For any youngster who grew up in the United States in the 1990s wanting to be a race car driver, NASCAR and IndyCar were the two possible destinations. It was oftentimes personal afflictions or fate that decided which route they took.
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For Ryan Newman, it was a personal affliction. The veteran went as far as consciously snubbing an opportunity he got to race in the IndyCar Series in 1998.
Newman was born in South Bend, Indiana. The pressure to enter open-wheel racing was only higher on him courtesy of the state in which he was born. In 1998, he was an undergraduate at Purdue University pursuing an engineering degree. He got the chance to test an Indy Racing League car at the Texas Motor Speedway during this period. How he got it in itself is an interesting backstory.
Pennzoil and Panther Racing had got together to give USAC champions a shot at testing for the series. Newman had finished third in the Silver Crown standings and got the ticket since the drivers who’d finished first and second already had IRL licenses. The 20-year-old ended up impressing many during the test and ran a top speed of 213.36 miles per hour.
December 3, 1998: Ryan Newman tested an IndyCar at Texas, running a top speed of 213.36 mph. The test was offered by Panther Racing to top sprint car drivers. Although he called it fun, Newman insisted NASCAR was his goal. pic.twitter.com/I1N0U5WkMC
— nascarman (@nascarman_rr) December 3, 2024
In a surprising turn of events, he told the press after the effort that his focus was completely on securing a ride in NASCAR.
He said, “My feelings really haven’t changed. My goal is still to get into NASCAR racing. The test gave me a taste of IRL racing and some great experience, but I’m not actively looking for a ride right now, I’m still hoping for a Busch or (Craftsman) truck ride for 1999.”
Ryan Newman’s foray into NASCAR
Newman was able to get himself a NASCAR ride only in 2001. He ran part-time schedules in the Xfinity Series and the Cup Series for Penske Racing South. He won an Xfinity race in Michigan and collected several top results in both tiers. In 2002, the team signed him up for a full-time effort in the Cup Series.
He finished sixth in the final driver standings with a win at New Hampshire to win Rookie of the Year honors against fellow rookie Jimmie Johnson. He had 22 top-10 finishes alongside his win and they’d been more than enough to better Johnson despite him winning three races.
Newman ran 733 races over a 21-year-long career in the NASCAR Cup Series. He reached victory lane 18 times and secured 268 top-10 finishes. His best finish was second in the driver standings (2014) when he came runner-up to Kevin Harvick.
