As a teenager growing up in South Bend, Indiana, Ryan Newman was a star racer.
He won more than 100 Quarter-Midget features, earned two Midget championships, and was named United States Auto Club (USAC) Midget Series Rookie of the Year in 1995.
He also won races in the Silver Crown and Sprint Car divisions of the USAC, and by 1999 he was named the Silver Crown Series champion.
After graduating high school, he earned an engineering degree from Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana.
Source: Motor Racing Network, WFTV