Today, Newman is working with NASCAR to improve upon the rigidity of the Gen 7 car.
On the competition side, he believes the car’s templated nature puts much of the NASCAR industry’s engineering expertise into finding ways to make speed in the gray area as opposed to designing new components or ideas.
He isn’t necessarily a fan of racing Cup Series cars on dirt or the extensive number of road courses currently on the schedule, rather believing the short tracks, intermediates and superspeedways are where the discipline thrives.
He doesn’t use engineering at all in the equally prepared SRX cars, only suggesting slight wedge and air-pressure adjustments. As for the modifieds, Newman thinks they are more like “old-school stock car racing.”
He has competed in the modified division for years, often making NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour starts when the series was on the same weekend card as a Cup Series race. Today, he drives for former driver and announcer Hermie Sadler and Virginia state senator Bill Stanley, adding even more star power to the SMART Tour ground-pounders when he races with them. The series also counts Bobby Labonte and several famed Bowman Gray (N.C.) Stadium stalwarts on its roster.
Newman drives the cars for an old-school reason.
“It’s similar to USAC and the sprint car racing that I grew up doing,” he said. “It’s geographically relevant because there isn’t any of that down here (in the Carolinas) but there are modifieds — same tire, open-wheel car, that type of thing. That makes it an easy decision.”
In contrast to Newman’s knowledge of engineering and cutting-edge technology, his on-track persona has long been seen as old-school as well. It is a throwback to some of the tough racers who wrestled heavy stock cars in 500-mile events decades ago.
Newman is known as one of the toughest drivers of the past 20 years, and competitors quickly point to him as the most difficult driver to pass.
Newman doesn’t think he had that reputation when he began racing in his youth, but rather as his skills developed, he wanted to prove his talent and ability to get the most out of lesser equipment. It’s a trait that has stuck.
“I feel like that’s still who I am and will always be because that’s who I’ve progressed into,” Newman said. “After doing this for 40 years, I don’t think I’m going to change a whole lot because I started when I was 4 and a half. No matter if it’s an SRX car or modified or whatever, that’s just part of my DNA now.”
The family racing DNA is a major part of Newman’s story and continues in a new generation. Both of his parents were instrumental in his career, and in addition to the Daytona and Brickyard wins, Newman counts his victories on Father’s Day as some of his most memorable triumphs. He once won in a midget at Salem (Ind.) Speedway on the holiday, and later scored a Father’s Day Cup Series victory at Michigan Int’l Speedway with his dad, Greg, in attendance.
“I literally got out of the car and I could look him square in the eye and say, ‘Happy Father’s Day,’” Newman said.
Now, he is passing on lessons to his daughters, while racing for the fun of it, and he’s clearly enjoying every minute.
This story appeared in the Oct 25, 2023 edition of the SPEED SPORT Insider.
