

1. michael posted:

08.03.2008 - 3:06 pm

Rate this comment: (5) (0) the first two years of his career it looked like he would be jimmie johnson



2. DaleSrFanForever posted:

08.16.2008 - 6:40 pm

Rate this comment: (1) (0) You are right Michael, after 2003 I thought the sky was the limit to what he would do in NASCAR. I thought he would have a better career than Jimmie. But he has just slowly but surely fallen off the face of the earth. Even a dramatic Daytona 500 win couldn't give him and his team a boost (kinda like Harvick). Maybe teaming with Stewart will bring him back to relavance.



3. Kit posted:

08.19.2008 - 10:22 pm

Rate this comment: (0) (1) I don't think the #39 car at Stewart-Haas is going to be much better than the #12.



4. Rusty posted:

08.23.2008 - 12:17 pm

Rate this comment: (1) (0) I too wonder what happened to Ryan Newman. He started his career off so hot and was a serious contender. Now in the last three seasons he's been extremly irrelevent. With only one win since 2006.



5. Kit posted:

09.07.2008 - 5:20 am

Rate this comment: (0) (0) Hate to say it but I think he will continue to be irrelevant. I don't see how the Stewart-Haas organization will be more competitive than the #12. He's one of those drivers who will probably never see his true potential.



I didn't care for his little tirade against Sterling Marlin during some race.



6. RaceFanX posted:

09.15.2008 - 2:32 pm

Rate this comment: (0) (0) 2008 Daytona 500 winner



7. Clayton posted:

09.27.2008 - 12:28 pm

Rate this comment: (0) (0) Not the nicest man in the sport. Had battles with Sterling Marlin. and him and Rusty didn't share information either. His wife grew up near me in Vernon, NJ. Never met her but i heard the same about her.



I think eventually the Stewart-Haas deal will help him. Maybe not in 2009, but I think in 2010 he will be running better.



We shall see!



8. DaleSrFanForever posted:

09.30.2008 - 1:11 pm

Rate this comment: (0) (0) There is one thing that I think will help Stewart Hass. Word on the street is that Chevrolet is really pulling some strings to make sure this deal goes well. They really wanted Tony back with them and I think they made a lot of promises to get him to take the deal. If they come through, Ryan could return to relavence. If not, then yes, he will probably do even worse.



9. Kit posted:

10.21.2008 - 8:15 pm

Rate this comment: (0) (1) DaleSrFanForever, I don't think Chevrolet at this point has that much pull. I don't think the #39 is going to be much better or worse than the #12.



Personally, I could not care less about Ryan Newman or his career. He doesn't have that much class and tends to blame everyone and everything else but himself.



10. DaleSrFanForever posted:

11.14.2008 - 12:54 pm

Rate this comment: (0) (0) Heh. So much for my "Chevy will bring them to success" argument. Looks like GM will be bankrupt by the Spring.



11. NASCAR 24/7 posted:

01.01.2009 - 9:52 pm

Rate this comment: (1) (0) Newman started off by making his Cup debut in 2000 at Phoenix in the No. 02 for Roger Penske. In 2001 he made some starts in the No. 02 again in Cup and Busch Grand National. In 2002 he ran for Cup Rookie of the Year honors in the No. 12 car for Penske, and actually beat out No. 48 Jimmie Johnson for the award. In 2003 he started out with horrendous crashes at Daytona and Talladega, but recovered to win eight times that year, the most that year. In 2004 and 2005, Newman made the Chase, in 2005 bumping No. 42 Jamie McMurray out. In 2006 and 2007, Newman didn´t win a single race, and didn´t make the Chase. In 2008, though, Newman started off the Cup season with a huge bang. Newman, with the help of No. 2, teammate Kurt Busch, won the season-opening Daytona 500. It was the 50th running of the historic event, and 10 years since Dale Earnhardt won his only Daytona 500. This year, Newman will drive the No. 39 car for Stewart-Haas Racing.



12. NASCAR 24/7 posted:

01.02.2009 - 1:51 pm

Rate this comment: (0) (0) Newman also won the only Truck race he entered in 2008 at Atlanta driving the No. 2 for Kevin Harvick Inc.



13. hyperacti posted:

01.02.2009 - 3:41 pm

Rate this comment: (0) (0) I think that Tony and Ryan will see results at Haas Racing. Don't forget, Tony has pulled A LOT of good people from other teams such as Darian Grubb, Tony Gibson, Jeff Meendering, and had Robbie Loomis on his wishlist, which might just be granted if he doesn't move to Evernham with the merge of Petty Enterprises.



Tony is not the kind of driver that will let his own team struggle, either.



14. Kit posted:

01.20.2009 - 11:33 pm

Rate this comment: (0) (0) Neither was Bill Elliott or Ricky Rudd and they didn't do too hot as owner/drivers.





15. DaleSrFanForever posted:

02.13.2009 - 12:30 pm

Rate this comment: (3) (2) Am I the only one who thinks it is hilarious when he gets wrecked? Don't get me wrong, I don't like wrecks, and I am glad he is alright after his wreck in the qualifier, but it is just hilarious to watch his reaction to it. He throws all his safety stuff off in about 10 seconds, hurries out of his car, looks over the damage with a hilarious look on his face, gestures towards the driver that wrecked him, then insults him in his interview. Like he's never caused a wreck. I just laugh every time it happens. Am I wrong for feeling this way?



16. Kit posted:

02.15.2009 - 3:54 am

Rate this comment: (2) (1) No, even when he wrecks by himself, he'll throw all his safety stuff off in about 10 seconds, hurry out of his car, look over the damage with a hilarious look on his face, gestures towards the track that he wrecked on, and then insults the track in his interview. Like he's never caused a wreck.



17. Anonymous posted:

02.24.2009 - 9:36 pm

Rate this comment: (0) (2) The only NASCAR driver with a four year college degree.



18. samfan09 posted:

03.03.2009 - 9:03 am

Rate this comment: (0) (0) One of the best qualifiers possibly in the history of the sport.



Other than that, I have to agree with most of the others. I could care less if he never wins again. I actually liked him in 02 and 03, and for most of 04. Being a Rusty fan, I stopped caring about Newman when all of that started. I'm not completely blaming Ryan because they were both to blame, but of course I was going to stick up for my driver.



I was happy to see him win Daytona though. I've been a fan of Penske in all forms of racing for years and to see him get his 500 win was great. It's just too bad he couldn't have done it with Rusty.



19. Kit posted:

03.05.2009 - 3:42 am

Rate this comment: (0) (1) "The only NASCAR driver with a four year college degree."



Currently the only one maybe, but not the first. Alan Kulwicki had a degree in mechanical engineering.



20. Ben posted:

03.06.2009 - 11:11 pm

Rate this comment: (0) (1) I dont like the guy, but Penske sucks. Way to ruin your team Roger by giving junk to a talent, but a block head, Ryan Newman. The ol Penske days died when Rusty left, actually about 5 or 6 years earlier.



21. Matt posted:

03.22.2009 - 7:22 pm

Rate this comment: (0) (0) 2000 ARCA car owner was Roger Penske



22. Darrell posted:

03.29.2009 - 8:14 pm

Rate this comment: (0) (0) 2009 Cup owner: Stewart Haas Racing.



23. #14 fan but #48 Hater posted:

05.11.2009 - 3:00 pm

Rate this comment: (0) (0) Ryan is having one of his best seasons to date currently with 3 straight top 5s for the first time since 2005.



Silence the Critics Ryan!



24. Carol Henrichs posted:

05.18.2009 - 8:58 am

Rate this comment: (0) (0) Ryan was born to race. It is a joy to deal with the down times so we can rejoice at the up times.



Daytona was the high point, so far. I'm waiting for the championship.



25. Kit posted:

05.21.2009 - 2:52 am

Rate this comment: (0) (2) The blockhead could have won the All-Star race if he wasn't so busy playing destruction derby. His car was probably better than Stewart's.



26. Mike posted:

05.30.2009 - 11:27 pm

Rate this comment: (0) (0) Ryan Newman is a great talent and it's great to see him running good. That's what happens when you put a great driver in great equipment.



27. Rusty posted:

08.05.2009 - 5:48 pm

Rate this comment: (0) (0) Newman went on a little hot streak in the spring running up front and flying up the points standings, even getting a 2nd place at Charlotte. But he's cooled off since then.



28. Kit posted:

08.20.2009 - 9:57 pm

Rate this comment: (1) (0) I think he's a little overrated. When we won all those races in 2003, Penske was head and shoulders above everyone else with their setups. The #12 was generally the fastest car on the track by a wide margin. But Newman couldn't even squeak in a top five points finish then due to inconsistency on other tracks. He also got caught up in some wrecks, but still...



Once everybody caught up to the #12 team in 2004, his career fell back to earth. He can be really good in some races, but he's never a domineering, week-in, week-out driver like Matt Kenseth.



He was wise to get out of the #12 car because last year, the problem was with the team and not him. But this year, he's really cooled off compared to Stewart, who I imagine has the exact same equipment.



I started to come to this conclusion after this year's All-Star race where he pretty much took himself out of contention.



29. Talon64 posted:

08.26.2009 - 5:00 pm

Rate this comment: (0) (0) Newman's fallen into the upper mid-tier of drivers like Hamlin, Harvick, Kahne, Dale Jr. and Biffle, guys who are more than capable of winning races but haven't been able to win a championship yet due to varying degrees of inconsistency whether it's race to race or season to season and don't seem like they can ever get there.



30. DaleSrFanForever posted:

08.27.2009 - 11:26 am

Rate this comment: (0) (0) What happened in 2003 is that the #12 team caught everyone off guard as far as engineering and pit calls. He won 8 races, but in most of them he made his final "pass" for the lead by staying on the track while others pitted and he took advantage of clean air. They engineered their cars to achieve max horsepower while not burning as much fuel and set their cars up to be bullets while out front.



In 2004 they shortened the spoilers and softened the tires while everyone else caught up to them on engineering. In the six years since 2003 ended, he has a pedestrian 4 wins. I think Tony only picked him up because they are good friends and it would keep him in his comfort zone. The same reason he supposedly wants to sign Kevin Harvick.



I just think it is ironic that his Haas Automation paint scheme is exactly like Dale Earnhardt's Goodwrench scheme. Are there any more opposite drivers in NASCAR history? Newman is a former open wheeler from Indiana with an engineering degree from Purdue and a short stumpy frame. Dale is a high school drop out with a tall frame that started out on red clay Southern dirt tracks in pieces of junk stock cars.



Ryan always tries to sound so smart like he's so much more intelligent than everyone else, but he just sounds silly. He really needs to have a paint scheme that looks like the one Geoff Bodine used to drive.



31. Kit posted:

09.13.2009 - 12:22 am

Rate this comment: (0) (0) That's right. All the engineering you see today, with computers and such, that more or less started in earnest with the #12 team in 2003. It was a change from the old guard; hell, even then I'm sure Rusty's team in the #2 were still using Xeroxed notes.



If Tony's just picking up drivers because he's good friends with them, wow, I thought he would be wiser. In Ryan Newman's case, he's not a bad choice but he isn't tearing it up. Now's he's considering Harvick because they're buds? Rick Hendrick he is not. I guess he's also friends with Danica Patrick or would like to be friends with her because I don't see what reason she should be in the car.



"Newman's fallen into the upper mid-tier of drivers like Hamlin, Harvick, Kahne, Dale Jr. and Biffle, guys who are more than capable of winning races but haven't been able to win a championship yet due to varying degrees of inconsistency whether it's race to race or season to season and don't seem like they can ever get there."



I disagree. With the exception of Harvick and Dale Jr., these guys have been more of a factor than Newman in the past several seasons. It seems like most of the races Newman has won has been due to being in the very best car on the track in those races.



Kahne will win a championship eventually.



32. Talon64 posted:

10.27.2009 - 6:12 pm

Rate this comment: (0) (0) Newman finished in the top 10 in all 6 short track races this year, and other than road courses his best average finish is at short tracks with 27 top tens in 48 races and a win at Richmond. People are judging drivers on this site all the time based on short track success so...



33. SoxFan24 posted:

11.11.2009 - 1:52 am

Rate this comment: (0) (0) Ryan was the 19th driver to win in all 3 major series (Trucks: 10/25/08, Cup: 9/15/02, Nationwide: 8/18/01



34. Kit posted:

11.18.2009 - 5:11 am

Rate this comment: (0) (0) "People are judging drivers on this site all the time based on short track success so..."



All that means is that he knows what he's doing on short tracks. Overall, he hasn't been much of a factor in years.



35. RCRandPenskeGuy posted:

12.12.2009 - 12:17 am

Rate this comment: (0) (0) I've never been a fan of Ryan's. He just comes off as too negative too often.



36. L'Ville Bryan posted:

01.23.2010 - 6:34 pm

Rate this comment: (0) (0) For having a college degree he doesn't use his head that often. He whines alot, plays the blame game, and really just hurts team morale all around. He's a good talent, but much of that talent has gone to waste because of his attitude. If he actually became more positive and didn't whine so much maybe he would win more. He also hasn't been the qualifyer lately that he used to be. Newman won 11 poles in 2003 more than the last 4 years COMBINED!



37. Talon64 posted:

01.25.2010 - 7:24 pm

Rate this comment: (0) (0) Newman's pole success had as much to do with Penske; Kurt had 3 poles in 5 seasons with Roush and then had 6 in his first year with Penske in 2006, tying for the most poles that season.



Penske's domination in poles ended with the COT; Newman had 5 poles in 2007, 4 with the old car but only 1 with the COT.



In fact Penske only has 2 poles in the last 3 seasons with the COT, both with Newman (one in 2008).



HMS has won 29 poles in the 88 COT races.



38. Smokefan05 posted:

01.25.2010 - 9:26 pm

Rate this comment: (0) (0) "I've never been a fan of Ryan's. He just comes off as too negative too often."



Exactly. He whined and complained after the Talladega race last year. He just stood there are tokes shots at everyone (drivers included).



If he where more postive and less of a whiner i'd like him more.



39. MatttheNASCARGuy posted:

02.20.2010 - 1:03 pm

Rate this comment: (0) (0) I think ryan newman will be bettter. 15 top tens in 09 isnt bad. I think its only a matter of time before hes back in victory lane



40. RaceFanX posted:

03.17.2010 - 11:01 pm

Rate this comment: (0) (0) 2002 NASCAR Winston Cup Rookie of the Year, edging Jimmie Johnson to do so



41. Critic posted:

03.23.2010 - 7:41 pm

Rate this comment: (0) (0) After 2003, I thought that Ryan Newman had at least one championship in his future. His qualifying was without peer (the comparisons to David Pearson were not at all inappropriate); despite some difficulty in April and May, he performed at a consistent peak throughout the summer and fall in his first two seasons; and much was still made of his engineering degree and the high strategic aptitude of the No. 12. Rightly or wrongly, he had earned a reputation as one of the sport's most intelligent competitors, which is ironic given the complaints he now frequently mis-directs at everyone but himself.



Since then, his performance has eroded. From 2006 to 2008 he looked completely mundane, and while last year was something of a renaissance, he wasn't a match for Stewart -- which may be expected, as it is Stewart's team. The truth is that Newman's 2003 is looking more like an outlier, perhaps akin to Jenson Button's championship season last year. Whereas Button had the good fortune to be in a technically superior car (by benefit of the Brawn diffuser, etc.), Newman's team brought an engineering style and approach to the sport which was nothing short of a revelation. Both were capable enough to capitalize on their advantage, but as Brawn came back to earth in mid-season, everyone had caught up to Newman by 2004. Nine of his thirteen victories came in 2002 and 2003; he has only four since, and one since 2005. Did anyone expect that?



What's telling is the contrast between Kahne's 2006 and Newman's 2003. I think we all accept that the No. 9's one and a half mile package was all-conquering that year, but whereas Kahne has earned a reputation as an overachiever for his subsequent efforts, where is Newman? No longer the property he once was, and barring a turn-around this year or the next, I think his career has now been defined. Better than average (even that distinction is no longer as clear), but he will never rectify his performance with the expectations set out for him after 2003. I was never a Newman fan, but I thought more of him, and almost feel let down.



The obligatory Newman post-accident reaction reminds me of the basketball player who commits a flagrant foul and then thrusts his arms into the air and stares at everyone in bewilderment.



42. Kit posted:

03.25.2010 - 11:22 am

Rate this comment: (0) (0) I agree with you entirely, Critic. I guess Newman's 2003 season can really be contributed to the car and not the driver. Without looking I think even Dale Jr. has had more success in the past five years.



43. StewartNewmanTruexLoganoFan posted:

04.11.2010 - 1:05 am

Rate this comment: (0) (0) 2010 subway fresh fit 600 winner!!!



44. blaneyfan66 posted:

04.11.2010 - 10:09 am

Rate this comment: (0) (0) Soooooo happy to see Rocketman in Victory Lane.



I was looking at the scoring ticker and saw him around 5th most of the 2nd half of the race. I was thinking; "Man, this would be a huge points day for him, considering he was around 20th in points. Then, he and Jeff Gordon and 4 others take 2 tires. No way any of the 4 tire guys like JJ and Kryle would catch up with one GWC finish.



45. Talon64 posted:

04.12.2010 - 6:44 pm

Rate this comment: (0) (0) For those who look down on plate wins, it's his first non-RP win since Loudon 2005, 161 races ago.



He's now tied for 47th all time in Cup wins.



46. Unser1 posted:

05.16.2010 - 5:36 pm

Rate this comment: (0) (0) 1999 USAC Silver Crown Series champion



47. Talon64 posted:

05.28.2010 - 7:43 pm

Rate this comment: (0) (0) 46th career pole ties him with Junior Johnson for 10th all time.



His 6th Coke 600 pole ties him with David Pearson for most all time in the race and his 9th Charlotte pole puts him 5 back of Pearson's record of 14.



48. Red posted:

06.02.2010 - 12:35 am

Rate this comment: (0) (1) I personally can't stand Ryan Newman. In fact, he's probably my least favorite driver in Cup today. He whines too much, he's arrogant, he's blind to his own mistakes, he always finds someone/something to scapegoat after he wrecks, and when he's not bitching, he has the personality of a brick.



I find it hilarious watching him start up front then drop like a stone as soon as the green flag waves. He does this almost every week. Other than his fluky 2003 season, Newman has been the definition of mediocre. Of his 14 wins, at least 6 can be attributed to superior strategy by his team, rather than his driving ability.



Texas 2003: Maybe a 5th place car, but all the leaders get trapped by a caution during pit stops and Ryan falls into the win



Chicago 2003: About an 8th place car, but superior fuel mileage allowed him to stay on track during the final caution, then drive away in clean air.



Michigan 2003: Might have won anyway, but most of his competitors ran out of gas, making it much easier



Dover 2003: First race with the lucky dog rule; Ryan gets his lap back then refuels several times under caution, allowing him to make one fewer stop than his competitors and steal the win



Kansas 2003: Same as Chicago



Daytona 2008: Not a strategy fluke, but only won because his teammate graciously pushed him to the lead on the final lap



Phoenix 2010: Running 5th with three laps to go, caution comes out, leaders take four tires, Ryan takes two, gets in clean air and steals another one



It's all smoke and mirrors with Ryan Newman. He can't do anything with a non-perfect car, and usually relies on his crew chief to bail him out with pit strategy.



One other thing: The announcers are always saying how much bad luck Ryan has in plate races, since he wrecks in almost every one. But it isn't bad luck, it's that he doesn't know how to draft and is always stuck in the middle of the pack where the big one normally occurs.



49. RCRandPenskeGuy posted:

06.06.2010 - 3:14 am

Rate this comment: (0) (0) I agree entirely with Red. Obviously the #12 team was on top of the curve before everyone else back in 2003. The other top teams caught up by the mid-point of '04, and Ryan fell back down to Earth. 8 wins in 2003, only 5 wins in the 6 and a half years since then.



50. Madison posted:

08.11.2010 - 8:24 pm

Rate this comment: (0) (0) I'll never forget his comment during Jimmie Johnson's roast in Vegas: "Four in a row. Bet you wish you could do that with your wife, huh?" Piss in my pants every time!



51. Kit posted:

08.24.2010 - 12:41 am

Rate this comment: (0) (0) "I personally can't stand Ryan Newman. In fact, he's probably my least favorite driver in Cup today. He whines too much, he's arrogant, he's blind to his own mistakes, he always finds someone/something to scapegoat after he wrecks, and when he's not bitching, he has the personality of a brick."



I think Denny Hamlin and a few others might be worse, but yes, I don't like Newman either. When he personally insulted Sterling Marlin over an on-track incident, I completely lost respect for the guy. It's an on-track incident, don't turn it into an off-track personal issue, you asshole. Not only was Marlin a damn good driver, he was also a great guy off the track and had a great personality. There's no excuse for Newman to take things that personally.



"It's all smoke and mirrors with Ryan Newman. He can't do anything with a non-perfect car, and usually relies on his crew chief to bail him out with pit strategy."



He didn't even do jack shit with a Stewart-Haas car last season, either. This was when Stewart was running away in the points standings. Kenseth ran away with the championship in '03, which shows that it takes more than a perfect car to win a championship.



52. RaceFanX posted:

08.27.2010 - 2:08 am

Rate this comment: (0) (0) Number for his 2010 Modified Tour races is actually #7NY



53. Unser1 posted:

09.08.2010 - 1:16 pm

Rate this comment: (0) (0) In some ways Ryan is leading on every page of this site. The r-r.info logo picture is the start of the fall NASCAR race at Martinsville in 2002 with Newman taking the lead from the pole position.



54. Josh C posted:

10.13.2010 - 2:58 am

Rate this comment: (0) (0) I don't like Cryan Screwman at all! The only reason he won 8 races in 2003 was because his crew chief was awsome at getting fuel mileage correct and he kinda squirmed his way to 4-5 of those wins. Other than that his career has been a joke from someone who looked like he could have once been a championship contender...and he never has had a top 5 in points despite 8 wins in one season. BTW his average finish that season was almost 14th! Looks like when he wasn't winning because of fuel, he was crashing.



Plus, I really started disliking him after what he did to Rusty at Martinsville in 2004. It was that race that all of those Hendrick guys (RIP) got killed in that plane crash during. It was during the final restart and Rusty told cryan that if he got a run on him he wouldn't race him that hard...what does cryan do? damn near wrecks him going into the first turn.



Screwman is a POS! I can't believe that Tony even hired him. He should have gotten Harvick!



55. Anonymous posted:

01.20.2011 - 9:21 am

Rate this comment: (0) (0) Newman is a good driver, but he cannot survive the plate tracks.



56. justice h posted:

02.11.2011 - 11:23 am

Rate this comment: (0) (0) who is your favorite driver josh c?



57. Watto posted:

03.01.2011 - 2:10 am

Rate this comment: (0) (0) Wow, Josh. So he won 14 races courtesy of fuel mileage, eh? Did he also get 73 top 5s all on fuel mileage? The dude had 17 top 5s in that 8 win season, so apparently he wasn't wrecking when he wasn't winning. People just have to go and try to delegitimize drivers they don't like...



58. Talon64 posted:

03.03.2011 - 7:15 pm

Rate this comment: (0) (0) He holds the rookie record for top fives (14), top tens (22) and poles (6) in a season.



59. Kevin posted:

03.28.2011 - 8:35 am

Rate this comment: (0) (0) Seems like a lot of bitter people around here. Bash on Ryan Newman, you probably have couple voodoo dolls of Kyle Busch lying around your house with that mentality.



60. Eric posted:

04.02.2011 - 12:15 am

Rate this comment: (1) (0) His personality is big turn off based on his history like already mentioned on this page. He is not as bad as Kyle Busch though in terms personality.



The criticism of Ryan Newman as a driver was justified before this year. He is doing great for the early part the season right now though.



His 2003 season had a lot of fuel mileage wins. That season caused people have a lot of high exceptions out of him. Besides equipment issues at Penske, some major names came on the Scene after 2003 or found their ways as a driver after struggling as rookie or had a resurgence. The other thing to look at with Newman Early years was a bunch of cup drivers were getting long on the tooth in terms of big names and there were at least 45 years in 2002. Terry Labonte, Ricky Rudd, Dale Jarrett, Rusty Wallace, Sterling Marlin, and Bill Elliott were at least 45 years old.



Some of the drivers I am doing to list actually are more talented than Ryan Newman or got more out there talent. Here the drivers I am referring to:



Greg Biffle: He became a top 10 in points driver starting in 2005 after struggling as rookie in 2003.

Kasey Khane - better than his equipment for most his career.

Carl Edwards -

Kyle Busch - One of the top 2 short track cup drivers today and is a threat to win anywhere it seems.

Jeff Burton - his career resurrected under RCR.

Denny Hamlin - one of the top short track cup drivers today.

Clint Bowyer - He is a poor man's Terry Labonte.



Ryan could become a little more threat in about 5 to 8 years time. It would be caused by older drivers than Ryan that will have the same issue as Mark Martin currently has or could be retiring sometime this decade in their late 40's. Mark Martin is 52 years oldand there is whispers on the cup garage that his reflexes are on the decline. It starts from Jeff Biffle to Matt Kenseth.



Jeff Burton isn't getting any younger with him turning 44 in June. Biffle will turn 42 in December. Stewart and Jeff Gordon will turn 40 this year. Matt Kenseth is 39.







61. RaceFanX posted:

07.13.2011 - 5:57 pm

Rate this comment: (0) (0) 2001 Daytona ARCA 200 winner



62. £ posted:

07.16.2011 - 10:57 pm

Rate this comment: (2) (0) No relation to the hot actress



63. Talon64 posted:

07.18.2011 - 6:08 pm

Rate this comment: (0) (0) Newman had 44 top 5's in his first 116 starts (2000-2001 when he made a handful of starts, then 2002-2004 when he was full time). His top 5 % of 37.9% ranked him 2nd only to Jeff Gordon (41%) over that span.



If Newman had kept up that pace, he would have 133 top 5's right now (351 starts).



Instead, Newman's only had 34 top 5's over the last 235 races (2005-present), giving him a top 5 % of 14.5% which only ranks him 16th in that stretch.





64. RaceFanX posted:

07.20.2011 - 5:48 pm

Rate this comment: (0) (0) Originally won the summer 2011 Whelen Modified Tour race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. However his neon yellow-and-blue #7 Menards modified flunked its post-race inspection and he was DQed, having both the win and even his start taken away.



65. Mik Maq racer posted:

08.03.2011 - 2:32 pm

Rate this comment: (0) (0) Rocket Ryan is slowly working his way back to the top. Smokes team has brought out the best in him. hope he resigns a long term deal to remain with that team.



66. Anonymous posted:

12.01.2011 - 11:50 am

Rate this comment: (0) (0) In terms of statistics, Ryan had his best season since 2003 this year. Maybe with Stewart winning the championship, Ryan can elevate to a higher level in 2012.



67. kyle101439 posted:

04.02.2012 - 6:33 pm

Rate this comment: (0) (0) I like Ryan, he seems like a really nice, smart, level headed guy who is at the door of winning 4-7 races a year. This year could be the start of something amazing...



68. Paul posted:

05.08.2012 - 3:02 am

Rate this comment: (0) (0) One of the few drivers who never wears sunglasses or drinks alcohol. I've never seen Ryan wear sunglasses when the camera is on him, and I've heard him remark a couple times that he doesn't drink. As a fellow non-drinker/sunglasses wearer, I feel connected to Ryan this way. This along with his hard, clean driving style makes me a fan.



Other drivers have complained about him being the hardest guy to pass on the track (I know Logano and Johnson have stated this), but it's refreshing to see some guys still believe in the true spirit of racing. Guys like Ryan are the ones I want in NASCAR. The guys that don't like it when others race side-by-side with them should either get over the fact that they're not dominating the field like their late model days or jump over to open wheel cars where racing is infrequent.



69. Paul posted:

05.08.2012 - 3:07 am

Rate this comment: (0) (0) His engine failure this past weekend at Talladega was Newman's first DNF since Daytona in July 2010, and his first from engine failure since Fontana in February 2010.



70. BLabonte47 posted:

06.17.2012 - 2:32 pm

Rate this comment: (1) (1) Ryan Newman is one of my least favorite drivers out there. It seems like every time someone wrecks him or does anyhing to upset him, he trashes the hell out of them to the meida like they just slept with his mother. As if he has never wrecked anyone or screwed up. That and the fact he has done nothing worth noting since is 2003 fuel mileage season, he is just annoying.



71. Silence Dogood posted:

07.01.2012 - 8:54 pm

Rate this comment: (0) (0) Biggest example of a "wolf in sheep's clothing"



72. Jim posted:

08.01.2012 - 3:16 pm

Rate this comment: (1) (0) Ryan Newman is the only driver to ever win in the # 39.



73. Jordan posted:

08.26.2012 - 1:53 am

Rate this comment: (1) (1) I never understood the Pearson comparisons. He's more like a somewhat more marketable Joe Nemechek who got aligned with a good organization at a young age.



74. Joe Fan #87 posted:

12.07.2012 - 11:34 pm

Rate this comment: (0) (2) Bet not many know his first start in stock cars (ARCA) was a S&P.



75. Anthony posted:

03.14.2013 - 3:16 pm

Rate this comment: (1) (1) I Never knew he S&P in his first stock car race why no sponsor. Right Matthew?



76. Matthew #39 Allstar posted:

03.14.2013 - 3:18 pm

Rate this comment: (1) (2) NNNNNNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO never in the history of mary jane my favorite driver starts n parks. Oh wait that was in 1997. Hey me & Ant where born on the same day month & year. Ryan Newman Was so Great in 2003 but why 6th???????????????????????????????



77. Jon Trimble posted:

04.15.2013 - 2:15 am

Rate this comment: (0) (7) Ryan Newman is the biggest tool in NASCAR. He's a bully who wants to settle everything with violence. He says the young drivers have no right to drive they do. Well Mr. 3.8% winning percentage, you're nothing more than a field filler. The only time you're relevant is when you're wrecking someone.



78. Ryan #39 posted:

04.21.2013 - 7:32 pm

Rate this comment: (0) (0) So everybody complaining about his wins: Are you really saying that nobody else wins races on fuel mileage or pit strategy? Funny because in the 2003 Southern 500 the 12 car was BY FAR the class of the field and a malfunction with the kill switch ruined his day. Everybody knows the fastest car dosent always win, regardles of the driver. At loudon a couple years ago Ryan's 39 dominated the race (look at the stats) and won, so frankly all this complaining about Newman is a bit unjustified and can be applied to countless other drivers too.



79. Anonymous posted:

06.09.2013 - 4:05 pm

Rate this comment: (0) (0) A MUCH better qualifier than racer.



80. HarryRacer posted:

07.06.2013 - 12:39 am

Rate this comment: (0) (0) some say RCR is where he's goin. But if there's talk of him maybe goin as a fourth team at MWR cause Vickers is goin to the 55, Mikey already said its his guy. If Ryan can bring the sponsorship of Quicken Loans and Outback with him to MWR it could happen. MWR can run with less sponsorship then RCR could. RCR has their sights on Kurt Busch and running Austin as the fourth team. Bud and Jimmy Johns will run with Harvick so Busch ride with RCR is a maybe also if they cant get sponsorship. Austin Dillon will run Cup in 2014 with Bass Pro and Advocare. Ryan has is best friends with Truex so theres a connection at MWR but that's dependent on sponsorship. JGR wont run a fourth team unless fully sponsored as would RCR. So likely if Ryan could do what Bowyer did and bring enough of his own to run 70% of the season Mikey would do it.



81. HarryRacer posted:

07.06.2013 - 12:44 am

Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kurt said he was in talks with RCR, EGR, and MWR but he's got no sponsor to bring with him other than maybe convincing Monster to move up to Cup which I don't think they are willing to do for a full season maybe for 2-3 races. Monster loves the Busch brothers it fits their brand. For Ryan its down to if he could or if Richard Childress could gather enough sponsors for RCR but most likely Ryan has a better chance if he brings his own to MWR. Likely this wont happen and he'll end up at Furniture Row.



82. rw posted:

07.06.2013 - 7:01 pm

Rate this comment: (1) (0) It feels strange that he's not winning poles like he used to. :/



83. I Love Japan posted:

07.15.2013 - 1:51 am

Rate this comment: (1) (2) The resident unemployed ogre of NASCAR. Living proof of how long ago 2003 is.



84. Eric posted:

07.28.2013 - 6:59 pm

Rate this comment: (1) (0) I Love Japan,



Ryan isn't going to be unemployed for a long time.



Ryan winning the Brickyard 400 is good enough to find him employment. You can't use the he only wins in a contract year excuse because he won a race for Stewart-Haas for 4 straight years.



85. Pork Rind posted:

07.28.2013 - 9:01 pm

Rate this comment: (0) (0) Ryan Newman is a good winner at the Brickyard.



86. 1995z71 posted:

08.01.2013 - 10:41 pm

Rate this comment: (0) (0) He joins an elite group that includes Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt, Dale Jarrett, Bill Elliott, Harvick, Johnson and Jamie McMurray as drivers who have won both the Brickyard 400 and Daytona 500.



87. Hank1469 posted:

08.03.2013 - 11:13 pm

Rate this comment: (2) (0) Im glad he beat the 48!



88. I Love Japan posted:

09.07.2013 - 11:55 pm

Rate this comment: (0) (0) I've given Ryan a lot of shit but I feel bad for the guy. He loses his ride at SHR due to a lack of sponsorship and is replaced by Kevin Harvick. Then Tony gets injured, and Haas goes behind his back to hire Kurt Busch for a 4th car when one of the reasons Ryan is out of a ride is because SHR said it couldn't expand to 4 cars. He is mockingly called an ogre by Kyle Busch. Newman then takes the lead at Richmond from Edwards with a few laps left. Then Bowyer intentionally spins out to help Truex get in the Chase. And Newman has a bad pit stop which ultimately cost him tur race and a spot in the Chase. It must suck to be Ryan Newman. Especially cause if it wasn't for Bowyer's spin he never would have had to pit in the first place. Hopefully he at least gets the #31 ride at RCR and has success there.



89. ceno00 posted:

09.08.2013 - 3:36 pm

Rate this comment: (0) (0) Got screwed out of his 18th win and a spot in the 2013 Chase by the cheaters at Michael Waltrip Racing at the fall Richmond race.



90. 1995z71 posted:

09.09.2013 - 8:38 pm

Rate this comment: (2) (0) In the chase after NASCAR fines MWR for cheating.



91. HappyHarvick47 posted:

09.09.2013 - 11:35 pm

Rate this comment: (0) (0) Not a bad day for him, announce a 3-year contract starting in 2014 and end up in the Chase.



92. rw posted:

09.20.2013 - 8:33 pm

Rate this comment: (0) (0) Interesting, I mention he hasn't been winning poles and now he's winning poles. WEIRD haha.



93. Anonymous posted:

09.28.2013 - 6:11 am

Rate this comment: (0) (0) @ rw too bad he finished 16th. Although the SHR cars looked very poor in race trim.



94. b4il3y posted:

12.03.2013 - 2:53 am

Rate this comment: (0) (2) And the ogre does what in the chase? Nothing.



95. Ryan #39 posted:

12.18.2013 - 4:48 pm

Rate this comment: (1) (0) b4il3y: he got wrecked twice at kansas and martinsville. Go back and watch the races. Is it a form of entertainment for you to seek out a specific driver and run your mouth?



96. Dh101 posted:

01.30.2014 - 9:01 am

Rate this comment: (6) (0) I wish he took Borland over with him. Those two work really well together



97. Corey Adkison posted:

06.15.2014 - 1:36 am

Rate this comment: (1) (1) He's a solid driver but he's a 8th-15th place points driver. I put him behind Johnson, Gordon, Kenseth, Earnhardt, Harvick, Shrub, Edwards, Biffle, Kurt Busch, Stewart, Hamlin, Bowyer, and Kahne at this point though.



98. DH101 posted:

07.01.2014 - 3:05 am

Rate this comment: (0) (2) I've always liked Ryan, yeah he can be an a** at times but he's no Kyle Busch or dare i bring up Robby Gordon. Also finally got his first top 5 this past weekend. RCR as a whole seems to be struggling so this seems to be promising moving forward.



99. c2 posted:

07.14.2014 - 11:38 am

Rate this comment: (4) (0) I think he will be one of the guys to make the playoff but on points.



He has been extremely consistent this season, I don't think folks realize he's solidly in the top ten.



100. Corey Adkison posted:

07.14.2014 - 5:02 pm

Rate this comment: (4) (0) Yeah, he's 7th in points so far. I think He and Menard will get in on points.



101. GordonEvernham24 posted:

08.17.2014 - 7:38 pm

Rate this comment: (1) (5) This big OGRE just pisses me off!! He has ALWAYS raced everybody like its the last lap for a win. He always races the leaders the same way when he is being lapped in the past. All the drivers have said the same thing that Jimmie Johnson said today, he is the hardest to pass on the track and you just about wreck yourself and him trying to pass him. I have NEVER liked this douche and lost even more respect for him today. I couldn't care less if he is on the chase bubble, if he keeps racing people that way they'll make sure he doesn't get into the chase.



102. rc posted:

08.18.2014 - 7:01 am

Rate this comment: (1) (6) He's a whiny bitch. He races everybody super hard from lap 1 but whines when he gets the same treatment back. When things don't go his way he pouts worse than Kyle Busch. See pretty much any accident he's ever been involved in - almost every post race interview will have some sort of criticism of NASCAR's lack of safety.



Prime example of this was last week at the Glen when he whined about the safety of track after he hit the tire barrier...if he knew how to check up for a car that was loose in front of him, he wouldn't have been in a position to get wrecked in the first place! But it's clearly the tracks fault that he caused a big crash, it's "antiquated," and so is every other road course in America apparently because of the use of tire barriers. If he put as much effort into actually driving the car as he does running his mouth he'd be the top seed for the Chase even with second tier RCR equipment.



103. Corey Adkison posted:

08.24.2014 - 9:59 pm

Rate this comment: (0) (0) I was wrong about Menard getting in on points. Too many wrecks of late. I think Newman will pull out at least three more wins before he retires to get to 20, but I think 20-21 is the ceiling.



104. Ryan #31 posted:

10.19.2014 - 9:16 pm

Rate this comment: (1) (1) Where are all the va-JJ fans now? Newman made the cutoff after Talladega today and the 48 is out of the chase. Whats more, if we were using the non-chase points system, va-JJ is STILL lower in points than Newman, so don't blame the points system either and shut the f**k up.



105. Anonymous posted:

10.21.2014 - 3:53 am

Rate this comment: (0) (1) You are wrong, under non-chase points Newman would be in 7th -125 points behind and Jr would be 4th 92 points behind. Newman has had a very VERY weak year and it's obvious if he were to win NASCAR would take a big hit.



106. Gooch posted:

10.24.2014 - 1:42 am

Rate this comment: (2) (0) How is he having a weak year when he has the best average finish of his career?



107. that e-guy posted:

10.26.2014 - 8:32 pm

Rate this comment: (0) (0) The dark horse of the chase.



108. Ryan #31 posted:

10.27.2014 - 1:09 am

Rate this comment: (0) (0) Hey Anonymous, I said va-JJ is lower in points than the 31. (va-JJ=Jimmie Johnson). There was not a single mention of Junior in my post. Read much?



109. Ryan #31 posted:

10.27.2014 - 1:16 am

Rate this comment: (1) (0) Oh and today after Martinsville the 48 fell even further behind. Get the violins out.



110. Ryan #31 posted:

10.27.2014 - 1:31 am

Rate this comment: (0) (0) "...it's obvious if he were to win NASCAR would take a big hit." I'm curious how something that hasn't even happened yet can appear as so "obvious"? Explain that one to me.



111. Walter White posted:

10.27.2014 - 4:16 pm

Rate this comment: (4) (0) I think Newman is in a good situation now because he is by far the best driver at RCR. When a guy has the full confidence of an organization behind him, it can make you a much more confident performer. Newman drove like a scared overshadowed second wheel at SHR, and he never could be "the guy" when he had championship teammates like Rusty Wallace and Kurt Busch. However when he had a good team around him, he outperformed Rusty and he had the confidence and demeanor of a superstar. Give him a good car, build your organization around him. I don't care what anyone says, he's a championship driver. Once RCR finds the speed, and they will, watch out. The Rocketman will fly. And not like he did at Daytona in 03.



112. ii posted:

10.27.2014 - 8:09 pm

Rate this comment: (2) (2) I swear though, he better not get this friggin championship without a win. That would make this whole new Chase thing look silly as hell.



113. Walter White posted:

10.28.2014 - 8:38 pm

Rate this comment: (4) (1) Quite frankly, I actually think that would be the funniest thing ever lol. I think it's funny enough seeing the #31 be the top car at RCR considering they have always been second wheel to the 3/29. And though I have no problems with the format, it would just be a great slap in the face to NASCAR. On that, you probably are correct ii.



114. @BuhDee33 posted:

11.04.2014 - 9:29 am

Rate this comment: (0) (0) Newman is having his best year since 2003. However, 8 wins compared to no wins is a major difference.



Also, he is still in contention for the championship. I didn't even think anyone from Childress would make the chase.



115. @BuhDee33 posted:

11.05.2014 - 9:13 am

Rate this comment: (0) (0) Another interesting statistic, Newman has only led 41 laps so far this year. "41 laps". Marcos Ambrose has led 50 and he didn't even qualify for the chase this year. If Newman wins the championship don't be surprised if Nascar changes the rules/format of the chase next year. Not that I don't want to see an underdog like Newman win this year, just that Nascar would probably take a driver who led under 50 laps all year winning over drivers who have led 500+ as an embarrassment to the sport.



116. Anonymous posted:

11.11.2014 - 12:46 pm

Rate this comment: (1) (1) If he wins he will be the weakest champion in Nascar history based on his season. I don't think people would even consider him a champion, how could you?



117. 1995z71 posted:

11.13.2014 - 1:11 am

Rate this comment: (2) (3) "I don't think people would even consider him a champion, how could you?"



You can actually say that about almost every champion since they made the chase in 2004.



118. Anonymous posted:

11.13.2014 - 10:00 am

Rate this comment: (1) (0) Not really. Not only could this guy win the title with 0 wins, but with FOUR Top 5s.



Four.



I think it's hilarious that this has come full-circle on NASCAR. They created the Chase after Kenseth 1-winned his way to a title in 2003, and now they're at risk for having a 0-win "champion" with a fraction of the Top 5s/consistency that Kenseth had. If it doesn't happen this year it'll happen eventually with this system.



While their initial concern may have been to crown a more "deserving" champion, it's pretty clear at this point that they sold their souls for ratings. Some could argue that they really didn't have a choice. Unfortunately for them they can only salvage so much.



119. Rusty posted:

11.15.2014 - 4:52 am

Rate this comment: (7) (0) I like Ryan Newman and all, but him winning the championship would be a travesty. He deserves props for being able to survive this long somehow, but I'm not sure how you can crown a champion with not only not having a win, but not even having a single 2nd place finish on the season and only managing 4 top 5 finishes. On one hand I'm glad Ryan is making NASCAR look stupid, but on the other the idea of him actually being a champion with such an incredibly weak body of work is a disgrace. It's almost my final straw with NASCAR and their awful attempts of creating forced drama instead of just letting it happen on it's own. Matt Kenseth may have won the 2003 title with just one win, but he had a masterful season and now were in danger of someone winning the title by just being barely decent enough to keep scraping by. I wish NASCAR would just let it go back to being whoever actually had the best overall season being champion.



120. Anonymous posted:

11.16.2014 - 10:43 am

Rate this comment: (2) (1) I bet Nascar is kicking themselves wondering how they got these four drivers for the last race. Logan deserves to be there no doubt, as does Harvick for the most part..And I say that because he would be in 5th place traditionally. But mostly everyone is in agreement that Hamlin and Newman should not be there. Hamlin missed a race but would be 14th in the standings right now if not for the chase format. Fourteenth! Out of all the great drivers having great years this could have been one for the ages, but now its kind of anticlimatic. Under the old system the top four going into the race would be Gordon, Logano, Jr, and Keselowski. What an epic last race that would be. But now its 2 guys who deserve to actually be there, and 2 rejects. Sad ending to an otherwise great season.



121. Ryan #31 posted:

11.16.2014 - 10:07 pm

Rate this comment: (1) (2) " but I'm not sure how you can crown a champion with not only not having a win, but not even having a single 2nd place finish on the season and only managing 4 top 5 finishes. "



He finished 2nd today which brings the top 5s to 5. And he didnt win the cup today anyway. Why dont you look at this seasons finishes of 25 or lower that the 31 has compared to all the other chasers? Your guy had more shitty finishes this year. Get over it.



122. Rusty posted:

11.17.2014 - 3:38 am

Rate this comment: (5) (2) Congratulations, it took him until the last race of the season just to manage a runner up finish. He clearly was championship material. No offense, but Ryan Newman did not have a championship caliber season and him coming so close to the epic upset just showed the flaws of this new system right off the bat. While he deserves props for getting decent finishes every week and limiting the bad ones, he was never legitimately a top 5 driver or team, he wasn't contending for wins (he almost set a career low in laps led) and his style of racing went against everything NASCAR wanted with this format. NASCAR wanted the emphasis on going for wins and being rewarded and instead we saw that just being solid enough to avoid elimination can get you father than going all out for wins.



Again, NASCAR just needs to let the driver with the best season rightfully be crowned champion again. To me it is disgusting to see how desperate NASCAR is to make things interesting and avoid a meaningless season finale. I'd rather see the right driver being crowned champion then coming up with some crazy way to create drama.



123. DH101 posted:

11.17.2014 - 10:40 am

Rate this comment: (2) (0) Came oh so close. Great job all season Newman. Sometimes you got to lose one before you win one



124. You might have posted:

11.19.2014 - 6:48 pm

Rate this comment: (2) (1) Y'know, I wasn't expecting Ryan to perform as well as he did last weekend, he really impressed me and I hoped he shut the mouths of his doubters.



125. Ky0ty posted:

04.27.2015 - 12:00 pm

Rate this comment: (1) (1) Does NASCAR think that the #31 team is the only one "tire-bleeding"? A lot of teams have been using bleeder valve stems forever,same as drilling the tire. the tire builds pressure & swells when it's hot and then "releases air keeping the tire from exploding!" this actually makes the tire safer!



126. Stewart14rocks posted:

05.19.2015 - 8:05 pm

Rate this comment: (0) (2) tbh to people bitching about this new format. I bet nascar didn't expect newman to make it this far no one did. But the new chase formate is the new formate and they aren't gonna change it anytime soon



127. We need more Onion posted:

08.17.2015 - 8:19 pm

Rate this comment: (0) (2) Admittedly, he can fart the alphabet. lol



No. Not kidding here.



128. Quasar posted:

09.14.2015 - 8:22 pm

Rate this comment: (4) (2) Another chase for Newman, he's very effective on restarts late in the races and he often earns Top 10's (with 15th place cars) that way but they just haven't been as fast as they were earlier this season. Luke Lambert is a good crew chief and he's shown he can pull agressive strategies a few times with Burton & Newman but with the way the points are now, I think they're just trying to avoid very bad results and they're pretty good at that.

Let's see if they can pick up the pace in the chase once again.



129. Stewart14rocks posted:

09.20.2015 - 11:24 am

Rate this comment: (0) (0) Been almost 2 years since rcr has won a cup race.



130. KurtBusch41Fan posted:

09.24.2015 - 10:18 am

Rate this comment: (1) (0) Passed guys 3 wide on the last restart of chicago and ended up 4th somehow. I am literally shocked how that happened because he was running 8-13 most of the race. He's gonna be a factor once again. no denying that.



131. 88&4Fan posted:

09.24.2015 - 12:07 pm

Rate this comment: (0) (0) Maybe this year he can finish the job with no wins and they'll just realize how screwed up this stupid chase is and go back to the 2013 points but I doubt it.



132. Big Mac Fan posted:

09.24.2015 - 6:19 pm

Rate this comment: (0) (1) Hope he finally will win the title this year. Would love to see NASCAR's reaction to a winless champion.



"Go back to 2013 points"



Replace the 1 with another 0 and you're set.



133. Flo posted:

09.24.2015 - 6:36 pm

Rate this comment: (0) (1) Replace the 201 with 197 and we're good.



134. Stewart14rocks posted:

09.26.2015 - 4:04 pm

Rate this comment: (0) (1) Newman seems to always find a way to get good finishes at the end of the day. Feeling his next win is gonna be huge.



135. b4il3y posted:

10.25.2015 - 4:07 am

Rate this comment: (1) (4) to be honest.. i think this guy is a bully and a has been driver.



136. Big Mac Fan posted:

10.25.2015 - 10:11 am

Rate this comment: (1) (0) Yes, a has been that came .5 seconds away from winning a title last year.



137. Big Mac Fan posted:

11.23.2015 - 10:00 am

Rate this comment: (0) (0) Pros: Repeated his stats from last year with 5 Top 5s and about 15 top ten's. Little speed through the year but consistency was there once again.



Cons: Had a career low in laps led and this time he got eliminated early.



138. Braindead Zombie posted:

04.24.2016 - 9:14 pm

Rate this comment: (0) (0) The early frontrunner for the 2016 Invisible Man of the Year award IMO. And wow I'm the first comment here since November.



139. Maverick11 posted:

04.24.2016 - 9:17 pm

Rate this comment: (0) (0) I've give that honor to Menard first. He's lower in points and has fewer top 10's than Newman while being on the same team.



140. Braindead Zombie posted:

05.26.2016 - 7:24 pm

Rate this comment: (0) (0) Running a Whelen sponsored car this weekend, I'd assume its a throwback to the #31 Whelen car that Steve Park, Dave Blaney, and others used to run in the Busch series.



141. capt_cornholio posted:

06.29.2016 - 7:59 pm

Rate this comment: (0) (0) Having listened to Newman on the live scanner for over a decade, I feel like he's lost his fire. He rarely gets angry or worried anymore and the radio feels monotonous at times like he's just going through the motions. I will always be a fan of his though and I'm hoping he can pick up one or two more wins before he calls it quits.



142. Stewart14rocks posted:

07.11.2016 - 7:39 pm

Rate this comment: (0) (0) If he doesn't win next week at new Hampshire or at the Brickyard he'll be on a 3 year winless streak.



143. Cooper posted:

07.19.2016 - 9:09 pm

Rate this comment: (0) (0) This guy irritates me. I've never seen one drivers career change so much over time. From hard charger that ran up front but DNF'd a ton... to a driver that putters around the track and has a better chance of winning the lottery than leading a lap.



144. Braindead Zombie posted:

07.19.2016 - 9:17 pm

Rate this comment: (0) (0) Its just what RCR drivers do. Look at Kevin Harvick when he drove for them. Never led any laps and always snuck into wins or better finishes than he deserved. Now he leads 2000 laps per season but can't win hardly any of the races he dominates.



145. Sean posted:

07.19.2016 - 9:19 pm

Rate this comment: (0) (0) RCR has cared more about finishing races than winning them since 1991. It's pretty amazing Earnhardt won as many races as he did win in his final decade in spite of that...



146. Anonymous posted:

07.19.2016 - 10:04 pm

Rate this comment: (0) (1) He's not even a threat to win Modified races anymore. 0 laps led in his last 7 starts.



Will Ty Dillon end up in the #31 next year? Can't say for certain, but Newman doesn't have much confidence he'll be back with RCR beyond this season.



147. Sarf52 posted:

07.19.2016 - 10:25 pm

Rate this comment: (0) (0) Newman is still a threat to win. The team concept is to finish every race, top 15. If they would take a swing on a drastic setup once in a while, I bet him or Austin could win at least 2 a year. But, they may not be in the points position they both are in now if they did that. Just a differing strategy from

that of the other upper tier teams, it has nothing to do with the driver, both Newman and Austin Dillon are more than capable of winning in the modern Cup series.



148. Ultimate Warrior #18 posted:

07.19.2016 - 10:25 pm

Rate this comment: (0) (1) I think he if he doesn't return to the #31 next year he'll hang up the helmet. Honestly he doesn't really do much on Sunday's anymore it's like he lost his competitive drive he's just kinda there now no more excitement from this guy. He's a long way away from his rocket man days.



149. JeffGordon24FanForever posted:

07.19.2016 - 10:33 pm

Rate this comment: (0) (0) It doesn't they aren't as many good ride opportunities compared to 5 years ago



150. Braindead Zombie posted:

07.19.2016 - 10:45 pm

Rate this comment: (0) (1) "There aren't as many good ride opportunities compared to 5 years ago"



Ding!Ding!Ding!



This was actually one of several things I discussed in the blog I made last night but like a complete idiot I forgot to save it and it didn't publish. Probably next time late at night when I get really bored I'll write it again.



151. HJ10 posted:

07.19.2016 - 10:48 pm

Rate this comment: (0) (0) But it's not like Ryan is being out performed by his teammates. He'll still probably make the chase. No one on his team has won since he's been there I think he does a good job for RCR.



152. The Real Slim Shady posted:

07.19.2016 - 11:11 pm

Rate this comment: (1) (0) Ironically Newman has actually looked better at RCR then he did at SHR and his latter Penske years. Sure, he doesn't lead much laps or get top finishes, but his style fits way better at RCR. While I have never thought RCR even at Earnhardt's apex was a truly elite team, they have been very solid. They have treated their satellites like JTG and Germain quite well, plus they have given a lot of mid tier guys like Mike Skinner, Jeff Green, Robby Gordon, Dave Blaney, and Paul Menard their breaks at the Cup level. Childress was once the little man, and the way he helps smaller teams out I think is pretty cool. I don't think their equipment has ever been up to snuff from a speed standpoint, but from a reliability standpoint, no one has been as consistently good as Childress. I think Harvick/Burton/Bowyer made them look way better then what they were back in the late 2000's, but there are good reasons why they have never bottomed out like Roush, or gone out of business like many of their former competitors like Melling, Blue Max, Junior Johnson, Yates etc. RCR is a strong team, and they have planned for the future for decades. The vision and strategy that Childress himself has is quite extraordinary really when you think about it.



153. The Real Slim Shady posted:

07.20.2016 - 5:38 am

Rate this comment: (1) (1) Btw here is an interesting stat for Newman. He had 25 podiums from 2002-2004 which ranked him 4th in that category for the time period. Since 2005 he has had only 23 podiums and he is 18th during that time span.



154. TeamDCR fan posted:

08.19.2016 - 1:38 am

Rate this comment: (3) (0) Hard to dislike Newman. Always someone you hope to see have a decent run



155. chevyfan98 posted:

08.23.2016 - 7:17 pm

Rate this comment: (1) (0) If he finds himself on the outside of the chase or really close to the bubble at Richmond, I wouldn't be at all surprised if he comes out of nowhere to have a great run or even wins. He's always run better when the stakes are higher, just look at how he ran at the end of 2014 or in the 2012 and 2013 fall Richmond races.



156. chevyfan98 posted:

09.11.2016 - 1:10 am

Rate this comment: (0) (0) Lost any remaining respect I had for him tonight. Can't believe I spent an entire week hyping up him possibly winning to make the chase and then he goes out and says that. I should be mad at Tony Stewart for causing his second wreck in as many weeks but instead I'm just in utter disbelief at Newman's interview. Don't care that it was heat of the moment or whatever. There are some things that you just don't say. That's one of them.



157. Maverick11 posted:

09.11.2016 - 1:31 am

Rate this comment: (1) (0) "Hard to dislike Newman."



Well...after tonight that's probably not true anymore.



158. Scott B posted:

09.11.2016 - 6:59 am

Rate this comment: (0) (1) I'm a Seinfeld fan, so I've got a head start on disliking Newman.



From the beginning, he got on my last nerve always talking about his engineering degree like it gave him some special authority in the garage.



Total lack of class in the interview tonight. Complaining about how somebody raced you after a wreck can be forgiven, but he took it to a whole different level.



Curious how Childress will react to the remarks, publicly and privately.





159. Blue Palaski posted:

09.11.2016 - 8:32 am

Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Total lack of class in the interview tonight. Complaining about how somebody raced you after a wreck can be forgiven, but he took it to a whole different level."



Exactly,they obviously did not teach how not to put your foot in your mouth at Purdue. Yeah, Tony has had anger issues in the past, but he has cleaned up his personality to the point where bringing them up now is a blatant cheapshot. The way Tony responded, THAT was class. And it's not like Newman has ever wrecked someone out of anger before.



Total lack of respect for Newman right now.



160. Eric posted:

09.11.2016 - 10:22 pm

Rate this comment: (2) (0) I see people forgot that Newman has a history of making classless statements while in anger.



Ryan Newman back in 2012 claimed Kurt Busch has a chemical imbalance. Ryan made that statement after the incident him and Kurt had in 2012 at Darlington along with the fact Kurt bumped Ryan's car on pit road.



161. The Long Shot posted:

09.12.2016 - 11:19 am

Rate this comment: (1) (2) "Ryan Newman back in 2012 claimed Kurt Busch has a chemical imbalance. Ryan made that statement after the incident him and Kurt had in 2012 at Darlington along with the fact Kurt bumped Ryan's car on pit road."



Well, to be fair, I'd hardly consider those unfair comments given who he was talking about...



But yes, Newman's comments Saturday night were absolutely ridiculous. IMO he should be blackballed from the series for saying that shit, but no matter, his competitive Cup career is over either way.



162. chevyfan98 posted:

09.12.2016 - 11:51 am

Rate this comment: (2) (0) "Well, to be fair, I'd hardly consider those unfair comments given who he was talking about..."



In 2012, absolutely. But come on you have to admit he's really changed (finally) in the last few years.



163. Tyson posted:

09.12.2016 - 12:44 pm

Rate this comment: (0) (1) I would agree, but those comments were in 2012, so those comments then I'd say were justified given the danger Busch put a number of people in with that stunt.



I'm gonna go on the defensive for Newman when talking about Stewart. I don't think (hope) he meant what everyone thinks he meant. Let's be real here: Stewart does have a history of anger. He's made his fair share of angry comments, and is prone to intentionally wrecking people.



Newman was angry in the moment. He made some angry comments, and considering he's been friends with Tony for years, I don't think he would insinuate the Ward incident was intentional, at least I really hope he wouldn't.



164. JSPorts posted:

09.12.2016 - 12:44 pm

Rate this comment: (0) (0) I think he has changed, but he still has a bit of a temper. I'm not going to defend what Newman said, but I completely understand why he was mad. I thought it was a bit of an overreaction on Stewart's part.



165. The Long Shot posted:

09.12.2016 - 1:22 pm

Rate this comment: (0) (0) "In 2012, absolutely. But come on you have to admit he's really changed (finally) in the last few years."



Certainly in the last year. Before that is subject for a debate I've had too many times already. But you can't deny that it was a justifiable comment in 2012.



166. chevyfan98 posted:

09.12.2016 - 7:44 pm

Rate this comment: (0) (0) ^Oh I'm not denying that. 2011 and 2012 were probably his worst temper years ever, especially the whole Jimmie Johnson thing (which he even admitted was partially due to him being jealous that Johnson won the championship every year).



167. Danica10Racer posted:

09.15.2016 - 2:58 pm

Rate this comment: (0) (3) Late to the party but he really should not be bitter about being booted from SHR for Kurt Busch. Kurt outperformed him when they were both at Penske and he has outperformed him in SHR equipment.



The fact is that Newman was brought into SHR to be a compliment to Tony and a driver that could contend and possibly win the championship. Newman did a pretty bad job for a driver who was knocking on the door of a championship a couple years later. As far as all SHR drivers are concerned, he has been the biggest disappointment relative to the expectations they had for him. Yes, he won 4 races but was largely irrelevant over the course of those seasons.



The decision to get rid of Ryan and bring in Kurt was a good one and brought another championship level driver to the team with arguably the best group of drivers on a 3+ car team not named Joe Gibbs Racing.



168. JSPorts posted:

09.15.2016 - 4:47 pm

Rate this comment: (0) (0) Here is how Newman's stats while at SHR stack up to other drivers':



Years raced: 1. Tony Stewart (8), 2. Ryan Newman (5), 3. Danica Patrick (4), 4. Kevin Harvick, Kurt Busch (3), 6. Regan Smith (2), 7. Austin Dillon, Brian Vickers, Jeff Burton, Mark Martin, Max Papis, Ty Dillon (1)



Average rank: 1. Kevin Harvick (2.3), 2. Kurt Busch (9.7), 3. Ryan Newman (11.8), 4. Tony Stewart (14.3), 5. Mark Martin (25), 6. Danica Patrick (25.8), 7. Jeff Burton (41), 8. Brian Vickers (42)



Starts: 1. Tony Stewart (252), 2. Ryan Newman (180), 3. Danica Patrick (134), 4. Kevin Harvick (98), 5. Kurt Busch (95), 6. Mark Martin (12), 7. Brian Vickers (5), 8. Regan Smith (4), 9. Ty Dillon (3), 10. Jeff Burton, Austin Dillon (2), 12. Max Papis (1)



Poles: 1. Kevin Harvick (9), 2. Ryan Newman (8), 3. Tony Stewart, Kurt Busch (5), 5. Danica Patrick (1)



Wins: 1. Tony Stewart (16), 2. Kevin Harvick (10), 3. Ryan Newman, Kurt Busch (4)



Top 5s: 1. Tony Stewart (58), 2. Kevin Harvick (50), 3. Ryan Newman (30), 4. Kurt Busch (22)



Top 10s: 1. Tony Stewart (100), 2. Ryan Newman (78), 3. Kevin Harvick (69), 4. Kurt Busch (49), 5. Danica Patrick (6), 6. Mark Martin, Brian Vickers (1)



DNFs: 1. Tony Stewart (18), 2. Danica Patrick (16), 3. Ryan Newman (15), 4. Kurt Busch (8), 5. Kevin Harvick (5), 6. Mark Martin, Brian Vickers, Regan Smith, Austin Dillon (1)



Average start: 1. Kevin Harvick (9.8), 2. Kurt Busch (11.7), 3. Ryan Newman (13.0), 4. Brian Vickers (15.4), 5. Tony Stewart (15.9), 6. Austin Dillon (21.5), 7. Mark Martin (22.2), 8. Danica Patrick (25.1), 9. Jeff Burton (26.0), 10. Ty Dillon (26.7), 11. Regan Smith (27.3), 12. Max Papis (29.0)



Average finish: 1. Kevin Harvick (10.2), 2. Kurt Busch (14.4), 3. Max Papis (15.0), 4. Ryan Newman (15.1), 5. Tony Stewart (15.9), 6. Ty Dillon (19.0), 7. Austin Dillon (20.0), 8. Mark Martin, Regan Smith (21.5), 10. Brian Vickers (23.8), 11. Danica Patrick (24.0), 12. Jeff Burton (26.0)



Laps led: 1. Kevin Harvick (5642), 2. Tony Stewart (2582), 3. Kurt Busch (1245), 4. Ryan Newman (847), 5. Danica Patrick (48)



Out of 5 drivers who have run full seasons for SHR, Newman ranks 3rd in wins and 2nd in top 10s, and is 3rd in average rank and 3rd in average finish. He was not the best driving for them, but certainly didn't deserve to get fired. At SHR, he was about comparable to Kurt Busch. I look at it like this:

Tier 1: Tony Stewart 2009-12, Kevin Harvick

Tier 2: Ryan Newman, Kurt Busch, Tony Stewart 2016

Tier 3: Tony Stewart 2013-15, Danica Patrick, substitute drivers



I don't think there's any doubt that a lineup with Newman looks better than a lineup with Patrick. He would be a great 4th driver for them.



169. Danica10Racer posted:

09.15.2016 - 9:22 pm

Rate this comment: (0) (6) Danica brings things to SHR that Newman could not even dream of doing off the track and with sponsorship money. She's the perfect 4th for SHR whereas Newman would be better off at RPM or CGR as the #1 (#2 at CGR) driver that can improve the team's car. He doesn't belong on a top tier team anymore.



170. JSPorts posted:

09.15.2016 - 10:03 pm

Rate this comment: (0) (0) Maybe in terms of sponsorship, but from a competition standpoint there is no question Newman is the better fit for that team. Patrick would really be better off driving for a lower-level team that needs the money they would get from her. And it wouldn't look as bad, because she couldn't be outrun as badly. She can't get beat by 20 positions each race if her team only averages a 30th place finish.



171. Danica10Racer posted:

09.15.2016 - 10:15 pm

Rate this comment: (0) (9) Her stats don't look that bad to the causal observer, it's you guys that her stats look bad to. That's just because you are comparing her to the best car on the grid.



I still stand by my stance that Newman is the biggest disappointment and I'd argue that Kurt is tier 1 on that list or at least tier 1.5. His last year was better than anything Newman ever did at SHR and the same goes for this year (although this year is slightly worse).



172. Blue Palaski posted:

09.16.2016 - 12:40 am

Rate this comment: (0) (0) Slightly worse? Kurt has finished in the top ten in all but 9 races and on the lead lap in all but two, and that's slightly worse?



173. Danica10Racer posted:

09.16.2016 - 3:01 am

Rate this comment: (0) (4) Kurt ran up front more last year. I value running up front a lot more than other people on here because of the current points system. Kurt has been the beacon of consistency this year but he hasn't had a "dominant race" like he had last year.



If this is the old format (points equal across all 36 races) then I'd agree that Kurt is having a fantastic year but not under the new system. He hasn't showed the speed he had last year. That's not his fault though, SHR as a whole has taken a slight step back in raw speed.



Point being, either one of his two years (this or last) was better than anything Newman produced when he was at SHR. SHR had the same expectations for both of those drivers when they signed them.



174. Alex posted:

09.16.2016 - 7:32 am

Rate this comment: (1) (1) Let's put it this way: Newman is driving for Chevy's number 4 team and has more top-10s and top-5s this season than Danica has had in her entire career. Newman also came out of the box with 5 wins in 8 career ARCA races. He won the pole and crashed out of the lead in his third career Cup start with under 20 stock car races to that date.



175. Danica10Racer posted:

09.16.2016 - 10:13 am

Rate this comment: (0) (2) And it's been three years since Newman last won. Your point?



176. Alex posted:

09.17.2016 - 5:59 am

Rate this comment: (0) (0) ^Just that maybe it wasn't Newman that SHR should have fired for Kurt Busch...



177. Danica10Racer posted:

09.17.2016 - 1:10 pm

Rate this comment: (0) (3) Then SHR would have been a two car team with Harvick and Stewart and people would hvae been complaining that Stewart is only on that team because he's the team owner and that Harvick far outranks him.



Racing seats haven't been given on performance only for decades now, it's an antiquated concept back to the stone age of racing. If Danica is not at SHR, then neither is Kurt and Newman is still at RCR.



178. Alex posted:

09.17.2016 - 1:21 pm

Rate this comment: (2) (2) ^You just admitted Danica sucks. Way to go.



179. Danica10Racer posted:

09.17.2016 - 1:36 pm

Rate this comment: (2) (6) No I did not say Danica sucks, you could not even infer that from the post. I'm a realist, I don't live in fantasy land where "40 of the best stock car drivers" compete against each other every week. There are at least 15 drivers you can argue about not being in that 40 (and yes Tony Stewart is one of them). Not to mention the constant fluctuation between confidence, comfort level with current rules package, fortune and "talent."



Professional auto racing isn't a sport because it's not purely based on talent. There are factors such as marketing and sponsorship that create opportunities for certain drivers that others could not fill. It's unintelligent to judge drivers based on the same criteria, not to mention that teams have different expectations for different drivers.





180. Anonymous posted:

09.17.2016 - 1:47 pm

Rate this comment: (2) (0) ^Are you completely out of your mind?



181. David posted:

09.17.2016 - 1:56 pm

Rate this comment: (1) (0) "Professional auto racing isn't a sport because it's not purely based on talent."



That has to be one of the most inane definitions of "sport" I have ever seen.



"There are at least 15 drivers you can argue about not being in that 40 (and yes Tony Stewart is one of them)."



He may not be anymore, but out of the 40 drivers starting on Sunday, Stewart is easily one of the most accomplished over his career.



182. Danica10Racer posted:

09.17.2016 - 2:16 pm

Rate this comment: (0) (2) Well David do you want the 40 best drivers or do you want the 30 best plus some guys that have accomplished a lot in the past? Also, before everyone jumps me for that comment, I do know that Tony won a race this season. I believe that a lot of why he has been so successful this year is that the rules package is very much in his favor compared to the last couple of years.



As for my expanded definition of sport:



Sport = Talent + Luck + Game Circumstances (what is happening during the time of the game). There is nothing more to that equation than that. Auto racing violates that by bringing in multiple other factors not related to that. Also, before anyone jumps on me before I get to say it, I will admit that Danica does benefit from some of those factors.





183. Tylor Thaber posted:

09.17.2016 - 3:50 pm

Rate this comment: (1) (0) @179 If you don't think auto racing is a sport, why do you follow it? Get out of here, you're unnecessary.



184. Danica10Racer posted:

09.17.2016 - 6:10 pm

Rate this comment: (0) (2) Because I enjoy racing? Just because I don't feel it's a sport does not mean it is not important or not enjoyable? You guys sure do draw a lot of "unstated" conclusions from my posts.



Also, look at post 183 as another person who cannot post a productive post and tells me just to leave. Once again, they are trying to silence me for having a different opinion.



185. Alex posted:

09.17.2016 - 6:51 pm

Rate this comment: (2) (0) There is a strong difference between having a different opinion and insisting non-factual things are factual...



186. nascarman posted:

09.17.2016 - 8:01 pm

Rate this comment: (5) (5) I'll stick up for Danica10Racer here. I don't know exactly your reasoning for saying it's not a sport is, but I do think you can say it's not a sport and not say it in an insulting way. Here's a link to a comedian's podcast where he argues that to call NASCAR a sport is insulting it and minimizing the difficulty of it. It is a lot of physics and engineering, and to reduce NASCAR to just a "sport" may discount the huge effort it takes to do it.



http://youtu.be/f3gu1ql0YQ0



187. chevyfan98 posted:

09.17.2016 - 9:47 pm

Rate this comment: (0) (2) "No I did not say Danica sucks, you could not even infer that from the post. I'm a realist, I don't live in fantasy land where "40 of the best stock car drivers" compete against each other every week. There are at least 15 drivers you can argue about not being in that 40 (and yes Tony Stewart is one of them). Not to mention the constant fluctuation between confidence, comfort level with current rules package, fortune and "talent."



Well excuse us if we're fed up with undeserving drivers like Danica taking up space in top cars, while talented drivers like Kligerman, Moffitt, JAMES BUESCHER, Ryan Truex, Whitt, DiBenedetto, and Cassill are stuck either driving crap or not driving at all.





"Professional auto racing isn't a sport because it's not purely based on talent. There are factors such as marketing and sponsorship that create opportunities for certain drivers that others could not fill. It's unintelligent to judge drivers based on the same criteria, not to mention that teams have different expectations for different drivers."



Congratulations. You just admitted that's the only reason Danica is in racing, and it has nothing to do with her (non-existent) talent.





Danica10Racer, what you have just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I've ever heard. Nowhere in your rambling, incoherent response did you even come close to forming a rational thought. Everyone on Racing-Reference is now dumber for having seen it. I award you no points and may god have mercy on your soul.



188. Anonymous posted:

09.17.2016 - 10:09 pm

Rate this comment: (1) (1) How does DiBenedetto deserve better when he crashes out so frequently?



189. Danica10Racer posted:

09.17.2016 - 11:38 pm

Rate this comment: (1) (7) You guys are reaching more and more everyday when you see my posts. I would say it was funny if I didn't feel bad for some of you.



Danica is still adjusting from open-wheel racing and has had a grand total of roughly 5 years to focus on driving a stock car full time. Some drivers have had at least 10 more years that are among her peers.



Other drivers like Casey Mears (who had the best equipment in the garage at one point), Juan Pablo Montoya, JJ Yeley and Sam Hornish Jr. have posted worse statistics against worse fields and do not get criticized like her? They had the same adjustment problem she did and she has done better than them (at times in Montoya's case) I wonder why SHE is the only one criticized...



The other thing about the Danica hate that I love on this board is that no misfortune ever befalls her. She's always lucky or "NASCAR is rigging the race to get her higher." Look at this season, she's had a number of times that bad luck has taken a good finish away from her.



But no, we can't accept that on RR. We will continue to ignore and deny.





190. LI85 posted:

09.18.2016 - 9:09 am

Rate this comment: (3) (1) We get it, you're one of these vengeful Danica fans who hates everybody who has a negative opinion of her and has to tear down every driver to make her look good. While we see facts and take them as what they are (IE the truth), you see facts and just throw them away.



When the f*** did Mears ever have the best equipment in the garage? He was an experimental car when he ran for Hendrick, and he still won the Coke 600. If you knew anything about experiments it's that you never use your best equipment in case something goes wrong.



Go to these drivers pages, they are definitely NOT devoid of criticism.



191. Drakion posted:

09.18.2016 - 9:57 am

Rate this comment: (2) (1) I still find it hilarious watching delusional Danica fans trying to defend her lackluster Nascar career.



192. Alex posted:

09.18.2016 - 11:01 am

Rate this comment: (3) (0) "Other drivers like Casey Mears (who had the best equipment in the garage at one point), Juan Pablo Montoya, JJ Yeley and Sam Hornish Jr. have posted worse statistics against worse fields and do not get criticized like her? They had the same adjustment problem she did and she has done better than them (at times in Montoya's case) I wonder why SHE is the only one criticized..."



Except Juan and Sam Hornish have beaten her arse in while driving WAY worse of equipment. Juan drove for Ganassi (Dodge's #3 team and later Chevy's #3/4 team) and won as a rookie.



Sam drove for Penske when his NASCAR effort was at its worst ever and during the season with 50+ full time teams, making every race. As I said before: there is a strong difference between having a different opinion and insisting non-factual things are factual...



She is still statistically the worst. Three drivers who half half or less than half of her experience are IN THE CHASE, two of them driving for teams way less than hers. Those are FACTS.



193. Sean posted:

09.18.2016 - 12:15 pm

Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Three drivers who half half or less than half of her experience are IN THE CHASE, two of them driving for teams way less than hers. Those are FACTS."



This season strangely I'd say Hendrick is much worse than SHR too, considering Johnson has been far slower than Harvick, Busch was 2nd in points for quite some time despite rarely fighting for wins, and Stewart had a strange reemergence. I think even Elliott had slower cars than Patrick, clearly.



194. Damon posted:

09.18.2016 - 2:05 pm

Rate this comment: (0) (0) " I think even Elliott had slower cars than Patrick, clearly."





Based on?





195. Sean posted:

09.18.2016 - 2:19 pm

Rate this comment: (0) (0) Based on SHR in general having much faster cars than Hendrick. Harvick has been much faster than Johnson, Busch has been faster than Johnson (and Johnson is at least a COMPARABLE talent to them), Kahne is probably comparable to Stewart now but Stewart has won and Kahne hasn't even led... Normally you would think satellites would have the same stuff or worse as the main team, but SHR has been faster this year and they are leaving Chevrolet so perhaps they aren't as much of a satellite as they were and have become more independent...



196. Damon posted:

09.18.2016 - 2:40 pm

Rate this comment: (0) (0) Fair enough, I still don't think Elliott's cars have been slower than hers on a week in/week out basis though, but I tend to look at the average starting position (along with racers in practices on Saturdays for a Sunday race) more than anything else though and maybe that isn't totally fair either



197. Damon posted:

09.18.2016 - 2:44 pm

Rate this comment: (0) (0) Post 196 should read race trim practice



198. Josh posted:

09.27.2016 - 5:52 pm

Rate this comment: (0) (1) Why is this discussion going on Newman's page?



199. JSPorts posted:

09.27.2016 - 7:31 pm

Rate this comment: (0) (0) I guess it went off on a tangent. I think it was originally about the Stewart-Newman argument, then people started talking about how good Newman was at SHR.



200. Jason24 posted:

10.16.2016 - 7:41 pm

Rate this comment: (0) (0) Having arguably his worst season since 2006.



201. JeffGordon24FanForever posted:

10.16.2016 - 11:05 pm

Rate this comment: (1) (0) I'd say 2008 was bad for him too. Other than his Daytona 500, he only had one top five the rest of the year.



202. JSPorts posted:

11.01.2016 - 4:08 pm

Rate this comment: (0) (0) It looks very possible that Matt Borland could be returning as his crew chief in 2017. That should be good news for Newman, his fans, and RCR, because they have a history of success together. 13 of Newman's 17 wins came with Borland as his crew chief. Borland worked with Newman at Penske from 2000-2006, and then again at SHR from 2012-2013. Some stats, for reference:



Newman's average season with Borland: 9th, 6 poles, 2 wins, 10 top 5s, 17 top 10s, 588 laps led

Newman's average season without Borland: 12th, 1 pole, 0 wins, 5 top 5s, 14 top 10s, 129 laps led



Newman has been much more competitive with Borland as his crew chief. In his 7 years at Penske, his top 4 best seasons were with Borland. In 5 years with SHR, his 3rd-best season came with Borland. Newman has finished in the top 10 in points 7 times, all but 3 of those with Matt Borland as his crew chief.



203. StenhouseFan17 posted:

11.01.2016 - 4:34 pm

Rate this comment: (0) (0) What they both really need is a return to the 2002 aero and tire package.



204. murb posted:

11.01.2016 - 4:39 pm

Rate this comment: (0) (0) Damn, Borland is a great pickup for RCR. Between the addition of Borland and now being the undisputed second team on the Chevy totem pole, I'm starting to wonder if we'll see RCR make some gains next year. Austin Dillon now has Chase experience and with any car improvements could probably start sneaking in some wins, and if Newman has anything left in the tank (I still really don't think he does, but I've been wrong plenty of times before), Borland is certainly the crew chief to bring it out of them.



And on the other end of the spectrum, Borland leaving SHR is a pretty horrific loss for THEM. Losing your VP of Competition while going into a major manufacturer switch definitely isn't what you want...



205. murb posted:

11.01.2016 - 4:40 pm

Rate this comment: (0) (0) Oh wait never mind, Borland switched over to the Haas F1 team when that started didn't he. Disregard.



206. chevyfan98 posted:

11.01.2016 - 4:48 pm

Rate this comment: (0) (0) "now being the undisputed second team on the Chevy totem pole"



I think Ganassi may have something to say about that. Though I do agree with you that RCR will improve next year. I think we'll finally see Austin get his first win.



207. JSPorts posted:

11.01.2016 - 5:20 pm

Rate this comment: (0) (0) I think RCR will improve. Not sure there will be a de jure "2nd team" at Chevy in 2017, but I do think we'll see improvements in both RCR & CGR. Both teams will put at least 1 driver in the Chase. However, it could be argue that Ganassi is actually the best team besides HMS at Chevy (for 2017); in 2016, CGR has 1 win to RCR's 0, and they put 2 drivers (out of 2; 100%) in the Chase to RCR's 1 (of 3; 33%).



208. murb posted:

11.01.2016 - 5:25 pm

Rate this comment: (0) (0) "I think Ganassi may have something to say about that."



Considering RCR's history with Chevrolet (and Ganassi's notorious journeyman history when it comes to manufacturers), I'm inclined to say that RCR both currently gets and in the future will be getting more direct support from Chevy (though logically I guess Ganassi is right there too since all the other Chevy teams are just satellite teams and stuff). I DO think Ganassi is the better team of the two currently solely because of their better driver lineup (Larson is better than everyone on either team, and McMurray/Dillon/Newman are all interchangeable right now I think - Menard doesn't even factor in), but I still don't think they get as much direct technical support from Chevy as RCR does.



209. JSPorts posted:

11.01.2016 - 5:28 pm

Rate this comment: (0) (0) It's worth mentioning, it hasn't been officially announced that Borland will be Newman's crew chief, only that he will be a crew chief for RCR. I guess that could be the 3, 27, 31 (or maybe another car, 33?) in Cup, or the 2, 33, 62 or 4th car in Xfinity. However, putting him with Newman would make the most sense. That way, you could move Luke Lambert either to a young driver in Xfinity, to Ty Dillon, or to Paul Menard (wouldn't make sense to replace Slugger at this point).



210. murb posted:

11.01.2016 - 5:31 pm

Rate this comment: (0) (0) I mean, you'd have to assume he'd be Newman's crew chief given their history (not to mention Newman's horrendous year this year). Newman/Borland, Austin/Slugger, Menard/Lambert, and then Ty/Stockman on whichever car he drives seems like their best possible driver/crew chief lineup.



211. JSPorts posted:

11.01.2016 - 6:09 pm

Rate this comment: (0) (0) I think it'll be Todd Berrier for Ty, but I can't be certain.



212. Sean posted:

11.01.2016 - 7:18 pm

Rate this comment: (0) (0) Ganassi > Childress as long as Larson is there.



I also think Ganassi will win a race next year (well, only Larson, as I don't see McMurray ever winning again), but I think Childress will go winless. Childress needs a shake-up. An overrated veteran, an okay legacy who will probably win but seems like more of a Marco Andretti than a Graham Rahal to me, and a ride-buyer is not a formula for success. At least Ganassi is trying to find talent in NASCAR, although he's becoming a Childress in IndyCar (he's in a load of trouble whenever Scott Dixon retires right now.)



213. Xxplode posted:

11.01.2016 - 7:49 pm

Rate this comment: (0) (0) I honestly think Ganassi will probably switch manufacturers again at some point just because that's what they do. RCR has not been a truly great team for 20 years now. I don't expect either team to dramatically change their performance at any point in the future. I think they both are 2a and 2b for Chevy, and neither will ever replace Hendrick as number 1 over there. As for Newman, I think he basically is a whiner who will make more of a splash in an angry interview then on race day. I don't see him performing any different over the next few years.



214. murb posted:

11.01.2016 - 7:54 pm

Rate this comment: (1) (0) "I think it'll be Todd Berrier for Ty, but I can't be certain."



Berrier works at JGR now. He hasn't been with Childress for a number of years.



"an okay legacy who will probably win but seems like more of a Marco Andretti than a Graham Rahal to me"



Funnily enough I actually think the Marco comparison fits Ty better than Austin. I think at this point Austin has shown enough in Cup to where he'll most likely slide in as the Newman/Bowyer type of win stealer guy of the next generation. If Elliott/Jones/Larson (along with the already established Kyle Busch, Keselowski, and Logano) are all going to dominate the next decade, then I imagine Austin will hang in there as one of those second-tier filler drivers who is able to win every so often.



215. Anthony posted:

03.04.2017 - 4:12 am

Rate this comment: (0) (0) It seems "The Rocket" finally made it to the launch pad at Atlanta



216. Allen posted:

03.19.2017 - 6:53 pm

Rate this comment: (0) (0) The drought is over, wins in OT at Phoenix after staying out on the final caution.



217. chevyfan98 posted:

03.19.2017 - 6:53 pm

Rate this comment: (1) (0) And this guy's completely bizarre career arc just gets even weirder...



218. Stewart14Rocks posted:

03.19.2017 - 8:06 pm

Rate this comment: (1) (0) When you come to think of it Newman really hasn't been on any "elite teams". He drove for penske from 2002-2008, which after rusty retired the team really fell apart. He drove for Stewart-haas from 2009-2013 which at the time wasn't a full blown elite team and Newman always seemed to be off, even stewart at the time wasn't putting up massive stats with the exceptions of 2009 and 2011. Then he is now at Childress where it's been a struggle for all 3 teams since Harvick left. Let's hope this win can turn around the recent struggles.



219. Damon posted:

03.19.2017 - 8:17 pm

Rate this comment: (0) (1) "Then he is now at Childress where it's been a struggle for all 3 teams since Harvick left. "





Newman has made the playoffs 2 of his previous 3 years at RCR and finished a career high 2nd in points back in 2014, Menard made the playoffs in 2015 and Austin made it last year, so RCR hasn't been bad at all, they just haven't won in any races in that span.



220. Danica10Racer posted:

03.19.2017 - 8:24 pm

Rate this comment: (0) (2) "He drove for penske from 2002-2008, which after rusty retired the team really fell apart. He drove for Stewart-haas from 2009-2013 which at the time wasn't a full blown elite team"



That's just not true at all. Both of those teams are classified as elite. Penske may have had a downturn when they expanded for Hornish Jr's team but that's it.



221. murb posted:

03.19.2017 - 8:37 pm

Rate this comment: (1) (0) "Penske may have had a downturn when they expanded for Hornish Jr's team but that's it."



They were trending downward as early as 2004 once Rusty was indefinitely washed up and everyone caught up to Newman and Borland's speed and strategy tricks, and then they stayed pretty much second-tier from 2005 up until 2011 when Keselowski and Paul Wolfe completely elevated and took over the team. So no, they definitely were not as elite as they are now back then.



222. Tide1732 (Jimmie Johnson Fan) posted:

06.10.2017 - 6:30 pm

Rate this comment: (0) (0) That's a Awesome runs in Penske #12 Alltel.



223. peter posted:

07.30.2017 - 8:18 am

Rate this comment: (0) (0) i liked him in 2002 and i still do. fun to have a driver to watch during a race,without your driver in the race,its kind of boring.



224. Jason24 posted:

08.26.2017 - 2:30 am

Rate this comment: (0) (4) How many other drivers have won in Cup, Xfinity, Truck, ARCA, IROC and Modified? No one else, not even the almighty Kyle Busch else can ever match that.



225. Mannoroth posted:

08.26.2017 - 12:16 pm

Rate this comment: (0) (1) 224. First, Kyle Busch wasn't allowed for IROC, because he wasn't champion in any series. Second, IROC ended in 2006, so he never got a chance to race there. And third, Kyle has never run any Modified race.



On the other hand, Kyle has a win in Cup, Xfinity, Trucks, ARCA, K&N East plus a few dirt races. And I'm sure he would win in Modified as well, if he wanted to make a start there...



226. FanOfTruexJr posted:

08.27.2017 - 1:01 am

Rate this comment: (0) (1) To be fair, Kyle had about 2 seasons to become eligible to run IROC. But he lost to Truex in the Busch title race in 2004, just like he'll lose the title to Truex this year.



227. Bertus posted:

08.27.2017 - 7:33 am

Rate this comment: (0) (0) Now I get it, Jimmie Johnson must not be that good a driver as people make him out to be - I don't think he will ever win a truck race :-(









228. Mannoroth posted:

08.27.2017 - 7:34 am

Rate this comment: (0) (1) Truex was just more consistent than Kyle, but he still did get his Xfinity title 5 years later. And not just that, against tougher competition in form of Carl Edwards and Brad Keselowski. Truex's only rival was Kyle Busch, others were behind them...



And how can you be so sure Truex will win or be in the final round at Homestead? He can easily be eliminated, if he does the same mistake as last year and wins 2 races in the same round. Kyle has an opposite problem - he doesn't win the Chase races at all and makes it all just on consistency.

And apart from that, I wouldn't like to have that horrible winless career Truex had before joining FRR... I feel bad for him that he has just 24 NASCAR wins and those 2 Xfinity Series titles won't compensate it.



229. Jason24 posted:

08.28.2017 - 11:42 pm

Rate this comment: (0) (0) ^Right on cue everyone. But seriously, I think Newman is quite versatile. Which is why I made the point of him winning in those divisions. Its something that not very many, if anyone else has done.



230. Greg24ChaseFan posted:

09.12.2017 - 7:06 pm

Rate this comment: (0) (0) 221. Rusty was never "washed up". He had some terrible luck in 2003/2004, but he was running competitive in most of those races.



THen in 2005 he made the chase and was as high as 2nd in the points at one point.



2003 for Newman was just one of those years. They weren't the fastest usually, but they had the fuel mileage and tire strategy down.



Newman is another one of those guys I feel will be out in another few years.



231. Jason24 posted:

10.15.2017 - 9:20 pm

Rate this comment: (0) (0) Looked like the 2014 Fall race today. Couldn't hold the lead with Penske's duo up there. Either way he has the most top 5's he's had in a season since 2011.



232. John posted:

04.01.2018 - 7:13 pm

Rate this comment: (0) (0) I wondered if his large drop in qualifying was because he realized qualifying wasn't that important in a 500 mile race or if he lost his qualifying form. Well, since qualifying has actually mattered a good amount since the stages it seems the latter was correct.



233. John posted:

04.08.2018 - 6:05 pm

Rate this comment: (2) (1) Newman's wins since his great 4 year stretch to start his career



2008 Daytona 500 - Superspeedway, not indicative of season

2010 Phoenix 1 - Pit strategy got him the win

2012 Martinsville - Had famous Bowyer-Gordon double file restart incident, Newman got threw the craziness and lucked his way in to the win

2013 Indianapolis - Jimmie would of won the race and Newman would of finished 2nd but Jimmie's pit crew screwed up

2017 Phoenix 1 - Pit strategy got him the win



2011 New Hampshire - Pure speed





Looking at those wins is pretty alarming with considering how he started his career.





234. Tide 1732 posted:

04.24.2018 - 7:28 am

Rate this comment: (0) (2) Huge candidate to retire in 2018 Cup season before or alongside Kevin Harvick.

The #31 can pushes Ty Dillon and the #13 could be Trevor Bayne/Ryan Reed



235. Chris Roby posted:

05.10.2018 - 7:14 am

Rate this comment: (0) (0) Ryan has never had the opportunity to drive a competetive race car since Roger Pensce 02-08.

Between ages 24-30 he made 4.38 million. Since going to RCR he's made a million and a quarter in 14 and 15. He hasn't made zip 16, 17, or so far this year, according to NASCAR.com stats. #3 car hasn't done any better. Point is Ryan's stuck where he is and the ship is sinking.

Childress could be one of the most famous car owners in history, up there with Junior Johnson but...

What, is he staying home drinking his fine wine.

I dont think Richard Childress could build a successful operation with a one car team!

Ryan's 40 now, praying for a break as much as we are

and there isn't gonna be any firing everybody and starting over by Richard, to the people who Think That's Even Possible



236. Quasar posted:

05.29.2018 - 6:55 pm

Rate this comment: (1) (0) He was really consistent these past few seasons,he wasn't very fast most of the time but he always found a way to finish pretty well but not this year, it has been a really tough year. He just can't stay away from trouble on the track and he keeps having some kind of tires/parts failures, it's almst like he's not getting the same stuff he was getting these past few years. McMurray is having a similar year.



237. JSPorts posted:

05.29.2018 - 7:32 pm

Rate this comment: (0) (0) He's had some issues when he's had a good car, such as at Atlanta and Charlotte. Newman's never finished outside the top 20 in points during his full-time career, but it's looking like a possibility this year.



238. Wil posted:

06.11.2018 - 4:53 am

Rate this comment: (0) (0) Has had a quietly brutal stretch of races.



239. Ultimate Warrior #18 posted:

06.11.2018 - 12:48 pm

Rate this comment: (0) (0) Jayski says his contract is up at the end of 2018 his hasn't had a very good year and the #31 technically isn't fully Sponsored so what could the future hold for Newman if jayski is accurate about his contract. Anyway he'll be making cup start number 600 at Sonoma.



240. Anthony posted:

06.11.2018 - 1:39 pm

Rate this comment: (0) (0) @239 Then how come Newman's RCR contract remains at 2018+? Is there a legit source besides that?



241. Greg9ChaseFan posted:

06.24.2018 - 11:20 pm

Rate this comment: (0) (0) He was terrible today. Lost a lap at Sonoma and didn't really have an issue. Just slow.



242. Scott B posted:

06.24.2018 - 11:30 pm

Rate this comment: (1) (0) Newman was 10th fastest in first practice, and qualified 14th. It sure didn't come together on race day, though.



243. JSPorts posted:

06.24.2018 - 11:47 pm

Rate this comment: (0) (0) This team has just been so far off this year. He's not going to make the playoffs unless he wins. RCR and Chevrolet have struggled this year, but he's being outperformed by his teammate.



244. Greg9ChaseFan posted:

06.25.2018 - 4:41 pm

Rate this comment: (0) (0) 243. It's Newman, I am sure he will pull a win off somewhere cause it's what they do. Whether it's luck or what not.



245. Diburrito24Fan posted:

06.29.2018 - 1:06 pm

Rate this comment: (0) (0) 2018- no top 5s, 3 top tens with 2 at RP races, could be his worst season in Cup.



246. Ryan posted:

07.17.2018 - 8:04 pm

Rate this comment: (0) (0) FUN FACT: Ryan Newman is 1 of only 9 drivers who have run all 19 cup races this season that has never scored a DNQ