NASCAR

Ryan Newman Won’t Match 2014 Success In 2015

Fresh Videos

By

Ryan Newman fans 1

Getty Images

Ryan Newman‘s incredible run to the championship race of the Chase for the Sprint Cup in 2014 defied the very changes NASCAR‘s governing body made to the Chase itself. NASCAR’s regular season and playoffs were supposed to be about winning, yet a driver who didn’t win a race all season came one point and one position short of claiming one of the most unlikely championships in the sport’s history.

Despite Newman’s second-place finish in the final points standings, the rules still seemed to be stacked against drivers who don’t get to victory lane consistently. In winning the final two races of the year, Kevin Harvick seemed to validate the changes made before the year.

It’s hard to imagine Newman not taking at least somewhat of a step back in 2015 as he has simply never been a driver who wins a lot of races except for one year in 2003. That season, driving for Penske Racing South, Newman won a whopping eight races, but still managed to finish just sixth in points. Only one other time in Newman’s 13 years as a full-time driver has he won more than one race, as he claimed two victories in 2004. Last season was the third time over those 13 years in which Newman went winless.

There was also a little bit of extra motivation as Newman battled with Harvick down the stretch. Newman was left out of Stewart-Haas Racing‘s future plans to allow Harvick and Kurt Busch to enter the fold. Newman raced for five years for the company, winning four races but never finishing above ninth in points.

In fact, in his debut with Richard Childress Racing last season, Newman finished in the top five in points for the first time in his career. It’s not fair to go as far as saying his 2014 season was a fluke as Newman showed some remarkable consistency racking up 16 top-10s and only one DNF in grinding his way to the end, but to bet on at least a small regression in 2015 seems pretty safe.

Ryan Pritt is a NASCAR writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on twitter @RPritt, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.

Share Tweet
Trending Now on