
Ivan has had a love of drag racing since he was ten years old. It all started when his father who had a 1966 Chevy Super Sport use to take him and his brother Larry to street drag racing in his hometown of Leesburg, VA while on family vacation.
Ivan got his drivers license at 16 and would take his moms 1968 VW Beetle and Dad’s Buick LeSabre to Cecil County Dragway on Friday nights.
Ivan brought his first car a 1971 Chevy Nova with a 350 LT1, four speed manual with 513 gears. Occasionally, Ivan would drive this car to school and take frequent trips to Philadelphia on Saturday nights to street racing.
After graduating from high school, he went into the Army where he was stationed in Korea for one year in a country that knew nothing about drag racing. After a year of duty, he was transferred to Fort Sill, Lawton, OK. The first thing he did was ask “where is the drag strip.” He took a taxi to LA Dragway about eight miles outside the base to spend the day. When he couldn’t get a taxi back to the base he would have to run, walk and jog back to the base..
Upon completion of service in 1981, he was honorably discharged and started life in Los Angeles, CA. He got a job as a Sears driving instructor in Heywood, CA where he met a very good friend Walter “Flash” Gordon. Walter owned several race cars and had been involved in drag racing for some time. He and Ivan were a perfect match as friends and drag racing partners. They would frequent races a the Sears Point Raceway in Sonoma, CA and Sacramento Raceway Park in Sacramento, CA and the now defunct Fremont Dragway. Fremont, CA.
Ivan decided to move back East to his hometown in New Castle, DE to get back involved in drag racing. He drove from CA in his 1983 Dodge Aspen that he used as a Sears driving school instructor. He entered his vehicle at Cecil County Dragway in Maryland where he finish in the top five points race in street eliminator, representing Cecil County in the bracket finals at maple grove raceway.
During a division one meet in 1987, Ivan met Vonnie and Eddie Mills of Show and Tell Racing Team. Ivan begin to follow every race that they attended and became a crew member of Show and Tell, he gain the knowledge, mechanics, hard work, driving skills and determination to be the best driver and race car owner that he could be.
In 1995 Ivan friend Walter “Flash” Gordon decided to sell one of his many race cars, a 1971 Ford Pinto. At the time Ivan had no tools, no town vehicle and no trailer. He would pay a towing service $100 to take him and the race car to Cecil County Dragway in Maryland to race. After five years of bringing the car up to speed, a large part of that was help from his brother Larry Newman his racing partner, Newman Brothers Racing was formed.
Ivan had one of many dreams come true when IHRA allowed E T Bracket Racing at a national event level. In his first national event he was runner up in the no / electronic class “footbrake” with the support of the Quartermasters at Richmond Dragway in Richmond, VA.
Ivan would like to say many thanks to Walter, Vonnie and Eddie, Larry and his wife Minerva.