clinched a spot in the Chase for the first time since 2005.
In 2010, Newman broke a 78-race winless streak with a win in the Subway Fresh Fit 600 at Phoenix International Raceway. He only led four laps during the race. In 2010, he was chosen as "honorable mention" in a list of the smartest athletes in sports by Sporting News.
Newman began his 2011 season by leading the most laps in the Daytona 500, but crashed twice late and finished 22nd. He got his first win of the season winning on a fuel mileage having enough to get the checkered flag at the Lenox Industrial Tools 301 at New Hampshire, giving him his 3rd career win at the track.
Newman's 2013 campaign started with a fifth-place finish in the Daytona 500, but his momentum changed with two crashes at Phoenix the following week. He finished 38th at Las Vegas, but recovered with a seventh-place finish at Bristol.
In 2013, it was announced that Newman would replace Truex in the Chase and that he would depart from his team at season's end, due to the team having no funding to run a fourth team at Stewart Haas.
Newman moved to Richard Childress Racing for the 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season, replacing Jeff Burton in the No. 31 Chevrolet.
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Ryan Newman Biography
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