On a weekday evening in September, NASCAR driver Ryan Newman buttoned a blue Royals jersey across his chest. On the Kauffman Stadium infield, he stepped into the batting cage and took a few hacks.
In the moments afterward, he admitted baseball was not his forte, but the object wasn't really to impress anyone. Newman was in Kansas City to promote the Hollywood Casino 400 _ which takes place at 2:15 p.m. Sunday at Kansas Speedway _ and to connect with a friend, Royals manager Ned Yost.
On this particular day, the two had much in common. The Royals had been all but eliminated from postseason contention, looking ahead to an offseason that could take them in a variety of directions. Likewise, earlier in the month, Newman had been eliminated from the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.
His offseason? To be determined.
Newman's contract with Richard Childress Racing is set to expire after the 2016 season, his third year with the team. But after his batting practice session with the Royals last month, Newman spoke with at least a degree of optimism about reaching a resolution.
"We're working some things out," Newman said. "We'll see how all that stuff goes. I feel like we're in a good spot with it and can focus on the rest of this year and next year."
The remainder of this season became a bit less appealing after he failed to qualify for the Chase _ though that wasn't without controversy. At Richmond International Raceway in September, driver Tony Stewart wrecked Newman after he said Newman ran into him three times earlier in the race. After the finish, while speaking to reporters, Newman referred to Stewart as "bipolar" with "anger issues."
"It's rough not being in (the Chase) with the way we got knocked out of it," Newman told reporters during his Kauffman Stadium appearance. "It is what it is. You just have to go on. Just because you got a hole in your ship doesn't mean it won't still float. You have to stay the course."
The only path left for Newman is to play the spoiler role. He took fourth at the Bank of America 500 over the weekend at the Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C.
But he's searching for an elusive victory. While Newman was the Cup Series runner-up in 2014, he hasn't won a Cup Series race since 2013.
"It's all about winning races _ having fun and building on what we can," Newman said. "Trying to get those victories and be the Chase spoiler _ be the guy that everybody's talking about could've, would've, should've been in the race."
