Ryan Newman to Pilot the #3 Chevrolet Silverado in Eldora Truck Race

Jordan Anderson Racing will put Newman in a race truck for the first time since 2015.

According to NASCAR.com, NASCAR Monster Energy Cup Series drive Ryan Newman and Camping World Truck Series driver/team owner Jordan Anderson announced that Newman will be driving Anderson’s #4 Chevrolet Silverado in the upcoming race at Eldora on July 18. This will be the first time that Newman has competed in the truck series since the 2015 season so he might be a bit rusty at this level, but for Jordan Anderson, having the NASCAR star sign up to drive for a race is a very big deal.

Jordan Anderson Racing

The odds are good that a great many people have never heard of Jordan Anderson or his racing team. Anderson is one of the NASCAR truck series’ young guns and 2018 is his first full season on the circuit. The Camping World Truck Series plays host to a great many young, up-and-coming drivers, but Anderson’s situation is unusual, as not only is he the driver, but he is also the team owner.

Anderson arrived on the truck racing scene back in 2014 and ran in a few races before emptying his savings account to buy his own Camping World Truck Series race vehicle. Unfortunately, he failed to qualify for the 2015 season opener in Daytona, but he would get on board with Mike Harmon  for that season, followed by a jump to Bolen Motorsports in 2016.

After a rocky 2017 season that saw Anderson in several different racing leagues, he announced that for the 2018 season, he would campaign his own team in the Camping World Truck Series. His new Silverado wears #3 in honor of NASCAR legend Junior Johnson.

Big News for the Little Guy

Anderson and his Chevrolet Silverado have started all 11 Camping World races this season, but his best finish is 9^th, he failed to finish in two races and in those 11 races, he has managed to lead only two laps. However, fortunes might change for the #3 Chevrolet in the July 18^th race at Eldora, as NASCAR star Ryan Newman has agreed to drive Anderson’s truck for one race.

Newman and Anderson unveiled the specially-decorated Chevy race truck on Tuesday, July 10^th at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Newman will drive this truck in the Eldora Dirt Derby on July 12^th, a race in which he finished 3^rd back in 2013.

“It just made sense for us to do it,” Newman said. “It’s a great opportunity for him. It’s a great opportunity for me, for VRX eSports, for Chevrolet. It all lines up. It’s important for us to have the right partners to go up there and have some fun.”

As you might imagine, Jordan Anderson is excited to have a NASCAR star behind the wheel of his race truck, but it is particularly special for it to be Newman. As it turns out, Anderson grew up a fan of Ryan Newman and along with the announcement of their partnership, the young driver shared a picture on his Faceook page showing him as a kid getting an autograph from a very young Ryan Newman.

“For Ryan to be a part of this, it not only brings his wealth of knowledge to the table, but his experience, his credibility and everything he has done in this sport,” said Jordan Anderson. “On top of that, he’s the guy that I looked up to as a kid. We first met out here (Charlotte Motor Speedway) in 2001. I ran a bandelero out here on pole night and he was running the Alltel car. It seems like yesterday, but it was a long time ago. It’s cool to have things come full circle for a guy that I looked up to and really tried to emulate my racing career after his where I went to college and did everything.”

The Deal

As you might expect, there was a deal to be worked out in order for Jordan Anderson Racing to get Ryan Newman behind the wheel for a race, but it wasn’t the promise of a big paycheck or anything like that. Anderson had to agree to let Newman wrench on the truck in preparation for the event and as you would have guessed, the young team owner quickly agreed.

“The fact that everything came together the way it did and the pieces came together with a guy like Ryan, with his history and is place in the sport and the kind of driver and person he is, is really special,” said Anderson.

Images Courtesy of the Jordan Anderson Racing Team Facebook Page

Patrick Rall

"Before I was old enough to walk, my dad was taking me to various types of racing events, from local drag racing to the Daytona 500," says Patrick Rall, a lifetime automotive expert, diehard Dodge fan, and respected auto journalist for over 10 years. "He owned a repair shop and had a variety of performance cars when I was young, but by the time I was 16, he was ready to build me my first drag car – a 1983 Dodge Mirada that ran low 12s. I spent 10 years traveling around the country, racing with my dad by my side. While we live in different areas of the country, my dad still drag races at 80 years old in the car that he built when I was 16 while I race other vehicles, including my 2017 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and my 1972 Dodge Demon 340.

"Although I went to college for accounting, my time in my dad’s shop growing up allowed me the knowledge to spend time working as a mechanic before getting my accounting degree, at which point I worked in the office of a dealership group. While I was working in the accounting world, I continued racing and taking pictures of cars at the track. Over time, I began showing off those pictures online and that led to my writing.

"Ten years ago, I left the accounting world to become a full-time automotive writer and I am living proof that if you love what you do, you will never “work” a day in your life," adds Rall, who has clocked in time as an auto mechanic, longtime drag racer and now automotive journalist who contributes to nearly a dozen popular auto websites dedicated to fellow enthusiasts.

"I love covering the automotive industry and everything involved with the job. I was fortunate to turn my love of the automotive world into a hobby that led to an exciting career, with my past of working as a mechanic and as an accountant in the automotive world provides me with a unique perspective of the industry.

"My experience drag racing for more than 20 years coupled with a newfound interest in road racing over the past decade allows me to push performance cars to their limit, while my role as a horse stable manager gives me vast experience towing and hauling with all of the newest trucks on the market today.

"Being based on Detroit," says Rall, "I never miss the North American International Auto Show, the Woodward Dream Cruise and Roadkill Nights, along with spending plenty of time raising hell on Detroit's Woodward Avenue with the best muscle car crowd in the world.

Rall can be contacted at QuickMirada@Yahoo.com

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