Image by Bristol Motor Speedway & Dragway via Flickr

This weekend, at Atlanta, Ryan Newman is reasonably sure of achieving one milestone in his career, and maybe two. On Sunday, Newman will start his 300th NASCAR Sprint Cup Race. And he’s doing so where he has started on the pole more than any other driver in the history of NASCAR, with the exception of Buddy Baker. Of 15 starts at Atlanta, The Rocket, has captured the pole 7 times, and is hoping to be fast enough Friday evening to get his 8th pole at the track.

Newman has faced some pretty rough times over the course of the first three races this season, and is currently 32nd in the Sprint Cup standings, one spot better than he was at this time last year. Ryan was featured in this week’s NASCAR teleconference where he talked about the milestones ahead of him at Atlanta and his struggles so far this season.

Q. Atlanta, this weekend you’re going to possibly set a pole record with the Buddy Baker situation and tiebreak that. Where does that fit in your career? How much do you actually place emphasis on your career on poles or is this something you naturally do well? Continue reading →