Ross Chastain will drive the No. 6 in the NASCAR Cup Series in place of Ryan Newman beginning this weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Roush Fenway Racing announced Wednesday, Feb. 19.
“First and foremost, our focus remains with Ryan and his family as he continues to recover,” Roush Fenway president Steve Newmark said in a team release. “We also want to express our sincere gratitude to all of those who have offered support and taken the time to send their thoughts and prayers to Ryan, his family and everyone at Roush Fenway Racing.
“The NASCAR community has long prided itself on being a close-knit family. That is never more evident than during these types of moments, and we want to express our appreciation to everyone at Chip Ganassi Racing as well as Kaulig Racing for allowing Ross to fill in for Ryan in the No. 6 on such short notice.”
Chastain drives the No. 10 for Kaulig Racing full time in the Xfinity Series and also drives a part-time schedule in the Cup Series’ No. 77 in a partnership between Chip Ganassi Racing and Spire Motorsports.
Chastain is currently in the No. 6 indefinitely; a timetable for Newman’s return has not been revealed.
He was discharged from the hospital Wednesday after a Monday last-lap crash in the Daytona 500 sent him to Halifax Medical Center in “serious condition” but with non-life-threatening injuries.
About the author
Rutherford is the managing editor of Frontstretch, a position he gained in 2015 after serving on the editing staff for two years. At his day job, he's a journalist covering music and rock charts at Billboard. He lives in New York City, but his heart is in Ohio -- you know, like that Hawthorne Heights song.
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It’s a shame Ryan Preece got taken out by that watermelon monkey.