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NASCAR Sprint-Cup Series
NEWMAN: Lookin’ For Luck In Las Vegas
For whatever reason, Las Vegas is a lot like the old Charlotte in my opinon and that was one of my favorite racetracks...
Ryan Newman  |  Posted February 24, 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 sure do hope that Las Vegas has some good luck for me and the No. 39 Tornados Chevrolet.

Two DNFs (did not finish) was not how any of us wanted to start the 2010 season. Despite the wreck at Daytona and last weekend’s engine failure at California, our No. 39 Stewart-Haas Racing team is doing its best to focus on the positives. That’s not always easy, but that’s part of racing.

Last year, we finished something like 99.8 percent of the laps and had one DNF. The law of averages was bound to catch up with us – and it has in the first two races of this season.

For me and Tony Gibson and the guys, our focus is on the positives that we have seen in our performance at each of these races, especially last weekend at California.

Even after my motor grenaded on the front straightaway, I walked away from the track in fairly good spirits, even though I wasn’t running the final laps of the race. I was really pumped up that we were running better at a track we struggled at last year, and where I haven’t been that good over the past few years. California is a tough racetrack. On Sunday, we worked our way forward every run. We had a couple of pit stops where we lost spots, but we gained those back on the track. I think we were running sixth before that last round of pit stops where we moved up to second and I spun my tires on the restart. But, either way, it was a car that was running well and that was the bright side of my day.

When something happens like what happened to us on Sunday, you have to take the positives and move on. The fact that we were running so solidly was a positive. The guys did a great job in the offseason improving the racecars, and hopefully we’ll show what we’re capable of in Las Vegas.

For the No. 39 team, this weekend’s race in Las Vegas is big for a couple of reasons. We’ve had two races, and we haven’t finished either race, although what happened at both race was out of our control. This weekend, we want to finish the race, and we want to have a good, strong finish.

In my opinion, Vegas, for whatever reason now, is a lot like the old Charlotte and that was one of my favorite racetracks. I love banked racetracks just like I love banking on ramps getting onto the Interstate. When you’ve got a little something to work with like banking, to me, it’s a lot more fun to drive the racecar.

There’s another reason we want to really get our season started in Las Vegas. This weekend is the debut of the Tornados Chevrolet. The car is pretty sweet-looking. It’s black with a lot of bold colors – red, yellow and orange – which is perfect, since the product’s tagline is “Bold is How We Roll.”

Tornados, which is a brand of Ruiz Foods, joined SHR at the end of last season and they are going to be on my car for nine races. Tornados are a great snack food and, if you are ever by the No. 39 hauler, you will probably see our cook Big John making some on the grill.

Last week, I went and toured the plant while we were in California. The facility that they have is amazing, and it was pretty cool to just watch the products get made. I stood there and watched everything happen – from the production line and the people making them to the product coming straight off the line and right into the freezer pack.

While I was there, I got to thinking this is the first time I’ve ever been sponsored by anything related to food. Although it’s kind of new territory for me, representing the food, it’s really a food that me and my whole crew can relate to pretty easily.

They’re cook quickly and they are pretty darn yummy. I would recommend that you give one a try while you are watching us this weekend in Las Vegas. You won’t be disappointed.

And, while you are enjoying your Tornado, you should check out the company’s Facebook page, too. You can find it at www.facebook.com/Tornados. They are doing lots of cool giveaways around the racing program – even tickets to come watch the Tornados Chevrolet race.

The Ruiz family is a great family, and stepping into NASCAR is a big step for them. We want to do our best to represent them and make their experience a good one.

My car says “Bold is How We Roll” this weekend. I sure would like to make that saying come true and boldly roll my No. 39 Tornado Chevrolet across the finish line in first place. That would be the best way I can imagine to kick off our new partnership with Tornados and the Ruiz family.

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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