The Official Ryan Newman Website

  STEWART-HAAS RACING: WEEKEND LINEUP

March 6-8, 2009

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series - Kobalt Tools 500

Venue / Location:  Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Ga. (1.54-mile oval)

SHR Driver Lineup:  Tony Stewart in the No. 14 Office Depot / Old Spice Chevrolet Impala SS

                             Ryan Newman in the No. 39 Haas Automation Chevrolet Impala SS

Qualifying:  6:30 p.m. EST on Friday, March 6 with live broadcast on SPEED

Time / Date / TV:  1:30 p.m. EDT on Sunday, March 8 with live broadcast on FOX (race starts at 2 p.m.)

RYAN NEWMAN

Haas Automation Racing Team Report

Round 4 of 36 - Kobalt Tools 500 - Atlanta Motor Speedway

Car No.: 39 - Haas Automation Chevrolet Impala SS for Stewart-Haas Racing

Teammate: Tony Stewart, driver of the No. 14 Office Depot/Old Spice Chevrolet Impala SS for Stewart-Haas Racing

Primary Team Members:

Over-The-Wall Crew Members:

Other Crew Members:

Chassis No. 39-529:

This is a new-for-2009 car for the No. 39 Haas Automation team. Its first race was at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif., two weeks ago. Newman started 28^th and finished 28^th in the Auto Club 500 after enduring several issues, including an overheating problem.

Ryan Newman's History at Atlanta Motor Speedway:

† Qualifying canceled due to weather, starting position set via car owner points.

× Race length extended due to green-white-checker finish.

* Race cut short due to weather.

Notes of Interest:

• The Kobalt Tools 500 will mark Newman's 264^th career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series start and his 15^th career Sprint Cup start at Atlanta.

• Atlanta will be Newman's fourth Sprint Cup race with Stewart-Haas Racing, which is co-owned by two time Sprint Cup champion Tony Stewart and Oxnard, Calif.-based Haas Automation, the largest CNC machine tool builder in the western world. Haas Automation is Newman's sponsor this weekend at Atlanta.

• Newman has a record-tying seven Sprint Cup pole positions at Atlanta. He is tied for the pole record with his friend and mentor, Buddy Baker. Newman, who is known as the "Rocketman" for his penchant for winning pole positions, credits Baker for his ability to turn a quick lap. Baker was especially helpful to Newman's qualifying efforts early in his career at tracks like Atlanta. According to Newman, Baker would take him to a track and have him drive it backward because it would give him a "different perspective on entry and exit points." Lessons like that one taught Newman what to do and what not to do in qualifying - especially at Atlanta - and they have stuck with him.

• Newman scored six consecutive pole positions at the 1.54-mile oval from 2003-2005. His most recent pole position at Atlanta came in the 2007 spring race.

• Newman has recorded one top-five and four top-10 finishes and led a total of 159 laps in his 14 previous Sprint Cup starts at Atlanta.

• Newman's best Sprint Cup finish at Atlanta is a fifth-place effort during the 2004 spring event. Newman started on the pole and led 43 laps before finishing fifth.

• The South Bend, Ind., native scored his first-ever NASCAR Nationwide Series pole position at Atlanta in 2001. It was his second start in the Nationwide Series.

• In 2008, Newman won his first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Atlanta in the No. 2 Kevin Harvick Inc., Chevrolet Silverado. Newman started 10^th and led 11 laps en route to the victory. It was Newman's first start in the Truck Series and his first win - making him the fourth driver to win in his first outing behind the wheel of a truck. With his win, Newman became the 19^th driver to record a victory in all three of NASCAR's top tier series - Sprint Cup, Nationwide and Camping World Truck Series.

• Newman has collected 43 poles since making his Sprint Cup debut in 2000. He is tied for 10^th in all-time career poles with Buck Baker. Newman's last pole came at Phoenix International Raceway in April 2008. Newman is second among active full-time drivers in Sprint Cup poles.

• Numerology and Newman's No. 39 - For Newman, the No. 39 has been lucky for him 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 on the Saturday night prior to that year's Indianapolis 500. It was the biggest win of Newman's young career, and one that he credits with putting him on the racing map. In 2005, Newman piloted the No. 39 in Nationwide Series competition for Penske Racing. His team was dominant during a limited schedule, winning six of nine races entered that season. Newman finished outside the top-three only once in those nine races. The No. 39 has never been to victory lane in Sprint Cup competition, and Newman expects to be driver to change that.

• "We will be a force to deal with..." - Newman and his No. 39 Haas Automation team had a fast racecar at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Newman qualified sixth and ran in the top-15 for much of the day. However, a loose left-rear wheel while running in 13^th place derailed Newman's strong run and hopes for a solid finish. Newman was making a charge for the top-10 when he was forced to make an unscheduled pit stop to fix the problem. He fell two laps off pace, relegating him to a 25th-place finish. Although it was a disappointing finish for Newman, he said the run also gave him confidence. Newman had this to say following the race: "We had a fast car today. Even after our problems, we were running with the leaders and even gained on them. We just had a loose wheel and that took us out of contention. I feel confident that if we can get everything clicking with our Haas Automation team, we will be a force to deal with each and every week on the racetrack."

• Newman has a career total of 13 wins, 43 poles, 63 top-fives and 106 top-10 finishes in 263 Sprint Cup starts. His most recent Sprint Cup win came 39 races ago in the 50^th running of the Daytona 500 in February 2008, which ended a winless streak of 81 races that dated back to New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon in 2005.

RYAN NEWMAN

Fishing for Pole Record and a Solid Finish at Atlanta

KANNAPOLIS, N.C. (March 4, 2009) - The biggest fish that avid fisherman and outdoorsman Ryan Newman ever caught was at a lake near Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Ga. Newman, driver of the No. 39 Haas Automation Chevrolet Impala SS for Stewart-Haas Racing, loves retelling the story of his 10-plus-pound catch, even though the day hadn't started out so well for him.

The big fishing expedition occurred in the spring of 2006. Newman, who was competing in the NASCAR Nationwide Series race, blew a right-rear tire with just over 50 laps remaining. The accident ended his day, and after getting checked out in the infield care center, Newman was ready to get away from the racetrack and a race that he felt he should have won.

He went back to his motorcoach, grabbed his fishing rods and told his wife Krissie that it was time to go. On their way out of the infield tunnel, Newman called a friend who owns property with several lakes on it near the track. Before long, Newman was enjoying his favorite pastime. And in just 30 minutes, he had hooked his biggest largemouth bass ever. It weighed in at 10 pounds, six ounces.

This weekend, Newman is hoping to hook another impressive trophy for the racing record books. The seven-year NASCAR Sprint Cup Series veteran is tied for the most pole positions at Atlanta Motor Speedway with seven.

In his first race with Stewart-Haas Racing at Atlanta, Newman would like nothing more than to score his record-setting eighth pole at the 1.54-mile oval and break the tie with his friend and mentor, Buddy Baker.

Newman, who is known as the "Rocketman" for his penchant for winning pole positions, credits Baker for his ability to turn a quick lap. Early in Newman's NASCAR career, Baker was especially helpful as the former U.S. Auto Club (USAC) champion learned to adjust to the bigger stock cars and the bigger, faster racetracks.

According to Newman, Baker would take him to a track and have him drive it backward because it would give him a "different perspective on entry and exit points." Lessons like that one taught Newman what to do and what not to do in qualifying - especially at Atlanta - and they have stuck with him.

Perhaps Baker's guidance will help Newman snare this weekend's top spot for the Kobalt Tools 500. Then, maybe, Newman will be able to tell stories not only about the big fish he caught, but also about the quickest laps he turned time and time again at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

RYAN NEWMAN, Driver of the No. 39 Haas Automation Chevrolet Impala SS for Stewart-Haas Racing:

What would it mean for you to break Buddy Baker's pole record at Atlanta this weekend?

"It's not so much about breaking Buddy's pole record. In fact, being tied with Buddy is quite an honor for me. I think it would be even more of an honor if I could pass him and set my own pole record at Atlanta - just because I know what an incredible driver and teacher Buddy was to me, and I know how long that pole record has stood. Being able to set the record this weekend in my first race at Atlanta for Stewart-Haas Racing would probably make the feat more special to me. It would be my first Sprint Cup pole in the No. 39 car, which would mean so much to me just because of the history that I've had with that number dating back to my USAC days. It would be Stewart-Haas Racing's first pole position, and it would be a record-setting pole for me at that track. We've had a stretch of bad racing luck the first couple of races. And then, last week in Las Vegas, we had such a fast car but had to pit for a loose wheel and that took us out of contention. We need something good to happen. I think winning the pole on Friday night would be just the boost that this team needs right now."

Talk a little bit about your relationship with Buddy Baker.

"Buddy and I got to be friends when I starting testing at Penske Racing. We realized we had a lot in common, and he became a good friend and a great mentor. Buddy and I spent a lot of time together at tests in a rental car driving the racetracks forward and backward. Driving the tracks backward gave me a different perspective of the entry and exit points of each corner. What Buddy did was teach me how to approach those areas on the racetrack when I was driving the track the right way.

Talk a little bit about your relationship with Buddy Baker, continued.

"Buddy probably helped me more than I realized at the time because he never told me what to do - he told me what not to do. He would never tell me when I was doing something right, but he always told me what I was doing wrong, because he wanted me to learn from my mistakes. He was an amazing teacher, and I count myself very lucky to have Buddy as a friend and mentor. He truly was a very important part of my career when I first started in NASCAR, and I can't thank him enough for all he did for me. Last year, after we won the Daytona 500, we decided to name the car that went into the museum ‘Buddy.' It was my way of thanking him."

What makes you such a strong qualifier at Atlanta?

"Honestly, Atlanta was a racetrack that Buddy and I spent a lot of time testing at during the earlier years of my career. It was a track where he was very good, and I haven't forgotten anything that he told me about how to get around there. I like Atlanta because it's a fast track. I had a strong car in qualifying at Las Vegas, and I think we will have a strong car when it comes to qualifying at Atlanta this weekend."

How do you move past your recent run of bad luck and keep both yourself and the team pumped up?

"It has been a frustrating few weeks for the No. 39 Haas Automation team, but it's a long season. It helps me to think about the things that have gone right - the fact that I know we have had highly competitive cars, but that we have had some rough luck. We have tremendous support from Hendrick Motorsports and Chevrolet. I am very confident in the guys who are working on my cars at Stewart-Haas Racing. We have fast racecars and a great team behind me. I have no doubt that we will be a very competitive team once we get things going our way. Hopefully, that is sooner rather than later."

TONY GIBSON, Crew Chief of the No. 39 Haas Automation Chevrolet Impala SS for Stewart-Haas Racing:

Ryan is known for his ability to win the pole position - especially at Atlanta. This week, he has the opportunity to set the track's all-time pole record. How much does that play into what you want to accomplish this weekend? What would it mean for this team if you could help Ryan win the pole and set the record?

"We definitely have the driver who can win the pole. If we can give him a car that he can drive, I think we will definitely have a shot at it. We know that Ryan has traditionally been a threat to win the pole - not just at Atlanta, but in qualifying, in general, throughout his career. We also know that Ryan wants to be back in that position where he is contending for the pole each and every weekend, and we want to be able to put him there. We want to have a good car in qualifying and in the race each time we go out. We had a great car in qualifying last week at Las Vegas. But we had an early draw, and I think that hurt us a little bit. It was good to qualify sixth, but we want to start on the front row.

"I was on Buddy Baker's radio show on Sirius the other night, and Buddy said if anybody could break his pole record at Atlanta, he couldn't think of anybody he would rather see do it than Ryan. It would definitely be a special moment for everyone - for Ryan and for the guys on this team - if we could win the pole and get Ryan that record this weekend. After the rough start that we've had, it would be a great way to get back on track."

Moving forward through the frustration early in the season, how do you keep Ryan and the team pumped up and confident that their time is coming?

"We haven't had very good luck starting off the year, but we aren't giving up. I have been through this before and so have a lot of people. Teams go through stages like this where you can't do anything right. And then you go through a stage where you can't do anything wrong. We just can't wait to get on the other side of this deal. We've got our heads up, and Ryan's in the game. We're in this deal together. We're going to push along and we're going to fight through it and we're going to get it. There are other guys who are struggling, too. It will turn around. We've just got to be positive and keep digging."

What are your thoughts heading into Atlanta, considering you have now had your first test at a 1.5-mile racetrack with Las Vegas this past weekend?

"I think we will run good at Atlanta this weekend, and I think that we will have a strong car. We learned a lot this past weekend at Las Vegas. We had a really strong car in qualifying and a really good car in the race, too. We just didn't get to show it. We keep having these stumbling blocks that get in our way of showing how good we can be. We'll get there. I think Atlanta is a great track for Ryan and it's a great track for me, also. I've had a lot of success there in the past. As a company, I think this weekend is our time to turn it around. We have great support from Hendrick Motorsports, and I am so proud of this Stewart-Haas Racing organization.

"They say bad things come in threes, and (Las Vegas) was our third race together. So, hopefully, all our bad luck is out of our way and we can roll on. This is a tough sport because there are no guarantees in this business. It's a humbling sport. Just when you think you've got it, it can turn on you really, really quickly. You just have to keep your guys positive, and you've got to keep a good attitude and keep chugging along. You can't stop. You have to work hard every day because you never know when your opportunity is going to come along to win a race. You have to be mentally prepared and physically prepared to take advantage of those opportunities when they come. That's where we're at right now. We're working hard. We're going to continue to work hard. When our luck turns around for us, hopefully we can capitalize on it."

RYAN NEWMAN'S ATLANTA MOTOR SPEEDWAY PERFORMANCE PROFILE

† Qualifying canceled due to weather, starting position set via car owner points.

× Race length extended due to green-white-checker finish.

* Race cut short due to weather.

STEWART-HAAS RACING

Kobalt Tools 500 Qualifying

Date:               March 6, 2009

Event:             Kobalt Tools 500 Qualifying (Round 4 of 36)

Series:             NASCAR Sprint Cup Series

Location:         Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Ga. (1.54-mile oval)

Pole Winner:   Mark Martin of Hendrick Motorsports (29.640 seconds at 187.045 mph)

SHR Lineup:   Tony Stewart (11^th, 29.848 seconds at 185.741 mph)

       Ryan Newman (12^th, 29.874 seconds at 85.579 mph)

Tony Stewart, driver of the No. 14 Office Depot/Old Spice Chevrolet Impala SS, led the two-car Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) contingent in time trials at Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Ga., by qualifying 11^th for Sunday's Kobalt Tools 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race.  Stewart turned a lap of 29.848 seconds at 185.741 mph on the 1.54-mile oval.

"I'm just amazed.  We were 32^nd in practice, and that's normal for me, but 11^th at the end of qualifying is not my norm.  I'm pretty happy and satisfied with that," said Stewart, who has an average qualifying position of ninth four races into the 2009 Sprint Cup season.  "I was loose in (turns) three and four but I was pretty decent in (turns) one and two.  I didn't think I ran a very good lap and then they called and told me on the radio I was 11^th, and I was kind of amazed that we were that high.  I didn't think it was that good of a lap, but we must've carried more momentum than I thought."

Ryan Newman, driver of the No. 39 Haas Automation Chevrolet Impala SS for SHR, qualified right behind Stewart in 12^th.  Newman turned a lap of 29.874 seconds at 185.579 mph.

"I'm really proud of my Haas Automation team," said Newman, who has scored seven of his 43 career Sprint Cup poles at Atlanta.  "We didn't have a great car in practice.  My Chevy was a handful the entire day, but Tony Gibson (crew chief) and the guys made some changes that really helped me out in qualifying tonight.  I told them if we could get it handling right, I knew where to hit my marks.  In the end, the car was pretty good and I actually thought my lap was a little faster than what it was."

Mark Martin captured his 42^nd career Sprint Cup pole and his second at Atlanta with a time of 29.640 seconds at 187.045 mph.  He joined Harry Gant as the only drivers to score a pole past the age of 50 in NASCAR's premiere series.  Gant had three poles after turning 50.  Martin turned 50 on Jan. 9, 2009.

Kurt Busch will start alongside Martin on the outside of row one, as he timed in at 29.748 seconds at 186.365 mph.  Jamie McMurray (29.757 seconds at 186.309 mph) was third, while Juan Pablo Montoya (29.773 seconds at 186.209 mph) and Greg Biffle (29.777 seconds at 186.184 mph) rounded out the top-five.

Forty-seven drivers attempted to qualify for the Kobalt Tools 500.  Those not making the cut in the 43-car field were Todd Bodine, Scott Riggs, Jeremy Mayfield and Geoff Bodine.

As far as manufacturers went, Chevrolet took the top spot via the pole run made by Martin.  Dodge was next best at the hands of Busch.  Ford was the third-fastest make thanks to McMurray.  And carrying the flag for Toyota was sixth-quick Denny Hamlin (29.780 seconds at 186.165 mph).

The Kobalt Tools 500 gets underway at 2 p.m. EDT on Sunday, March 8 with live coverage provided by FOX beginning with its pre-race show at 1:30 p.m.

Engine Woes Hamper Newman's Effort in Atlanta

Haas Automation Driver Finishes 22^nd in Kobalt Tools 500

Date:               March 8, 2009

Event:             Kobalt Tools 500 (Round 4 of 36)

Series:             NASCAR Sprint Cup Series

Location:        Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Ga. (1.54-mile oval)

Start/Finish:    12^th /22^nd  (Running, completed 327 of 330 laps in a green-white-checkered finish)

Winner:           Kurt Busch of Penske Racing (Dodge)

Ryan Newman ran solidly in the top-15 for most of Sunday's Kobalt Tools 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Ga., but engine issues during the final 100 laps of the event slowed down his No. 39 Haas Automation Chevrolet Impala SS and thwarted his team's march to a top-10 result. Newman was relegated to a 22^nd-place finish in his 15^th career Sprint Cup start at the 1.54-mile oval.

"Our Haas Automation Chevy was pretty good today," said Newman after the race. "We had some handling issues, but Tony Gibson (crew chief) and the guys adjusted on the car and gave me a really competitive machine.

"At the end, I think we maybe had a top-10 car, but we lost a cylinder and that put us behind. We were right in cycle to be the next guy for the ‘lucky dog' and we just lost that cylinder and that set the tone for the rest of our day."

With the drop of the green flag, Newman showed just how strong his No. 39 Chevrolet was by passing four cars on the first lap. At lap 13, the second caution of the day waved and Newman radioed Gibson that his car was just a little too tight. He pitted for right side tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment and returned to the track in first place.  Newman proceeded to lead three laps - the first laps he has led in the No. 39 Chevy with Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR).

As the run progressed, Newman battled a loose-handling racecar. It was so loose that he actually hit the wall twice during the course of the run.

Newman pitted under the green flag at lap 65 for four tires, fuel and an air pressure and chassis adjustment to help the car's handling. However, an untimely caution flag once Newman returned to the track put the No. 39 team in 17^th-place and on the tail-end of the cars one lap down.

Over the course of the next run, Newman was able to hold the leaders off and move into the group of cars just one lap down. He continued to fight handling issues and the team continued to make adjustments to improve the car. By lap 221, Newman had made his way to the front of the lap down cars in 13^th-place. He was the next in line to get his lap back when problems struck the No. 39 Haas Automation team.

At lap 225, Newman radioed his crew that he had an engine problem, as his V-8 powerplant had missed several times as he drove down the backstretch, ultimately dropping a cylinder. Newman was able to nurse the engine and maintain a spot in the top-20 until the final caution flag of the day waved at lap 321.

Under the caution, Newman reported that the motor had lost yet another cylinder. On the final restart, he couldn't get his car up to speed quickly enough and lost four more spots, whereupon he finished 22^nd, three laps down.

Tony Stewart, Newman's teammate at SHR and driver of the No. 14 Office Depot/Old Spice Chevrolet Impala SS, finished eighth. Stewart battled back from being two laps down to finish eighth and score his third top-10 finish of the year.

Stewart continues to lead SHR in the championship point race, as his eighth-place finish bumped him up two spots to sixth in the standings after round four of 36. Newman gained one spot to climb to 32^nd in the standings. Stewart is 113 markers arrears series leader Jeff Gordon, while Newman is 310 points out of first.

Kurt Busch beat Gordon by .332 of a second to win the Kobalt Tools 500 and score the 19^th victory of his Sprint Cup career and his second at Atlanta. Busch led six times for 234 of 330 laps, with the race being extended five laps past its scheduled distance due to a green-white-checkered finish.

The victory also marked the second time in less than a year that the Busch brothers have won back-to-back races, as younger brother Kyle Busch won last Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. In July 2008, Kurt Busch won a rain-shortened race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, while Kyle won the series' next race at Daytona.

Finishing third at Atlanta was Carl Edwards, while Kevin Harvick and Brian Vickers rounded out the top-five.  Clint Bowyer, Kasey Kahne, Stewart, Jimmie Johnson and Martin Truex Jr., comprised the remainder of the top-10.

There were 11 caution periods for 54 laps, with 10 drivers failing to finish the 508.2-mile race.

The Sprint Cup Series takes a rare weekend off before heading to Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway for the March 22 Food City 500.  The race begins at 2 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by FOX beginning with its pre-race show at 1:30 p.m.