Newman: Keep the cars on the ground
Friday, Nov. 06, 2009
Getty Images for NASCAR
FORT WORTH, TX - NOVEMBER 06: Ryan Newman, driver of the #39 Haas Automation Chevrolet, speaks to the media prior to practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Dickies 500 at Texas Motor Speedway on November 6, 2009 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images for NASCAR)
AP
Ryan Newman, left, gets a last minute check from crew member Jay Guarneri before going out for a practice session in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas, on Friday, Nov. 6, 2009. (AP Photo/Ralph Lauer)
AP
Ryan Newman prepares for the morning NASCAR Sprint Cup practice session at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas, on Friday, Nov. 6, 2009. (AP Photo/Ralph Lauer)
Getty Images for NASCAR
FORT WORTH, TX - NOVEMBER 06: Ryan Newman, driver of the #39 Haas Automation Chevrolet, speaks to the media prior to practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Dickies 500 at Texas Motor Speedway on November 6, 2009 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images for NASCAR)
AP
Ryan Newman (33) slides upside down on the track after crashing with Kevin Harvick (29) during the AMP Energy 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series auto race Sunday, Nov. 1, 2009, at Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega, Ala. (AP Photo/Mark Young)
FORT WORTH, Texas – Nearly a week removed from his harrowing wreck at Talladega, Ryan Newman insists he wants to be part of the solution to preventing cars from getting airborne in NASCAR races.
Newman’s car flipped in a wreck late in last Sunday's race at Alabama's Talladega Superspeedway and he spent 12 minutes upside down before he was extricated from the car.
"From an aerodynamic standpoint, ultimately our biggest thing is to keep the race cars on the ground," Newman said on Friday at Texas Motor Speedway. "Crashes have always been a part of racing. There are fans that like that. Sometimes that adds to extra excitement, don't get me wrong.
"Keeping the race cars on the ground is how we keep the drivers, and especially the fans, safe.
Newman, who complained that NASCAR officials needed to make changes to keep the cars from getting into the air following April's Talladega race, relived his frustrations last weekend.
"Whatever we can do, speedwise and aeropdynamically, to keep the car on the ground is what we need to focus on."
Newman said he met this week with Sprint Cup series director John Darby and Robin Pemberton, NASCAR's vice president for competition.
"There has been testing done," Newman said. "I don't know that they have tested everything. I don't know that you can test everything.
"Obviously, more testing needs to be done in order to make it safer for everybody."
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