Death, taxes, and Ryan Newman somehow, someway ending up inside the top 10 when the checkered flag flies.
The 16th-seeded Roush Fenway Racing driver earned his 10th top 10 of the season and in his career at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday (Sept. 15) in the South Point 400, gaining ground in the playoff standings.
Finishing 10th, @RyanJNewman picked up his 10th top-10 finish of the season — the first time a @roushfenway driver has had double digit top 10s since Carl Edwards (14) and @gbiffle (11) in 2014.
— Dustin Albino (el-bee-no) (@DustinAlbino) September 16, 2019
“Had a good Oscar Mayer Ford, just way too loose the whole race,” he said of his evening post-race. “Missed it on the balance. Tightened it up, tightened it up, tightened it up the whole race and never got it tight enough. But congrats to my buddy (Martin) Truex (Jr.), big win for him, a decent run for us so we’ll keep digging.”
The turning point in Newman’s night came under caution following stage two, when crew chief Scott Graves opted to put two tires on the No. 6, gaining 13 spots on pit road and more importantly, track position.
“I thought it was a good call,” Newman said. “We needed to get track position and we needed to get our car tightened up. And the best way to do that is to get some clean air on it.”
“It’s good finish, proud of the progress we’ve made, just know that we’re capable of more. Need to get the car balanced right, get a little more speed in it and we’ll be better yet. A 10th-place position isn’t anything to hang your hat on, but it is better than we’ve been most of the intermediate tracks this year. Proud of the progress we’ve made.”
Newman unofficially leaves LVMS 13th in the standings, six points behind the final transfer spot (held by Aric Almirola). As multiple playoff drivers encountered trouble, Newman’s ability to stay out of trouble and run his own race is something he knows will be paramount moving forward.
“You gotta do that in every round, especially when you’re at a points disadvantage like we are,” he said. “I’m proud of what we did, but I need to be prouder.”