06/18/2019
Ryan Newman – Sonoma Advance
ADVANCE NOTES
Newman at Sonoma Raceway
- Newman will make his 18th start at Sonoma Raceway this weekend, which is tied for second among all active Cup drivers (Jimmie Johnson & Kurt Busch – 19th). In 17 events at the 2.52-mile, 12-turn road course, Newman has an average finishing position of 13.2.
- Newman has two top-five results all-time in Cup action at Sonoma, the first of which came back in 2003 when he finished fifth. He crossed the line runner-up to Jeff Gordon three years later in 2006.
- In his last five events in Napa Valley, Newman has two top-10s (ninth – 2015, eighth – 2016) and four finishes of 15th or better.
- Newman also has an average starting position of 13.2 at Sonoma with seven starts inside the top-10, the best of which came in 2006 where he lined up fourth.
Scott Graves at Sonoma Raceway
- Graves will be atop the pit box for his fourth MENCS event at Sonoma this weekend. In three previous races, Graves has an average finish of 19.3.
- He called one race with Ricky Stenhouse Jr., back in 2013 where he finished 27th. Most recently he finished 16th (2017) and 15th (2018) with Daniel Suarez.
QUOTE WORTHY
Newman on racing at Sonoma:
“I’ve always been a huge proponent of tracks that provide a challenge behind the wheel, and Sonoma is definitely one of those. It takes some aggressive hustle to get around a road course and Sonoma is no different. Strategy typically comes into play and has a major effect on this race, so we’ll see if we can put ourselves in position this weekend in our Wyndham Rewards Ford Mustang.”
Recapping Michigan
In the second Monday race of 2019 due to rain in the Irish Hills on Sunday,
Newman drove his Ford to an eighth-place finish. He restarted 14th
for a final green-white-checkered finish and drove his way through the field on
the restart to earn his fourth top-10 of the season.
