In this week's edition of Inside the Chase, FanHouse's Holly Cain visits with Ryan Newman, the driver of the U.S. Army-sponsored No. 39 Chevrolet, to talk Talladega safety improvements, a rough qualifying lap at California Speedway, reading to school kids, a vacation to Jackson Hole and the benefits of earning his college degree.Ryan Newman is currently ranked ninth among the 12 drivers vying for the Sprint Cup title as the series stops at Auto Club Speedway of Southern California for the fourth of the 10-race Chase for the Championship.
Newman was a vocal proponent of having NASCAR make safety modifications in light of a horrific airborne crash at the spring Talladega 500-miler. In the midst of a multi-car accident at the front of the field, Newman's car launched Carl Edwards' car into the front stretch catchfence. Debris injured seven people in the grandstands.
In response to the accident, NASCAR announced Friday it has slowed down the cars for the Nov. 1 Talladega race by shrinking the restrictor plate -- the difference of about 10-15 horsepower. And both Talladega and Daytona International Speedway -- the two largest tracks on the NASCAR schedule -- have said they will raise the height of their fencing.
"The things they did are the right direction and I commend them for it," Newman said. I just wish they had come to me and said, 'We're thinking of doing this and this.' I shouldn't have to go to them. It's their job to make the cars and tracks as safe as possible.
"I still believe there are things we can do collectively to keep the cars from getting airborne. ... I don't know if it's the size of the roof flaps -- making them bigger -- or adding more. The cars are definitely safer than the old ones, but let's not stop developing the race cars.
"Changing the fence is good, but if the car was never airborne, the fence wouldn't have been an issue.''
On his 36th-place starting position for Sunday's Pepsi 500:
"We weren't pole capable, but we were eighth-fastest in practice. Qualifying was just a combination of me trying to get too much out of it and not having the car just right yet. On a bigger race track like this, there's less to worry about starting this far back. I'm confident we'll get the car better.''
On why he doesn't consider himself out of contention for the Chase for the Championship. He dropped two positions in the standings after last week's race in Kansas City and trails leader Mark Martin by 164 points:
"There are seven races left. Seven races is a long time, it's a fifth of the schedule. We proved in the first fifth of the season that we could come back from 31st place to as high as fourth place (in the championship). Before Talladega, it's not even a question that we're in it.''
On the trip Newman and his wife Krissie took to Jackson Hole, Wy., on the way to this week's Cup race in Fontana, Calif.:
"We had a lot of fun and it was a lot colder than it was supposed to be. Last week it was 75 degrees, it never got above 45 while we there. We went horseback riding though, had a good time.''
On reading to school children this week:
"I don't really know which book I'm reading yet, hopefully it's not Green Eggs and Ham (laughing), maybe it will be The Little Engine that Could. I'm looking forward to it. It's a good thing and it makes a difference.''
On being the only current full-time Sprint Cup driver to have a four-year college degree (Newman earned an engineering degree from Purdue University):
"I always wanted to use the degree to help with my racing career, but it was also a Plan B in case racing didn't work out, either if something happened to me physically, or if I didn't get my breaks.
"I was fortunate to have my family on my side, Don Miller and Roger Penske. That helped. My dad kept in touch with Don Miller and kept him up to date so he knew when I had one semester left. I had assistance like that and people observing me (as a race car driver).
"All it takes is a few people that care."
