What's Up With Ryan Newman Being Loose In Turn Three

Hey, it's Friday. It's time to hit the pedal and get ourselves a little Loose In Turn Three with me, Tim Zaegel and Charlie Turner. Loose is fast, right?

These days, Ryan Newman is in the news and the rumors, no matter how quiet he stays.

He's way outside the top 12 with only 8 weeks to go. What's up? His big year was more about fuel mileage than kicking butt, yet he is slowly climbing the record books in pole positions. The man can be fearless behind the wheel. But yet, he's not up front every week in the No. 12 car.

The No 12 car in the Penske garage has always been in the background, never quite up there with the No 2 car... usually. I don't believe this, but I have to ask: Is the 12 car just getting the short end of the stick all the time?

With that in mind, I've asked my Turn Three peers the following question:

With the rumors of the possibility of Ryan Newman signing on with Tony Stewart under Haas-CNC, I mean Stewart Haas Racing, and Jack Daniels being rumored as his sponsor, do you think his on-track performance will finally improve?

I'm probably one of the bigger Ryan Newman fans out there. I've been subtle in my hopes for his performance improvement since the year he had so many wins, but those wins weren't so much about performance as it was about fuel mileage and the smaller fuel nozzle / jet sizes. I haven't seen him be too competitive in that No 12 car of Penske's. Then again, has anyone had the best of runs in the No. 12 car, or is it the drivers they snag for the car?

I think he's got it in him to get his butt back in contention and wheel his car to the front. His ever building number of pole positions says so to me, and though that's not racing itself, you can see he can at least drive fast! If this comes to be, then as I always say, 'Time will be the Telling Factor!'

Tim Zaegel of Do You NASCAR? says:
Man, that's tough to answer. I've always thought that Newman drove his car too hard to early at the beginning of his career and that was what was keeping him from becoming a complete racecar driver, but he seems to do a better job handling his equipment these days. I think the big problem with him right now is that he's gone through what, three crew chiefs now in the past three seasons, and the Penske stable as a whole seems to have hit a rough patch. Will his performance improve at a Haas CNC Racing team that featured both him and Stewart? Probably not immediately, but that all depends on what kind of equipment they're able to give him. I do, however, think that a move to RCR or even Ganassi would suit him well at this point. And, if he were able to somehow fanagle his way into a Gibbs car, then watch out.

Charlie Turner over On Pit Road says:
In the next couple of days Ryan Newman will officially become a lame duck driver. I have never seen one of those guys do anything significant after the announcement. Ryan hasn't done much since Daytona. There is some kind of disconnect at Penske. I don't know what it is. Maybe a fresh face is what's needed in the #12. But, for sure, the latest developments won't help that team's performance.

Anyone have any other ideas or thoughts to add to what we've said? Let us hear it here.

With that said, since I tormented Tim and Charlie with my question, they tossed out their own curiosities:

Tim asks on DoYouNASCAR:
With Tony Stewart's departure from Joe Gibbs Racing, who should they look to fill the #20 seat?

And in keeping with the swaps and changes, Charlie on BenchRacing On Pit Row asked:
It has been reported that Dale Earnhardt Jr's JR Motorsports has lost the Navy sponsorship for the #88 Nationwide Series car for 2009. If you're Junior, now what?