The Ryan Newman Foundation

Statesville, NC (December 22, 2009)- The 5^th Annual Ryan Newman Foundation Charity Dinner and 4^th Annual Fishing Tournament raised $218,000 for its conservation and animal welfare efforts.  The dinner, presented by Haas Automation, was held at the Newman farm in Statesville, NC on December 11^th. Bridgette Tatum, an up-and-coming country music artist, provided the dinner entertainment for a sold out crowd of sponsors, fellow NASCAR drivers, fans, and other celebrities.

The charity fishing tournament was presented by Ranger Boats and facilitated by FLW.  One hundred thirty-eight boats entered this year’s tournament for a chance to win the grand prize; a Z-520 Ranger Boat, stocked with a 250 Evinrude E-TEC motor, Hummingbird depth finders, Minn-Kota trolling motor, and matching Tandem Axel Ranger trailer. This year’s tournament winners were locals; Christopher Haywood from Stanley, NC and Matt Haywood from Lincolnton, NC, weighing in 5 fish for a total weight of 17.3 lbs.

Big fish winners for the day were Jody Wright and James Dyer with their big fish weighing in at 4.15lbs.

Clint Bowyer and Pro Angler Craig Powers weighing in the winning bass at 3.0lbs won the Celebrity/Pro-Angler Big Fish contest.  Fellow Nascar drivers, Ryan Newman, Martin Truex Jr., and Tony Stewart competed against Bowyer along with country music artist Bridgette Tatum, Crew Chief Tony Gibson, 2 Foot Fred from the Musik Mafia, Sprint Executive Jeff Smith, and Pro Fishermen Koby Kreiger, David Wright, Ronnie Watts, Stephen Griggs, Dale Luckey, Jeff Coble, Mitch Seruya, Shane Lauderdale, Michelle Armstrong, Paul Gunthrie, and Randy Bumgardner.

The money raised from this weekend's event will be used to help fulfill the mission of the Ryan Newman Foundation - to educate and encourage people to spay/neuter their pets and to adopt dogs and cats from animal shelters; to educate children and adults on the importance of conservation so the beauty of the great outdoors can be appreciated by future generations; and to provide college scholarship funding through the Rich Vogler Scholarship program.

Prizes were awarded to the Top 12 places:

1^st place- Christopher Haywood and Matt Haywood (Caught 5, Alive 5, Weight 17.3lbs)

2^nd place- Jody Wright and James Dyer (Caught 5, Alive 5, Weight 16.10lbs)

3^rd place Ron Wolfarth and Larry Inman (Caught 5, Alive 5, Weight 15.14lbs.)

4^th place Robert Stiltner and Alfred Kiesling Jr. (Caught 5, Alive 5, Weight 13.3lbs)

5^th place Donald Stanley and Kevin Stanley (Caught 5, Alive 5, Weight 12.12lbs)

6^th place Tony Shook and Michael Fox (Caught 5, Alive 5, Weight 12.9lbs)

7^th place Scott Beattie and Woo Daves (Caught 5, Alive 5, Weight 12.0lbs)

8^th place Travis Rulle and Jeff Douglas (Caught 5, Alive 5, Weight 11.13lbs)

9^th place Ricky Roten and Tracy Adams (Caught 5, Alive 5, Weight 11.10lbs)

10^th place Milton Burgess and Joel Richardson (Caught 5, Alive 5, Weight 11.6lbs)

11^th place Kevin Toler and Rodney Lambert (Caught 5, Alive 5, Weight 11.5lbs)

11^th place (tie) Matthew Stout and Michael Carson (Caught 5, Alive 5, Weight 11.5lbs)

Mark your calendars for next year's events:

December 10^th- 6^th Annual Foundation Charity Dinner

December 11^th- 5^th Annual Foundation Fishing Tournament