Ryan Newman Will Try To Make History By Runniing Four Races At BMS

BRISTOL, Tenn. – Ryan Newman will embark on an historic journey next month.

If all goes according to plan, the 31-year-old Indiana native will travel 586 miles and 1,100 high-speed laps over three nights.

It’s a potential seven-hour marathon on the demanding .533-mile Bristol Motor Speedway oval that Newman says will be a labor of love.

“I’m a racer,” Newman said during a press conference at BMS Wednesday “I love to race; obviously, Bristol is a great race track.”

BMS officials say no driver has ever run in all three national NASCAR series and a support race on the same week, but Newman plans to do just that during race week in August.
He’ll drive two races on Wednesday (Aug. 19): a 150-lap NASCAR Whelen Modified event, followed by the O’Reilly 200 for the Camping World Truck Series race.

After a day break, Newman will drive a JR Motorsports entry in Friday’s Food City 250 Nationwide Series event, then return to his full-time ride in the No. 39 U.S. Army Chevrolet for Saturday’s Sharpie 500.
“It’s really neat to have all four races here,” Newman said. “I’m going to have eat my Wheaties that week, but I look forward to the opportunity of winning all four [races].”

Should Newman win all four races, he won’t be the only one drawing a big paycheck. One fan will earn $400,000 – the same amount Newman would win in purse money. Fans can register for that contest at www.bristolmotorspeedway.com, beginning next Monday.

Before reaching the Sprint Cup series with car owner Roger Penske in 2000, Newman developed his racing skills in highly responsive Midgets, Silver Crown and Sprint cars around the Midwest.
The powerfully-built Newman hopes his extensive open-wheel experience will pay dividends in the BMS modified event.

“The [modifieds] are an absolute blast to drive,” Newman said. “They remind me so much of my old Silver Crown and Sprint cars, with the power-to-weight ratio and the tires. With the banking here, the [modified] car really hauls the mail.”

Newman and fellow Sprint Cup regular Kasey Kahne competed in a 100-lap Whelen Modified tour race last weekend at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Newman was actually in position to win the action-packed event before a crash forced him out on lap 65. Kahne also was involved in an accident.

“I was disappointed in myself,” Newman said. “I spun out running second.”

Kahne was among 19 drivers who participated in a modified test at BMS on June 8. No official speeds were reported from that session, but modified veteran Ted Christopher generated a national buzz on Feb. 24 when he posted a lap of 14.479 seconds during the initial modified test at BMS.

Ironically, Christopher bettered Newman’s BMS track record of 14.908 at 128.709 miles, which was set during Sprint Cup qualifying in March of 2003.

Because of inclement weather, Newman was unable to attend either modified test in Bristol, but he sent another driver to test his car to establish a baseline for the UNOH Perfect Storm 150.

“We should be in good shape,” Newman said. “The car has been very competitive every time we’ve had it out.”

Like many drivers and fans, Newman said he was thrilled to learn that the powerful modifieds were coming to BMS. After making slight adjustment to his 2009 racing schedule, Newman was ready for his charge at history.

“Once we knew they were doing a modified race here, everybody in the [Sprint] Cup garage was excited,” Newman said. “The only thing we really had to change was to move one of our Nationwide races from Kansas to [Bristol].
“We had planned on doing the truck race here. Once we had the opportunity with the modified race, we decided to try all four.”

Newman said Stewart-Haas Racing team owner Tony Stewart was receptive to the bold idea.

“Tony said ‘Heck, yeah, do it,’ ” Newman said. “Nobody has ever done this. It’s just like doing the Indy 500 and Coca-Cola 600 in one weekend before anyone did that.
“It’s cool to be the first one to try to do something. Hopefully, we can win them all.”

The JR Motorsports car Newman will drive in the BMS Nationwide race is owned by Sprint Cup regular Dale Earnhardt, Jr.

Whether he wins or even completes every lap next month, Newman plans to embrace the BMS challenge.

“Oh yeah, we’re here to have fun,” Newman said. “This is a great race track, and it will be really interesting to see how wide the groove gets with the modifieds.
“It’s going to be fast. My butt will be shaped to every seat after all those laps around here.”

agregory@bristolnews.com|(276) 645-2544

Who: Ryan Newman

What: NASCAR Sprint Cup racer

When: Aug. 19-22

Fast Fact: Should Newman win all four races, one fan will earn the same amount Newman would win in purse money — $400,000. Fans can register for that contest at www.bristolmotorspeedway.com