Krissie's Korner

Grateful

Grateful is what I am to be here today.  This Sunday is not like a Valentine's or Hallmark holiday, it is a day to be grateful for those who gave us life! I think we get so busy in the day to day that we forget to tell people how much they mean to us and how we feel.  I was not the easiest child to deal with growing up and I know that any of my relatives reading this are chuckling right now.  Yet, my mom has always been a rock for me. She says that kids don't become "real" until they are around age 24.  That is the age where they begin to realize how much their parents have done for them and that maybe we as children were not as smart as we thought! I hope every mother out there (even pet mommies too!) Have a Wonderful Mother's Day!  And to all of the children...go do something nice for your mom and tell her how much you care...after all where would you be without them! Love you Mom (and Gram) 

This That and The Other

One more restrictor plate race down and two to go.  Glad we came out of Talladega in one piece.  It always amazes me how these drivers can go 190 mph a half inch or less from another car on the banking at Daytona and Talladega.  Then they get out of the car and say that it really isn't that bad and it does not feel like you are going 190 mph until you hit something!  I couldn't do it!   I was so glad to finish eighth and come out of the race in one piece, I totally missed who caused what at the end. 

One to other things, this week has been a little hectic.  We are finally getting the driveway paved :)...this was something I have been nagging Ryan about for a long time and he promised when he won another race he would call the paving crew.  So when he won Daytona, I wouldn't let him live that down!  Here it is the beginning of May, but it is being done so I can't complain.  I have been working hard on organizing and restructuring things with the new board of the Iredell Humane Society.  I can't wait to start working on raising funds for the new shelter.  I also took a trip down to Second Harvest Food Bank to drop off some food for their Backpack program.  The girls at Meaty Bone helped contact food sponsors to try and help raise some funding for the WSOC-TV and Oprah's big give outreach program to the 2nd Harvest Food Bank.  It amazes me how much food we all waste on a daily basis!  Being down there gave me a whole new appreciation for a dogie bag and how to control what we throw away.  I even have decided that the Ryan Newman Motorsports' employees are going to donate one day a month to volunteer in a soup kitchen or food bank.  I know it is not much (one day) but it is a start.

Other than that, I did get to see some of my cousins soccer games.  Which is one of my missed hobbies. I used to play soccer all the time, but just haven't made the time to do it lately.  I do enjoy watching them play and it makes me miss being young and having all that energy to do what they do.  I have even talked about helping coach one of their teams.....we will see.

I hope everyone has had a great week and this weekend is just as nice.  We head out to Richmond today (Thurs).  All my best!

Fun In the Sun

Phoenix results were less than stellar!  The same part of the motor broke in Phoenix during the race, that caused Ryan to start in the back of the field in Bristol.  Bummer.  But yet again, that is racing!  So instead of dwelling on the drop of points and finishing dead last in the race, we went down for some R & R in the Bahamas. 

Ryan is not much of tropical traveler, but I think he had a good time and there was little focus on what happened Phoenix weekend.  Nothing like a good times with good friends to help you realize there IS more to life than racing. It was just the break we needed to clear our heads and move on to Talladega completely refreshed!  We made sure we were back in the states to enjoy being home on the weekend and then Monday is back to reality. 

I hope no one was devastated by the news we heard of the Earthquake in the mid-west!  Enjoy your weekend, and I will be back to blog next week.

Rollercoaster

This has been a roller coaster week filled with highs and lows. A lot of people have asked me if I ever get nervous or worried when Ryan is racing.  My typical response is- I usually try not to think about the danger or risks Ryan takes when he gets into a race car. I am a firm believer of if it is your time, then it is your time and there is nothing you can do about it.  I try not to think about the danger- that is, until something happens.  I don't know how many people watched qualifying in Texas, but Micheal McDowell's wreck was scary!  I would have a hard time being a driver and attempt to qualify after that.  Even though I have never met Michael, I was scared for him.  You never want to see anyone go through something like that.  And I am glad he was okay.

Then Ryan's team went on to have a great 4th place finish on Sunday.  However, it was a little less enjoyable after the team went through tech and we were penalized for being too high.  Which to the teams defense, I know they did not do intentionally!  Yet, you have to abide by the Nascar rules and suck up the penalty.

Tuesday was a tragic day, when we lost a valuable member of the Nascar community.  My heart goes out to Brienne Davis' family.  Brienne was a female Nascar official that was killed in a car accident here in North Carolina on Tuesday.  I will continue to keep her and her family in my thoughts and prayers.  She will be missed by many.

I was not able to get out to Phoenix for Qualifying, but I am so excited Ryan and the team are on the pole!  I stayed at home to attend an election for the new board of the Iredell County Humane Society here in NC.  I was elected as the Secretary and I look forward to helping the animals and people in my county. 

I depart for Phoenix tomorrow and look forward to some night racing! I wish all the races on the Cup circuit were night races.  There is just something about the energy in the air that is more exciting to me. 

I hope everyone has a safe and fun weekend.   

April Fools

Well...we didn't come home with a new Grandfather clock, but at least we made it home in one piece!  I believe this Martinsville race had more excitement than Bristol!  I am still waiting for the spring weather to come our way, because I was miserable on the pit box this past weekend. Yet, I am glad the weather kept at bay long enough to get the race in.  The past few races have gone by so fast I can not believe it is the first week of April! Speaking of April, does anyone ever do April Fools jokes anymore? 

We have had a busy week, and I was excited to meet with our friends at Meaty Bone.  We are working on a few new promotions with our foundation and they have a great sweepstakes going on where you have the chance to win a Ryan signature truck and Ranger Boat.  We have also started brainstorming about the next Pit Road Pets book.  I have some new ideas for the next book and I hope the fans will get as excited about it as I am.  In the meantime, we have a lot of planning and logistics to do.

Ryan and I also washed 5 of the 6 dogs this week because they have been so muddy from the rain, but it was pointless because they just rolled in the same stuff again today.  It is amazing how they think rolling in stuff makes them smell better! Piglet did not get a bath because she has been in dogie boot camp, trying to work on some dominance issues!  She will be back Thursday morning and we will see how training is going! 

We leave for Texas on Thursday afternoon.  I am looking forward to this weekend.  Big n Rich (country singers) will be performing at the track on Friday night, and Saturday night we are going to see James Otto, Blake Shelton and Montgomery Gentry perform at Billy Bob's.  If you are going to be in town for the race, you should come out and watch. 

Thank you for all of your posts and emails.  I will continue to try to answer questions and keep you informed as I blog each week.  Hope you have a nice week and I will chat with you after Texas!   

Time Off

Bristol weekend has come and gone.  I am glad we survived, even if we did end up 33rd!  I am looking forward to some warmer weather, and Martinsville weekend is suppose to be beautiful. 

I hope everyone had a nice Easter weekend.  Ryan and I were able to finally spend some time at home with family and the dogs.  We had a pretty busy week after Bristol trying to play catch up from being gone.  Saturday was the first day I have been able to sit out on our porch and read a good book!  Of course- Ryan was fishing, it was such a nice day here in NC. Saturday night we were able to get down to Charlotte with Martin Truex, Sherry Pollex and some of Sherry's family to attend Larry the Cable Guy's stand up show. I think we laughed for four hours straight. 

Easter was at our house and we remained pretty low key.  We had some of my family over for dinner and the boys got to fish all day.  I always eat way too much when we have family functions!  Today was back to work, but it seems less stressful because we have been home for awhile.  Tomorrow I am off to meet with the Humane Society of Lexington in Kentucky.  Then Ryan and I will head to Martinsville some time Thursday evening.

I hope everyone had a nice weekend.  I will be back to blog after Martinsville.  I told Ryan I hope he wins me the Martinsville race, I really like the Grandfather clock! :)

All my best,
Krissie

Answers

Sorry I have not been quick to respond to your answers.  Hopefully, I can answer most of them. 

When living in New Jersey I graduated from High school in 1996. I then moved to PA to attend college, studying to become an attorney.

The traveling can be a little taxing at times, but this is what Ryan loves to do and this is our life, so we make the best of the situation and try to enjoy traveling across the country. We plan our time with our family around the racing schedule and vacation whenever we can get a few days off.  Most of our time off we try to spend at home with the dogs.

Motor Racing Outreach is the religious community that travels the Nascar circuit.  They hold a church service called chapel every morning before the race. They also have bible studies and children's programs for the families of the drivers/crew/and other track personnel. When Ryan and I were married in 2004 we had a Chaplain from MRO, (Dale Beaver) marry us.

We hang out with certain people at the race track, like Kevin and Delana, Martin and Sherry.  There are times when we will all get together away from the track while we are at home. Everyone's schedule is so demanding and hectic, we end up seeing more of each other at the track.

I see Matt Borland occasionally at the racetrack.  At home, I think Ryan sees him more than I do.  He is doing well and has enjoyed being home more with his family.

I think it is nice to dress up every so often at the racetrack. For me I am comfortable in jeans and a shirt (sweatshirt too!).  I think people should be comfortable with themselves and what they wear should reflect how they like to dress.  I get cold a lot, so typically I am in jeans and a sweatshirt.  We are also a reflection of our husbands/significant others, so I think more people dress up for race days because it has become such a professional/corporate sporting environment.  It just depends on the person.

Ryan and I are thinking kids, but we have a lot of things going on right now.  If we have kids- great!  If not, then it wasn't meant to be. Ryan will retire when he is ready- whether we have kids or not.  If we do have children we will do whatever we can to give them a normal childhood as well as support Ryan to do what he loves to do.

I have never had to fight off any women for being crazy around Ryan!  I think that would be funny!I enjoy people watching, it is fun to see people react to meeting any of the drivers...

We always have animals coming and going at our house.  For some reason we are always finding stray dogs.  Piglet and Fred were wondering around our farm on Thanksgiving and Ryan brought them home.  We tried to find their owner, but no one has claimed them.  They have been a part of our family since.  We are also fostering a pregnant mom with her 8 2-week old pups.  They will all be adopted out to good families.  Sorry- no cats. I would be afraid one of the dogs would eat them! Car wise- Ryan is a big old car fanatic.  I think my favorite is the 1957 T Bird because it was the first car Ryan let me pick.  The most sentimental is the 49 Jag XK120 b/c Ryan bought it for my birthday a few years back.

The foundation is doing well. We are working on a few projects with Racing for Wildlife, and planning this years Bass Fishing tournament. You can read all about what we have been up to on www.ryannewmanfoundation.org.  We also have started working on our thoughts for another Pit Road Pets book.

It is not hard to balance real life and racing life.  I don't think Ryan and I have changed who we are and our morals and values.  We understand that what he does for a living is a privilege that should not be taken for granted.  When you have a family like mine or you are around them often, they have a tendency to bring you back down to earth! Hee hee

At the track we try to get out for dinner, a movie or most tracks we have a fishing hole Ryan likes to go to.  We have met a lot of great people during our travels and found some really nice local places to go eat.  I think Pocono is one of my favorite places to travel because it is close to my parents and close to where I grew up.  We have friends that own a local rest. there called Moyer's Country Kitchen and we try to get there for breakfast when we are in town.  Last year, I waited tables there and donated my tips to the foundation.  There is something we like to do at every track we go to.

My role in Ryan's racing career is just support.  I do whatever I can to make his job easier.  I am fortunate that I can be at the track with him every weekend.  He is an emotional person, he does not change when he gets in or out of the car.  There are times he is upset with how the day has gone, but overall he is pretty even tempered.  He shows his emotion in different ways.  He was honored to be a part of the Daytona 500 history. 

Racing is the sport it is because of the fans.  I think it is incredible how close the fans are to the teams and drivers.  No other sport allows fans the access that racing does.  I think it is great how involved and excited people are about the sport.  With fans, where would the sport be?  It never bothers me that fans come up to Ryan and/or I in the garage-pit area.  We try to do whatever we can to help people enjoy their racing experience. There are times when fans get upset because drivers can not fulfill their immediate request, but I think the drivers try to do what they can to make a fans experience a good one.

We do get the mail and gifts people send to us.  We keep an archive of all of Ryan's racing memories and hope when we have a motor sports building to display the items in a showcase.  We have a few employees that take care of the fan mail, emails and autograph requests.  They make sure we see everything people write or send to us.  Thank you!

My favorite track to watch is Darlington.

I try to not let the bad race get to me.  Racing is what Ryan does for a living and it is not always going to go the way we would hope.  I just pray he is safe.  If a bad race is all I have to complain about then I am a pretty lucky individual and I try not to lose site of that! 

The Daytona win has been the most memorable victory- by far!

Never driven with Ryan around the track at full speed.  Believe me, I have driven with him down the highway and that is scary enough :)

I have never been mad at another driver's wife for an incident that happened on the race track. She can not control the situation any more than I can.  Besides, I am more the type that would go after the other driver myself!  JK

Designers do not give us clothing to wear at the tracks.  That would be nice, but I don't think they recognize the sport, like the sport recognizes them.

As of right now, there are no Nationwide races scheduled for Ryan.  He is doing some Late Model races this year.  Including Tony Stewart's Prelude in Eldora, OH.

Ryan does not have much to say about the COT.  He just races what Nascar tells him he has to.  He and Roy make a great team and they 12 crew guys have great chemistry.  A lot of time that means more than the cars they are driving. 

Again, sorry my response was so delayed..If I have not answered your question please let me know. I will try to elaborate on my answers in the blogs as the season progresses. 

Until then.....all my best!

Life back to Normal

Thank you for posting your comments and questions about what you would like to know.  Having never blogged before, it is important to me to address what people want to know instead of writing something people are not interested in.  As I continue my posts, I will try to address all of your questions.  Now that things have settle down after the 500 win, we were able to get back into our usual race season routine.  Ryan was busy testing Phoenix last week and I was able to spend some time taking care of the things at home.

People always ask me if I work and I never really know how to answer that.  Although, I do not have a specific job requirement, I do what I have to do so Ryan can focus on the racing.  It varies from paying bills, the usual household chores, working on the Ryan Newman Foundation events, working with Humane Societies to promote Spay, Neuter and adoption, keeping up with Ryan’s scheduling requests,  taking care of our wonderful rescue dogs (Digger, Harley, Mo, Socks, Fred and Piglet) and whatever else may come my way.  I have even taken up a new hobby, learning to fly a helicopter.  I do travel to all of the races, but I really enjoy spending time with Ryan and the team.  I watched the Bud Shootout on TV, the first race I have missed since Ryan and I got together!  It was very hard for me to watch and not be there and know what was going on.  This may sound silly, but I really feel like a small part of the team when I am there on the weekends. The 12 team is family to me, so I have a lot of brothers!

I was not thrilled with the outcome of the Atlanta race, it seemed boring and long to me.  I am guessing I am not the only one who felt this way, the stands were pretty empty!  We didn’t have the best finish, but a few years ago if we were to cut a tire down we would have crashed and ended up 41st!  So I will take a top 15 with a tire issue over that any day!  I am just looking forward to Bristol.  Hope you have a great week! Thank you again for your comments. I am really having fun getting to know the fans.

What do you want to know?

By Krissie Newman

The past three weeks have gone by so fast, I can hardly believe we are in the beginning of March. We have been fortunate to do a lot of great things since Ryan's win in Daytona and have met some great people.

I think the highlight of the whole trip was when Ryan got to meet Larry the Cable guy on the set of Regis and Kelly in New York. Larry (aka Dan), and Ryan became instant friends and I am sure they have already made plans to go fishing together.

I have never been asked to blog before so this experience is new for me. Trent covers the pit crew side, and there are writers who cover the race. There are a ton of topics I could discuss but I don't want to bore you with things you are not interested in.

So what do you want to know?

I wanted to do this blog to give fans a different perspective on the racing family, but it helps to know what readers want to hear. Do you want to know what our schedules are like, what we do for fun, how I see each weekend?

I can just write what I am thinking, but it may be of no interest to those of you who read the blogs. So here is my question to you, What do you want to know?

Victory Lane!

I could not think of a better way to start this blog and the season than a win at the Daytona 500!

I had never imagined I would ever feel that emotional after a win, but I could not stop shaking and crying throughout the night.

The past few seasons have been less than stellar and the Alltel Crew, Ryan included, never lost faith or focus. There were a few crew changes in the offseason, but I really feel that the team is headed in the right direction.

The amount of focus and history behind the Daytona 500 is astounding. To watch the previous winners up on stage and to know Ryan is a part of that history is unbelievable.

I try to replay the last few moments of the race in my mind, but all I remember thinking was CHARLOTTE! I was praying so hard that nothing would happen and Ryan would cross the finish line, in one piece to collect the checkered flag.

I look forward to what lies ahead these next 37 weeks, but more importantly I look forward to writing this blog each week to connect with race fans and, hopefully, give you another look into the world of racing y'all love.