09/23/2020
Ryan Newman | Las Vegas II Advance
ADVANCE NOTES
Vegas Next Stop for NASCAR Playoffs
- For the first time since the return to racing, NASCAR heads west as Las Vegas Motor Speedway plays host to the fourth race of the NASCAR Playoffs, and first in the Round of 12. All three National series will be at the 1.5-mile track this weekend as part of their respective playoff schedules.
- Following action in Vegas, the series heads to the high banks of Talladega Superspeedway (Oct. 4) followed by the ROVAL at Charlotte Motor Speedway (Oct. 11) to cap the Round of 12.
- The starting lineup will once again be set by three competition-based performance metrics, rewarding both season-long and single-race performance. The lineup will be announced later this week prior to Saturday night’s event.
- Four weeks of NASCAR action were completed prior to the COVID-19 hiatus with races at Atlanta, Homestead, Texas, Bristol, Richmond, Talladega, Dover and Martinsville postponed before the schedule later picked back up in mid-May.
Newman Historically at Las Vegas
- Newman makes his 22nd Cup start at Las Vegas on Sunday, where he has 10 top-10s and an average finish of 15.7. Most recently, Newman finished 10th in the No. 6 last fall after starting 17th.
- Newman’s best result at the 1.5-mile track came in 2015 when he finished third, one of his four top-fives dating back to 2001. He ran fourth twice – first in 2002 and again in 2012 – and also finished fifth in 2011.
- Dating back to his last eight events at Vegas, Newman has just two finishes outside the top-15 and an average finish of 11.7.
- Newman has an average starting position of 14.9 Vegas, with one pole and nine top-10 starts.
Scott Graves Historically at Bristol
- Graves will be atop the box for his seventh Cup race at Las Vegas on Sunday, where he has an average finish of 18.8 with two top-10s.
- Graves led Newman to the 10th-place run last fall, and also finished eighth with Daniel Suarez in the 2018 fall race.
- In Xfinity Series action, Graves called three events – including two with Chris Buescher – and recorded a best finish with him of ninth (2014). In his final Xfinity race at the 1.5-mile track, Graves led Suarez to a runner-up result in 2016.
QUOTE WORTHY
Newman on racing at Vegas:
“We’re going into the weekend hoping for a strong run in the Guaranteed Rate Ford. We found something in our car last fall and ran 10th, so our goal is to come out with an even better result this weekend.”
Last Time Out
Newman finished 25th last weekend in Bristol.
Where They Rank
Newman is 26th in driver points after 26 points races in his 2020 campaign. In owners’ points, the No. 6 is 25th.
On the Car
Guaranteed Rate returns to Newman’s Ford this weekend in Vegas, as part of the overall 12-race schedule for the brand to close out the 2020 slate.
Supporting Childhood and Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month
September is childhood and ovarian cancer awareness month. In an effort to create awareness, the Martin Truex Jr., Foundation has partnered with the NASCAR Foundation to launch the Nominate a Cancer Hero program for this weekend’s race. Proceeds from the program will support the children’s emergency department in Huntersville, N.C., as well as therapies for women and children undergoing cancer treatments and child life services across the racing communities.
The name of a Cancer Hero will ride along the name rail on the cars of drivers who participated in the campaign. Riding on Newman’s passenger name rail will be Terri Bush, nominated by her husband, Jerry.
About Guaranteed Rate
Guaranteed Rate is one of the largest retail mortgage lenders in the United States. Headquartered in Chicago, the Company has more than 5,000 employees in nearly 350 offices across the U.S., and is licensed in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. Since its founding in 2000, Guaranteed Rate has helped hundreds of thousands of homeowners with home purchase loans and refinances and funded more than $30 billion in loans in 2019 alone. The Company has cemented itself as Positively Different by introducing innovative technology, such as the world’s first Digital Mortgage, by offering low rates and by delivering unparalleled customer service. Honors and awards include: Top Lender for Online Service for 2018 by U.S. News & World Report; No. 3 ranking in Scotsman Guide’s Top Retail Mortgage Lenders 2019; Top Lender 2016, 2017 and 2018 by Chicago Agent magazine; Chicago Tribune’s Top Workplaces list for seven consecutive years; and Best Online Mortgage Lender, Best Mortgage Lender for VA loans and Best Conventional Mortgage Lender by NerdWallet in 2019. Visit rate.com for more information.
