Ryan Newman survived the chaos at Talladega Superspeedway Sunday afternoon, crossing the line seventh in his Acorns Ford Mustang for his third-straight top-10.
“That was crazy,” Newman said after the race. “I took the inside line and stayed there and stayed there. Never had many places to go but either way it was a good run and a good team effort. Proud of the entire team to be able to keep it together. I think we kept most of the race cars on the race track which was probably a lot of luck. We will go on to Dover.”
Despite getting collected in a very early crash, the No. 6 team was able to make repairs and send Newman back out where he made it through the late-race drama unscathed.
Newman qualified 24th in Saturday’s single-car session, but he began his day from the rear of the field after unapproved adjustments were made to his machine pre-race. He rode 29th just 10 laps in, but that’s when the wrecking began, one that collected his No. 6 machine causing damage to the left front.
Over the course of a few laps the team made three pit stops to fix the left front, change tires and eventually repair the toe, sending Newman back out with physical damage only. He would restart from the 35th spot, but moved his way back up to 20th 14 laps later.
After waiting patiently in the pack, Newman weaved his way through traffic and held off the late chargers, crossing the line sixth at the end of the opening 55-lap stage picking up valuable stage points.
Following service on his Acorns Ford, Newman began the second 55-lap stage in 12th. His next pit stop came under green at lap 90, a fuel-only stop that put him good to the lap 110 break, where he finished 14th in the second segment.
Following additional service on his machine, the 2003 Daytona 500 Champion lined back up 19th for the final stage. The yellow would fly again at lap 131 for debris, when Newman comfortably rode in the 24th spot. After a four-tire stop at lap 132, he restarted 19th with 52 to go. The following 45 laps ran caution-free, as Newman stopped for fuel at lap 154.
With seven to go, the field came to a stop as the red flag was displayed after a multi-car incident. Newman made it through with no damage and lined back up 12th with four laps to go. Two separate incidents occurred over the course of the final lap, but he skated through, bringing his machine home 7th.
Newman and the No. 6 team return to action next weekend at Dover International Speedway. Race coverage for Sunday’s race begins at 2 p.m. ET on FS1. Coverage can also be heard on MRN and SiriusXM Channel 90.
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