NASCAR Cup Series: Top 5 active superspeedway drivers

Top 5 superspeedway drivers: No. 4 – Ryan Newman

Many people may be surprised to see Ryan Newman here on this list. It has been known throughout his career that he is not the biggest fan of superspeedway racing. He has been vocal about how dangerous the racing is at these tracks, but that has not stopped him from having success there.

Newman only has one win at a superspeedway, and that came in the 2008 Daytona 500. That win came after he passed Tony Stewart on the last lap with a push from Team Penske teammate Kurt Busch.

Newman’s numbers in the past nine superspeedway races are what put him here on this list. He has an average finish of 9.67 with two top five finishes, seven top 10 finishes and 19 laps led.

On top of that, Newman was the leader coming to the checkered flag in each of the past two superspeedway races. He was 0.007 seconds away from getting his first win at Talladega Superspeedway last October, and without the contact from Ryan Blaney that sent him into the wall in this year’s Daytona 500, he would have two career Daytona 500 victories.

Newman may not dominate the superspeedway races, but he knows how to be in contention at the end of these races. When he is up there at the end, he knows what he needs to do to give himself the best chance to win.