11/18/2019
Newman Ends 2019 With Strong 7th-Place Run
HOMESTEAD, Fla. (Nov. 17, 2019) – Ryan Newman and the No. 6 team ended the 2019 season with a solid seventh-place finish in the Wyndham Rewards Ford Sunday afternoon at Homestead-Miami Speedway, the team’s 14th top-10 of the year.
“I didn’t really realize we were seventh, but I’m proud of the guys with the Wyndham Rewards Ford,” Newman said following the race. “We had a loose wheel that put us back, but we had a really good car. We had one run there at the start of the third stage that just wasn’t quite as good as we needed to be, but I felt like our last run was pretty good.
“I’m proud of the guys. We made a lot of progress this year. It is a good way to end the season and prove that we were a top-10 car there at the end. We didn’t end up there in points, but just proud of the overall team effort for sure.”
After rain washed out all of Friday’s on-track activity, Saturday’s qualifying session was replaced with one 50-minute practice, which put Newman 15th on the grid after lining up by points. With the two opening stages running 80 laps each, the South Bend, Indiana, native finished up stage one in 12th, reporting he was too tight.
Following service under the stage break, Newman lined up 11th but was forced to immediately pit again after he reported a loose wheel. After the stop, Newman ran 19th, one lap down, before pitting again at lap 115 for more adjustments. The only non-stage yellow of the race was displayed at lap 136, when crew chief Scott Graves kept Newman on track to earn the wave around.
The 2003 Driver of the Year would line up 15th for an 18-lap shootout to the stage end, and ended the segment 14th. He began the third and final stage in 13th, and from there continued his upward climb. The final stop of the day came at lap 210 when Newman pitted from the ninth spot, before picking off a few more spots until the checkered flag to cross the line seventh.
