NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
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NEW HAMPSHIRE MOTOR SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
JULY 12, 2013
RYAN NEWMAN, NO. 39 WIX FILTERS CHEVROLET SS, met with members of the media at New Hampshire Motor Speedway and discussed, racing at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, being a free agent in 2014 and other topics. Full Transcript:
A THREE TIME WINNER HERE AT NEW HAMPSHIRE MOTOR SPEEDWAY TALK A LITTLE ABOUT COMING INTO NEW HAMPSHIRE THIS WEEKEND:
“Well I have different circumstances there is no doubt about that. For me it’s a track position race. I’ve always talked about that and the fact that it’s important to qualify well. You get a limited number of chances to adjust on your race car and tune your race and work in those windows that either the cautions or the green flag runs give you. Excited it’s big for this weekend for Wix Filters I believe it’s our first race this year on the Cup side and they are also sponsoring the modified which is a lot of fun for me to come up here and race. I’ve said before this is the birthplace of track position and a lot of weight is put on the teams and the performance of the entire weekend in qualifying. We didn’t have the best of practices, but I think we have a car that is better than we did practice speed wise. We will see what we can prove with the Wix Filters Chevrolet in qualifying. We spent the entire time in qualifying trim so we will switch over and get some race trim in tomorrow. We did come up here and test and feel we have a little leg up because we had a good test up here.
“Let me just go ahead and say before you guys ask any questions. This is an opportunity for me to come up here and answer probably five or six questions, but all at once. The ability to save my time and your time every time somebody else asks the same question my answer doesn’t usually get as good so let me do it here all at once. I’m aware of what happened this morning and the announcement with Tony (Stewart) and Kevin (Harvick) and what SHR (Stewart-Haas Racing) plans are. I’ve had a good run. I look forward to finishing out this year. We have great sponsors in Quicken Loans, Wix Filters, Aspen Dental, Code 3 Associates, Outback they have all done us well. Look forward to the opportunity to make the Chase, winning races and putting ourselves to have a chance to win a championship that’s my ultimate goal and it always has been. I do not know what my future holds. I have no idea right now. I didn’t have any idea at this time last year. That is something that weighs on my shoulders. I have a little homework to do. That is part of racing and part of the situation that I’m in. I can’t say that I’m happy with how everything unfolded. I know that there are business decisions and business decisions sometimes trump friendships. I don’t feel like that was the case, but in the end I’m happy with the three wins that I’ve had so far with Stewart-Haas and the performance and the cars and everything else. There will be a change for me in 2014 and I don’t know what that change is.”
AT WHAT POINT DID THIS BECOME FINALIZED FOR YOU?
“I got a phone call from Tony (Stewart) on Wednesday about 20 minutes to seven and we talked for basically 20 minutes. That was it. His phone call was about making the announcement and that I would not be a part of Stewart-Haas Racing in 2014. That was it.
“His stress was the importance of our friendship and that to me will never change. We’ve only ever argued over how hard we race. That is the kind of friends Tony and I are. There is a chance that we might do that again in the future, but we have a great friendship and I look forward to keeping that. That was the main point of our conversation outside of the obvious of 2014. That was my first knowledge of what I won’t be doing. I’ve been a free agent ever since I signed my contract last year in September for 2014 and had the ability to look around. I will continue to do that. At this point I do not know what or where I will be.”
IN YOUR MIND WHAT WOULD BE AN IDEAL SITUATION FOR YOU IN 2014?
“I don’t know. There are organizations out there that are capable of winning championships and capable of racing I guess into the Chase to give themselves and opportunity at a championship. It’s obvious that there are some seats that are moving around and becoming available and potentially coming available. To me I first and foremost want to be wanted for my ability. Ability behind the wheel as well as what I can do for the sponsors. That is the most important part. It’s not easy out there with the economy and what it takes to run one of these race teams financially. It’s not easy; sponsorship is not at its peak in NASCAR. There are a lot of things to be considered, but I was sincere when I said it I want to be someplace where I’m wanted. I want to be wanted for my abilities and the desires that we have as common goals to win a championship. Every driver out there wants to win a championship. Every driver out there wants to win races. It’s the desire that you have to fight through all the things I think that make and separate the men from the boys I guess you could say.”
WE ARE GOING TO YOUR HOME TRACK IN TWO WEEKS. WHAT WOULD IT MEAN TO YOU TO GET A WIN AT INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY?
“I think for Tony (Stewart) to him it’s more like home court. To me it’s more like home state and the essence of the history of the speedway and the history of speed at the speedway. Indianapolis is to auto racing what Daytona is to auto racing in a different way. The history of speed, the history of land speed, the history of a lot of racing, the great drivers that have crossed that yard of bricks and I say it every year I want to be on that list of winners at that race track. That is what means a lot to me. It’s not a brand new facility it is a facility with an awesome history and being a part of that history is one of my personal goals. Yes, it’s big, it’s huge and Tony (Stewart) has been fortunate enough to win it and I’ve been close. I still want it.”
DO YOU HAVE ANY COMMITMENTS FROM ANY OF YOUR CURRENT SPONSORS TO GO WITH YOU TO WHATEVER RACE TEAM YOU MAY END UP AT? DO YOU HAVE CONFIDENCE YOU WILL BE IN CUP NEXT YEAR?
“I have no idea on any part of it. There are no answers that I have. Obviously, I have my own homework to do. I have no answers with respect to any of that at this point.”
DID OTHER TEAMS LOOK AT YOU THAT WAY? DID YOU HAVE ANY CONVERSATIONS AT LEAST PRELIMINARY TALKS RIGHT OFF THE BAT LAST YEAR OR EARLY IN THIS SEASON?
“I haven’t had much for conversations. I’ve really been focused on this year and performing the way I think we are capable of. We had a brand new team when we started this season. Matt Borland was an experienced crew chief, but our entire organization within the No. 39 side was brand new. A lot of guys had never even come to a Cup garage before let alone worked on a race car in the Cup garage. That’s been a learning process for us. I think it slowed us down a little bit. I think we have gained a lot of experience in the first 18 races or whatever that we can provide more experience for the next few to be able to have a better chance at the championship. We are not out of this chance for the Chase. We are not out of anything right now. I think we are 17 points out of 10th. There is a lot of racing left to go, a lot of points to be had. I’ve been really focused on this year more so than next year. As we go through this timing of the season,
the silly gets even sillier. You never know what becomes available.”
LOOKING AT THE SPONSORSHIP LANDSCAPE DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOU HAVE TO BRING SPONSORSHIP? ARE YOU GOING TO HAVE TO MAYBE COBBLE TOGETHER SOME SORT OF DEAL TO BRING TO A TEAM GIVEN THAT THERE AREN’T ANY TEAMS THAT SORT OF HAVE OPEN RIDES WITH CARS WAITING?
“As an engineer we don’t like to use the word cobble (laughs). It takes everything. It takes a good team with the right resources, it takes the financial side of it and it takes the driver that can guide the rocket. Yeah, that is part of the homework is putting all those things together. Then you have to throw in the personalities of everything and putting people together because even if I am a top 10 driver in my opinion if I don’t have the right crew or the right cars or the right downforce or whatever it is it’s not going to work out. All those things have to work right. I want to be competitive. I’m not going to go out there and just find a ride. I want to find a ride with somebody that has the same goals and perspectives as I do.”
