Stewart-Haas Racing's Ryan Newman honored to drive for U.S. Army
Stewart-Haas Racing's Ryan Newman is looking forward to racing his No. 39 U.S. Army sponsored Chevrolet in Sunday's Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe's Motor Speedway.
// Jeff Robinson, NASCAR Scene
Ryan Newman was happy to see his NASCAR Sprint Cup car owner and teammate, Tony Stewart, score Stewart-Haas Racing’s first win in last Saturday night’s Sprint All-Star Race at Lowe’s Motor Speedway.
Now, Newman hopes it’s his turn to go to victory lane – possibly as early as Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 at the same 1.5-mile oval.
"They say winning becomes contagious, and, hopefully, this is the first of many more to come for both the No. 14 [of Stewart] and No. 39 [of Newman] Stewart-Haas teams," Newman said. "It was an uplifting win for the entire organization."
Newman comes into NASCAR’s longest race – 600 miles, 400 laps – as hot as any driver on the Cup tour. Over the last seven points races, the Indiana native has rolled up five finishes of seventh or better, highlighted by three straight points finishes of fourth or better.
Newman was also strong in the all-star race before damage suffered in a late three-way battle for the lead ended his night seven laps early.
It seems that winning a race is all that’s left for Newman to do in his first season with the Stewart-Haas outfit, which he joined this season after seven years at Penske Racing.
"We haven't quite reached victory lane yet, but we can sure feel it and taste it," said Newman, who is eighth in the point standings. "It has been exciting to be a contender week in and week out. The more you contend, the odds get better to see the checkered flag first."
Newman has a little extra incentive to win on Sunday. Despite posting three top-fives, five top-10s and seven poles at LMS, he has never won in 16 starts at the facility outside Charlotte.
And another motivating factor is that this will be Newman’s first start in the annual Memorial Day Weekend race in a car sponsored by the U.S. Army.
"It's always a special honor to drive the U.S. Army Chevrolet, but there will be even more pride this weekend as we all pay tribute to the fallen men and women of the military who have paid the ultimate price so we can enjoy our freedom," Newman said. "It's been a privilege to wear the Army uniform and represent our soldiers both home and abroad as they continue the fight for freedom."
