Ryan Newman: officially a Stewart-Haas Racing driver for 2013. (Getty)
Ryan Newman is returning to Stewart-Haas Racing.
The driver of the No. 39 was scheduled to be a free agent at the end of 2012, but will be back on a one-year deal for 2013. Over the summer, both Newman and team owner/driver Tony Stewart said a priority was Newman's contract renewal.
SHR will field three full-time cars in 2013; for Stewart, Newman and Danica Patrick. However, Patrick is the only one of the three that has full-season sponsorship announced. Newman has operated with a variety of different sponsors while at SHR, and the team's biggest sponsor, the U.S. Army, announced earlier in the year that it wouldn't be returning to the team in 2013. On Sunday at Atlanta, Office Depot, Stewart's largest sponsor, announced that it wouldn't be returning to the hood of Stewart's car next year either.
With a win Saturday night at Richmond, Newman, currently 17th in the Sprint Cup points standings, would qualify for the Chase for the Sprint Cup. During his four-season tenure at Stewart-Haas Racing, Newman has qualified for the Chase twice.
