Speedy Hoosiers sure know how to stick together.

First it was Indiana natives Tony Stewart and Ryan Newman collaborating for NASCAR's new Stewart-Haas Racing Team. And now, there's a Dixie Chopper sidebar to that story.

With Stewart already using Dixie Choppers to mow his Eldora Speedway property, Newman became the latest proud owner of four Dixie Chopper Xcalibers when he took delivery of the Indiana-made lawn mowers recently at his Statesville, N.C., home.

"Ryan has always been a big fan of Dixie Chopper," said the South Bend native's spokesperson, Mary Grams. "He knows Dixie Chopper is the best of the best, and he's real excited about working with Dixie Chopper."

Although the NASCAR season is already under way, Newman is looking forward to mowing season.

"Can't wait for Mother Nature to change the seasons," Newman said. "I'm ready to knock down some grass. My new Dixie Chopper looks like one mean machine and I'm looking forward to it."

Newman and his staff will use the mowers at three separate Statesville sites - two at his approximately 80-acre residential property, one at his new five-acre motorsports complex and another at his 200-acre farm property.

"The guys are like little kids in the candy store," Grams said, adding that they were excited to replace John Deere lawn tractors with the Xcalibers and their 74-inch mowing decks. "They can't wait to get on them and just kept saying, 'Thank you, thank you' when Dixie Chopper delivered them."

Dixie Chopper Territory Manager Jim Paolucci and dealer Adam Taylor of Tractor & Equipment Co., Newton, N.C., delivered four Xcaliber models of "The World's Fastest Lawn Mower" on Feb. 17.

"He's a real, nice guy," Paolucci said of Newman, the 31-year-old Purdue University graduate. "He's real warm and doesn't come across as a big celebrity like some of those guys do."

Dixie Chopper outfitted the mowing team - and Newman, too -- with shirts and hats, but it was the mowers that captured their fancy.

NASCAR driver Ryan Newman (seated) takes delivery of his Dixie Chopper Xcaliber mowers, brought to his Statesville, N.C., home by Dixie Chopper Territory Manager Jim Paolucci (R) and dealer Adam Taylor (L).

"Basically they couldn't believe the mowers," Paolucci said. "They couldn't believe the powerful appearance of them. You could tell he (Newman) was thrilled to be involved with Dixie Chopper in this collaboration."

Newman will be a spokesman for Dixie Chopper and will film some promotional spots this spring during a break in the NASCAR schedule.

"He's real excited about this," Grams added. "Did you see the big smile on his face in those pictures?"

A perfect fit: Two Hoosier products, both steeped in speed, quality and reliability.

"That fits Ryan, doesn't it?" Grams agreed. "After all, his nickname is 'Rocketman.'"

After graduating from Purdue in 2001 with a degree in vehicle structure engineering, Newman could have parlayed his knowledge into a career in a variety of industries. But instead, he followed his heart and his talent to the racetrack.

Now in his eighth full season in NASCAR's Sprint Cup division, Newman has a new challenge ahead of him as driver of the No. 39 Stewart-Haas Chevrolet with backing from the U.S. Army and Haas Automation.

Since 2000, when he made his Sprint Cup Series debut at Phoenix International Raceway, Newman has been known for his ability to go to the head of the class. In just his third-ever Cup start in May 2001 at Lowe's Motor Speedway near Charlotte, N.C., Newman shot to the top of the speed chart during qualifying to earn the No. 1 starting spot for the Coca-Cola 600. That tied the record for the earliest career Sprint Cup pole.

In 260 Sprint Cup starts through 2008, Newman has earned 43 pole positions and he has led the series in pole wins four times (2002-6; 2003-11; 2004-9: 2005-8). He has earned at least one pole each year since 2001 and is tied with Buck Baker for 10th on the all-time NACSAR pole list.

Newman has scored top-10 finishes in half of the races he has started from the pole. Overall, he has collected 13 Sprint Cup wins, including the biggest of them all -- the 50th anniversary 2008 Daytona 500.

Last October at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Newman won his first Truck Series race. The truck triumph made Newman one of only 19 drivers with at least one win in each of NASCAR's top three series -- Sprint Cup, Nationwide and Truck.

But the Hoosier wanted more. So in August 2008 he announced his move to Stewart-Haas Racing where he will be teammates with fellow Indiana native Stewart, a two-time Sprint Cup champion.

"I told Tony when I joined his team that the bottom line was that I wanted to have fun racing, and I know that Tony wants the same thing," Newman said. "He is a hard-nose racer and a good friend. We have a lot in common with our love of the outdoors and our desire to win races."

When not racing, Newman enjoys fishing and restoring classic cars. He and wife Krissie reside in Statesville, N.C., with their five rescue dogs: Digger, Mopar, Harley, Socks and Fred.