PERSONAL PROFILE
	Hometown: South Bend, Ind Birthdate: Dec. 8, 1977

Ryan Newman has the brains to go along with his talent at driving race cars. A rising star, Newman hopes to compete in 15 NASCAR Busch Series events this season, along with six Winston Cup and ARCA races, including the Winston Open for Penske Racing South.

A senior in vehicle structure engineering at Purdue University and recipient of the Rich Vogler Memorial Scholarship, Newman grew up as a star in the open-wheel ranks, winning more than 100 quarter-midget features, earning two midget championships and earning 1995 USAC Midget Series rookie of the year honors.

In 1996, Newman was named USAC Silver Crown Series rookie of the year, and one year later, finished sixth in Silver Crown points. By 1998, Newman had 11 top-10 finishes in 13 races for a third-place finish in the Silver Crown standings, ending the season with three straight midget wins.

He showed his versatility in 1999, winning the USAC Coors Light Silver Bullet Series national championship with two wins and 12 top-10 finishes, won seven times in the midgets and picked up a victory in sprint cars - the first driver to win in all three major USAC divisions that season.

Newman made his stock-car debut in June of 2000 in an ARCA race at Michigan, then promptly won the next race he entered - the July 22 Pepsi ARCA 200 at Pocono, Pa. He continued his hot streak, winning ARCA events at Kentucky Speedway and Lowe's Motor Speedway.