Post by 221dayton on Jul 6, 2016 10:51:54 GMT -5
Doug Turnbull
WSBS Radio
July 5, 2016
Ryan Newman is a hard-nosed veteran NASCAR driver with a penchant for working his land and hunting. He loves antique cars and, removed from the track, doesn’t have his NASCAR stardom tattooed on his persona.
In his third season with Richard Childress Racing in the No. 31 Chevy, Newman is 14th in the standings and 20 points to the good to making the Chase. He is winless since the 2013 Brickyard 400, but fell one position short of winning the 2014 championship. 2015 was a quiet year that saw him make the Chase and 2016 has been the same - invisible top 10 finishes, an average finish of 15th, and only three laps led all year. He is not a front-runner, but he is consistent.
Newman has been a Coca-Cola Racing Family driver for several seasons and talked to WSB as part of a media blitz for the race the company sponsored - the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway.
Coca-Cola bottles and cans now carry song lyrics on them, instead of names. And Newman’s favorite ties right in with the Independence Day weekend and a charitable endeavor by Coke.
“My favorite one, the one I picked, is Lee Greenwood ‘I’m Proud to Be American’, which really ties in with this weekend pretty well and what Coca-Cola does with the U.S.O. They’re working on a program to support the U.S.O., a campaign to connect, so go to USO.org/Coke and send a message. They’re hoping to reach one million messages.”
Newman drove a U.S. Army backed car for several seasons with Stewart-Haas Racing, so his understanding and tie to the armed forces is strong. Newman also shared an interesting NASCAR tie with the lyric bottles.
“There are 70 unique lyrics that the drivers picked out. Those bottles will be available for a limited time.”
One thing pressing for Newman is what his 2017 plans are. His contract is up at the end of the season and Richard Childress Racing has not announced whether he or someone else will drive the No. 31 car.
“I don’t have any plans as of right now. I’d sure like to be back and build my relationship with Caterpillar, and Grainger, and WIX Filters. We’ve got Florida Lottery on the car [this weekend]. We’ve done races with Whelen and Kalahari and different people, sponsors.”
Though he nearly scored RCR its first championship since 1994, Newman and all of RCR are winless since Kevin Harvick left after the 2013 season. Childress’ grandson, Ty Dillon, is in his third Xfinity Series season and is eagerly waiting in the wings to join his brother Austin in an RCR Cup car, but sponsorship has kept him back. Caterpillar has been with RCR since 2009 and likely will dictate who drives the No. 31 next.
“We’ve two-and-a-half pretty good years together. I don’t want to look anywhere. I don’t want to be forced to look anywhere,” Newman stated matter-of-factly, as is often his way.
Besides Coke and his driving future, Newman also talks to WSB about how to make restrictor plate racing safer - key phrase: slow the cars down - and what his favorite tracks are. He also discusses how he reacts to other drivers saying he is one of the hardest to pass on the track.
Listen here: od-cmg.streamguys1.com/atlanta/atl750/u2016070509520810608.mp3
WSBS Radio
July 5, 2016
Ryan Newman is a hard-nosed veteran NASCAR driver with a penchant for working his land and hunting. He loves antique cars and, removed from the track, doesn’t have his NASCAR stardom tattooed on his persona.
In his third season with Richard Childress Racing in the No. 31 Chevy, Newman is 14th in the standings and 20 points to the good to making the Chase. He is winless since the 2013 Brickyard 400, but fell one position short of winning the 2014 championship. 2015 was a quiet year that saw him make the Chase and 2016 has been the same - invisible top 10 finishes, an average finish of 15th, and only three laps led all year. He is not a front-runner, but he is consistent.
Newman has been a Coca-Cola Racing Family driver for several seasons and talked to WSB as part of a media blitz for the race the company sponsored - the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway.
Coca-Cola bottles and cans now carry song lyrics on them, instead of names. And Newman’s favorite ties right in with the Independence Day weekend and a charitable endeavor by Coke.
“My favorite one, the one I picked, is Lee Greenwood ‘I’m Proud to Be American’, which really ties in with this weekend pretty well and what Coca-Cola does with the U.S.O. They’re working on a program to support the U.S.O., a campaign to connect, so go to USO.org/Coke and send a message. They’re hoping to reach one million messages.”
Newman drove a U.S. Army backed car for several seasons with Stewart-Haas Racing, so his understanding and tie to the armed forces is strong. Newman also shared an interesting NASCAR tie with the lyric bottles.
“There are 70 unique lyrics that the drivers picked out. Those bottles will be available for a limited time.”
One thing pressing for Newman is what his 2017 plans are. His contract is up at the end of the season and Richard Childress Racing has not announced whether he or someone else will drive the No. 31 car.
“I don’t have any plans as of right now. I’d sure like to be back and build my relationship with Caterpillar, and Grainger, and WIX Filters. We’ve got Florida Lottery on the car [this weekend]. We’ve done races with Whelen and Kalahari and different people, sponsors.”
Though he nearly scored RCR its first championship since 1994, Newman and all of RCR are winless since Kevin Harvick left after the 2013 season. Childress’ grandson, Ty Dillon, is in his third Xfinity Series season and is eagerly waiting in the wings to join his brother Austin in an RCR Cup car, but sponsorship has kept him back. Caterpillar has been with RCR since 2009 and likely will dictate who drives the No. 31 next.
“We’ve two-and-a-half pretty good years together. I don’t want to look anywhere. I don’t want to be forced to look anywhere,” Newman stated matter-of-factly, as is often his way.
Besides Coke and his driving future, Newman also talks to WSB about how to make restrictor plate racing safer - key phrase: slow the cars down - and what his favorite tracks are. He also discusses how he reacts to other drivers saying he is one of the hardest to pass on the track.
Listen here: od-cmg.streamguys1.com/atlanta/atl750/u2016070509520810608.mp3