By: Zach Catanzareti, Staff Writer
It was formally announced Saturday at Richmond Raceway that Ryan Newman will join Roush Fenway Racing for the 2019 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. The move ends a five-year stint with Richard Childress Racing.
And while 2019 will be Newman’s 18th full Cup season, a new challenge is something he’s ready to tackle in Roush’s No. 6 Ford. A portion of that comes with the appreciation to drive for another big team owner in NASCAR.
Racing for Roger Penske, Tony Stewart and Richard Childress, the 40-year-old is happy to add Jack Roush to his carer list.
“I’ve always been a big appreciator of the history of our sport. A big part of that has been Roush Fenway Racing and what Jack has done,” Newman said. “He’s created a great namesake and an opportunity for me for next year. I look forward to the opportunity of driving and the ultimate goal of winning.”
However, with a realistic view of Roush’s recent performance, winning has been layered atop rough roads for the Ford organization. Winning only twice since 2014, Newman will be jumping ship to a team who has struggled to win more than his current team at RCR, who have won three times in the last two seasons.
“I’m in a position where I never wanted to stop, never wanted to quit, never wanted to retire,” he said. “From a performance standpoint, what they bring with Roush Yates engines, the people, everything that’s invested, it’s there to stay. It’s an opportunity to help them grow their program from where they have been to where we all hope to be.”
Entering the team with what will be 620 starts and at least 18 Cup wins, Newman also has an engineering degree from Purdue University in 2001 and feels this background will aid the team through 2019.
“You bring a level of experience,” he said. “That is good experience or bad, shock or spring packages, dealing with certain people, different programs, shop layouts. All different perspectives I feel I have kept in the back of my mind that has made an impact on the end result of being successful.”
For team owner Jack Roush, the more grit a driver has on track, the better. Roush has noticed Newman’s on-track competitiveness and is excited to have his ability behind the wheel of one of his cars.
“Ryan has been one of the most fierce drivers we’ve faced on the racetrack,” Roush said. He has demonstrated himself to have good values. One thing a driver has to have is a code that makes sense to other drivers. Whenever you race, you know what to expect.”
With respect to Newman’s degree, Roush sees potential in this multi-year relationship.
“We’ve always respected where he came from,” he concluded. “His engineering degree makes him more valuable to me as a driver than he might be without it. We look forward on going down the road for multiple years. I can’t say how many. But for a number of years.”
Join @RoushFenway’s Jack Roush and Steve Newmark, along with driver @RyanJNewman, for an announcement from @RichmondRaceway. https://t.co/ZIykzY2q3y
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) September 22, 2018