An Interview With Ryan Newman

SCR: With DNFs last year, you were somewhat snake-bitten. You won eight races but had five DNFs, and you had three this year in the first 15 races. How much of a concern is that, and what can you do about it?

Newman: It's frustrating, especially when it's not of your doing, like when you get caught up in somebody else's crash or somebody else's wrongdoing. It's frustrating, but you know you can overcome that. When it's your own [responsibility]-multiple engine failures or something like that-that's when it's extremely frustrating.

SCR: Do those things cause stress or friction within the team?

Newman: Without a doubt. But you've got to fight through it and not fight with each other.

SCR: Has that been a problem in the past?

Newman: Not with our team, no. I've seen it with other teams but not with our team.

SCR: A lot of teams probably would have folded and not won eight races given the bad luck you had last year.

Newman: The two restrictor-plate crashes, the fire at Michigan, going up on our side at Watkins Glen-we went through a lot of things last year. But we were able to come back and get those eight victories and 11 poles, finish Sixth in points, and still have a shot. Although we were over 600 points behind at one point, we still had a shot with three races to go at the end of the season to be the champion. We can't complain.

SCR: How much does your background and training as an engineer help in those circumstances, when things get tough? Maybe you don't look at it from an emotional perspective but see it more as a rational, A, B, C thing. Is that a fair statement?

Newman: Well, you're a product of your environment and the people around you. We've got a lot of great people here on this Alltel Dodge team. My upbringing and people around me help us be who we are.

SCR: By upbringing, you mean your family background?

Newman: Family upbringing, and values and morals, and things like that.

SCR: Did your dad race while you were growing up?

Newman: Never raced. Wanted to. He just put me in a seat at a young age and never looked back.

SCR: How much did your open-wheel background help when you made the transition to stock cars? You hear about car control and things like that.

Newman: The car control, racing the different racetracks, and not becoming a track champion, but instead becoming a series champion...that's what this series is all about, the multiple racetracks, the different venues, from road courses, to superspeedways, to short tracks, to intermediate tracks, flat tracks, banked tracks-a little bit of everything. That's a huge positive that I have, my upbringing as far as racing different racetracks across the country, whether it was in Quarter Midgets or Silver Crown cars.

SCR: Does that apply to open-wheelers in general, or just to your circumstances?

Newman: More to the USAC-style racing and racing different racetracks all over. I mean you can race open-wheel cars at the same track every week. If you want to become the Kokomo [Indiana] track champion, that's great. But you're not as versatile as you'd be as the USAC champion.

SCR: This is probably a question you've answered a thousand times. But you had a lot of success in Midgets and Sprints while in college, so just how tough was it to juggle college life and a successful racing career? That had to be pretty stressful.

Newman: It was like working two jobs at one time. It was extremely difficult, but I knew it was something I could accomplish. It took me a little longer and a little more effort than I thought it was going to take. But, nonetheless, I was still able to accomplish that.

SCR: Given your success in racing, in hindsight, a lot of people would probably ask why you went to college.

Newman: Because you never know. You could be riding a bicycle and have a bug hit you in the eye and never get to drive again the way you always drove. You've got to have something to fall back on. On top of all that, it never hurts to be educated.