Penske makes decision to part ways with Newman

In the final year of his contract with Penske Racing and unhappy with the team's performance, Ryan Newman wanted to weigh his options for the 2009 season. On Monday, the Penske organization decided to move on without him, and announced it was cutting ties with Newman effective at the end of the year.

"There's a point where there's a decision that has to be made," Penske president Tim Cindric said. "Our first choice was to keep Ryan on board with us, but you can't draw it out forever. There's going to be a point where we either have to decide whether we're in or we're out, and obviously today was the day to part ways."

Ryan Newman

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Newman is now free to sign with another NASCAR team -- including the one now co-owned by friend and fellow driver Tony Stewart -- for next season and beyond. Newman had repeatedly said that he would consider leaving Penske if performance did not improve. His Daytona 500 win is his lone race victory since late 2005, and he currently sits 16th in Sprint Cup points.

"I appreciate Penske Racing and all they have done for me," Newman said in a statement released by the team, "but more importantly, I appreciate their friendship and what they have done for my career."

Newman has 13 wins in 243 starts with 63 top-five finishes and 105 top-10s. Since his debut on Nov. 5, 2000, at Phoenix he also has 43 poles -- tops on the Sprint Cup tour -- despite not running his first full season until 2002. Penske is the only NASCAR home that Newman has ever known.

"There are quite a few people that have been here since Ryan came with the team," Cindric said. "You get that connection. It's a personable sport, and that plays a part. But it's also a business."

Now Penske begins the search for a new driver for its No. 12 car. "There are a lot of obvious people being kicked around out there as far as names, and I'm sure we'll end up talking to all of them," Cindric said. "But at this point and time, I couldn't tell you who's going to drive the 12 car yet."

Two names immediately come to mind: former Cup driver David Stremme, who tests for Penske, and outgoing Hendrick Motorsports driver Casey Mears, whose uncle Rick Mears -- a four-time winner of the Indianapolis 500 -- has long been associated with the Penske program.

"They're certainly both considerations, and ones I'm certain we'll discuss with [sponsor] Alltel and our other partners involved, and at the end of the day figure out whether they're the best candidates or if there's somebody else out there who makes sense as well," Cindric said. "But they're certainly guys that we'll consider, for sure."

Stremme, racing short-track cars in Wisconsin, wasn't sure if his status as test driver would give him an advantage. "There's so much stuff going on right now, it's hard to tell what's going to happen," he said. "It's a great company. Right now, all I'm doing is testing. Who knows what might happen. Right now there are so many things going on."

Newman said Saturday at Chicagoland Speedway that he had three options on the table beyond Penske, one of them being the newly-formed Stewart-Haas organization. Newman has long been viewed as the lead candidate for Stewart's second car, but more established teams like Richard Childress Racing and Joe Gibbs Racing also currently have openings for next year.

Cindric doesn't believe Newman has decided on a new home. "I believe that he's undecided," he said. "I believe that he hasn't made a commitment anywhere, to be honest. But that's something you'd really have to ask Ryan. Because what was important to us was whether or not he was going to be here. Beyond hat, I hate to speculate on his situation."

Stewart announced last week he will leave Joe Gibbs Racing at the end of 2008 to become driver and part-owner of Haas CNC Racing. The name will be changed to Stewart-Haas.

The two-car team currently fields the Nos. 66 and 70 cars, and both cars are outside the top 35 in owners points.

Also:
• Menzer: Now the rest of the dominos able to fall
• Newman weighs option of joining Stewart-Haas team