Ryan Newman wants to prove he’s no one-hit wonder

LONG POND, PA - AUGUST 02: Ryan Newman, driver of the #39 Haas Automation 30th Anniversary Chevrolet, stands on the grid during qualifying for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series GoBowling.com 400 at Pocono Raceway on August 2, 2013 in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Geoff Burke/Getty Images)
LONG POND, PA - AUGUST 02: Ryan Newman, driver of the #39 Haas Automation 30th Anniversary Chevrolet, stands on the grid during qualifying for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series GoBowling.com 400 at Pocono Raceway on August 2, 2013 in Long Pond, Pennsylvania.  (Photo by Geoff Burke/Getty Images)
LONG POND, PA – AUGUST 02: Ryan Newman, driver of the #39 Haas Automation 30th Anniversary Chevrolet, stands on the grid during qualifying for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series GoBowling.com 400 at Pocono Raceway on August 2, 2013 in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Geoff Burke/Getty Images)

LONG POND, Pa.–No, Ryan Newman’s phone didn’t start ringing off the hook on Monday, despite Rocket Man’s impressive victory at Indianapolis Motor Speedway a day early.

Friends, called to express their congratulations of course, but the win didn’t change things in the immediate term as far as prospective employers for 2014 are concerned.

Though the win at the Brickyard did wonders for Newman’s resume, he feels he needs another standout performance to show teams that might be interested in hiring him that the Indy victory wasn’t a one-hit wonder.

Newman heard from a lot of people after the race, but none with a job offer.

“Nothing with respect to that,” said Newman, who learned in early July that his services wouldn’t be needed at Stewart-Haas Racing next year. “It was more a matter of friends and family and people that I hadn’t talked to that have helped me in my racing career at some point in my life. Those people, I think, reached out more than anything else.

“Obviously, it didn’t hurt with respect to (potential employers), but it’s not like a light switch where you can just flip it, and everything turns on. I think it’s up to us as well to do the same thing we did last weekend and at least show that it’s not just a one-off deal–we can duplicate and replicate the things that happened. We’ll see how things go.”

Greg Engle
About Greg Engle 7421 Articles
Greg is a published award winning sportswriter who spent 23 years combined active and active reserve military service, much of that in and around the Special Operations community. Greg is the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers' Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing" and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.