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NASCAR Sprint-Cup Series
NEWMAN: Bristol Bound
I think everyone had a nice weekend off, but none of us wasted any time getting back into the swing of things...
Ryan Newman  |  Posted March 17, 2010   Charlotte, NC
Ryan Newman, driver of the No. 39 Chevrolet Impala for Stewart-Haas Racing writes Voices of SPEED on SPEED.com. (Photo: Jason Smith/Getty Images for NASCAR)
I think everyone had a nice weekend off, but none of us wasted any time getting back into the swing of things.

On Tuesday, the Nos. 14 and 39 Stewart-Haas Racing teams were among about 20 teams at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway for a NASCAR spoiler test. All of you are well aware of my interest in getting rid of the wing on the current cars and finding some way to make sure that our cars stay on the ground if and when we get turned around backward.

So, obviously, this test was a pretty big deal to me. We had the speed in the cars, and I really do hope we have found something that works with the spoiler on the racecars. The biggest thing I noticed in testing is the way the spoiler is shaped. We’re going to have better racing on the straightaways. We will have more side-drafting and other things I think the fans will enjoy.

We saw that with the old spoiler, but the new car kind of took it away. Still, I think the racing will be more exciting on the straightaways. To be honest, testing is one thing, but I think it’s going to be interesting to see what it’s like actually racing, especially at the intermediate tracks when you get nose-to-tail, and if the car gets aero-tight or loose. I think, balance-wise, it’s going to be very similar. NASCAR worked on making it very, very similar to what we had with that wing, so we’ll just have to see what happens. But I hope this is a step in the right direction for us.

After spending a day at NASCAR’s biggest racetrack – we’re now heading to one of NASCAR’s smallest tracks and Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway.

The cool thing about Bristol is that I actually would compare it to a superspeedway – it’s kind of like a baby Talladega. If something happens in front of you, it may not be your fault, but you can get caught up in somebody else’s wreck in the blink of an eye. I think that’s also one of the reasons emotions run so high at Bristol. You have to really be on your toes at Bristol, and that seems to be where frustrations can rise and flame up quicker than at any other racetrack.

Emotions may run high at Bristol but, personally, I’m pretty excited to get back to a short track. The short tracks were really where we excelled the most last season as a team. The combination of Tony Gibson’s short-track package and my driving style really seemed to jive the most at Bristol.

Last March, Bristol was the site of the No. 39 Haas Automation team’s first top-10. That seventh-place finish did a lot to build the confidence of our team and it helped us gain some momentum. We had something like seven top-10 finishes in the next 10 races. We were able to climb out of that early hole we had dug for ourselves in the points and really make a big splash.

Bristol was where we started proving what a good and capable team we are. That’s why I’m so looking forward to getting back there.

Unfortunately, we find ourselves in a hole again this season. I keep telling everyone I’m not worried about it – and I’m not. This team proved what it was capable of doing last year, and I think we can do it again. No doubt about it.

This year, we’ve had some bad luck – not of our own making. Hopefully, we will be able to turn it around and get the momentum flowing in our direction once again at Bristol. So far this season, I’ve felt like our cars have been better and faster, although it doesn’t show in our finishes. I’m excited to see how that translates to our short-track program this weekend.

Any way you look at it, Bristol is always one heck of a race. It’s fun, side-by-side, Saturday-night racing on a Sunday afternoon. Anything can happen there – and anything normally does.

Ryan Newman is in his ninth full season as a driver in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, and he’ll spend it with two-time Sprint Cup champion Tony Stewart. Newman drives the No. 39 Chevrolet Impala for Stewart-Haas Racing, the team co-owned by Stewart and Haas Automation, the world’s largest machine tool manufacturer. In 2010, Newman will be sponsored by Tornados, Haas Automation and the U.S. Army. Newman is a graduate of Purdue University, where he has a degree in vehicle structure engineering. In his first eight seasons, Newman has collected 45 poles and 13 wins in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, including the 2008 Daytona 500 at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway. When not racing, Newman enjoys fishing and restoring his classic cars. The avid outdoorsman, along with his wife Krissie, play an active role in the Ryan Newman Foundation 501(c)(3), which they founded in 2005. For more information on Ryan Newman, please visit www.ryannewman.org or www.stewarthaasracing.com. Information on the Ryan Newman Foundation can be found at www.ryannewmanfoundation.org.

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