Everyone knows that Ryan Newman is always a threat at Daytona. Duh, he’s a past Daytona 500 champion. In fact, his triumph at the season opener in 2008 was The Captain’s first Daytona 500 win as an owner. Sure he’s the subject of plenty of quality memes, but it makes us forget how solid a driver Newman actually is. With Jimmie Johnson retiring at the end of the season, I’ve found myself pondering other aging drivers career’s. The drivers from my childhood. Especially Newman since I was never really a fan or hater and with the Dayton 500 coming up its the perfect time to highlight “The Rocket Man”.
Ryan Newman’s Daytona 500 Victory
The biggest Daytona 500 at that point in time. An event already packed with excitement was celebrating its golden anniversary. Ryan Newman, pushed by his teammate Kurt Busch, prevailed in the 50th running of the Daytona 500. At the time I wouldn’t have ever imagined Newman winning that race in 2008. I figured Gordon or Johnson would win with Hendricks super speedway program. Add in their dominance of the 2000’s and it seemed like a lock to me. To me the 12 car was competing for pole awards more than victory lane. Which is respectable in its own right, but 12 year old Trey didn’t give a damn.
Newman’s 20.8 avg. Finish at Daytona
Superspeedways are notoriously treacherous. The “Big One” is always looming and shows no favorites. Which makes a P20 average finish at Daytona a deceptive number. The upside of that number is shown by the W in 2008. But Ryan Newman has also seen the dark side of Daytona International Speedway. His tumble in 2003 was horrifying and like many others, I wasn’t sure he’d come out of the window. However, he did and only five years later he became a champion. Jack Roush has a successful superspeedway program and now has Chris Buescher. A definite upgrade for Newman as a teammate since Buescher is like him in keeping the car clean and finishing races. Stankhouse was just too focused on aggravating other drivers to finish races. Look for the new duo to be upfront next week.
It’s Really Time We Finally Appreciate Ryan Newman
First off, I have never seen the above image before. A young Newman and a clean-shaven Truex in one picture. That’s like seeing a unicorn. It also shows that Ryan Newman isn’t one of those vanilla drivers we all hate. He has a typical midwestern dad personality and is an avid outdoorsman. Along with his wife, they run Rescue Ranch. The ranch is used to educate people on wildlife conservation, agriculture, and many other outdoor activities. A native of Indiana, Ryan Newman grew up in the heart of agriculture and has always loved the outdoors. A throwback to simpler times when all there was to worry about was your land. Which is why we need to appreciate Newman now before he retires. Because it’s not gonna be as interesting to watch him turn laps around a 100-acre field in a combine.
