Ryan Newman isn't returning to Richard Childress Racing in 2019
There’s another seat open in the Cup Series heading into 2019.
Ryan Newman announced Saturday that he’s leaving Richard Childress Racing at the end of the season. Newman, 40, has been with RCR since the 2014 season and said he wanted to keep driving full-time in the Cup Series.
— Ryan Newman (@RyanJNewman) September 15, 2018
Newman joined the team after leaving Stewart-Haas Racing. He was second in the points standings in his first year with the organization when he made the playoff final four and ran second to Kevin Harvick at Homestead.
Since then his fortunes have gone south. He’s finished outside the top 10 in each of the four successive seasons and missed the playoffs in both 2016 and 2018. He can finish no higher than 17th in the standings this season.
Newman’s only win with RCR came when he won at Phoenix in the spring of 2017. He’s won 18 races over 610 career Cup Series starts. RCR went from a three-car team to a two-car team in 2018 after Paul Menard went to the No. 21 car. Austin Dillon will return to drive RCR’s No. 3 in 2019 and the team presumably is looking for a driver for Newman’s No. 31 car.
Newman joins drivers like Jamie McMurray and Kurt Busch in the free agency category. All three are 40 or over. Busch hasn’t signed to drive anywhere in 2019 and Chip Ganassi Racing said McMurray wouldn’t be returning to drive the No. 1 car full-time in 2019.
Defending champion Martin Truex Jr. is also looking for a ride in 2019, but multiple reports have said he’ll end up at Joe Gibbs Racing in the No. 19 car. That would mean Daniel Suarez would need a new team.
Jack Roush said earlier this week that Trevor Bayne wouldn’t be back with the team in 2019. That means the No. 6 car is looking for a driver unless Matt Kenseth wants to return to a full-time role. Kenseth has been driving part-time for the team since the spring. The No. 95 car of Leavine Family Racing is also looking for a driver after Kasey Kahne announced his retirement at the end of the season. Kahne is currently being replaced by Regan Smith with LFR as he tries to determine the cause of excessive overheating issues.
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Nick Bromberg is a writer for Yahoo Sports.
Follow @NickBromberg on Twitter
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