In a 267-lap race that featured only two caution flags, Ryan Newman crossed the line 24th in his Wyndham Rewards Ford Mustang in Sunday afternoon’s Cup race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Despite finishing sixth in final practice on Saturday, Newman rolled off the grid 29th after Friday afternoon’s qualifying session. The first two stages ran 80 laps each, while the final stage consisted of 107 laps.
Newman charged forward six spots just 10 laps in, fighting loose conditions in clean air but tighter handling in traffic. By the first scheduled pit stop at lap 42, Newman was 18th as crew chief Scott Graves and the No. 6 team went to work with adjustments on the Ford Mustang.
After stops cycled, the 2008 Daytona 500 Champion ran 21st, one lap down for the stage break at lap 80. He would take the wave around to get back on the lead lap beginning stage two at lap 87.
Following another green-flag stop at lap 104, Newman again went down laps to the leaders and was 21st by the end of the second stage. Still battling a bouncy loose machine, Newman restarted the final 107 laps in 23rd. He would get up to 15th by lap 230 as stops cycled, before finishing 24th.
Newman and the 6 team return to action next weekend at ISM Raceway. Race coverage begins at 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM Channel 90 next Sunday from Phoenix.
RFR PR
