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Ryan Newman have been one of the more consistent drivers over the past two seasons, despite not having any wins or many top 5 finishes. Of all the winless drivers over the past two seasons, I would put Newman as the next driver in line to breakthrough to victory lane. However I don't think he will be able to straight up race himself to a win in 2016. I don't think he have the talent to take a top 10 or top 15 car and race it into a winning car. I also don't think RCR have the speed to run up inside the top 5 on a weekly basis, which is kind of why Newman haven't found victory lane with RCR yet. His best days will come at most intermediate racetracks and flats. He also will have the potential to run well on the short tracks and road courses.
Intermediate racetracks will be where he performs his best at most likely in 2016. In 2015 on the intermediate racetracks (17 races), he supported 12.4 average finish with 15.1 average running position and 84.6 driver rating. In those 17 races, he posted 3 Top 5s, 7 Top 10s, 11 Top 15s and 15 Top 20s finishes. He was very consistent last season on the intermediate racetracks. Of those 17 races, he posted 3 of his worst finishes during the chase. He had finishes of 22nd (Homestead), 19th (Dover) and 16th (Texas). Those were 3 of 6 races, he failed to finish inside the top 15. The other three races were Kentucky (20th), Michigan (18th - 1st race) and Dover (18th). His best Intermediate tracks are Chicago, Las Vegas, Michigan and Darlington. He use to be pretty good at Dover, but he only have one top 15 finish over the past two seasons since joining RCR. He also have ran very well at Atlanta and Kansas since joining RCR. He have finished inside the top 11 in every start at Atlanta and Kansas since joining RCR at start of the 2014 season.
I expect Newman to perform very well on the short flat racetracks in 2016. He have found success at both Phoenix and New Hampshire. I don't think that will change in this upcoming season. Last season on the short flat tracks (4 races), he supported 8.8 average finish with 13.5 average running position and 91.0 driver rating. He been better at Phoenix than New Hampshire recently though. Phoenix is ranked as his 2nd-best racetrack in terms of average finish over the previous two seasons. At Phoenix over the previous two seasons (4 races), he have supported 8.0 average finish with 11.5 average running position and 95.5 driver rating. Prior to the 2010 season, this was considered a pretty average track for Ryan Newman. However since winning in 2010 spring race, he have turned it up at Phoenix. In the previous 12 races, he have reeled off 10 Top 11 finishes. That includes 6 Top 5 finishes and 8 Top 10 finishes. Prior to the 2010 season (2009 and before - 15 races), he posted only 3 Top 5 finishes and 9 Total top 20 finishes. He also had 6 finishes of 34th or worse. He only had one of those type finishes over his previous 12 races at Phoenix. He been almost as good at New Hampshire recently as well. Over the previous two seasons (4 races), he have supported 11.0 average finish with 15.0 average running position and 86.0 driver rating. In his previous 4 races at New Hampshire, he have posted 3 Top 11 finishes over his last 4 races. Including a 5th-place finish in July 2014. He always been good at New Hampshire and have remained pretty solid here throughout his career. Over his previous 13 races (dating back to his SHR days - 2009 season), he have posted 10 Top 11 finishes and 10 of those have resulted in top 10 finishes. 7 of his previous 8 races at New Hampshire have ended inside the top 18. 5 of those 8 races have ended inside the top 11 and 4 of those 5 races have ended inside the top 10.
He will also be pretty solid on the large flat racetracks in 2016. His numbers were not good last season on the large flats. Even though his wreck with AJ Dinger at the first Pocono kind of killed his numbers as a whole. Last season on the larger flat racetracks (3 races), he supported 24.3 average finish with 18.7 average running position and 70.5 driver rating. He been a great performer throughout his career at Pocono. He wrecked out last June here, so his numbers are misleading. He also finished off the lead lap in the August race. Over the previous 4 Pocono races, he have supported 19.3 average finish with 16.8 average running position and 77.4 driver rating. Should be noted, he was running very competitively last season before wrecking with Dinger. Prior to finishing 39th and 23rd, he have finished 18th or better in 19 straight races. Actually 14th or better in 13 straight races at Pocono. Including 8 Top 8 finishes. With 5 straight top 8 finishes prior to wrecking out last June.Yeah I feel pretty good about disregarding last season's outcomes at Pocono and predicting that Newman will get back to his old self in 2016! He haven't been quite as good at Indy though. Even though he have some solid stats since he joined SHR back in 2009. Over the previous 2 seasons, he have supported 11.0 average finish with 18.0 average running position and 81.3 driver rating. He have reeled off 5 straight top 12 finishes dating back to the 2011 season. He have reeled off 8 straight top 17 finishes. Including 6 Top 13 finishes. He have not finished worse than 17th since 2010. In his first 7 races at Indy, he finished 31st or worse 4 times.
Short tracks will be decent to Newman in 2016, but I think we mainly will see teen-finishes out of Newman. Even though I am sure he will manage a few top 10 finishes before the season over. Last season on the short tracks (6 races - Martinsville, Richmond and Bristol), he supported 13.3 average finish with 16.0 average running position and 81.3 driver rating. His best short track is Richmond in my opinion. He been consistent there throughout his career and holds an 11.5 average finish with ranks as his best track in terms of average finish. Over his previous 4 Richmond races, he have supported 12.0 average finish with 13.0 average running position and 88.9 driver rating. He finished 11th and 20th last season at Richmond. But Prior to that, he been very strong. He had 8 straight top 15 finishes before finishing 20th last summer. Including 6 Top 11 finishes and 5 of those 6 races ending in 9th or better. In fact, he had 4 straight top 9 finishes before finishing 11th last spring. Going back further, he have posted 19 Top 11 finishes and 22 Top 15 finishes in 28 career starts at Richmond. I would rank Bristol as his second-best short track. Over the previous 4 Bristol races, he have supported 11.0 average finish with 13.8 average running position and 86.5 driver rating. He been a little inconsistent at Bristol throughout his career, but his recent numbers say he is on the up-wing though. He posted finishes of 10th and 5th last season here. He currently rides an 4-race top 16 streak at Bristol. Overall, he have reeled off 13 Top 16 finishes in his previous 15 races at Bristol. Including 6 Top 12 finishes in his past 10 races, dating back to the 2011 season. I would consider Martinsville as his worst racetrack most recently among the short tracks. Over the previous 4 Martinsville races, he have supported 14.3 average finish with 15.5 average running position and 82.5 driver rating. It helps that he have finishes of 3rd and 7th in the past two fall races, but he also have finishes of 20th and 27th in the spring. Not exactly comforting! In fact, 4 of his previous 6 races at Martinsville have ended in 20th or worse. Including finishes of 20th, 27th, 31st and 38th. Prior those stench of poor finishes, he had 3 straight top 11 finishes from April 2012 to October 2013. Overall he have produced 8 Top 11 finishes over his past 14 races (dating back to 2009 season) at Martinsville.
Road Courses will be a solid place for Newman, but I wouldn't call it great place for him though. He knows how to get around both Watkins Glenn and Sonoma. But I don't think he will produce anything beyond a low teen finish or a high-single digit finish. Even though he always been pretty stout at Sonoma. Over the previous two seasons at Sonoma, he have supported 10.0 average finish with 12.0 average running position and 90.9 driver rating. He have finishes of 9th and 11th over the past two seasons. He have reeled off 4 straight top 18 finishes dating back to the 2012 season. 7 Top 18 finishes dating back to the 2008 season in his past 8 races. But only 4 Top 15 finishes in that span. He usually good for a finish between 13th-18th place range. When looking at him from a career point of view, he only have had one finish outside of the top 20 and that was in 2011 where he finished 25th. He haven't been quite so lucky at Watkins Glenn though. Over the previous 2 seasons, he have supported 28.0 average finish with 20.0 average running position and 72.4 driver rating. That's misleading though. He finished 14th in last season's event. In 2014, he finished 41st after running into trouble and only be able to complete 55 of 90 laps. Prior to that 41st finish, he had 4 straight top 16 finishes. Overall he have reeled off 5 Top 15 finishes in his previous 6 attempts.
This will surprise some people but Newman was a pretty solid restrictor plate racer in 2015! Last season (minus the Daytona 500 wreck), he supported 9.0 average finish with 26.3 average running position and 65.1 driver rating. He had finishes of 8th and 38th last season at Daytona. Newman usually get quality results at the restrictor plates. Over the past 4 seasons at Daytona (dating back to 2012), he have posted 4 Top 10 finishes and 3 finishes of 20th-22nd place range. Of course his lone non-top 22 finish was his Daytona 500 wreck where he finished like 19 laps down. He been pretty similar at Talladega I would say as well. Last season he had finishes of 7th and 12th. He been pretty solid over the previous 4 seasons as well. Over the previous 7 Talladega races, he have posted 5 Top 12 finishes. Prior that 7-race stench of races, he had 6 straight finishes of 23rd-36th place. So he been pretty up and down since 2009. On the plus side, least he is consistent and predictable. I wouldn't expect anything beyond a teen-finish though.
Twitter - @MattAleza
Ryan Newman have been one of the more consistent drivers over the past two seasons, despite not having any wins or many top 5 finishes. Of all the winless drivers over the past two seasons, I would put Newman as the next driver in line to breakthrough to victory lane. However I don't think he will be able to straight up race himself to a win in 2016. I don't think he have the talent to take a top 10 or top 15 car and race it into a winning car. I also don't think RCR have the speed to run up inside the top 5 on a weekly basis, which is kind of why Newman haven't found victory lane with RCR yet. His best days will come at most intermediate racetracks and flats. He also will have the potential to run well on the short tracks and road courses.
Intermediate racetracks will be where he performs his best at most likely in 2016. In 2015 on the intermediate racetracks (17 races), he supported 12.4 average finish with 15.1 average running position and 84.6 driver rating. In those 17 races, he posted 3 Top 5s, 7 Top 10s, 11 Top 15s and 15 Top 20s finishes. He was very consistent last season on the intermediate racetracks. Of those 17 races, he posted 3 of his worst finishes during the chase. He had finishes of 22nd (Homestead), 19th (Dover) and 16th (Texas). Those were 3 of 6 races, he failed to finish inside the top 15. The other three races were Kentucky (20th), Michigan (18th - 1st race) and Dover (18th). His best Intermediate tracks are Chicago, Las Vegas, Michigan and Darlington. He use to be pretty good at Dover, but he only have one top 15 finish over the past two seasons since joining RCR. He also have ran very well at Atlanta and Kansas since joining RCR. He have finished inside the top 11 in every start at Atlanta and Kansas since joining RCR at start of the 2014 season.
I expect Newman to perform very well on the short flat racetracks in 2016. He have found success at both Phoenix and New Hampshire. I don't think that will change in this upcoming season. Last season on the short flat tracks (4 races), he supported 8.8 average finish with 13.5 average running position and 91.0 driver rating. He been better at Phoenix than New Hampshire recently though. Phoenix is ranked as his 2nd-best racetrack in terms of average finish over the previous two seasons. At Phoenix over the previous two seasons (4 races), he have supported 8.0 average finish with 11.5 average running position and 95.5 driver rating. Prior to the 2010 season, this was considered a pretty average track for Ryan Newman. However since winning in 2010 spring race, he have turned it up at Phoenix. In the previous 12 races, he have reeled off 10 Top 11 finishes. That includes 6 Top 5 finishes and 8 Top 10 finishes. Prior to the 2010 season (2009 and before - 15 races), he posted only 3 Top 5 finishes and 9 Total top 20 finishes. He also had 6 finishes of 34th or worse. He only had one of those type finishes over his previous 12 races at Phoenix. He been almost as good at New Hampshire recently as well. Over the previous two seasons (4 races), he have supported 11.0 average finish with 15.0 average running position and 86.0 driver rating. In his previous 4 races at New Hampshire, he have posted 3 Top 11 finishes over his last 4 races. Including a 5th-place finish in July 2014. He always been good at New Hampshire and have remained pretty solid here throughout his career. Over his previous 13 races (dating back to his SHR days - 2009 season), he have posted 10 Top 11 finishes and 10 of those have resulted in top 10 finishes. 7 of his previous 8 races at New Hampshire have ended inside the top 18. 5 of those 8 races have ended inside the top 11 and 4 of those 5 races have ended inside the top 10.
He will also be pretty solid on the large flat racetracks in 2016. His numbers were not good last season on the large flats. Even though his wreck with AJ Dinger at the first Pocono kind of killed his numbers as a whole. Last season on the larger flat racetracks (3 races), he supported 24.3 average finish with 18.7 average running position and 70.5 driver rating. He been a great performer throughout his career at Pocono. He wrecked out last June here, so his numbers are misleading. He also finished off the lead lap in the August race. Over the previous 4 Pocono races, he have supported 19.3 average finish with 16.8 average running position and 77.4 driver rating. Should be noted, he was running very competitively last season before wrecking with Dinger. Prior to finishing 39th and 23rd, he have finished 18th or better in 19 straight races. Actually 14th or better in 13 straight races at Pocono. Including 8 Top 8 finishes. With 5 straight top 8 finishes prior to wrecking out last June.Yeah I feel pretty good about disregarding last season's outcomes at Pocono and predicting that Newman will get back to his old self in 2016! He haven't been quite as good at Indy though. Even though he have some solid stats since he joined SHR back in 2009. Over the previous 2 seasons, he have supported 11.0 average finish with 18.0 average running position and 81.3 driver rating. He have reeled off 5 straight top 12 finishes dating back to the 2011 season. He have reeled off 8 straight top 17 finishes. Including 6 Top 13 finishes. He have not finished worse than 17th since 2010. In his first 7 races at Indy, he finished 31st or worse 4 times.
Short tracks will be decent to Newman in 2016, but I think we mainly will see teen-finishes out of Newman. Even though I am sure he will manage a few top 10 finishes before the season over. Last season on the short tracks (6 races - Martinsville, Richmond and Bristol), he supported 13.3 average finish with 16.0 average running position and 81.3 driver rating. His best short track is Richmond in my opinion. He been consistent there throughout his career and holds an 11.5 average finish with ranks as his best track in terms of average finish. Over his previous 4 Richmond races, he have supported 12.0 average finish with 13.0 average running position and 88.9 driver rating. He finished 11th and 20th last season at Richmond. But Prior to that, he been very strong. He had 8 straight top 15 finishes before finishing 20th last summer. Including 6 Top 11 finishes and 5 of those 6 races ending in 9th or better. In fact, he had 4 straight top 9 finishes before finishing 11th last spring. Going back further, he have posted 19 Top 11 finishes and 22 Top 15 finishes in 28 career starts at Richmond. I would rank Bristol as his second-best short track. Over the previous 4 Bristol races, he have supported 11.0 average finish with 13.8 average running position and 86.5 driver rating. He been a little inconsistent at Bristol throughout his career, but his recent numbers say he is on the up-wing though. He posted finishes of 10th and 5th last season here. He currently rides an 4-race top 16 streak at Bristol. Overall, he have reeled off 13 Top 16 finishes in his previous 15 races at Bristol. Including 6 Top 12 finishes in his past 10 races, dating back to the 2011 season. I would consider Martinsville as his worst racetrack most recently among the short tracks. Over the previous 4 Martinsville races, he have supported 14.3 average finish with 15.5 average running position and 82.5 driver rating. It helps that he have finishes of 3rd and 7th in the past two fall races, but he also have finishes of 20th and 27th in the spring. Not exactly comforting! In fact, 4 of his previous 6 races at Martinsville have ended in 20th or worse. Including finishes of 20th, 27th, 31st and 38th. Prior those stench of poor finishes, he had 3 straight top 11 finishes from April 2012 to October 2013. Overall he have produced 8 Top 11 finishes over his past 14 races (dating back to 2009 season) at Martinsville.
Road Courses will be a solid place for Newman, but I wouldn't call it great place for him though. He knows how to get around both Watkins Glenn and Sonoma. But I don't think he will produce anything beyond a low teen finish or a high-single digit finish. Even though he always been pretty stout at Sonoma. Over the previous two seasons at Sonoma, he have supported 10.0 average finish with 12.0 average running position and 90.9 driver rating. He have finishes of 9th and 11th over the past two seasons. He have reeled off 4 straight top 18 finishes dating back to the 2012 season. 7 Top 18 finishes dating back to the 2008 season in his past 8 races. But only 4 Top 15 finishes in that span. He usually good for a finish between 13th-18th place range. When looking at him from a career point of view, he only have had one finish outside of the top 20 and that was in 2011 where he finished 25th. He haven't been quite so lucky at Watkins Glenn though. Over the previous 2 seasons, he have supported 28.0 average finish with 20.0 average running position and 72.4 driver rating. That's misleading though. He finished 14th in last season's event. In 2014, he finished 41st after running into trouble and only be able to complete 55 of 90 laps. Prior to that 41st finish, he had 4 straight top 16 finishes. Overall he have reeled off 5 Top 15 finishes in his previous 6 attempts.
This will surprise some people but Newman was a pretty solid restrictor plate racer in 2015! Last season (minus the Daytona 500 wreck), he supported 9.0 average finish with 26.3 average running position and 65.1 driver rating. He had finishes of 8th and 38th last season at Daytona. Newman usually get quality results at the restrictor plates. Over the past 4 seasons at Daytona (dating back to 2012), he have posted 4 Top 10 finishes and 3 finishes of 20th-22nd place range. Of course his lone non-top 22 finish was his Daytona 500 wreck where he finished like 19 laps down. He been pretty similar at Talladega I would say as well. Last season he had finishes of 7th and 12th. He been pretty solid over the previous 4 seasons as well. Over the previous 7 Talladega races, he have posted 5 Top 12 finishes. Prior that 7-race stench of races, he had 6 straight finishes of 23rd-36th place. So he been pretty up and down since 2009. On the plus side, least he is consistent and predictable. I wouldn't expect anything beyond a teen-finish though.
Twitter - @MattAleza