2002 Rookie Watch-Ryan Newman

Ryan Newman’s performance in Sunday’s Daytona 500 made a statement, that last
year wasn’t a fluke. After splitting 2001 into a campaign Newman and his Penske
team labeled as the "ABC’s of NASCAR", entering races in the ARCA,
Busch, and Winston Cup Series, he competed and proved his ability in all three.

In 2002 Newman is competing full-time in Winston Cup and will be running
against Jimmy Johnson for the Raybestos Rookie of the year title, which Newman
is bound to fight for until the very end. After all, this guy is used to winning
top rookie honors. In 1993 he won the Rookie of the Year, as well as being the
All-American Midget Series Champion. In ’95 and ’96 he took home USAC Midget and
Silver Crown Rookie titles. And in 1999 Newman won the Sprint Car Rookie of the
Year.

Moving up to stock cars, Newman won only his second race in an ARCA event in
July of 2000 in the Pepsi ARCA 200 at Pocono. Newman closed out the 2000 season
with three wins. He also made his debut in Winston Cup that year at Phoenix ,
where he qualified 10th. After having mechanical problems, he finished the race
41st.

2001 became Ryan Newman’s year to grow and prove he has what it takes to be a
Winston Cup driver. Newman started the year out on the right path, with a win in
the ARCA Series’ season opener at Daytona. Throughout the year, he competed in
the Busch Series in 15 races, eight of those races were top-10 finishes. Newman
also won six poles and after several near misses, grabbed his first career Busch
win at Michigan in August.

After running seven races in Cup in ’01, Newman earned respect and notoriety
after closing out the year with a Bud Pole, and two top five finishes. His
highest finish was second to Series Champ Jeff Gordon at Kansas.

Not only is this guy a good racer, he’s smart too. This past year Newman
graduated from Purdue with a degree in Vehicle Structure Engineering. Such a
program helped Newman to learn more details about the race car, from the chassis
to the engine, making it easier for him to understand what to tell the crew to
work on. Newman stayed active in racing while pursuing his degree, and finished
his final two courses via the Internet. Newman is only the second driver in
NASCAR history to have earned an engineering degree.

Stepping into his full-time Winston Cup ride in 2002, Newman takes with him
the smarts and skills needed to be a winner at NASCAR’s top level. He has
already started the season off right with a seventh place finish in the Daytona
500. Newman also has the advantage of having 1989 Winston Cup Champion Rusty
Wallace as a teammate. Wallace has 54 career wins and a consecutive 16 year
streak with at least one win per year.