Have a FaceBook, Twitter, or other social networking account?

Link them to your fanatic account!

Add An Account

TAKE ME TO...
NASCAR Sprint-Cup Series
NEWMAN: I Am… Optimus Prime
This weekend is going to be especially fun for the No. 39 team as our car has a pretty cool-looking paint scheme...
Ryan Newman  |  Posted October 14, 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)
Charlotte is really kind of a double-edged sword in some ways. It’s great to be at home for the weekend. In fact, that’s why a lot of people will tell you that Charlotte week is their favorite week of the year. But it is also one of the busiest weekends for all of us.

Since all the drivers are in town and the sponsors know that, we usually stay pretty busy the entire Charlotte week with production days and commercial shoots and various other things.

So, it can be a pretty tiring week, too. Good thing we get to sleep in our own bed, huh?

For me, I love Charlotte week. Not only am I sleeping in my own bed and getting to spend some extra time at the house, but Charlotte is one of my favorite racetracks. I really like fast, high-banked racetracks, and Charlotte is one of the best ones we go to all year.

The No. 39 Stewart-Haas team – in fact, the entire SHR organization – had a good spring at Charlotte. Tony (Stewart) and the No. 14 guys won the All-Star race, and the No. 39 team started on the pole and finished second in the rain-shortened 600. It wasn’t a bad couple of weeks for us.

We know that just because we had a good weekend there the first time around doesn’t mean we are guaranteed a good weekend this time. But Tony Gibson and the guys have been working really hard. We’ve been taking good racecars to the racetrack each weekend, and the guys did really well in the pits last weekend at California.

So, we’re excited to be going back to Charlotte, where we did have a good run. We’re hoping to build some momentum for these final six races of the Chase, starting with qualifying. Charlotte is a track where I have been very successful in qualifying. I have eight poles there, so it gives me some confidence knowing that if the rain holds off, I’m at a track where I’m good at hitting my marks and getting us up front.

This weekend is going to be especially fun for the No. 39 team as our car has a pretty cool-looking paint scheme for the DVD release on Oct. 20 of TRANSFORMERS: Revenge of the Fallen. As a kid, I was a big fan of the Transformers. How could I not be? I mean, you had a car or truck that turned into a robot/person and then would transform back into a car or truck.

I don’t know anybody my age who didn’t play with Transformers back then. I think, besides my slot cars, Transformers were probably my favorite toys. And I loved the cartoon, too.

So, for me to be representing something that was a part of my childhood and that kids today like, too, is really a cool deal for me.

My car represents OPTIMUS PRIME – the good, peace-loving leader of the AUTOBOTS. Jeff Gordon’s car this weekend is my arch-enemy, MEGATRON. He’s the leader of the bad DECEPTICONS. So, we’re going to have a whole good vs. evil battle going on out on the racetrack.

It’s a bonus to me that we’re the good guys. I’m sure we’re going to have to avoid MEGATRON and some other bad guys during the night at Charlotte, but here’s the cool thing – the good guy is always supposed to win. Hopefully, that will play into our favor on Saturday night.

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.
ryan_newman's avatar

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Ryan Newman

MORE BY THIS AUTHOR
Advertising | Jobs | Feedback | FAQ | Terms of Use | NEW Privacy Policy | Ad Choices | Site Map
Fox Sports | FUEL TV | FX Network | National Geographic | IGN | AskMen
The Motor Sports Authority, SPEED and associated logos are registered trademarks of Speed Channel Inc.
All Rights Reserved © Speed Channel, Inc. 2012

All external links will open in a new browser window. SPEED.com does not endorse external sites.