Cup Series Penske Racing (2000–2008) Newman began driving for icon
Roger Penske in 2000, in order to transition to
stock car racing. Newman won three of the five ARCA races he entered, and made his Winston Cup debut at
Phoenix International Raceway in the No. 02 Alltel-sponsored Ford for Penske. In 2001, Penske planned for Newman to run at least 23 combined events in both ARCA and NASCAR while Newman attended
Purdue University. In addition to five ARCA events, In
2002, Newman won a season-high six poles, breaking the rookie record previously set by
Davey Allison. In September, he scored his first career Winston Cup win at
New Hampshire Motor Speedway after starting from the pole. Newman beat out
Jimmie Johnson for the Rookie of the Year award on the strength of rookie records in top-fives (fourteen) and top-tens (22), even though Johnson had more wins, finished higher in the points standings, and led the standings at one point. Newman's sophomore season began with a flip at the
2003 Daytona 500 after contact with
Ken Schrader and
Bobby Labonte. At
Watkins Glen, he spun and hit the foam blocks, sending him on his side. He had a near-flip at the
2003 Aaron's 499, when he blew a tire mid-pack and nearly turned on his side in turn one, sparking a 27-car crash. Newman's 2003 season was pretty inconsistent. He would win one race but wreck in the next. Though finishing the season with a series-high eight wins and eleven poles, along with 17 top-fives and 22 top-tens and an average finish of 13.9, Newman also suffered seven DNFs, which left him sixth in points. His number of poles during the season led to him being nicknamed "Rocket Man". In 2004, Newman qualified for the inaugural
Chase for the Cup by finishing seventh in points with two wins and nine poles. He made the
2005 Chase as well, an addition to returning to the Busch Series after a four-year absence, where he won six out of the nine races he entered, including a series-record five straight. Newman endured his first winless season in 2006, finishing a career-worst eighteenth in points, while his longtime crew chief, Matt Borland, left for
Michael Waltrip Racing. His pole ratio between his rookie year and 2006 was one in every three races, tying him for fifteenth on the all-time poles list. As of November 2020, Newman has 51 poles, placing him ninth all-time. In 2007, despite a streak of three consecutive poles, Newman again failed to win a race, including a near win at Lowe's Motor Speedway that was spoiled by a blown tire. His winless drought ended after he won the
2008 Daytona 500 on February 17, 2008. It was also the first Daytona 500 win for Penske. Newman failed to make the Chase from 2006 to 2008. In the points standings, he finished 18th in 2006, thirteenth in 2007, and seventeenth in 2008.
Stewart–Haas Racing (2009–2013) On July 15, 2008, Newman announced that he was leaving Penske at the end of the season, and a month later, it was confirmed he would be joining
Haas CNC Racing for
2009, in the No. 4 Chevy Impala, the number was later changed to 39 due to
Morgan–McClure Motorsports owning the number. The team was renamed Stewart–Haas Racing before the season. Despite a slow start, Newman earned a pole, five top-fives, fifteen top-tens, and an average finish of 14.0, his best since his 8-win season in 2003. On September 12 at Richmond, Newman finished tenth and clinched a spot in the Chase for the first time since 2005. On November 1, 2009, at the Amp Energy 500 at
Talladega Superspeedway, Newman was involved in a heavy crash on the back stretch in which he flipped over on top of
Kevin Harvick entering Turn 3. He ended up on his roof, and because the roof was crushed, crews had to use the
Jaws of Life to pry the roof off the car after NASCAR officials flipped it back over. Newman was unharmed. On April 10, 2010, Newman broke a 78-race winless streak with a win in the
Subway Fresh Fit 600 at
Phoenix International Raceway. He only led four laps during the race. The win was the first in NASCAR history for a car numbered 39. In September 2010, he was chosen as "honorable mention" in a list of the smartest athletes in sports by
Sporting News. during the
2011 Gatorade Duels at Daytona Newman began his 2011 season by leading the most laps in the
Daytona 500, but crashed twice late and finished 22nd. He got his first win of the season, winning on fuel mileage, having enough to get the checkered flag at the
Lenox Industrial Tools 301 at New Hampshire, giving him his third career win at the track.
Tony Stewart finished second, giving Stewart–Haas Racing their first-ever 1–2 finish. At the same track in September, Newman grabbed his 3rd pole of the season at the
Sylvania 300. The 49th pole of his career put him in a tie for 10th all-time on career poles with
Bobby Isaac. On April 1, 2012, at
Martinsville Speedway, Newman survived a wild finish to get the sixteenth win of his career, driving the No. 39
Outback Steakhouse car. The finish involved a controversial caution with three laps to go involving the No. 10 of
David Reutimann, which set up a green-white-checkered finish.
Jeff Gordon and
Jimmie Johnson dominated the race, but on the restart, they crashed with
Clint Bowyer, and Newman came through unscathed en route to the win. at
Martinsville Speedway Newman's 2013 campaign started with a fifth-place finish in the
Daytona 500, but his momentum changed with two crashes at Phoenix the following week. He finished 38th at Las Vegas, but recovered with a 7th-place finish at Bristol. Newman collected two more Top 10 finishes in the next three races, but during that span, he also had a controversial 31st-place finish in Martinsville. After a puncture, Newman appeared to stop deliberately and was penalized three laps. Two mediocre races at Kansas and Richmond followed before the series went to Talladega. There, Newman was initially running well but finished 32nd when he and his teammate
Danica Patrick were caught up in a spectacular late crash that saw
Kurt Busch flip over and land on top of Newman. Newman, however, recovered well to collect two consecutive Top 10 finishes at both Darlington and Charlotte, displaying a large performance difference between the
All-Star Race and the
Coca-Cola 600. At Dover, Newman was running well until a pit road accident. There, he nearly tapped
Jimmie Johnson after locking up his wheels when coming into pit road. He was penalized for a speeding violation resulting from the locked wheels and was one lap down after the penalty. Not long after the penalty, Newman was involved in an accident with
David Gilliland, ending his race. The following week at
Pocono Raceway, Newman led nineteen laps and finished fifth after running most of the race on an off-sequence pit stop strategy. Newman strung together three unimpressive races at Michigan, Kentucky, and Sonoma before finishing tenth at Daytona after a crash at the finish line. This made him,
Jimmie Johnson and
Dale Earnhardt Jr. the only three drivers to sweep the top-ten at Daytona in 2013 (with only Johnson sweeping the top-five by winning both). At New Hampshire, Newman finished 39th in the
Camping World RV Sales 301 after a crash with Kurt Busch, giving Newman his fifth DNF of 2013. On July 27, Newman won the pole for the
Brickyard 400. The race was mainly a duel between Newman and
Jimmie Johnson. On the final set of pit stops, Newman capitalized on a mistake by Johnson's pit crew and held on to the lead to win the race. It was Newman's first victory since the
2012 Goody's Fast Relief 500. Newman was leading near the finish of the Richmond race when
Clint Bowyer spun with seven laps to go. Newman pitted and ended up falling behind
Carl Edwards,
Kurt Busch, and
Paul Menard on the restart. He got past Menard, but could not catch Busch or Edwards on the last three laps, and lost the tiebreaker for the runner-up Wildcard spot with
Martin Truex Jr. On September 9, 2013, it was announced that Newman would replace Truex in the Chase after an investigation into Bowyer's spin proved that Bowyer had spun himself out intentionally to give Truex an opportunity to hold off Newman for the spot, under which Truex would have clinched a tiebreaker over Newman.
Richard Childress Racing (2014–2018) On July 12, 2013, it was announced that
Kevin Harvick would be joining Stewart–Haas Racing, driving the No. 4 Chevrolet SS, and that Newman would depart from the team at season's end due to the team having insufficient funding to run a four-car team. On September 9, 2013, it was announced that Newman would be moving to
Richard Childress Racing for the
2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season, replacing
Jeff Burton in the No. 31 Chevrolet. Newman's first highlight of the year was at
The Profit on CNBC 500, the Phoenix Spring race. During the event, Newman controlled the race with less than fifty laps to go, battling
Kyle Busch for the lead for several laps. An untimely caution came out with less than forty to go. Having not pitted in over sixty laps, Newman and Busch were forced to pit during the caution. As a result, Newman and Busch lost their shot at the win. Later in the year, Newman was involved in a violent crash at
Watkins Glen. On the exit of turn nine, Newman was trailing
Greg Biffle when Biffle went wide exiting the corner. Biffle then chopped back across the track onto the racing line, where Newman rear-ended him, resulting in his car impacting a tire wall. Newman then ricocheted back across the track, where he clipped
Michael McDowell, sending him into the adjacent Armco barrier on the other side of the track. McDowell violently hit the wall, and his car rolled over. Fortunately, both Newman and McDowell walked away uninjured while the red flag was lifted temporarily to bring the field down the front stretch. At
Michigan in August, Newman questioned a move that
Jimmie Johnson pulled on him in the final five laps of the
Pure Michigan 400. He and Jimmie exchanged heated words after the race. Newman refused to comment, and when asked what Newman had to say, Johnson replied, "Typical Ryan Newman stuff." Due to his consistency throughout the season, Newman beat veteran
Jeff Gordon for the final wildcard spot in the 2014 Chase for the Sprint Cup. Newman almost won at Talladega when he controlled the final ten laps. However, a final green-white-checkered finish attempt relegated Newman to a fifth-place finish. Although his car failed post-race inspection, NASCAR gave no penalties because of damage received during the Talladega race. Newman was so consistent that after starting the Chase eleventh in the standings, he moved up each round and was fourth when they came to Phoenix for the next-to-last round of the Chase. At Phoenix, Newman was in danger of missing the final round. On the final lap, Newman pulled a controversial move on
Kyle Larson, forcing Larson to slap the wall. Newman finishing 11th bumped
Jeff Gordon out of the Chase. Newman defended his move, stating that while it was unintentional, he felt like he owed Larson one for a previous accident. Larson later agreed with Newman's situation but admitted to having been initially furious over the move. At Homestead, Newman almost won the Championship, but because he finished second to
Kevin Harvick in the race, he finished second to Harvick in the standings. When Newman was interviewed, he stated that he was not going to play dirty and wanted to have a clean race with Harvick. Ryan Newman was in a position to win the race with a two-tire call prior to the final caution. Jeff Gordon's pit, which allowed Harvick to gain one row for the upcoming restart for the championship. Newman announced in January 2015 that he renewed his Richard Childress Racing contract and would drive the No. 31 again for the 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup series season. Though Newman did not win a pole in 2014, he was listed as being among the drivers allowed in the
Sprint Unlimited because NASCAR allowed all Chase drivers to participate in the race. Newman began his season with a string of Top 10s, including a third-place finish at Las Vegas. While running sixth in the standings in late March, NASCAR confiscated various tires from Newman's team following the
2015 Auto Club 400, suspecting that Newman's team had illegally tampered with the tires. Many teams, including Newman's, were accused of poking holes in the tires to allow air to bleed, which produces more grip for the tires and allows a car to maintain a faster speed. Two weeks later, NASCAR penalized Newman's team with a 75-point deduction, a $125,000 fine, a six-race suspension for crew chief Luke Lambert and two key crew members. Richard Childress Racing announced that it would appeal the penalties. Both appeals were exhausted with the same outcome, when the Final Appeals officer upheld the partially reduced penalties, including the suspensions. The only reason the penalties were partially reduced was because of a gray area in the NASCAR rulebook over whether or not the penalties were post-race inspection penalties. Newman went on to make the Chase, but was eliminated at the end of round 2. He went on to finish eleventh in the final standings, one point short of the top ten.
Jimmie Johnson beat him out for tenth by one point. On October 10, 2016, Newman signed a multi-year extension with Richard Childress Racing to return in 2017. This extension was rewarded with Newman's and Childress's first victory in four years with his triumph in the
Camping World 500 at
Phoenix International Raceway. The race was dominated by
Kyle Busch, but a late caution caused by
Joey Logano blowing a tire with five laps to go set up a final restart. Newman elected to stay out and held off
Kyle Larson to claim the win. The win marked Newman's 18th and RCR's 106th Cup victory, ending 127 and 112-race winless streaks, respectively. This was also the first win for the No. 31 car since
Jeff Burton won at
Charlotte in 2008. Newman was eliminated in the first round after finishing only 2 points behind
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. On September 15, 2018, it was announced that Newman would not return to Richard Childress Racing in 2019. Newman barely missed the playoffs and wound up seventeenth in the final standings, despite also concluding his first full-time season with zero top-five finishes for the first time in his career.
Roush Fenway Racing (2019–2021) in 2019 On September 22, 2018, it was announced that Newman would drive the No. 6
Ford Mustang GT full-time for
Roush Fenway Racing starting in 2019. At the conclusion of the
2019 Monster Energy NASCAR All-Star Race,
Clint Bowyer chopped Newman's nose, which sent Bowyer into the wall during the cool-down lap. Following the race, Bowyer attacked Newman on pit road. Both drivers were called to the NASCAR hauler, but neither was penalized for the incident. During an autograph session at a
Bass Pro Shops store on May 23, a fan brought a pair of boxing gloves for both drivers to sign. Despite not winning a race, Newman stayed consistent enough to make the 2019 playoffs. He was eliminated in the Round of 16 after multiple incidents resulted in him finishing 32nd at the
Charlotte Roval. He finished 15th in the final points standings, with his best finish of 2nd coming at
Talladega in October after losing the lead to
Ryan Blaney in a photo-finish by .007 seconds, the sixth closest finish in NASCAR history. On February 17, 2020, when leading on the final corner of the final lap of the
2020 Daytona 500, Newman's car was tapped in the rear by
Ryan Blaney, who was running second. Newman's car veered across the track and bounced off the outside wall, rolling over onto its roof and turning the driver's side toward
Corey LaJoie's onrushing car, which plowed into Newman at nearly 200 MPH. The violent collision caused Newman's car to roll over again, and it slid upside down in a shower of sparks and flames across the finish line in ninth position, coming to a stop hundreds of yards away from the impact. LaJoie's car suffered hood damage and caught fire, but he appeared unhurt. Newman, on the other hand, was unresponsive. The impact with LaJoie was so violent that a giant crack in his helmet could be seen. It took nearly 15 minutes to extract Newman from the wreck and put him in an ambulance before he was taken to
Halifax Medical Center. He sustained serious but non life-threatening injuries. Over the next two days, RFR provided updates on Newman's recovery, culminating in his release from the hospital on February 19, walking unaided.
Ross Chastain replaced Newman in the No. 6 starting with the
Pennzoil 400 at Las Vegas. On February 23, 2020, a statement was released detailing Newman's status, revealing that he suffered no broken bones but was recovering from an unspecified head injury. There was no timetable for Newman's return to resume his seat upon his hospital release, subject to his rehabilitation. Newman would later hold an interview with
Today on March 11 where he discussed the crash, revealing he was knocked out and sustained a bruised brain. When asked about returning to racing, he stated, "as soon as I possibly can". Newman announced on April 26, 2020, that he would return to the driver's seat at the restart of NASCAR's 2020 season, as early as May 17, 2020. On April 27, 2020, it was announced that Newman was medically cleared to return to competition. In addition, NASCAR granted him a waiver for eligibility in the 2020 playoffs. However, he failed to make the playoffs after posting only two top-ten finishes, a ninth at the Daytona 500 and a sixth at the
YellaWood 500. Newman would return to Roush Fenway Racing in 2021. On July 20, 2021, RFR announced
Brad Keselowski would take over the No. 6 as part of his new minority ownership in the organization, though the team considered retaining Newman in a new part-time car. He finished a career-worst 28th in the final standings. He did not find a ride for 2022 and decided to dirt race instead.
Rick Ware Racing (2023) On May 5, 2023, it was announced that Newman would make select starts for
Rick Ware Racing in the No. 51
Ford, beginning with
Darlington Raceway. Newman made 8 starts for Rick Ware Racing in 2023 with an average finish of 29.9. As of 2025 he has not raced since.
Xfinity Series Newman made his Busch Series debut on February 24, 2001, at
Rockingham in the
Alltel 200. He started second and finished ninth; it was his first of fifteen appearances in the
2001 season, where he finished with one win and eight top-ten finishes. He joined
Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s
JR Motorsports for the
2009 campaign as the driver of the No. 5 Chevy, signing on for four appearances for the year. In May 2010, Newman was hired to drive the No. 1 car for Phoenix Racing at Dover. In 2011, Newman drove the No. 30 Chevrolet for
Turner Motorsports at
Phoenix International Raceway. On October 5, 2023, it was announced that Newman would run the Xfinity race at
Homestead-Miami Speedway for
MBM Motorsports' No. 66
Ford.
Camping World Truck Series Newman made his Truck Series debut on October 25, 2008, at
Atlanta Motor Speedway, starting tenth in the 33 truck field driving
Kevin Harvick's No. 2 Truck and passed his teammate
Ron Hornaday Jr. with less than five laps to go to pick up his first truck series win in his first start making him the first driver to get their first Truck win at Atlanta and becoming the fourth driver to win in their first Truck race and joining the list of drivers who have won in all three of NASCAR's top series. Newman made his Truck Series return on July 24, 2013, at the inaugural
Mudsummer Classic at
Eldora Speedway, and finished third. In 2015, Newman made his return to the Truck Series at Kansas, replacing
Joe Nemechek to drive the No. 8
Chevrolet Silverado where he finished second. On July 10, 2018,
Jordan Anderson Racing announced that Newman would drive the No. 3 Chevrolet at
Eldora. He would qualify tenth, but would fall four laps down, finishing in 30th. On March 17, 2021, Newman revealed that he would be returning to the Truck Series and entering the
new Bristol dirt race with a new team in the series,
DCC Racing, owned by Brad Means. This team used the No. 39, Newman's number when he drove for
Team Penske in the Xfinity Series, and
Stewart–Haas Racing in the Cup Series, driving a Ford, the manufacturer Newman drives in the Cup Series with
Roush Fenway Racing. Brad Means is the son of
Jimmy Means, the team owner of Xfinity Series team
Jimmy Means Racing. However, he failed to qualify when the heat races were canceled due to rain, his first ever DNQ in NASCAR.
Whelen Modified Tour On April 1, 2022, Newman returned to the
NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour, driving the SS Racing No. 39 at the
2022 Virginia is for Racing Lovers 150 at
Richmond Raceway. He led a few laps early in the race, but faded to a thirteenth-place finish. ==Post-NASCAR career==