Ryan Newman Doubling Down in Loudon

Ryan Newman has a lot of racing scheduled for this weekend at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon as he attempts to do the double, driving WIX Filters-sponsored entries in both the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and Whelen Modified Tour races.

Newman is scheduled to run the Modified race Saturday before returning to his regular driving duties Sunday behind the wheel of Stewart-Haas Racing’s (SHR) No. 39 Chevrolet SS.

For Newman, running the Modified race offers him a chance to have a little fun and a release from the stress of his day job, where he is currently fighting to race his way into position to claim a coveted spot in the 12-driver Chase for the Sprint Cup Championship.

This weekend’s race couldn’t come at a better time for Newman. Given his track record at the “The Magic Mile,” he and his No. 39 team expect to score a strong finish, if not contend for the win, in Sunday’s 301-miler.

Three of Newman’s 16 career Sprint Cup Series wins – September 2002 and 2005 and July 2011 – and six of the 35-year-old driver’s 49 career poles have come at the 1.058-mile oval.

In fact, his 2002 win during his rookie season was Newman’s first points-paying Sprint Cup victory. On that September afternoon, the South Bend, Ind., native started from the pole and dominated the rain-shortened race, leading 143 of 207 laps.

His second victory three years later in September 2005 came after Newman narrowly squeaked into the inaugural Chase for the Championship. He used pit strategy to gain the lead late in the race after starting 13th and, in the closing laps, he dueled with now-team owner and teammate Tony Stewart for the lead. Newman passed Stewart with two laps remaining and held on to take the win, renewing Newman’s hopes for a run at the championship.

The July 2011 win was a wire-to-wire effort as Newman drove from his No. 1 starting spot to victory lane. Newman led six times for 119 laps in winning from the pole position for just the fourth time in his career.

And that win was all part of a banner weekend for SHR. Newman and Stewart, now his teammate and team owner, started 1-2 and finished 1-2. The last time a team started 1-2 and finished 1-2 was Hendrick Motorsports in the 1989 Daytona 500. However, the last time a team started 1-2 and finished 1-2 with the same drivers in the same order was back on April 7, 1957, at North Wilkesboro (N.C.) Speedway, where DePaolo Engineering’s Fireball Roberts won from the pole while teammate Paul Goldsmith started and finished second.

After a 10th-place finish at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway last weekend, Newman and his Matt Borland-led team have shaved their deficit to 10th place in the Sprint Cup Series point standings to just 17 markers. Knowing they are headed to one of their best tracks, the No. 39 team is eager to continue closing in on securing a Chase berth.

For Newman, coming “home” to New Hampshire always brings back great memories thanks to his previous successes at the track. This weekend, a trip to victory lane in the No. 39 WIX Filters Chevrolet SS could provide him with the ticket he needs to reserve his spot in the 2013 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.

TSC PR