This Week’s Okuma Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 at Michigan International Speedway

Ryan Newman will make his 599th Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series start when he returns to the Irish Hills of Michigan. In 33 Cup Series events at MIS, Newman scored back-to-back victories in the fall 2003 and spring 2004 events. The “Rocket Man” also owns a pole award. In total, he’s recorded six top-five and nine top-10 finishes. He has led 113 laps in competition. The South Bend, Indiana native has an average start of 13.8 and average finish of 16.2. And in four NASCAR XFINITY Series starts at the speedway, he has visited victory lane two times (2001, 2005). In the last 10 events at MIS, Newman ranks sixth in most championship points earned.

Okuma Onboard … Okuma America Corporation has been a valuable partner of Richard Childress Racing for almost 20 years and will be the primary sponsor on Ryan Newman’s No. 31 Chevrolet.

Okuma is the U.S.-based sales and service affiliate of Okuma Corporation, a world leader in CNC (computer numeric control) machine tools, founded in 1898 in Nagoya, Japan. The company is the industry’s only single-source provider, with the CNC machine, drive, motors, encoders, and spindle all manufactured by Okuma. The company also designs their own CNC controls to integrate seamlessly with each machine tool’s functionality. In 2014 Okuma launched the Okuma App Store, the industry’s only centralized online marketplace for machine tool apps and related content. Along with its extensive distribution network (largest in the Americas), and Partners in THINC, Okuma is committed to helping users gain competitive advantage through the open possibilities of machine tools, today and into the future. For more information, visit okuma.com/americas or follow us on Facebook or Twitter @OkumaAmerica.

Pole to Pole … Want to go fishing with Newman and then watch him compete Labor Day weekend? Register for your chance to win a fishing trip with the Cat® Racing driver along with a VIP experience in Darlington, S.C. Enter the Pole to Pole with Ryan Newman Sweepstakes: http://bit.ly/2GliiVw.

RYAN NEWMAN QUOTES:

What is the hardest thing to figure out at Michigan International Speedway?

“The hardest thing for us to figure out at Michigan is having a good balance in Turns 1 and 2 and then having the same good balance in Turns 3 and 4. I think Michigan is more challenging as far as getting both ends to handle well versus getting all three corners right at Pocono Raceway.”

What’s your favorite memory racing at Michigan?

“To me it’s been always special for me because it used to fall on Father’s Day weekend. It was an opportunity to go to a track that I considered to be my home track, mileage wise. Back in the day, if a kid from Indiana wanted to go to a stock car race, Michigan was the destination. Getting the chance to go back there and winning a race for my dad was what was so special of a place to me.”