Saturday, August 3, 2002

With so many drivers from Indiana competing in this year's Brickyard 400, Ryan Newman of South Bend is hoping to give the northern part of the state something to cheer about in this year's NASCAR Winston Cup race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Newman rounds out the Hoosier contingent and is attempting to add his chapter in Brickyard 400 history. He qualified fifth Aug. 3 at 181.287 mph in the No. 12 ALLTEL Ford.

"Indianapolis is kind of like home for us, kind of like Michigan is," Newman said. "We are 2 ½ hours away. We've had pretty good success there. We tested good last year and came back pretty strong in the race.

"As a whole, it's a fun racetrack to drive. It's similar to Pocono in that all four corners are a little different, but kind of the same. We've got a good setup as far as approaching the racetrack. We had a good race car last year until we crashed. Overall, it's a fun place to drive and carries a lot of history."

Newman, who graduated from South Bend LaSalle High School and Purdue University, may be young at 24. But he drives with maturity and intelligence that has impressed his fellow competitors, including another Indiana racing legend: NASCAR Winston Cup star Tony Stewart.

"His education sets him apart," Stewart said of Newman. "His engineering degree makes him a very smart, intelligent race car driver from a setup standpoint. If you look at what he did for Danny Drinan in USAC, who is a smart guy and built some pretty good midgets in the past. Ryan Newman went out there every week and took Danny's car and beat him with it.

"Ryan has the talent to drive the car. He has the talent to know what he needs the car do and how to get the car to do that. That makes him a pretty well rounded driver. His opportunity with Roger Penske is the same opportunity I got, too, with Joe Gibbs. I think the guys who are getting the opportunities deserve them right now.

"Ryan is a great talent. A great pavement driver. What he did on pavement has helped him get the opportunity that he has. He is well deserving of it."

Penske Racing and team owner Roger Penske gave Newman an intensive schedule in 2001, which it called the ABC's. It included four ARCA races, 11 Busch Series and seven NASCAR Winston Cup to give Newman 23 races that season.

"I think it was a pretty smart schedule, but it is intensive," Newman said. "Roger Penske, Don Miller, Matt Borland, my crew chief, and the rest of the team figured that our schedule that year was going to be so much more beneficial for the 2002 season in order to race on the tracks that we race on in Winston Cup racing."

Penske and Newman met in 2000 at Daytona. Famed Indy Racing League and NASCAR team owner Penske was so impressed with Newman's talent and attitude that he immediately put together a deal to have Newman as part of his stock car operation in Mooresville, N.C.

"Ryan had won races, he was a winner," Penske said. "He is technically as savvy as any young man on the racetrack because of his engineering background. He is committed. His mom and dad are solidly behind him, and he is the type of man who will fit well with our race team.

"I think he is a focused young man. He loves it. He is in the shop everyday. He lives and breathes racing, and that is what you need today to be a winner.

"We were introduced to him in 2000; we decided to give him a test. Buddy Baker came on to work with him, and it's been a home run ever since. There are a lot of good, young drivers."

Newman believes his open-wheel background in USAC helped him learn how to race close while being smooth. Without fenders on an open-wheel car, it is crucial to be steady to stay out of trouble.

"Basically, with my history, I know I couldn't do the things I do or have the successes I have had in the ARCA series if it wasn't for driving a Silver Crown car at Phoenix and Indianapolis Raceway Park and Richmond and Colorado," Newman said. "It is really a great learning device for all kinds of racing. I had my goal, and I wanted to do the best I could to achieve that goal. My goal has always been stock cars.

"I believe you can succeed with anything as long as you work hard. I believe the path was laid down a long time ago when Ken Schrader and Tim Richmond came along into the stock-car world from USAC Silver Crown and sprint cars. There have been several guys who have made that transition. Unfortunately, guys like Rich Vogler and Robbie Stanley were never able to complete that.

"Tony Stewart is the latest example, and I would like to be the next."

In the past, the winners of the Brickyard 400 - with the exception of Jeff Gordon winning the inaugural race in 1994 when he was 24 - have been experienced, veteran drivers. Newman is hoping to return youth to Victory Lane this year.

"I think we have a different youth movement now than what we had in 1994," Newman said. "Back then, it was Jeff Gordon and Bobby Labonte. Now, we have 22-, 23- and 24-year-old drivers with a lot of experience and a lot of seat time and have great opportunities as a team. Jimmie Johnson has the opportunity to go and present himself at that racetrack with Jeff Gordon's ideas, notes and setups. We can do the same thing with Rusty Wallace because he's had great success at that track, too."

Newman is also confident his engineering background can be a big advantage in excelling at the technically challenging Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

"At some racetracks, it's strictly a mechanical setup, and that is how you balance the car," Newman said. "Some racetracks are strictly aero setups, and that is how you balance the car. Some racetracks are both, and Indianapolis is one of them. It has fast, long straightaways, with 90-degree corners that are really flat with like 10 degrees of banking.

"You have to have a happy medium in your car because you can have it mechanically balanced, and the aero will be off, and vice-versa. Overall, it's a difficult place to get a hold of, which may be part of the reason why the more experienced crew chiefs and drivers have better success there."

To Newman, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is hallowed racing ground. Even though he grew up in the shadows of Notre Dame Stadium with all the prestige and grandeur of Notre Dame football, the 2.5-mile Brickyard is a place that Newman worships as a racer.

"I went there all the time," Newman said. "I never went to the Indianapolis 500, and I never raced there until last year. I've always spent a lot of time in Indianapolis, lived there in the summers in 1998 and 1999. I was 4 years old the first time I went there. I always went with my dad on Carburetion Day. We were always racing on the weekends.

"Back then, I always liked A.J. Foyt, and Rick Mears was a great favorite of mine. Now, I work in the same organization as Rick Mears. I got to meet him before the '500' this year, and he is such a great guy. He was really a talented race driver."

Considering that Newman's team owner, Roger Penske, has won 12 Indianapolis 500s, would Newman ever consider making a run in the Indianapolis 500?

"I would be open to it, but I would have to discuss and see how situations worked out," Newman said. "I wouldn't want anything to eliminate the things we do in the Winston Cup Series. That is the team's goal, and this is a team sport.

"Last year, we had the pole until we got into Turn 4, we got into the wall. But it was really big just to qualify in the top five. It's a great racetrack, and I enjoy it, and hopefully we can do well there."

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