A chaotic final 20 laps at the Indianapolis Road Course Sunday gave Ryan Newman an opportunity in the Oscar Mayer Ford, and he took full advantage earning a 10th-place finish.
It marked the first time for the NASCAR Cup Series to visit the road course at the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a weekend schedule that featured practice on Saturday with qualifying ahead of Sunday’s race.
Newman started the afternoon from the 32nd position, and with a lack of natural cautions early, struggled to flip the track position in his favor. The opening 35 laps saw only the two stage break cautions, before the tides turned late in the action.
The 2013 Brickyard winner had to make an unscheduled green-flag stop just five laps into the final stage after getting spun on track. The race ran caution-free for the next 28 laps until the first of two red flags were displayed after the racing surface came apart, causing a chain-reaction pileup.
Newman, however, was the recipient of the lucky dog and got back on the lead lap from the earlier incident, setting himself up for a strong run to the end. After two NASCAR overtime restart attempts, Newman fought his way through the carnage – and a combined hours’ worth of red flag delays – to bring home a 10th-place finish in the Oscar Mayer machine.
The Cup Series heads to Michigan International Speedway next Sunday for 400 miles. Race coverage is set for 3 p.m. ET on NBCSN and MRN, and can also be heard on SiriusXM Channel 90.
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