Ryan Newman to leave Penske
The Daytona 500 winner will exit after this seasaon. No word on where he would drive next.
Only 18 races after Ryan Newman won the Daytona 500, the NASCAR Sprint Cup driver said he and Penske Racing agreed to part ways after this season.
The change was not unexpected. Newman, 30, publicly had said he's been disappointed with his team's performance since Daytona and might not re-sign with Roger Penske's team. Newman is 16th in the standings, currently out of contention for the late-season Chase for the Cup title playoff among the Top 12 drivers in points.
Newman also is rumored to be a contender to drive the second car for Tony Stewart's new team in 2009. Penske said it would name Newman's successor for its No. 12 Dodge "in the near future." Newman did not immediately say where he would drive next.
"I appreciate Penske Racing and all that they have done for me, but more importantly, I appreciate their friendship and what they have done for my career," Newman said in a joint statement with Penske, whose other Cup drivers are Kurt Busch and Sam Hornish Jr.
Newman is the latest in what is becoming a flurry of driver changes for next season. Mark Martin already has agreed to take over the No. 5 Chevrolet for Casey Mears at Hendrick Motorsports; Aric Almirola will drive the No. 8 Chevy at Dale Earnhardt Inc. full time (a ride he now shares with Martin) and two-time Cup champion Stewart is leaving Joe Gibbs Racing to be a co-owner/driver at Haas CNC Racing, which will be renamed Stewart-Haas Racing.
A native of South Bend, Ind., Newman has won 13 Cup races in 243 starts -- including eight victories in 2003 alone. But he's been less successful in recent years and missed the Chase in 2006 and 2007.
Penske also might have to seek a new primary sponsor for the No. 12 car next year. Current sponsor Alltel agreed to be acquired by Verizon Wireless, which isn't expected to receive NASCAR approval as a sponsor because the series' title sponsor is wireless competitor Sprint.
latimes.com