Ryan Newman was poised for a top-10 finish at Saturday’s Irwin Tools Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway when a multi-car accident broke out on lap 447 of the 500-lap race, pushing him back to a 21st-place finish.
Throughout the majority of the night, Newman held tight inside the top-10, until the accident on the last leg caused him to hit the outside retaining wall, resulting in heavy damage to Newman’s No. 39 Chevrolet Impala. After that, the car was a handful on those last 50 laps, Newman said, but his crew worked hard and fast to repair what they could to get him back on the track. At a speedway like Bristol, where the track is short and the laps go by fast, every minute a driver is in the pit equals about four laps missed on the track. Once he was back driving though, Newman says he did what he could to just stay out of everyone’s way and make it to the finish line.
Even though the drama at Bristol brought a disappointing end to the night for Newman, as a finish in the top-10 could have done a lot for his point standings, considering several other drivers, including Kevin Harvick and Brad Keselowski, also had dismal finishes, Newman is still in position to hold a wild card spot in the 12-driver Chase for the 2013 Sprint Cup. With only two races left before the field is locked in, Newman knows Atlanta and Richmond can make or break his hopes of bringing home a Sprint Cup to the Stewart-Haas Racing team. But he also knows, it ain’t over ‘till it’s over. That’s why, here at State, we’re with Ryan all the way!
