Newman at Daytona International Speedway
· Newman will make his 39th Cup start at DIS on Sunday, and 20th in the Daytona 500, in what will be an emotional return to the event that changed his life a season ago. Newman was mere feet from his second Daytona 500 crown before a horrifying crash sent him to the hospital and sidelined him for three races.
· Newman is one of seven former winners locked into the field for ‘The Great American Race.’ Newman won the event back in 2008, driving his then-No. 12 to victory lane.
· Following qualifying and Thursday night’s Duels, Newman will start seventh for Sunday’s race.
· In 38 starts at DIS, Newman has an average finish of 18.6 with 12 top-10s, six top-fives and one win. Despite last year’s incident he still finished ninth, his third-straight year finishing 14th or better in the season-opening race. He also crossed the line third in the 2006 edition and ran fifth in 2013.
· Dating back to the last eight combined Superspeedway races (Daytona and Talladega), Newman has five top-10 results behind Jimmy Fennig’s powerful Superspeedway program.
Scott Graves at Daytona International Speedway
· Scott Graves will be atop the box for his fifth Daytona 500 Sunday, and third with Newman. Overall at DIS Graves has nine starts on the oval, with two top-10s, both of which came with the No. 6, in the 2019 summer event (fifth) and the 2020 Daytona 500 (ninth).
· Graves was also on the box for six NXS events in Daytona with two top-10s, including a runner-up finish with Chris Buescher in the 2015 season opener.
QUOTE WORTHY
Newman on racing in the 500:
“Taking the green flag for the Daytona 500 is always exciting, and this year more than ever I’m simply thankful for the opportunity to be here and continue doing what I love. There’s no doubt some point of this weekend will be emotional, but everything that’s happened to this point has created even more of a desire for me to go out and get a win, not only for myself, but for our team, company and partners who have worked so hard to get Roush Fenway back where it belongs. I’m looking forward to Sunday and hope to put on a good showing for our friends at Kohler Generators in their first dive into the sport.”
On the Car
Kohler Generators makes its NASCAR debut this weekend at ‘The World Center of Racing,’ on board Newman’s iconic No. 6 Ford Mustang. A leader in whole home standby generators, Kohler Generators will be on Newman’s machine for eight primary races in 2021.
RFR PR
