As Stewart-Haas Racing prepares to welcome Kevin Harvick next season, Ryan Newman will be looking for a new ride.
Harvick and Budweiser, his primary sponsor at Richard Childress Racing, are both making the jump to SHR as the California native will drive the No. 4 Budweiser Chevrolet starting in 2014.
“I think for me, the Stewart-Haas piece was intriguing just for the fact that you have Tony [Stewart] as a teammate,” Harvick said about what made SHR a better option for him.
“…We have a friendship that goes beyond the race track and I think obviously, [SHR co-owner] Gene Haas makes it very intriguing with the guarantees that he made to make the deal happen to put the car on the race track. When you have a family and you start seeing those guarantees of sponsorship for the car, it makes you think about things.
“I think not only those two pieces, but the Hendrick [Motorsports] tie-in with the engines and the support – understanding that, I think the potential is really high with all those resources and relationships and things that go with it.”
But with Stewart also confirming that his team was not ready to expand to a fourth program, that means Newman – who has raced with SHR since its inception in 2009 – will officially be a free agent at season’s end.
“Unfortunately, this will be the last year that we have Ryan with us,” said Stewart. “That’s probably what has made this a bittersweet day. I’m bringing in another one of my friends to the organization, but also knowing that I’m losing a friend at the end of the year to the organization.
“The No. 1 thing when Ryan and I spoke is that our friendship will not change. This was a business decision that was [team co-owner] Gene’s [Haas] as well as mine, and it was a hard decision.”
Newman, who has won three times in his five-year run with SHR, said that he was notified by Stewart of the decision on Wednesday. Commenting on the subject, Newman also made sure to emphasize his friendship with the three-time Cup champion but admitted that he had no idea about what his future may hold.
“That is something that weighs on my shoulders,” he said. “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.”
Newman has collected 16 victories in his 11-year Cup career. His most recent one came with SHR at Martinsville in April of 2012.
