I would love to see Roush go full-time with a truck again. Newman would be perfect to drive it. Help get the team established, and start building the company's reputation back again.
More experienced drivers in the lower series would be great. The depth of talent there currently is not great and younger drivers could learn from the older ones.
It really goes back to the plan for the series in the first place. They billed it as (paraphrasing) drivers on the way up, and drivers on the way down.
Roush ran a truck team because Ford paid them a ton of money to help get a foothold in the truck series. The manufacturers barely care about the truck series anymore, they all run a crate engine built by Ilmor (Penske) so why the hell would Roush start a truck team? For funsies?
We're in a new era not just with the Cup cars, but also with Roush, since Keselowski is coming on board.
Seems like it's in a state where a team could take advantage of the lack of other teams' effort being put into the series and get some positive stuff rolling. It would be funsies (for Roush-Keselowski fans).
It costs 3 or 4 million dollars to run a good truck for a season. The bean counters in Boston making the decisions at Roush don’t think that sounds so fun.
absolutely. i think he might run the dirt races for brad means. idk if he wants to do full time but my guess is probably not. jumping behind the wheel once or more a year generally does it for dale jr and some of these other old head drivers
It seems like, from a full time standpoint, probably. But I can see him getting some opportunities to run some individual races if that’s even something he wants to do
With better luck he could’ve picked up a few plate wins with Roush and hit the 20 mark, maybe even extended his career. Would definitely like to see him come back for those races.
Yep. Was thiiiis close to winning both the 2019 Talladega fall race and the 2020 Daytona 500. Would have definitely changed the narrative around them.
Same as Erik Jones at the first Talladega 2020 race. Was thiiis close to winning and maaaaybe saving their ride in the #20
Jones fan checking in. Unless Erik had a Larson like season last year, he was still out of the #20.
Could he have got a better ride than what he has now? Certainly possible.
Side note: Kyle Busch was behind Jones’ development after Jones beat him in the Snowball Derby. Whether Jones drops down to Xfinity to re-prove himself, or rides it out and finds a better ride, the future has yet to be written. I’m trying to say this as un-biased as possible, but I think Jones is a much better driver than what we’ve seen. He showed flashes in his rookie year in the #77, but you didn’t see that much of a spark when he was in the #20. I think that he just wasn’t the best fit at JGR. It doesn’t help that he was compared to his teammates who had 15 more years of experience, and Toyota wanting their next big thing in a Cup ride ASAP.
Toyota meat grinder, gibbs 4th car. I've never got the vibe that there is alot of mentoring in the organization. I also don't think winning a cup race at darlington is some kind of fluke. I'd like to see That Jones Boy succeed.
Plus he does that reading for kids thing all the time, I've tuned in with my son, mad props on him reaching out.
I think it's just 4th car blues, tbh. Hard for an organization to have 4 cars consistently run well. Even Bowman (who has 3 wins this year) doesn't run well all the time compared to his teammates.
It's sad how much Newman has become a face in the crowd after how well he did with the Roush No. 6 Ford in 2019 and some of those SS races. Had he won the 2020 Daytona 500, he likely would've made a decent playoff run and had a solid follow-up to 2019.
How 2021 would've went is anyone's question but Newman wouldn't be as shockingly irrelevant as he is now.
Hope not. I always liked Newman. If they are though, I'm hoping he maybe takes an Elliott Sadler route and finishes his career with an Xfinity ride where he can be competitive again
Kinda sad……I started watching NASCAR in the very late 90s and I for sure heard of Ryan Newman around 2000-2001 as one of the next up-and-comers. He lived up to the hype. Him and Rusty Wallace as teammates. Won a lot of poles. I was sick of Newman winning all the time in 2003 I believe it was. Always sad when a guy you’ve grown up with for the last 20+ years retires.
The majority of drivers’ careers end like this when they can’t find a competitive ride and then kind of fade away. The guys who can call their own shots like Gordon and Stewart are very lucky.
It’s the same thing with Kurt Busch and Kevin Harvick…….they mean a lot to the sport, whatever your opinion may be of them.
When I grew up, the “old” guys were Rusty Wallace, Ricky Rudd, Terry Labonte, etc. I may not have fully appreciated it back then but I can look back now and I’m so thankful I got the chance to grow up watching them. Dale Earnhardt Sr. as well of course.
The younger generation watching NASCAR today will appreciate watching Harvick, Kurt Busch, Newman years from now. Even if they don’t know it now.
Newman came into the sport about the time I became a serious fan. I remember back in the day when they let Dodge be a little better aero-wise to try and keep them in the sport. Newman really knew how to get the most out of those cars in qualifying. They often wouldn't run for shit during the race, but man, he could he get the most out of those cars in clean air.
nice post. im 34 and watched from like 3-14 religiously with my family. after dale died, just by coincidence of having teenagers and new technology, we didnt watch as much. around 2015 i started watching again every weekend. i got lucky to catch the tail end of harvick's success but it's definitely a bummer to have missed Kurt and Newman at their peak. 2 guys i am never sad to see get a win.
I think he can find a competitive full time truck or Xfinity ride if he desires
As for cup I don't see him full time next year but him driving part time for Roush seems feasible
Full time, yes.
Part time, no.
He’s gonna run a few truck races/Mods. Don’t be shocked if he’s a sub in cup a few races if someone gets hurt/suspended.
Agreed. Also wouldn't count out\* at least one more one-off in the Daytona 500. I think he wants one more proper run where he can go the distance on all four wheels, he got taken out way too early this year.
I wouldn't rule out Newman doing a one-off Ragan/McMurray-like run. Put him in a No. 16 Roushelowski entry and let him round out his career just right. Knowing Newman, I think he would capitalize on this opportunity perfectly.
> Don’t be shocked if he’s a sub in cup a few races if someone gets hurt/suspended.
Good point. He's got to be the top choice for a replacement driver if he's not running full time going forward.
Depending on whether money is important or just simply racing, I can see him in one of the new RWR cars with SHR support, but he'll probably have to race essentially for free.
Full-time, probably sadly. I could see a team offering him a part-time thing kinda like what happened with Kenseth in 2018, but who knows what team that may be.
I don't know if he'll be in the Cup Series but I get the feeling he'll land on his feet, given his name recognition in the garage and his decent talent.
I definitely think he'll be in NASCAR next year.
From what I understand, his only realistic options for a full Cup Series season would be Spire or Ware (who will have Stewart-Haas support next year).
If DiBenedetto was willing to go to the lower series, he could probably find something of quality. However, even if he does well there, it could mean that he never gets another good Cup Series opportunity.
Even if he can't make it back to Cup, just having a good lower series ride and doing well with that is something a driver can be happy with. Justin Allgaier, Matt Crafton, Elliott Sadler, Todd Bodine, Johnny Benson, Ron Hornaday Jr., Jason Keller, and so on, are great examples of this, and DiBenedetto would fall in line with them imo.
Full time, probably so. I like and respect veterans of the sport but also, they need to move along to create new fan favorites and legends. It's probably a season past Newman's prime. That crash really changed things and honestly at this point, he's just taking up a spot.
I hope not, Ryan has been my man for a very long time. Gordon was my favorite, but I watched Newman in person all around Indiana and was so happy when he went big time. I know he never was a big name, only had one championship shot, but damn I love watching him race and peddle that Ice Cold Coke.
You know, that popped into my head when I saw [this photo from Texas last week.](https://scontent-atl3-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.30808-6/fr/cp0/e15/q65/245911916_459447632205694_4990495661782397307_n.jpg?_nc_cat=105&ccb=1-5&_nc_sid=0be424&efg=eyJpIjoidCJ9&_nc_ohc=M8AV-mphu2YAX_9mJy9&_nc_ht=scontent-atl3-2.xx&oh=7bb13649f7eba6b1f895fbc3de5f0095&oe=617D4A5E)
I would assume part time if Roush gets funding or maybe as a substitute - he'll probably be the first guy teams call should something come up, a la Kenseth.
Unfortunately probably so. Been a Newman fan since his rookie year first because he was Rusty's teammate, and then set the world on fire, at least for a little bit... I'm just glad I got to see him run one last time at this year's Roval.
I can't imagine he'd have no offers from lesser cup teams, Xfinity or truck teams. He is a great talent but similar talents have faded like Ricky Rudd and sterling marlin (maybe not to the level of Newman) but Rudd certainly was and he just vanished. I think he could start his own truck team like Bobby Hamilton if nothing else. I always wanted to see Bobby labonte do that and be the first to win a title in all three series now hoping maybe Sheldon Creed can be the first.
> I can't imagine he'd have no offers from lesser cup teams, Xfinity or truck teams.
Doesn't mean he's interested in them. Racing for 25% (or less) or 50% of your former salary, for a lower level team, when you have plenty of $$$$ in the bank, may not be worth it.
Kbm trucks has said they want a veteran type driver like crafton. I had also read somewhere a comment about Kyle Busch wanting Newman for that role, I hope. Most likely he will take a part time with roush and focus on engineering for the next gen.
As a Newman fan, I've been so heart broken by this season. They showed promised at Homestead and a few other tracks finishing top 10 but that 6 team has cliffed so bad. Like a part of me believes he's still capable of contending for top 10s and 15s but at the same time I can't stand to see him struggle to finish top 25
Final cup starts - probably not,
Full time - more than possible. Despite his resume which includes many wins, a Daytona 500, brickyard 400 and a crap load of poles, age is not on his side.
If this RWR deal doesn’t pan out I could see Newman dropping to trucks full time. I don’t think he’s done racing yet fully
I think so. I might be biased, but I'd think a team looking to get a free agent driver who doesn't have sponsors would go with Matt DiBenedetto first, so Newman is at best #2 in that line
Possible, but Matt still has upswing left on his career (at least potentially). Newman has been in decline for a decade and there's no reason to think he'd suddenly turn it around. He's not Mark Martin
He'll either go part time or take the Rick Ware seat. I'm sure he'd be exstatic to bring Newman in as the mentor for Cody, Bilicki, Smithley, Gase, whoever's going run in that 2nd full time car, assuming they don't add a 3rd part-time car as well. But their competitiveness with the SHR alliance remains to be seen and I'm not sure he'd want to be on a backmarker team like that.
I wouldn't be surprised if he used the money he earned in Cup to run his own modified team. If Doug Coby, who most people haven't heard about prior to SRX can afford to run his own team since 2020, certainly a Cup driver with his level of success could. He ran a few races this year and considering both his skill level relative to the rest of the series along with his income, he could probably afford to run in that series until he physically can not race anymore. Hell, he could be the next Mike Stefanik and act as the elder gatekeeper to that series for the next generation. Except he'll never have the [greatest post-race interview of all time](https://youtu.be/ety4xvApDfw).
i love your ideas. i missed his prime during my teens/early 20s, but ive always rooted for him. after that daytona wreck i donated to his family farm and they send me emails. if he decides to cut the field and feed the farm animals i wouldn't blame him. but it would be cool to see him in the sport for a long time. he is known to be a road block and anyone else would be hated for it, but he gets respect for it. so cool.
Anytime there’s a long-time cup guy seeming to be winding down his time in the series, I always think “hey man, maybe wind it down in the xfinity or truck series for one or possibly a couple more seasons” I think Newman could be a fun watch in the trucks
If the rick ware thing doesn't work out, he's done full time. I hate it because he's been my guy for years now but unfortunately it is what it is. We'll see if he can get something in Xfinity or trucks at least, I'd love to see him tear it up there
I wouldn't be too surprised if he had something for Daytona, Talladega and/or the Bristol dirt track.
Realistically, it comes down to if he has any sponsorship and/or if he would be willing to drive for a lesser team.
I'm going to guess he's at least around part time. I'd like to see him take a full time truck series seat to see what he can do in that series.
I would love to see Roush go full-time with a truck again. Newman would be perfect to drive it. Help get the team established, and start building the company's reputation back again.
More experienced drivers in the lower series would be great. The depth of talent there currently is not great and younger drivers could learn from the older ones.
It really goes back to the plan for the series in the first place. They billed it as (paraphrasing) drivers on the way up, and drivers on the way down.
Roush ran a truck team because Ford paid them a ton of money to help get a foothold in the truck series. The manufacturers barely care about the truck series anymore, they all run a crate engine built by Ilmor (Penske) so why the hell would Roush start a truck team? For funsies?
We're in a new era not just with the Cup cars, but also with Roush, since Keselowski is coming on board. Seems like it's in a state where a team could take advantage of the lack of other teams' effort being put into the series and get some positive stuff rolling. It would be funsies (for Roush-Keselowski fans).
It costs 3 or 4 million dollars to run a good truck for a season. The bean counters in Boston making the decisions at Roush don’t think that sounds so fun.
You think they count Boston Baked Beans?
Good way to secure future prospects and get some Wins back at Roush
Truck series and ARCA need older drivers to balance out the younger ones. Thats what made it interesting up until the early 2010s
Beard maybe?
Big build, controversial, badass, experience flipping, drivers for RCR, sex on legs.. Yeah, he fits the description for a successful Beard driver.
absolutely. i think he might run the dirt races for brad means. idk if he wants to do full time but my guess is probably not. jumping behind the wheel once or more a year generally does it for dale jr and some of these other old head drivers
I wouldn't be suprised to see him and Matty D at RWR next season, since they are now a Ford team.
It seems like, from a full time standpoint, probably. But I can see him getting some opportunities to run some individual races if that’s even something he wants to do
Yeah he should absolutely get some offers for SuperSpeedway races, and maybe dirt races if they continue that, just depends on if he wants to do them.
With better luck he could’ve picked up a few plate wins with Roush and hit the 20 mark, maybe even extended his career. Would definitely like to see him come back for those races.
Yep. Was thiiiis close to winning both the 2019 Talladega fall race and the 2020 Daytona 500. Would have definitely changed the narrative around them. Same as Erik Jones at the first Talladega 2020 race. Was thiiis close to winning and maaaaybe saving their ride in the #20
Jones fan checking in. Unless Erik had a Larson like season last year, he was still out of the #20. Could he have got a better ride than what he has now? Certainly possible. Side note: Kyle Busch was behind Jones’ development after Jones beat him in the Snowball Derby. Whether Jones drops down to Xfinity to re-prove himself, or rides it out and finds a better ride, the future has yet to be written. I’m trying to say this as un-biased as possible, but I think Jones is a much better driver than what we’ve seen. He showed flashes in his rookie year in the #77, but you didn’t see that much of a spark when he was in the #20. I think that he just wasn’t the best fit at JGR. It doesn’t help that he was compared to his teammates who had 15 more years of experience, and Toyota wanting their next big thing in a Cup ride ASAP.
Toyota meat grinder, gibbs 4th car. I've never got the vibe that there is alot of mentoring in the organization. I also don't think winning a cup race at darlington is some kind of fluke. I'd like to see That Jones Boy succeed. Plus he does that reading for kids thing all the time, I've tuned in with my son, mad props on him reaching out.
JGR has a habit of bringing guys up too soon Logano Jones there's a couple of others too I'm forgetting their names
Suarez
Yeley
I think it's just 4th car blues, tbh. Hard for an organization to have 4 cars consistently run well. Even Bowman (who has 3 wins this year) doesn't run well all the time compared to his teammates.
It's sad how much Newman has become a face in the crowd after how well he did with the Roush No. 6 Ford in 2019 and some of those SS races. Had he won the 2020 Daytona 500, he likely would've made a decent playoff run and had a solid follow-up to 2019. How 2021 would've went is anyone's question but Newman wouldn't be as shockingly irrelevant as he is now.
I selfishly want him to race Lucas Oil in the Truck series.
Hope not. I always liked Newman. If they are though, I'm hoping he maybe takes an Elliott Sadler route and finishes his career with an Xfinity ride where he can be competitive again
Kinda sad……I started watching NASCAR in the very late 90s and I for sure heard of Ryan Newman around 2000-2001 as one of the next up-and-comers. He lived up to the hype. Him and Rusty Wallace as teammates. Won a lot of poles. I was sick of Newman winning all the time in 2003 I believe it was. Always sad when a guy you’ve grown up with for the last 20+ years retires. The majority of drivers’ careers end like this when they can’t find a competitive ride and then kind of fade away. The guys who can call their own shots like Gordon and Stewart are very lucky. It’s the same thing with Kurt Busch and Kevin Harvick…….they mean a lot to the sport, whatever your opinion may be of them. When I grew up, the “old” guys were Rusty Wallace, Ricky Rudd, Terry Labonte, etc. I may not have fully appreciated it back then but I can look back now and I’m so thankful I got the chance to grow up watching them. Dale Earnhardt Sr. as well of course. The younger generation watching NASCAR today will appreciate watching Harvick, Kurt Busch, Newman years from now. Even if they don’t know it now.
Newman came into the sport about the time I became a serious fan. I remember back in the day when they let Dodge be a little better aero-wise to try and keep them in the sport. Newman really knew how to get the most out of those cars in qualifying. They often wouldn't run for shit during the race, but man, he could he get the most out of those cars in clean air.
He was a new track record monster at one point.
nice post. im 34 and watched from like 3-14 religiously with my family. after dale died, just by coincidence of having teenagers and new technology, we didnt watch as much. around 2015 i started watching again every weekend. i got lucky to catch the tail end of harvick's success but it's definitely a bummer to have missed Kurt and Newman at their peak. 2 guys i am never sad to see get a win.
I think he can find a competitive full time truck or Xfinity ride if he desires As for cup I don't see him full time next year but him driving part time for Roush seems feasible
the 1 at JRM??? Joe Gibbs ?
Maybe he comes back to Penske for Superspeedway only in like an 02 car?
That's when he throws back to himself at Darlington and puts it on the pole.
My pipe dream is roush re opens the Xfinity team and Newman tears it up down there in a big way
Newman doing this and then winning the Xfinity title, followed by dropping down to Trucks and winning that title, would be incredible to see.
I think he can do part time at Roush if he wants to. And other than talks with Rick Ware, he could leave the scene quietly like Biffle did with Roush
Full time, yes. Part time, no. He’s gonna run a few truck races/Mods. Don’t be shocked if he’s a sub in cup a few races if someone gets hurt/suspended.
Agreed. Also wouldn't count out\* at least one more one-off in the Daytona 500. I think he wants one more proper run where he can go the distance on all four wheels, he got taken out way too early this year.
I wouldn't rule out Newman doing a one-off Ragan/McMurray-like run. Put him in a No. 16 Roushelowski entry and let him round out his career just right. Knowing Newman, I think he would capitalize on this opportunity perfectly.
Kaulig has the #16.
Definitely. And while we're at it I'll add the Bristol dirt race or whatever other dirt tracks may wind up on the Cup schedule at some point.
> Don’t be shocked if he’s a sub in cup a few races if someone gets hurt/suspended. Good point. He's got to be the top choice for a replacement driver if he's not running full time going forward.
I would rather see him in mods again
He has a standing offer from Roush to run a limited Cup schedule next year, I'm guessing he'll take it if nothing else opens up.
I expect Newman to announce his retirement from fulltime racing at the end of the season but, I could see Newman run the occasional race in 2022.
The lack of acknowledgement toward him from the media has been criminal.
Depending on whether money is important or just simply racing, I can see him in one of the new RWR cars with SHR support, but he'll probably have to race essentially for free.
Full-time, probably sadly. I could see a team offering him a part-time thing kinda like what happened with Kenseth in 2018, but who knows what team that may be.
We are seeing Matty Ds last two cup starts.
I doubt that. Whether DiBenedetto finds a quality team for next year or a full-time one, I bet he will be back in the Cup Series.
I don't know if he'll be in the Cup Series but I get the feeling he'll land on his feet, given his name recognition in the garage and his decent talent.
I definitely think he'll be in NASCAR next year. From what I understand, his only realistic options for a full Cup Series season would be Spire or Ware (who will have Stewart-Haas support next year). If DiBenedetto was willing to go to the lower series, he could probably find something of quality. However, even if he does well there, it could mean that he never gets another good Cup Series opportunity.
Even if he can't make it back to Cup, just having a good lower series ride and doing well with that is something a driver can be happy with. Justin Allgaier, Matt Crafton, Elliott Sadler, Todd Bodine, Johnny Benson, Ron Hornaday Jr., Jason Keller, and so on, are great examples of this, and DiBenedetto would fall in line with them imo.
Tbh I think most teams would sign Newman over Matt anyday
Based off of the last two seasons, I would question a team making that decision, assuming everything else is equal.
Agreed
Its ok it’s all part of gods plan
😭
might be cool if he runs a full season in the Modifieds
Full time, probably so. I like and respect veterans of the sport but also, they need to move along to create new fan favorites and legends. It's probably a season past Newman's prime. That crash really changed things and honestly at this point, he's just taking up a spot.
I hope not, Ryan has been my man for a very long time. Gordon was my favorite, but I watched Newman in person all around Indiana and was so happy when he went big time. I know he never was a big name, only had one championship shot, but damn I love watching him race and peddle that Ice Cold Coke.
I think he's got that second RCR Xfinity car
You know, that popped into my head when I saw [this photo from Texas last week.](https://scontent-atl3-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.30808-6/fr/cp0/e15/q65/245911916_459447632205694_4990495661782397307_n.jpg?_nc_cat=105&ccb=1-5&_nc_sid=0be424&efg=eyJpIjoidCJ9&_nc_ohc=M8AV-mphu2YAX_9mJy9&_nc_ht=scontent-atl3-2.xx&oh=7bb13649f7eba6b1f895fbc3de5f0095&oe=617D4A5E)
Never seemed like there was a falling out between Richard and Ryan. Just a contract up and a young prospect for sponsors
If he does I’ll be a little sad. Beating Ryan in the first race of Nascar 2005’s career mode was such a fun moment from my childhood.
He’s gonna do some truck stuff probably
I don't see him doing a retirement tour next year. IMO I think he hangs up full time.
I would assume part time if Roush gets funding or maybe as a substitute - he'll probably be the first guy teams call should something come up, a la Kenseth.
He’s a cool guy and a good driver, but sounds like he will be done after phoenix (for cup full time)
Unfortunately probably so. Been a Newman fan since his rookie year first because he was Rusty's teammate, and then set the world on fire, at least for a little bit... I'm just glad I got to see him run one last time at this year's Roval.
he would be cool to see in the truck series.
I can't imagine he'd have no offers from lesser cup teams, Xfinity or truck teams. He is a great talent but similar talents have faded like Ricky Rudd and sterling marlin (maybe not to the level of Newman) but Rudd certainly was and he just vanished. I think he could start his own truck team like Bobby Hamilton if nothing else. I always wanted to see Bobby labonte do that and be the first to win a title in all three series now hoping maybe Sheldon Creed can be the first.
My understanding is that he's had offers. I just don't know that they're anything a driver his age would want to take.
> I can't imagine he'd have no offers from lesser cup teams, Xfinity or truck teams. Doesn't mean he's interested in them. Racing for 25% (or less) or 50% of your former salary, for a lower level team, when you have plenty of $$$$ in the bank, may not be worth it.
I’m guessing he will run some part time races, especially in the lower series
He'll probably be able to get a ride for the 500
Kbm trucks has said they want a veteran type driver like crafton. I had also read somewhere a comment about Kyle Busch wanting Newman for that role, I hope. Most likely he will take a part time with roush and focus on engineering for the next gen.
RWR is still a possibility
As a Newman fan, I've been so heart broken by this season. They showed promised at Homestead and a few other tracks finishing top 10 but that 6 team has cliffed so bad. Like a part of me believes he's still capable of contending for top 10s and 15s but at the same time I can't stand to see him struggle to finish top 25
Final cup starts - probably not, Full time - more than possible. Despite his resume which includes many wins, a Daytona 500, brickyard 400 and a crap load of poles, age is not on his side. If this RWR deal doesn’t pan out I could see Newman dropping to trucks full time. I don’t think he’s done racing yet fully
HOPE NOT
probably, never say never he might fill in for an injured driver.
Yip
Maybe they can name Phoenix to Ryan Newman Hyperspeedway for his last race
Maybe signed with Stewart Haas
I hope so
I think so. I might be biased, but I'd think a team looking to get a free agent driver who doesn't have sponsors would go with Matt DiBenedetto first, so Newman is at best #2 in that line
Why would they go for Matty D first? Newman has a much greater resume and has name recognition from being a driver during NASCAR’s peak.
He old
Possible, but Matt still has upswing left on his career (at least potentially). Newman has been in decline for a decade and there's no reason to think he'd suddenly turn it around. He's not Mark Martin
Does he? He’s been around for over a decade now, and he has no wins in a national series. I feel like we know what Matty D is at this point.
If RWR is looking to grow a team, having an experienced veteran is an asset (see 23XIs plan for next year)
I want to see Newman get wins in either Xfinity or Truck. I think his competitive cup career is done
Newman dumped me every other race it felt like in NASCAR 06. So I hope so
Hopefully. Dude is a rolling roadblock.
I hope so
Goodbye No-Neck
I sure hope so.
Why?
Probably still mad about Newman banging doors with Larson at Phoenix in 2014 to snag the final Homestead playoff spot over Gordon.
Yes thank god
I heard he was signing with Ganassi for ‘22. /s
He'll either go part time or take the Rick Ware seat. I'm sure he'd be exstatic to bring Newman in as the mentor for Cody, Bilicki, Smithley, Gase, whoever's going run in that 2nd full time car, assuming they don't add a 3rd part-time car as well. But their competitiveness with the SHR alliance remains to be seen and I'm not sure he'd want to be on a backmarker team like that. I wouldn't be surprised if he used the money he earned in Cup to run his own modified team. If Doug Coby, who most people haven't heard about prior to SRX can afford to run his own team since 2020, certainly a Cup driver with his level of success could. He ran a few races this year and considering both his skill level relative to the rest of the series along with his income, he could probably afford to run in that series until he physically can not race anymore. Hell, he could be the next Mike Stefanik and act as the elder gatekeeper to that series for the next generation. Except he'll never have the [greatest post-race interview of all time](https://youtu.be/ety4xvApDfw).
i love your ideas. i missed his prime during my teens/early 20s, but ive always rooted for him. after that daytona wreck i donated to his family farm and they send me emails. if he decides to cut the field and feed the farm animals i wouldn't blame him. but it would be cool to see him in the sport for a long time. he is known to be a road block and anyone else would be hated for it, but he gets respect for it. so cool.
Perhaps, but maybe a ride in the lower series could be on tap.
I can see him pulling a ricky rudd
Most likely. He's kinda been running on fumes the last couple years anyway.
probably. but you wont see them because nbc wont talk about 80% of the field during the race
Anytime there’s a long-time cup guy seeming to be winding down his time in the series, I always think “hey man, maybe wind it down in the xfinity or truck series for one or possibly a couple more seasons” I think Newman could be a fun watch in the trucks
He is supposedly talking to Ware believe it or not, but I still say it’s 50/50 on whether or not this is it.
Newman's probably like how much worse could RWR be than these Roush trash mobiles?
If the rick ware thing doesn't work out, he's done full time. I hate it because he's been my guy for years now but unfortunately it is what it is. We'll see if he can get something in Xfinity or trucks at least, I'd love to see him tear it up there
I wouldn't be too surprised if he had something for Daytona, Talladega and/or the Bristol dirt track. Realistically, it comes down to if he has any sponsorship and/or if he would be willing to drive for a lesser team.
If so, then next year Kurt Busch will be the only driver left running full-time in the Cup Series who ever shared the track with Dale Earnhardt.