Newman sure of Stewart-Haas move

Newman's much speculated multiyear deal with Tony Stewart's team was finally unveiled on Friday morning at Michigan International Speedway, although no sponsors have been named for the No. 4 car he will drive next season.

The 30-year-old said there was no ownership involved in his deal, which he claims to have signed only recently.

"We sat down at the shop, we talked about it, signed the paperwork and I told Tony, 'the bottom-line is I want to have fun, I want to have fun with you'," said Newman.

"I know he wants to have fun doing this and that's what racing hasn't been a whole lot of for me lately. Just due to the fact that (with Penske Racing) we had success in 2002, 2003 and part of 2004 and since then it hasn't been I would say as successful and therefore some of the fun has gone with that and I look forward to having fun again."

Newman said he contemplated another three offers made by other Sprint Cup teams before signing the deal with Stewart-Haas Racing.

He said working with Stewart was the single biggest reason for him to turn down those offers from established outfits and move to a newly-formed operation.

"Without naming names there were an easy three other teams that made me offers," said Newman. "But it was mostly Tony. I saw the shop, I saw the backbone of the foundation in the house was laid with their efforts and talking to Tony and his people it seemed to be the right decision for the right reasons and that's what it was all about.

"I would say I felt like I was fortunate having options to have that possibility to go to what I thought was the best place to do the best thing for me and my long-term goals."

This year's Daytona 500 champion acknowledges it will take a while before Stewart-Haas Racing becomes a championship-challenging team, but he says being part of the process of growing the team to that status also attracted him to join them.

"It's going to take some time from a building standpoint, from a personnel standpoint, to be where we want to be as far as the Chase goes and championship-contending teams and organisations," he said.

"I want to have that influence, I want to have that communication and I want to be successful with Tony and with the organisation doing so. It's just a matter of being in the right time at the right place just like anything else in the world."

The Indiana native also believes that having Hendrick Motorsports cars is a guarantee of the team's future success and he expects to enjoy becoming a Chevrolet driver after driving Fords and Dodges during his time at Penske Racing.

"Yeah the Chevrolet part of it I'm excited about obviously," he said. "Tony is super excited about it and it's a new deal for me, so I look forward to put Chevrolet on victory lane.

"With the tie to Hendrick obviously it's going to be a good thing and it's part of the reason why I think it's going to be successful and I look forward to driving what currently even now is a Hendrick car at Stewart-Haas Racing."

Newman insisted he is committed to drive for Roger Penske for the remainder of the season, and hopes to get back to victory lane before leaving at the end of the year to join his new team.

'The Rocket' currently ranks 15th in the Sprint Cup series standings and 204 points off from 12th place, the last position in the Chase for the Championship, which cuts off in three week's time.