This Week’s No. 31 Liberty National Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 at Atlanta Motor Speedway
Newman will make his 586th Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series start when the Series competes at the second event of the 2018 season. In 25 MENCS events at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Newman owns seven pole awards, including sweeping six-straight poles encompassing the 2003 to 2005 Cup seasons. He owns two top-five and nine top-10 finishes. His best results of fifth place came in 2013 and at the spring 2004 event. The South Bend, Indiana native has an average start of 7.0 and average finish of 17.9. He’s led a total of 178 laps in competition. In the Camping World Trucks Series, he captured the victory in the fall 2008 race.
Current Standings … After finishing eighth in the season opener, the Daytona 500, Newman and the No. 31 team rank eighth in the driver championship standings.
Welcome Aboard … Ryan Newman, a Liberty National Life Insurance Company policyholder, will feature the Liberty National paint scheme on the No. 31 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for select races in 2018, beginning in Atlanta. Liberty National has been in the insurance industry since 1900 and offers affordable life and supplemental health insurance to middle-income Americans through in-home and workplace sales. With local offices throughout the United States, Liberty National’s Agency Owners will be featured on the hood of the No. 31 car in each of its primary races. Liberty National, Ryan Newman, and Richard Childress Racing share an admiration and appreciation for veterans who have served to protect our country. Liberty National hires former military and is proud to have many veterans call Liberty National their career homes today. Visit: LNLCareers.com/Atlanta to learn more about career opportunities with Liberty National.
Meet Newman … On Sunday, Newman can be seen on Atlanta Motor Speedway’s Midway starting at 10:35 a.m. ET at the Team Chevy stage for a question and answer session. At 10:55 a.m. ET on behalf of Coca-Cola, he is scheduled to participate in TrackSide at the Folds of Honor QuikTrip stage.
RYAN NEWMAN QUOTES:
What are your thoughts after RCR’s Daytona 500 victory and your top-10 finish to start the season?
“It’s a great way to start the season that is for sure! I wanted to make sure Austin (Dillon) knew how happy and proud I was for and of him when I went out there to see him at the start-finish line. I wanted to win again on the 20th anniversary of RCR’s last Daytona 500 win especially after the fact that I won on the 10th anniversary. It’s so crazy how things fall into place. Earnhardt won the 40th Daytona 500. I won the 50th and now Austin has won the 60th running of the Daytona 500. This victory is awesome for RCR and ECR and all our partners. To get a Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 in Victory Lane right away, that was special as well. For the No. 31 Bass Pro Shops / Cabela’s team, we just weren’t in the right place at the right time and got caught up in a little bit of a mess, and that was it. We just finished with a bunch of damage, but we still finished eighth.”
What are your thoughts heading into Atlanta?
“For me, Atlanta Motor Speedway will be a true litmus test of the performance you are potentially going to have for the season or at least tell you what you need to still work on or what you have been successful at in the off-season preparations. It doesn’t always equate to how well you are going to do at Martinsville Speedway, the road courses or anything else like that, but those intermediate tracks that make up half of our season and most of the Playoffs, it’s a super important gauge for us.”
Do you believe in momentum in this sport?
“Absolutely! If you leave Daytona with momentum like RCR has it absolutely has a positive effect on us. Momentum is dependent on your last lap really. It can certainly change really quickly, but the consistency behind it is very powerful and if you have three or four top-fives in a row, that’s huge no matter what track you are at and where you go to next.”