Ryan Newman has never been to Victory Lane at the Darlington Raceway, but he does have 13 top 10 finishes at the iconic venue.
Newman was in Darlington Tuesday to unveil the throwback paint scheme that he will be carrying in the 70th running of the Bojangles Southern 500. It is a similar scheme used by Mark Martin in 1993 when he gave car owner Jack Roush the first of his five Cup wins at Darlington. Newman says he is ecstatic to be running that design Labor Day weekend.
"I think it's obviously special," Newman said.
" I mean, you want to drive a car that has good history. Not just history, but good history. Mark won a lot of races for Roush, (now) Roush-Fenway (Racing). To come here where he won in this paint scheme is what it's all about. So we have to thank Oscar Mayer for putting their name and branding on an old paint scheme."
Newman is a former winner of the Daytona 500 and the Brickyard 400. But he says Darlington is his favorite track because there is something special about navigating his way around the Track Too Tough To Tame.
"I've always said on your way home from work, there's a favorite off ramp and this is my favorite off ramp," Newman said.
"It's got the right banking. It's got the right curve. It's just run to race here. It's fun to drive here. Racing is always a challenge, but it's really fun to drive here."