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NASCAR Sprint-Cup Series
NEWMAN: Father’s Day
My goal is to give my dad what he considers the best gift of all on Father's Day – a trip to victory lane...
Ryan Newman  |  Posted June 17, 2009   Charlotte, NC
Ryan Newman, driver of the No. 39 U.S. Army/Haas Automation Chevrolet for Stewart-Haas Racing writes Voices of SPEED on SPEEDtv.com. (Photo: Jason Smith/Getty Images for NASCAR)

I’m not really one to buy cards or gifts for my dad on Father’s Day. Instead, my goal on that Sunday is to give my dad what he considers the best gift of all – a trip to victory lane.

We were able to win a race on Father’s Day in 2004 at Michigan, and that was pretty cool for both of us. It would be nice to do it again.

If it weren’t for my dad, Greg, I wouldn’t be racing today. From the second I was born, my dad knew that I would be a racer.

My dad had wanted to be a racer himself, but things didn’t work out for him. So having a son as a racer was the next-best thing.

Don’t get me wrong, my dad didn’t push me into racing. At 4½, I had my first Quarter Midget. And although I don’t remember too much about those days, I know I had fun.

By the time I was 9 or 10, though, my dad started worrying that maybe he had pushed me into following his dream, and not my dream. So, dad took the racing away from me.

I wasn’t very happy with this decision, and it wasn’t long before Dad realized that racing was my passion. I wanted to race everything that had wheels and every chance I got.

Luckily, my dad, my mom and my sister were all willing to make sacrifices so that I could race. It’s all that hard work – the sacrifices, moneywise and timewise, by Dad and my entire family – that helped me get to where I am today.

Since Dad played such an instrumental role in the early days of my racing career, it’s pretty cool that I still have him as part of my team today in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Since 2006, Dad has been my eyes and my ears on the racetrack, working as my spotter.

I can’t really imagine having anyone else spot for me, now. I mean, when you think about it, who knows me and my driving style better than my dad? He’s been with me from day one.

Everybody asks me about our relationship, since he is my spotter. Yes, there are tense moments. I yell at him over the radio, but he yells right back at me. There are definitely some funny moments, too. But, for the most part, it really plays to my advantage to have my dad spotting for me.

He knows what I like to hear. He knows what I need to hear about my driving line as compared to someone else’s line. He even knows how to calm me down when he needs to.

I think the best part about having my dad as the spotter is just all the extra time we get to spend together (at least my dad says that’s the best part). Personally, I think it’s pretty cool when you think about the special moments we have been able to share together, like at Daytona last year.

I will never forget listening to my dad’s voice in that final corner as we came to the finish line for the Daytona 500 win. I could hear it in his voice. I knew we had a heck of a push and I knew we were going to win the race. But it was even cooler for me to hear the pride in my dad’s voice. I could hear his teardrops hitting the radio. That was something special.

I’d like to give him another special moment like that, soon.

Happy Father’s Day, Dad. I will try and get you the present you want.

The opinions reflected herein are solely those of the above commentator and are not necessarily those of SPEEDtv.com, FOX, NewsCorp, or Speed Channel

Ryan Newman is in his eighth 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 U.S. Army/Haas Automation Chevrolet Impala SS for Stewart-Haas Racing, the team co-owned by Stewart and Haas Automation, the world’s largest machine tool manufacturer. Newman is a graduate of Purdue University, where he has a degree in vehicle structural engineering. In his first seven seasons, Newman has collected 43 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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