(AP) INDIANAPOLIS Rusty Wallace may have retired two and a half years ago, but it's obvious time has not healed the contentious wounds between he and former Penske Racing teammate Ryan Newman.
Friday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Wallace dropped a bombshell, alleging team owner Roger Penske fired Newman, effective at season's end.
That allegation stands contrary to what Newman has said, claiming the decision to leave was voluntary and his only.
"I'll tear the leaving thing up first," Wallace said. "That didn't happen. (Newman) didn't leave. And I've read many, many stories that have said that."
Wallace is a former part-owner of Penske Racing, eventually selling his quarter-share of the company during his final Cup season in 2005.
"Roger Penske called Ryan Newman up to his office and said, 'I don't need your services next year,' " Wallace explained. "Ryan Newman didn't come to him and say, 'I'm leaving.' Y'all need to write about that, when that's exactly what went down.
"I've never seen Roger Penske let anybody in his life go. Obviously, there was some bad blood there when that happened.'"
That's not exactly true. Penske fired Jeremy Mayfield with eight races remaining in 2001.
When told of Wallace's version of the story, Newman kept his composure.
"I don't know what Rusty's grounds are or what he's trying to prove by saying that," Newman said. "That wasn't the case, point blank. Roger and I decided mutually to not continue.
"It was more my decision than it was his, I would say. Our goals didn't align, and for that reason and that reason alone, we decided to not continue after 2008."
It's no secret that when they were teammates, Newman and Wallace didn't get along.
When asked to answer Wallace's charges that bad blood existed between Newman and Penske and that led to his alleged "firing," Newman remained stoic, yet fired back a few shots of his own.
"Was he conscious when he said it?" Newman quipped. "I guess it is (a continuation of their disdain for each other) because it's not true, so I guess you could say that.
"It doesn't matter to me. I know Rusty and his personalities plural. I mean, everybody's just different. I'll say that."
Newman, who has 13 career Cup wins, admitted that his criticism of the lack of performance not only for his own No. 12 Dodge team, but also those of teammate Kurt Busch and Sam Hornish Jr., may have played a part in his departure from the team. But, he's okay with that.
"Nobody likes to be criticized as a driver, nobody likes to be criticized as an owner, but constructive criticism is part of what I have to do as a driver," Newman said. "If I don't feel like I have good equipment or as good equipment as the guy ahead of me, then I speak up.
"That's a racer; that's just the way it is. You have to be able to stomach a percentage of that, whether you're a car owner, crew chief or a guy changing tires. That's just part of it, and I expect the same thing in return."
Newman comes into Sunday's Allstate 400 at the Brickyard ranked 16th in the standings. Only the top 12 will qualify for the Chase for the Sprint Cup. Newman is 189 points out of the top 12 with just seven races to go before the Chase begins.
Since winning the season-opening Daytona 500, it's been a roller coaster for Newman. He's been critical of his team, the organization and what he's perceived as a lack of performance as the most significant reason for leaving the Penske fold by season's end.
"I don't think (his criticism) helped anything, but I don't think anything I've ever said is anything but the truth," Newman said. "We've been good; we just haven't been great. Good gets us close the Chase, but great gets us in it."
Team owner Roger Penske is in Edmonton, Alberta, and was unavailable for comment. Yahoo! Sports asked a team representative for a statement confirming or denying Wallace's allegations from Penske at the very least, but one was not forthcoming.
Newman, meanwhile, is not letting Wallace's claims interfere in his search for a new home. But at the same time, he had nothing new to report Friday on getting closer to signing with a new team.
"I'm leaving Penske Racing," Newman said. "I don't have a contract to drive anyplace else right now nothing on paper. I have offers and I am choosing the best one."
Newman is rumored to be the second driver for Stewart/Haas Racing in 2009, joining Tony Stewart, who earlier in the day announced he would drive the No. 14 car an homage to Indy Car legend and Stewart hero A.J. Foyt for his new team starting next season.
When asked whether he would be willing to go to a team that does not finish in the top 35 in owner points this season which could be the case for both Stewart/Haas cars in 2009 Newman demurred.
"That's an issue, but not a big issue," said Newman, who has narrowed his options down to two. "Obviously, the people outside of the top 35 know that and want to get into the top 35.
"Bottom line, if it requires building a team and an organization, than so be it. I've been in that position before and I want to build something that's good for me as well as the organization I'm part of, if that's the case."
But Newman also has considerable interest from other teams, including Gillett Evernham Motorsports, Richard Childress Racing and reportedly Dale Earnhardt Inc., which still may lose its No. 1 driver Martin Truex Jr. by season's end.
"There have been multiple organizations that have contacted me, and I will pursue with what I feel is the right option," said Newman
Wallace: Penske, Newman split maybe not so 'mutual'
By David Caraviello, NASCAR.COM
July 25, 2008
05:48 PM EDT
INDIANAPOLIS -- The official release announcing Ryan Newman's impending separation from Penske Racing said the split was by mutual decision. But former NASCAR champion Rusty Wallace, who drove for Roger Penske for more than a decade and still talks to the car owner regularly, isn't convinced that's how it happened.
He needed to move on and find a driver, rather than Ryan saying, 'Well, I don't know if I'm going to come back, I might, I might not.' Roger's not like that."
Wallace, now a television analyst, thinks Penske effectively fired Newman, having grown weary of the driver's indecision over his future as well as his less-than-flattering depiction of the organization's equipment. Penske's two Sprint Cup cars are currently 16th and 18th in points, and Newman said he would consider leaving the team if on-track performance did not improve.
That became reality last week, when Newman and Penske "mutually agreed" to part ways, according a release sent out by the team. But Wallace believes it was more a matter of Penske splitting with Newman than the Daytona 500 champion leaving.
"He didn't leave," Wallace said Friday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where will be help call the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard for ESPN. "I've read many, many stories that said that. Roger Penske called Ryan Newman into to his office and said, 'I don't need your services next year.' Ryan Newman didn't come to him and say, 'I'm leaving,' OK? Y'all need to write about that. That's exactly how it went down. I've never seen Roger Penske let anybody in his life go. Obviously there was some bad blood there. I don't know what went on, I don't work there anymore, but that's what happened. I love Roger Penske, so I'm going to clear the story up right now."
Wallace admits that he and Newman, old-school and new-school racers respectively, didn't have the best of relationships during their four years together at Penske. He also said that Penske hasn't told him explicitly how the separation with Newman went down. But Wallace said he knows Penske very well, and added that the car owner did tell him how disappointed he was in Newman's comments regarding the team's lack of performance.
"Roger doesn't like anybody telling him his equipment's junk or he doesn't like this or doesn't like that," Wallace said. "Obviously Ryan and I never got along real well, that's for sure. You guys all know that. [Penske] will give anybody anything they want: engineers, whatever. And Ryan knows that. And we hyped up forever and ever how he is the engineer for years and years, and they can't get that car figured out. I talked to Roger, and he didn't like it. He didn't like all the negative stuff. I didn't know exactly, but I knew that they needed to move on quick. That's the key. He needed to move on and find a driver, rather than Ryan saying, 'Well, I don't know if I'm going to come back, I might, I might not.' Roger's not like that. He's not going to be held hostage by somebody else. You're in or you're out. There's no waffling. And Roger says, 'I'm not waiting, I'm moving.' and that was it."
Penske was not at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Friday, and could not be reached for comment. Newman -- who was not part of the Stewart-Haas Racing car unveiling held Friday, and said he has yet to sign a contract with anyone for 2009 and beyond -- said his former teammate was just flat wrong.
"I don't know what Rusty's grounds are, what he's trying to prove by saying that," Newman said. "That wasn't the case, point blank. Roger and I decided mutually to not continue, and it was more my decision than it was his, I would say. I said our goals didn't align, and for that reason and that reason alone we decided not to continue through 2008."
Wallace emphasized that he hasn't been in the loop at Penske since he retired as a driver, but he said he does speak to Penske at least twice a week. And comments made last week by Penske Racing president Tim Cindric seem to back up Wallace's assertion that the "mutual separation" might have been more the decision of the team than the driver.
"There's a point where there's a decision that has to be made," Cindric told NASCAR.COM on July 15. "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."
Besides, Wallace added, Penske has done something like this before. "Jeremy Mayfield said, 'Every time I get in this car, it's junk,'" Wallace said, referring to the driver who competed for Penske until 2001. "[Penske] said, 'Well, you know what, you need to go find another job.' That was it. He was very, very upset with Ryan Newman."
Such assertions seemed to baffle Newman. "Was [Wallace] conscious when he said it?" he asked. The claim that he was fired is "not true," Newman added. "It doesn't matter to me. I know Rusty and his personalities -- plural -- and everybody is different."
So did Penske really bristle at Newman's criticisms? "Nobody likes to be criticized as a driver, and nobody likes to be criticized as an owner," Newman said. "Constructive criticism isn't part of what I have to do as a driver. If I don't feel like I have good equipment or as good equipment as the guy that's ahead of me, then I speak up. That's a racer. That's just the way it is. You have to be able to stomach a percentage of that whether you're a car owner, crew chief, or a guy changing the tires. That's part of it. I'd expect the same the thing in return."
Hmm...Here Roger contradicts Rusty. Go figure?!?!?..lol, lol
By Terry Blount
ESPN.com
Updated: July 25, 2008, 8:54 PM ET
INDIANAPOLIS -- Rusty Wallace and Ryan Newman never were pals when they competed as teammates at Penske Racing. Now, the two men have a major difference of opinion over the circumstances of Newman's departure from the No. 12 Dodge at the end of this season.
Newman has said repeatedly that he and team owner Roger Penske discussed his situation a few weeks ago when Newman decided he wanted to move on.
Wallace insinuated on Friday that Newman was fired.
"I'll clear this leaving thing up," Wallace said. "He didn't leave. Roger called Ryan up to his office and said, 'I don't need your services next year.' Ryan didn't come to him and say he's leaving. You all need to write that. That's exactly how it went down.
"Obviously, there was some bad blood there when that happened. I love Roger, so I'm going to help clear up the story for him."
However, in a clarifying statement shortly thereafter, Penske said: "I have read Rusty's comments and it is important for everyone to understand that I did not fire Ryan. His contract runs though 2008 and we sat down and agreed that we were not going forward beyond this year."
Newman was told about Wallace's comments about an hour later.
"I don't know what Rusty is trying to prove, but that's not the case," Newman said. "Roger and I agreed not to continue our association. If anything, it was me more than him. Our goals didn't align."
Wallace, now a broadcaster for ESPN, was Newman's teammate from 2002 through 2005. Their relationship was strained during most of those four seasons.
What does it matter? And why is it anybodies business. He will be better off somewhere else either way. Wallace needs to shut his mouth and be a commentator! He obviously has his favorites and he should learn to be more neutral. He really sucks anyway as a commentator.
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As strange as it may sound I think Newman needs Rusty to act just like this. I say this because we all know they didn't like each other during their time as teammates but look at how great Newman ran at that time, Newman has skills and can drive circles around all these other guys on the track but having Rusty always coming down on him (in my opinion) also gave him an extra drive that he is lacking now he had to prove Rusty wrong in every way shap and form and that is what he done at that time. Now Rusty runs his big mouth and what happens...Newman qualifies 3rd!! how long since that has happened. Even almost got a top ten out of it so maybe this is just what he needs.
As strange as it may sound I think Newman needs Rusty to act just like this. I say this because we all know they didn't like each other during their time as teammates but look at how great Newman ran at that time, Newman has skills and can drive circles around all these other guys on the track but having Rusty always coming down on him (in my opinion) also gave him an extra drive that he is lacking now he had to prove Rusty wrong in every way shap and form and that is what he done at that time. Now Rusty runs his big mouth and what happens...Newman qualifies 3rd!! how long since that has happened. Even almost got a top ten out of it so maybe this is just what he needs.
I didn't think of it that way. That is a great way to look at it. Ryan will be like Kyle by next year!
Awesome point
Wallace needs to shut his mouth and be a commentator! He obviously has his favorites and he should learn to be more neutral. He really sucks anyway as a commentator.
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