04/04/2019
Newman Looking Forward to Short Track Racing at Bristol
CONCORD, N.C. (April 4, 2019) – Ryan Newman and the No. 6 Wyndham Rewards team head to the mountains of eastern Tennessee for the season’s first race at Bristol Motor Speedway this weekend.. Before the team takes on the fastest half-mile track, they stopped to reflect on last weekend’s events at Texas.
“We had a semi-uneventful weekend as far as troubles,” Newman told SiriusXM’s Claire B. Lang. “I mean we had our situation where we had to start last and then had to go back again. We had track position and lost some of it. I think Texas was an animal kind of on its own.”
Newman started from the rear after issues in pre-race inspection on Sunday morning. After working his way through the field, the driver salvaged an 11th place finish in Texas. With the Lone Star State race in the rearview mirror, Newman and the team are looking to competing well at the short tracks ahead.
“We have a couple of races coming up here between Bristol and Richmond that are going to be completely different and a different kind of focus,” Newman said. “So the goal is to be able to adapt to different situations and conditions as we prepare for Bristol.”
To date, Newman has 18 top-10’s, two top-five finishes and three pole awards at Bristol. As he prepares to take on the Tennessee track this time, the driver acknowledged the learning curve ahead for his team.
“Some of these racetracks I haven’t gone to with this group of guys for the first time,” Newman explained. “We’ve got a whole bunch of guys that came from different teams or places or manufacturers and it’s a little bit of a catch up. In the end I feel like we’ve got a great group of guys assembled and we’ve got to execute better, we’ll do that.”
Roush Fenway Racing’s success at ‘The Last Great Colosseum’ is no secret. The team has 18 wins, 77 top-five finishes, 132 top-10’s and 18 pole awards across all three premiere NASCAR series at Bristol.
“If you look at the history of Roush Fenway Racing, Bristol has been a strength,” Newman said. “When it comes to speed and competitiveness and at the end, executing and finishing. Bristol is if not one of their best tracks, their best track. I’m looking forward to taking our group of guys and the technology and the background that we have to Bristol and seeing if we can’t have a great weekend.”
To hear the full segment, listen below. Be sure to tune into “Jack’s Garage” on “Dialed In” every Wednesday on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio at 7:30 p.m. ET.
Newman returns to the track this Sunday, April 7th at Bristol Motor Speedway at 2 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1.
