Date: Sept. 15, 2013
Event: Geico 400 (Round 27 of 36)
Series: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Location: Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Ill. (1.5-mile oval)
Winner: Matt Kenseth of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
SHR Finish:
Ryan Newman (Started 20th, Finished 10th / Running, completed 267 of 267 laps)
Mark Martin (Started 29th, Finished 17th / Running, completed 267 of 267 laps)
Danica Patrick (Started 23rd, Finished 20th / Running, completed 267 of 267 laps)
SHR Points:
Ryan Newman (8th with 2,035 points, 28 out of first)
Danica Patrick (26th with 497 points)
Tony Stewart / Mark Martin (not applicable)
Ryan Newman, driver of the No. 39 Quicken Loans Chevrolet SS, led the three-car Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) contingent Sunday at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Ill., by finishing 10th in the Geico 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race.
Newman led one lap en route to scoring his eighth top-10 in 12 career Sprint Cup starts at the 1.5-mile oval. It was also his 13th top-10 this season.
Mark Martin, interim driver of SHR’s No. 14 Mobil 1/Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet SS as he subs for the injured Tony Stewart, finished 17th.
Danica Patrick, driver of the No. 10 GoDaddy Chevrolet SS for SHR, finished 20th. It was Patrick’s 37th career Sprint Cup start and her second at Chicagoland. Patrick, who is competing for Rookie of the Year honors against Ricky Stenhouse Jr., finished 12 spots behind Stenhouse, who placed eighth.
Matt Kenseth won the Geico 400 to score his 30th career Sprint Cup victory, his series-best sixth of the season and his first at Chicagoland.
Kyle Busch finished .749 of a second behind Kenseth in the runner-up spot, while Kevin Harvick, Kurt Busch and Jimmie Johnson rounded out the top-five. Jeff Gordon, Brad Keselowski, Stenhouse, Clint Bowyer and Newman comprised the remainder of the top-10.
There were nine caution periods for 46 laps, with 11 drivers failing to finish the 267-lap race. The event was delayed twice due to rain for a total of six hours, 30 minutes. Mist forced nearly a 90-minute delay of the start, while heavier rain forced the race to be halted for more than five hours after 108 laps were complete.
Newman is representing SHR in this year’s Chase for the Sprint Cup and entered the first race of the 10-race Chase seeded 12th among the 13 Chase drivers, 15 points behind No. 1 seed Kenseth. Newman leaves Chicagoland in eighth, 28 points behind Chase leader Kenseth.
With nine races remaining before a champion is crowned after the season finale Nov. 17 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, the top-13 drivers competing for the title rank as follows:
1. Matt Kenseth (2,063 points) +/-0 positions
2. Kyle Busch (2,055 points, -8) +1
3. Jimmie Johnson (2,052 points, -11) -1
4. Kevin Harvick (2,048 points -15) +/-0
5. Carl Edwards (2,040 points, -23) +/-0
6. Kurt Busch (2,040 points, -23) +4
7. Jeff Gordon (2,039 points, -24) +6
8. Ryan Newman (2,035 points, -28) +4
9. Clint Bowyer (2,035 points, -28) -1
10. Kasey Kahne (2,032 points, -31) +1
11. Greg Biffle (2,032 points, -31) -4
12. Joey Logano (2,011 points, -52) -6
13. Dale Earnhardt Jr. (2,010 points, -53) -4
The next event on the Sprint Cup schedule – the second race of the 10-race Chase – is the Sylvania 300 on Sept. 22 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon. The race begins at 2 p.m. EDT, with live coverage provided by ESPN beginning with a pre-race show at 1 p.m.
