The Official Ryan Newman Website

Round 30 of 36 – Pepsi 500 –
Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif.

Car No.: 39 – Haas Automation Chevrolet Impala SS
 
Teammate:    Tony Stewart, driver of the No. 14 Office Depot/Old Spice Chevrolet Impala SS for Stewart-Haas Racing
 
Primary Team Members:

Driver: Ryan Newman
Hometown: South Bend, Ind.
Crew Chief: Tony Gibson
Hometown: Daytona Beach, Fla.
Car Chief: Kevin Pennell
Hometown: Kannapolis, N.C.
Engine Builder: Hendrick Motorsports
Headquarters: Concord, N.C.
Engine Specialist: Jay Nolan
Hometown: Jacksonville, Fla.   

Spotter: Greg Newman
Hometown: South Bend, Ind.

Over-The-Wall Crew Members:

Gas Man: Michael Moore
Hometown: Springfield, Mass.    Front Tire Changer: Scott Brzozowoski
Hometown: Sterling Heights, Mich.

Catch Can: Andy Rueger
Hometown: Seymour, Ind.
Front Tire Carrier: Josh Mick
Hometown: Houston, Texas
Windshield: Jay Guarneri
Hometown: Naples, Fla.    Rear Tire Changer: Daniel Rankin
Hometown: Chattanooga, Tenn.

Jackman: Andrew Turner
Hometown: Coloma, Mich.
Rear Tire Carrier: Jason Fowler
Hometown: Winston-Salem, N.C.

Other Crew Members:

Truck Drivers: Rick Hodges and Todd Cable
Hometowns: Raleigh, N.C. and Shelby, N.C.
Tire Specialist: Ray Osian
Hometown: Salisbury, N.C.
Shock Specialist: Brian Holshouser
Hometown: Charlotte, N.C.
Engineer: Johnny Klausmeier
Hometown: Perry Hall, Md.
Mechanics: Joe Cline and Shawn Warren
Hometowns: Maiden, N.C. and Concord, N.C.    Gas Runner/Pit Support: Chris Morris
Hometown: Kannapolis, N.C.

Pepsi 500 Car – Chassis No. 485:
This is a brand new chassis for the No. 39 team. No. 485’s first laps on the racetrack will be in first practice on Friday. The car was tested at the Windshear wind tunnel last month.

Auto Club Speedway Notes of Interest:

•    The Pepsi 500 will mark Newman’s 290th career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series start and his 14th career Sprint Cup start at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif.

•    Oxnard, Calif.-based Haas Automation, the largest CNC machine tool builder in the western world and co-owner of Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) with two-time Sprint Cup champion Tony Stewart, will sponsor the No. 39 Chevrolet Impala SS at Fontana this weekend.

•    Looking for a “Backyard Advantage” at Sponsor’s Home Track – So, how does a “Hoosier” claim the California track to have a home-field advantage? After all, California couldn’t be farther from the comforts of home that Newman the outdoorsman has grown to love. But this weekend, the Indiana native comes to the 2-mile California track as a hometown favorite. Sponsor and team co-owner Haas Automation has its headquarters in Oxnard, Calif., which is located 100 miles west Auto Club Speedway.  The company’s 1-million-square-foot facility in Oxnard, which houses 1,200 employees, is the largest, most modern machine tool manufacturing operation in the United States.

•    Both Newman and teammate Stewart made the Chase for the Sprint Cup in the inaugural season for SHR. Newman, who had not earned a spot in the Chase since 2005, currently sits ninth in the standings. He is 164 points behind leader Mark Martin with seven races remaining in the Chase.

•    In 29 starts with Stewart-Haas Racing, Newman has scored one pole, five top-five, and 14 top-10 finishes. Newman’s best finish was a second-place effort in the rain-shortened Coca-Cola 600 in May at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C.

•    Newman’s best finish at the 2-mile Fontana track was a third-place effort, which came during the spring race in 2004. The driver of the No. 39 Chevrolet has two top-five and four top-10 finishes in 13 starts at Auto Club Speedway.

•    In the February race at Auto Club Speedway, Newman finished 28th as his Haas Automation team struggled with a multitude of issues, which included a loose-handling racecar, broken left-side wing plate, and an overheating problem due to trash on the grill.

•    The Indiana native has also made two NASCAR Nationwide Series starts at Auto Club Speedway. Newman’s best effort came in 2006, when he started on the outside pole and finished second in the 150-lap race.

•    Newman won the second pole of his Sprint Cup career at Auto Club Speedway in 2002, his only pole at the 2-mile oval. He has 44 Sprint Cup poles and is 11th on the all-time career pole list and third among active full-time Sprint Cup drivers. His last pole came 17 races ago in May at Lowe’s Motor Speedway near Charlotte, N.C.

•    Numerology and Newman’s No. 39 – The No. 39 has been lucky for Newman throughout his racing career. His first major USAC win came in May 1997, when he drove the No. 39 Midget car to victory in the 52nd Night Before the 500 race at O’Reilly Raceway Park near Indianapolis, the day before that year’s Indianapolis 500. It was the biggest win of Newman’s young career, and one he credits with putting him on the racing map. In 2005, Newman piloted the No. 39 in Nationwide Series competition for Penske Racing and he won six of the nine races he entered and finished outside of the top-three only once. The No. 39 has never been to victory lane in Sprint Cup competition.

•    Newman continues to be one of the most consistent drivers on the Sprint Cup circuit. He has completed 8,289 of the 8,303 laps (99.8 percent) that the Sprint Cup Series has run in 29 races meaning he has failed to complete just 14 laps.

•    Newman has a career total of 13 wins, 44 poles, 68 top-fives and 120 top-10 finishes in 289 Sprint Cup starts. His most recent Sprint Cup win came 64 races ago in the 50th running of the Daytona 500 in February 2008, which ended a winless streak of 81 races that dated back to the 2005 event at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon.

Ryan Newman’s History at Auto Club Speedway:
Year    Event    Start    Finish    Status/Laps    Laps Led    Earnings
2009    Auto Club 500    28    28    Running, 248/250    0    $115,579
2008    †Auto Club 500    13    10    Running, 250/250    3    $143,625
    Pepsi 500    17    16    Running, 250/250    0    $135,225
2007    Auto Club 500    19    12    Running, 250/250    0    $128,275
    Sharp Aquos 500    4    39    Engine, 194/250    1    $117,875
2006    ×Auto Club 500    11    20    Running, 250/251    0    $132,683
    California 500    12    33    Running, 248/250    0    $129,658
2005    Auto Club 500    9    9    Running, 250/250    0    $138,616
    ×California 500    28    18    Running, 254/254    0    $131,366
2004    Auto Club 500    7    3    Running, 250/250    2    $191,267
    Pop Secret 500    14    5    Running, 250/250    2    $154,367
2003    Auto Club 500    4    42    Accident, 34/250    0    $94,960
2002    NAPA Auto Parts 500    1    14    Running, 249/250    3    $94,600


†Qualifying cancelled due to weather, starting position set via car owner points.
×Race length extended due to green-white-checker finish.