Ryan Joseph Newman (born December 8, 1977), nicknamed "Rocket Man", is an American professional stock car racing driver.

[1] Newman began driving for icon Roger Penske in 2000, in order to transition to stock car racing.

[1] Newman won three of the five ARCA races he entered,[3] and made his Winston Cup debut at Phoenix International Raceway in the No.

[2] In 2002, Newman won a season-high six poles, breaking the rookie record previously set by Davey Allison.

[6] In September, he scored his first career Winston Cup win at New Hampshire Motor Speedway after starting from the pole.

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 18th in points, while his longtime crew chief, Matt Borland, left for Michael Waltrip Racing.

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.

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.

On April 10, 2010, Newman broke a 78-race winless streak with a win in the Subway Fresh Fit 600 at Phoenix International Raceway.

On April 1, 2012, at Martinsville Speedway, Newman survived a wild finish to get the 16th win of his career, driving the #39 Outback Steakhouse car.

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.

[14] 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.

[15] The following week at Pocono Raceway, Newman led 19 laps and finished 5th after running most of the race on an off-sequence pit stop strategy.

[18] 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.

Biffle then chopped back across the track onto the racing line, where Newman rear-ended him, resulting in his car impacting a tire wall.

Fortunately, both Newman and McDowell walked away uninjured[20] while the red flag was lifted temporarily to bring the field down the front stretch.

"[22] 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.

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.

[30] Newman barely missed the playoffs and wound up 17th in the final standings, despite also concluding his first full-time season with zero top-five finishes for the first time in his career.

[31] 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.

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.

[35][36] Over the next two days, RFR provided updates on Newman's recovery, culminating in his release from the hospital on February 19, walking unaided.

[40] 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.

[42] 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.

Newman made his Truck Series return on July 24, 2013, at the inaugural Mudsummer Classic at Eldora Speedway,[50] and finished third.

Newman's car was featured on the cover of the 2005 EA Sports computer game NASCAR SimRacing, and he was actively involved in its development.

On April 29, 2008, the St. Joseph County, Indiana, Board of Commissioners dedicated a half-mile stretch of newly rerouted Lincoln Way West (formerly U.S. Route 20) near the South Bend Regional Airport to Newman.

* Season still in progress 1 Ineligible for series points (key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time.