Ryan Newman

Ryan Newman currently drives the #39 Stewart-Haas Racing Army Chevrolet in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. A native of South Bend, Indiana, he began driving a race car at age four and a half! From those earliest years he has given his all to the sport.

A race car driver as well as an outdoor enthusiast, Ryan Newman understands the importance of conserving America’s land and water resources. He grew up fishing with his grandfather who passed along his appreciation of the great outdoors. He and his wife, Krissie, enjoy spending time together outdoors when they are away from their busy lives at the racetrack. Newman takes every opportunity he has to fish—whether it is at home on his pond, at lakes near speedways across the country, or on vacation in Canada or Alaska. Newman says, "I’ve met a lot of NASCAR fans who are avid fisherman like me, and they know how important it is to protect the beautiful land and water that we enjoy today so our grandchildren can enjoy it in the future."

Racing achievements and awards:

The All-American Midget Series Championship and rookie honors (1993)
The USAC National Midget Series Rookie of the Year (1995);
Top rookie in USAC's Silver Crown Series (1996);
The Sprint Car Rookie of the Year and the USAC Silver Bullet Series National Championship (1999);
Newman became the first driver in USAC Silver Bullet Series history to record a victory in all three divisions—Sprint, Midget and Silver Crown —in one season (1999);
In his rookie year in NASCAR's premier series, Newman broke the rookie record for most poles in a season (six and finished sixth in series points that season and earned the Raybestos Rookie-of-the-Year title (2002);
Newman captured a historic victory in the 50th running of the Daytona 500 (2008);
Newman placed in the top twelve for number of points, earning him a place in the year end Chase of the Champions (2009);
So far in 2010, Newman won the Subway Fresh Fit 600 in Phoenix, Arizona. He also earned the 46th pole of his career at the Coke 600 in Charlotte, North Carolina. This pole win ties him for 10th on the all-time list with Hall of Famer Junior Johnson.

During the years he achieved these racing titles, Newman also worked on getting his undergraduate degree. He got his Bachelor of Science degree in Vehicle Structure Engineering at Purdue University in 2001.